ENERGY MANAGEMENT-SOME BASICS

Well, with the new found interest in this topic particularly with those flying
Normal Flight Mode I thought I'd go ahead and start posting on the topic. First
off, none of this is original material. It is based on my own training, reading of
many, many books, outright copying of several excellent sites on War Birds and
AirWarrior and most likely sources I no longer even remember. Where possible I
will try and cite the original source. A lot of this isn't from just one source but many. I will try
and add my experience as well as others as it pertains to Red Baron.

1.) What the hell is Energy Management and why do I care?

Well, first let us define Energy.
Its simplest definition is that energy= altitude + speed.
That is the classic definition. I, however, feel that angles are a key component
rather than a separate component of Energy. In a dogfight you trade each of
these components for the other. The pilot who best handles these tradeoffs will
be the victor. In a dive you trade your altitude and ability to turn (angle) for
superior speed. In a hard bank you increase your angle at the sacrifice of speed
(and sometimes altitude). It is an ever increasing trade off.

Energy Management is the ability to handle these trade-offs in such a way as to
get yourself a killing shot on your opponent.

2.) Isn't "Boom n' Zoom" Energy Fighting?

Boom n' Zoom is usually visualized as a higher plane diving on a lower plane,
taking a shot, and then zoom climbing back up to alt. This is a tactic that uses
Energy management in a simple form but ALL dogfighting is Energy
Management. Boom n' Zoom is but one tactic of many.

3.) What are other tactics?

I will cover specific tactics in another post. Some that will be covered are high
yo-yos, low yo-yos, reversals, lead turns, guns defense, turn circle geometry
and merge tactics.

4.) OK, then what else ya got?

Well, for instance, why is Energy Management important? It is important
because the aircraft with more Energy is the aircraft that dictates the fight and
has the option of the initiative.
Seizing the initiative puts you on the offensive. If you are on the offensive your
opponent is on the defensive. If he is on the defensive, he isn't getting a shot
at you. It's that simple.

The keys to good Energy Management are
a) know your aircraft and its relative energy state at all times. What I mean by
relative is that it can be just as deadly to be high and slow as it is to be low and
fast. Many times the low and fast plane actually has the better energy state.

b) Learn to recognize your opponent's relative energy state. The best way to do
this is to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy aircraft.

c) Know what aspect of energy (angle, speed, altitude) is the best for your
aircraft. Altitude is the one you control by pre-positioning in a fight. If you are
entering a fight too low, turn around, fly away and come back higher. The other
two characteristics are more determined by your aircraft type. Some planes
have a better angle component (DrI or TripeHound foe example) while others
have a greater Speed component (Spad or Se5a). Don't try to turn fight a DrI
with a Spad. You will lose. Likewise a DrI won't outrun a Spad.

5) Great grasp of the obvious Sensei, teach me something I don't know.
Patience Grasshopper, just laying the ground work. Here a few definitions you
will need to know so that we all talk from the same reference point.

Turn Radius: How big a circle I carve in the sky while urning.

Turn Rate: How fast I traverse my turn radius.

Cornering Speed: The speed at which your aircraft has the highest turn rate in
the tightest turn radius. This is not your slowest airspeed, however. It is true
that the slower you go you will turn a tighter radius, however, it is your turn
rate that will determine how fast you bring your nose around. Rate kills...

BFM: Basic flight maneuvers, i.e. climb, dive, bank turn, rolls etc...

Turn Circle: The circle I am carve out while effectively performing offensive BFMs.

Lead Pursuit: Pulling the nose of your aircraft in front of the nose of the target
in front of you so that your bullets will hit the enemy and kill him. It gets bullets
on the enemy but it is going to cost you your speed component and quite
possible your altitude component. It is a pure angle component maneuver.

Lag Pursuit: Keeping the nose of your aircraft slightly behind the tail of your
enemy. This allows you to stay on their 6 without expending your speed
component for angle. You do this while you want to keep your energy up and
wait for the bad guy to make a mistake.