[ GOTO THE MAIN EAWHS PAGE ]

CONTENTS

INTRO

CONTROL SETTINGS
Assign Input | Dead Zone | Custom Flight Model / FM Sensitivity

FLIGHT TRAINING
Boom and Zoom | Basic Tactic Tips | Often Made Mistakes | To Overshoot, or Not To
Formation Flying

BASIC FLYING: AIRCRAFT CONTROLS
Aileron and Elevator: Stalling | Recovering from Stalls | G-Force | Turning | Roll Rates | Rudder |  Compression
Flaps

BASIC FLYING: ENERGY
E is for Energy | Climb, Climb, Climb.. | Vertical & Horizontal Turns | Drag | Speed & Drag | Flaps | Throttle
Speed Dumping | Zen and the Art of Boom and Zoom | Relative Plane Performance

MARKSMANSHIP
Conserve Your Ammo | Range | Aiming Your Guns | Watch Those Smokers!
EAW Manual

MISC TACTICS
Intercept | Escort | Interdiction | Fighter Sweep | Medals

TIPS
An interdiction Against A Sea Convoy | How To Setup An Attack Against A Tank | Player Team vs AI Team
 Making Sure You Escape | Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory | Bombing A Friendly Facility
Stop Attacking Friendly Units | Strange Escort | Strange Interception
Easter Egg: P-38 Movie | Easter Egg: Men | Rockets | Hit With A Rocket Bullet
V1 Flying Targets

 

Obviously before you can do any practicing you need your controllers set up correctly. Here is a brief run down of areas of the controls that will effect your performance as a virtual pilot.

Assign Input:
You'll want to configure your controls first before needing this help document. See my Joystick and Controls Help Document for more details on how to configure them properly first, then come back here.

Dead Zones:
Correctly setting the DeadZone on your Joystick will make a huge difference in how the response of your control input is. See my Joystick and Controls Help Document for more detail on how to adjust this.

Custom Flight Model / FM Sensitivity:
Custom FMs sets (normally are a group of model parameters by the same person(s), This can be on a per plane type bases as well), you will find that every time you fly with a different FM it may become difficult to adjust to them. This is because they each have their own handling characteristics and each FM responds differently to control inputs. See my Joystick and Controls Help Document for more detail on how to adjust this sensitivity. That help document includes some flight turn testing instructions to help you optimize your control settings.

Using your Controls to perform some tactics and learn some common mistakes. This section will help you get flying without being too green (a newbie).

Boom and Zoom:
You could maybe try your Keyboard, Joystick and Mouse configuration out in a bomber escort mission. Use your views and target Buttons or Keys to stay in station with the bombers and to locate the bandits from which ever direction they approach you.

Try to perform a series of looping attacks from the bombers' high six: dive to challenge a bandit that's making a run at the bombers then loop back up to your station above and to the rear of the bomber formation ready for the next one. Climbing back up again helps to conserve your energy: if you just run about like mad, turning hard all the time, you'll get too slow to attack anyone. Don't chase a bandit once he turns and runs or you'll quickly get separated from the bombers and you won't be able to help them. You don't have to get any kills in this mission, just protect the bombers. Force an attacking bandit to break off then immediately identify the next threat to the bombers.

When you get the hang of it, you should be able to use a combination of views and target buttons to keep track of the fight from your position on the bombers high six (camera pan in [F9] mode can be very useful in a busy sky). If you must, pause the game every so often to look around ([Alt P]). Once you get familiar with your control configuration, you'll learn to keep track of the fight without pausing: you'll need to because you can't pause the game online (well, not without protests anyway).

Basic Tactic Tips:
 1st rule: Stay fast and/or high (keep your energy up)! A fast plane is a difficult target and only a fast plane is able to evade attacks!! So if you find your self lower than a near by opponent, stay fast!

To follow the rule 'Stay fast and/or high' you need to avoid turning just on the horizontal because you'll only lose speed and and gain no positive altitude. You planes energy will go down. When you make turns not just on the horizontal but Up or Down at the same time you'll be able change direction with less Energy loss. While a down turn will make you lose Altitude, you gain speed. You also will notice you don't have to pull hard to change direction, gravity helps. With an up turn you gain Altitude but lose speed. A slow climbing plane doesn't lose that much Energy while turning.

