Subsequently you can trade in that speed for more altitude. What is important to note here is that many of these factors share a relationship (be it positive or negative): if you have a lot of fuel (and thus weight), you can trade this in for speed by applying more power to your engines. Examples of such feats can be the SPRD-99 Rocket Booster for the Mig-21 (allowing you a temporary boost in power) or the 'Viffing' technique in the AV-8B N/A Harrier (where you rotate your nozzles downward in a turn to gain a increase in turn rate). Miscellaneous Sometimes there are extraordinary actions / items that you can bring to the table to gain an edge in the (energy) fighting, that are not classified by the parameters above. You can jettison your fuel tanks or weapons to shed weight, but be mindful of the fact you may need them later. Weight Typically weight is one of the most influential factors on the energy state, as altering the weight also has an effect on other factors (ie thrust to weight ratio).

You could use that fuel to obtain extra speed ( light those afterburners!) during a fight though. A lot of fuel will however equate to a lot of extra weight on the aircraft, so you are either not going to turn as quickly or lose a lot of speed (energy) whilst making that turn. Fuel An aircraft needs fuel to fly, so you might be keen to take as much of it as possible. Typically drag is encountered due to the stores carried on the aircraft or things such as flaps, air brakes being deployed, as aircraft designers make their aircraft as aerodynamic (almost no drag) as possible. Drag The amount of drag is how much air resistance an aircraft encounters (similar to sticking your hand outside the window of a moving car). This is because you are often trading in velocity for altitude and vice versa. Altitude Altitude can be easily overlooked as a given thing, but it is in actuality one of the factors you will largely be manipulating (subconsciously) during aerial combat.

Be wary that drag and weight are detrimental to speed, as they severely restrict your ability to obtain or maintain speed. Speed / velocity Perhaps the most basic of all energy factors, the amount of speed (velocity) an aircraft has is manipulated by the amount of thrust put out, or the amount of altitude traded in. However, energy is also influenced by the state of many smaller factors:ġ.

Primarily the amount of energy or energy state is dependent on how you chose to fly your aircraft: if you make a hard 9G turn you will bleed a lot of energy, versus a 3G turn that keeps you in a pure pursuit that will only lose you a small amount of energy.

Perhaps the most important factor in every aspect of fighting against other aircraft (and even against ground based threats) is the notion of energy (fighting): the state of energy of a given aircraft can often make or break an engagement.Įnergy is the sum total amount of power you can express at a given time (and you ideally want as much as possible at any time).

Four basic air combat maneuvering