Often Made Mistakes:
An often made biggest mistake is when you may like to turn hard because your going much faster than the enemy that is behind you, thinking you can either turn away or get behind him. The true result will be that your turn will develop into a very big Radius and with very high speed, meanwhile the enemy behind you can make a slower turn with a smaller radius. (but both planes will require the same amount of time for 360°). So the much slower enemy plane that's still behind you can follow you even though your faster. Not only will he be-able to stay with you from behind, but he will be-able to line up a shot, when fired his bullets will cross your course of flight. This can be deadly.
So if you attack a slower plane from behind, go straight after him, attack and then fly fast ahead of him, gaining as much distance before your next turn, (maybe with a smooth upturn + roll) to avoid the bullets that the slower plane now behind you will probably shoot. If your the slower plane being attacked from behind, you will need to turn or roll to avoid damage.

If you find yourself in a close turn fight going fast, don't forget that depending on the planes fighting each other, reducing power can help you turn even tighter, you can't do that if you are much faster than the enemy.

To Overshoot or Not Too:
You'll need to develop experience to always find the right choice. While your attacking an enemy, from behind and on his tail, you have these two possibility's:

If you overshoot, its possible that you will be too slow to gain distance away fast enough allowing the enemy that you just overshot to maneuver into shooting position way before you can get away. Just remember if you overshoot, you need to be much faster than he is, especially in stock EAW v1.2 where you can score a kill at 1,200 meters distance.

If you don't overshoot, by continuously managing your throttle up and down, its possible that you might miss the right moment to apply more power again allowing the enemy to get the chance to accelerate out away from you, this possibly allowing him to turn behind you. Just remember in a turn fight its often better to stay behind the enemy. Don't forget the possibility that the enemy will have a wing-man, so check your 6!

Note: See the EAW Official User Manual for more flight instructions that should improve your flying habits.

Aileron and Elevator:
 

Stalling:
Since you're playing full real, be careful with the elevator (ie pulling or pushing on the stick). If you pull too hard you can stall the plane, particularly at low speeds (see below for how to recover from a stall). If you find yourself stalling a lot (and you will the first few times full real) be more gentle with the stick.

It takes practice to get a feel for the performance limits of your plane. Get some flying hours in and you'll crack it. In general, you can be a bit rougher on the stick when you are fast or when diving but you have to be much more careful when you are slow or nose up.

A common error is to get target-obsessed, pulling hard towards the bandit all the time without monitoring your speed. Prolonged hard turns will burn off lots of speed until the inevitable stall - or maybe even cause you to blackout (see G Force, below). You have to fly your plane within its limits FIRST and get the bandit in your sights SECOND.

Always, always keep checking the HUD (bottom left). This will turn yellow when you are close to stall speed. You'll also hear some wind noise and a force feedback stick will start to judder. When you feel the plane starting to stall, you MUST ease off the stick a bit; you may also want to drop flaps and/or get your nose down (gently!) to build up speed.

Note that rolling the plane (aileron) doesn't affect the risk of stalling anything like as much as applying elevator. You can usually roll the plane hard when you are very slow but you have to be VERY gentle with the elevator at low speeds.

Different planes respond differently to stick inputs: in general, later model planes are much easier to stall. You have to be much more gentle on the stick with a jug (P47) or a 109K for example than with an early WWII plane like the spitfire 1A. However, some of the early WWII planes (the flying barn door that is the 110 for example) are always easy to stall.

If you have a really bad stall problem it's possible that you may have your joystick sensitivity set too high. See the "EAW Setup" section for more info.

Recovering from Stalls:
To recover from a spin, apply full aileron in the same direction as the spin and full rudder in the opposite direction. Do not apply any elevator at all, ie make sure there is no up or down movement in your stick. I usually drop flaps as well. Some people also advise chopping the throttle. As soon as you start to fly again (the red HUD will turn green) let go of everything for a moment. When you are sure you have recovered make only gentle stick inputs: you'll still be close to stalling speed so violent inputs will put you in a spin again.

In some planes, as soon as you are about to recover from a spin in one direction you will immediately start spinning in the opposite direction: get on it quick, same procedure, but new directions of rudder and aileron input. The German twin-engined 110s are beasts in a spin. I'd definitely recommend chopping throttle if you spin one of these.

Note that you can still stall at high speed with severe stick inputs. This happens because the plane's angle of attack has been changed too drastically to maintain good airflow over the wings.

Incidentally, there is a free download sound which replaces this standard game sound with a stall alarm to give you better warning of impending stalls (Safehaven's EAW Stuff).

One final note: stalling will break your target lock. As soon as you recover, get on the target buttons again to find out where he is (on your six probably).
 

G-Force:
Watch out for blackouts and redouts - particularly in very agile planes such as spits. If you pull too hard on the stick for too long you'll get into a really nasty blackout and lose all control of the plane for some time. Pushing too hard gives you a redout. Both result in loss of consciousness - not something you want to do near ground level. Don't push or pull so hard.

Note that, as well as redouts, pushing the stick forward hard at high speed can rip your tail right off (full real settings.. ).

Finally, the spitfire 1A and the hurricane have a peculiar reaction to negative G (when you push the stick forward or fly level inverted). The planes did not have fuel injection so negative g cuts the fuel supply to the engine and you lose all power. If the engine does cut out a quick tug on the stick will get the juices flowing again (don't stall it though!).

Turning:
You'll sometimes hear people talking about "corner" speed. This is the speed for best (ie fastest) rate of turn. Most planes turn best in the 200-250mph range but at speeds much higher or lower than this the turn rate drops dramatically.

So, in combat, make sure you always have enough speed to turn well when you need it. If, for example, you are wallowing nose up at 100mph when under attack by a bandit who is at corner speed, you are a sitting duck (this is a very common way for new pilots to get killed: more experienced pilots will often try to "sucker you up"). However, if you are at corner when a bandit swoops down at 350mph or so (way too fast to turn well), it should be a simple matter to pull a tight turn which he cannot follow.

You don't have to maintain corner speed all the time though. It's all a matter of timing your maneuvers against the bandit's maneuvers. If you do need speed to turn hard, get your nose down and dive a little.

Note that turn rate is not the same as turn radius.. The faster you are, the larger your turn radius. Thus, a plane 100mph above corner will turn both slower and wider than the same plane at corner speed. A plane flying 100mph less than corner speed will turn slower but will go round in a tighter circle.

 

Roll Rates:
Roll rate works pretty much like corner speed. At very high or low speeds your roll rate is sluggish. Since the main way to change direction is with a roll and pull, this is worth thinking about.

Rudder:
The rudder isn't applied often but definitely has its uses.

Rudder is vital to get out of a spin (see above).

If you are barrel rolling, rudder in the same direction as the roll will tighten it up - and vice versa. A tight, diving barrel roll can sometimes keep you out of the guns of an attacker. Not a good energy maneuver though.

If your aim is slightly off to one side when taking a shot the rudder can sometimes be used to nudge your nose onto the target. You'll see the AI in the game using rudders to attack bombers, weaving the nose from side to side to create a spray of shot across the target. Personally, I prefer a concentrated burst aimed at the tail.

You can use the rudder to slide the plane: apply full rudder with a very small amount of aileron in the opposite direction to make the plane slip sideways through the sky. Fun to do but not a great evasive maneuver if you are trying to get out of someone's guns. Nudging your nose up and down is probably more energy efficient in that situation.

Vertical slides can be very useful though. When you are nose up and slow (ie 100mph or less), and a stall is imminent, the rudder can be very useful to get the nose back down below the horizon before you spin. Roll the plane so your lift vector is horizontal (ie wings aligned with the vertical) and apply full rudder downwards. Your nose should swing down quite quickly. Be careful though: the slightest bit of roll will probably create a stall: it's quite a fine balancing act to keep your wings vertical. This is an edge of the envelope maneuver where you are half flying and half falling.

In this way, you can often get planes down to 45mph or less without losing control - even a beast like the 110. You can get spit 1As under 20mph without stalling. Sometimes the best pilots seem to make their planes dance in low speed maneuvers - they're using their rudders effectively. Any time you have wings aligned somewhere near the vertical and slow-ish speed, adding some rudder to the usual roll-and-pull method of turning can squeeze that extra bit of performance out of your plane.

Finally, at high speed the rudder won't have much - if any - effect. Basically, everything suffers at high speed: turn rate, roll rate, energy bleed, risk of blackouts etc and I avoid it as much as possible, by trading speed for altitude. Like much of the information in this beginner's guide that's just a general rule though..

Compression:
In a steep dive at full throttle an aircraft will quickly reach it's compression speed: ie it will not respond to elevator inputs and you cannot pull out of the dive. Compression occurs because the air is hurtling by so fast that the controls cannot act against the increased air pressure. It's very embarrassing to crash head first into the ground, so throttle back, pull hard on the stick and pray. Different planes compress at different speeds but, as a rough guide, watch out when you get to 400mph (you really need to flight test offline the planes you like to fly in order to find their exact compression speed). Constantly keep an eye on your speed in a steep dive and pull up before you compress.

Flaps:
Flaps give you more lift, reducing stall speed. This is why flaps are used for landings and take offs. If you are slow and close to stall speed, drop flaps to help keep control.

Dropping flaps will make turns tighter and faster but they also create drag and so bleed more E (see flying 2). Unless I really need the extra turn rate I don't use flaps for turning.

If you are turning in the vertical with a chandelle or immelman you can drop flaps when you're slow (under 150mph or so) to help bring your nose round and down before you stall. Note that the drag effect of using flaps (and other control inputs) costs less at low speeds so you are not losing much by using them here.

Normally you can't drop flaps over about 200mph (approximately) - although some american planes have combat flaps which can be used at high speed. Combat flaps excepted, if you dive with flaps down they'll be ripped off when you get too fast. Make sure you get them up again before that.

 

E is for Energy:
E is just how much "energy" your plane has. This is a combination of your speed and the potential energy stored in your altitude. Diving swaps height for speed and climbing swaps speed for height.

The plane with most E can control the fight. Try to make sure it's you and not the bandit. The plane with more E can run away to get separation to manoeuvre and/or can climb above the slower plane, safe from attack. The E-poor plane can't do much except wait for the next attack.

Good pilots constantly check HUD data throughout the battle comparing their E state with the targetted bandit. This information is crucial to your tactical decisions.

Climb, Climb, Climb..:
In general, anything you do which allows you to gain altitude is good. Altitude is much more important than speed in determining your E state. Circumstances permitting, always try to climb to grab altitude.

As a (very) rough guide, best sustained climb rate is usually somewhere around 130mph (you might want to flight test offline to find the exact figure for your favourite plane). If you are much faster than this, you might want to try an immelman or chandelle (see EAW manual).

Of course, pesky bandits in the vicinity might have their own ideas about the flight manoeuvres which you can get away with... For example, best sustained climb rate is way below your corner speed (ie the speed at which your plane turns best). At slow speed you can't manoeuvre effectively and are a sitting duck for any enemy in range.

If you are trying to grab some alt in a max sustained climb speed, try to estimate the time it will take before a bandit can get his guns on you. If there is going to be an attack in the near future make sure that, when he gets in range, you are either (a) fast enough to turn well so you can evade (break out of the climb and dive!) or (b) are in a position above him where he can't get his guns on you (keep climbing!). The choice you make depends on your relative E states (keep monitoring the HUD data!).

Vertical & Horizontal Turns:
If you turn in the horizontal, you will at best maintain your speed and therefore E state - but only if it's a very gentle turn. Most likely you will be bleeding speed and so eroding your E state.

If you turn in the vertical, going up to swap speed for height, you can maintain or even increase your E state.

So, if you have a choice, chandelles and immelmans are good ways to turn (chandelles and immelmans are explained in the EAW manual). If you don't have enough speed for an immelman make a chandelle with the maximum upward angle you can get away with. As always, you have to time your manoeuvres to take account of what the bandits are doing. Vertical turns will leave you at slow speed at the apex - not good if there is an enemy plane within range when you get there.

Note that the turn-rate of a climbing turn suffers from the fact that you probably won't be at corner speed. On the other hand, turn-rate in a climbing turn is helped by the tendency of planes to nose down suddenly on the apex of the turn when you are probably very close close to a stall (if you're not close to a stall, you're not squeezing as much alt as possible from the manoeuvre). Don't forget that a slow plane is an easy target if a bandit is in a position where he can line you up.

Drag - Careful with that Stick Eugene:
Pulling on the stick deploys the elevator, your plane's angle of attack is increased, and lots of drag is created. Drag is bad. It slows you down. Speed is E and E is life.

Therefore, you want to get where you're going with nice and gentle stick inputs, whenever possible. Yanking the stick about hard will bleed speed much more quickly than a gentle turn - as well as possibly causing a stall or blackout/redout. You should try some flight testing offline with hard and slow turns to get a feel for how this affects the rate of speed loss.

You can't only think about conserving E though. Sometimes you really have to pull every last bit of turn performance out of your plane either to evade an attack or to line up an opponent (don't forget the flaps..). Judging when to fly an E game or a hard-turning, angles game is one of those skills which makes a good pilot.

In a sweep, or any other game with different plane types, one plane will turn better and one plane will be faster. In the turner, you'll almost certainly have to turn hard to evade attacks from the faster plane or to try to get onto his six; in the faster plane, you can use that extra power to get on top with E tactics, then use a Boom and Zoom attack (see below).

If you are in a 1 v 1 game, same planes and co-E with the bandit, you have to fight hard for angle, otherwise the bandit will gradually swing round onto your six and blast you. Yank the stick just as hard as you can without stalling and use flaps when possible.

Whatever the circumstances of the fight, you should never turn hard if you are separated far from the bandit: what's the point? If it will be some time before he can line you up (or you him) there's no need to waste E with a high-G maneuver. Turn hard if you have to, but only if you have to.

Speed & Drag:
At high speed, you bleed E in a turn much faster than the same turn at a lower speed. Usually, (depends on the exact circumstances of the battle..) it's best to go up before you get really fast (say, over 300mph or so). Zoom climbs (ie chandelle and immelman turns - see EAW manual) are good, energy efficient maneuvers which let you turn that speed into alt. Try to pull gently into the maneuver to avoid losing any more speed than you have to (with lots of nasty bandits trying to kill you, you can't always fly a perfect energy game though).

Flaps:
Flaps also cause drag and bleed your E. Don't use them unless you have to, eg if you are on the edge of a stall or you really need that extra bit of turn rate. Get them up again as soon as you can.

If you are turning in the vertical with a chandelle or immelman you can drop flaps when you're slow (under 150mph or so) to help bring your nose round and down before you stall. Note that the drag effect of using flaps (and other control inputs) costs less at low speeds so you are not losing much by using them here.

Throttle:
As a rule, to want to keep throttle on full as long as possible in order to maximize your energy state. In general, do not use throttle to control speed: instead go up to slow down, go down to speed up.

However, 15 minutes or so of max throttle will cause your engine to overheat. You can ignore the hot engine warning for a little while longer but if you leave it too long your engine will blow. Just how long to leave it is another of those fine points which the best pilots use to squeeze a little bit extra out of their plane. Don't take any chances though. If you are running from a chasing bandit who is pecking away at you, or vice versa, it might be worth pushing it to the edge but don't do it unless you really have to. Watch those temp dials VERY closely while you're doing it.

Learn the cockpit layout of the planes you like to fly and note where the rev counter and temp gauges are (alt F1 will turn on instrument labels if you are not sure what's what - if that doesn't work check your keyboard setup in game config). When you're hot, reduce revs just enough to start cooling the engine. You can find the throttle setting which is just slow enough to cool the engine by experimenting offline - it varies with different planes. As a rule, don't reduce revs any more than that.

If you have a decent E advantage you can consider throttling back to keep your engine cool, saving it for when you really need it. Just make sure you don't blow your advantage though: if other planes are at full throttle they could be gaining on you. Keep watching the HUDs to judge your relative E state, and get throttle back up when you need to.

Normally, engine management only comes into play in a long, hard game between good pilots who don't give away any easy kills. In that kind of game, it's another vital part of the knowledge. If you can manage your engine better than the other pilot, he will have to reduce power to cool off before you do - allowing you to get E or, if he has E on you, to neutralize his advantage.

Speed Dumping:
If you have a bandit on your six, dropping speed suddenly by any or all of: throttling back, dropping flaps, and dropping landing gear can cause him to overshoot in front of you, giving you a firing solution. Be aware that you have just dumped a lot of E though: if the other pilot didn't have a big speed advantage to begin with he certainly will now (unless he tried to match your speed-dumping efforts). As he passes across your guns, make sure you blast him before he gets clean away - not always an easy thing to do.

An attacking plane may try any or all of the same tricks in order to avoid overshooting a slower target. Personally, I don't like this. OK, it gets you into position on the bandit's six but, if the target subsequently manages to shake you off, you have just blown your E advantage so that, in a same plane matchup, you are now fighting on roughly equal terms. If you are flying different planes, and your plane has inferior turn performance, speed dumping will put you in a co-E dogfight with a better turning plane - you will lose. There are better tactics (ie Boom and Zoom - below).

A slight refinement of the speed-dumping tactic is to keep a 50mph or so advantage, then use a high yo-yo style attack (ie go up a few hundred feet to avoid overshooting, dive down to attack, repeat as necessary). It's probably harder for the bandit to shake you off this way: when you "yo" up, and roll inverted, you can usually adjust your angle of roll to pull down on him wherever he went.

I wouldn't say I never speed dump.. just that it's not usually a good idea. Come back to this when you have learned the basics and feel more confident in judging the tactical situation. To my mind, making speed dumping work is quite an advanced skill.

An all-out Boom and Zoom is almost always a better tactic than any form of speed-dumping. Here it is:

Zen and the Art of Boom and Zoom:
An angles game is all about turning hard with the bandit (ie fighting to get your guns lined up on him, preferably from his six). An energy game is all about gaining a sufficient altitude advantage to start Booming and Zooming.

You get an altitude advantage by making climbing turns when the opponent is making horizontal turns, and you get a speed advantage (which can be converted to altitude with a climbing turn) by making gentle maneuvers while the opponent is making hard turns. You can get both if you are in a more powerful plane.

Basically, BZ is a series of diving attacks on a lower/slower bandit, climbing back up each time to preserve your E.

Before you make a diving attack (the zoom phase), you need to get into position high on the bandit's six and attack in a reasonably steep dive. Trust me.

Don't attack head on - why give him a chance to shoot back? If you see him coming at you for a headshot go back up - but don't go up directly in front of those nasty guns..

As you zoom down to attack, you don't want to press the move too hard. If you see a chance for a shot, take it (try and anticipate where he's going to break and aim for that spot), but DO NOT try to turn with the bandit for long. If you try to turn hard with him, you will burn off your E advantage (speed and drag, remember..). If the bandit is at corner speed, and you are much faster than corner, you haven't a chance in hell of pulling lead for a shot anyway. Go back up for another pass instead. Time for the zen: "those who shoot do not know; those who know do not shoot." All you are really trying to do with each attack run is to make the bandit turn hard to evade (see later). You have to be patient and be prepared to make a series of zoom attacks before getting the killing shot. It can take a while.

When you break off your attack, climb back up in an immelman (the "boom" phase). Be gentle with the stick as you nose up into the climb: pulling high Gs will bleed off some of your E advantage. Once you are on top again, maneuver onto the bandit's high six before making the next zoom attack.

BZ forces the bandit to turn hard to evade your attacks. Thus, he loses some speed and has to dive a little to get it back (if he doesn't keep close to corner he's not going to be able to turn fast enough to evade the next pass). Therefore, after a series of attack runs, he eventually gets pushed right down onto the deck, low and slow. Now, when he turns to evade, he has no height left to dive a little to keep his speed up and he quickly gets too slow to maneuver effectively. He's a sitting duck - time to really go for the kill. In practice, someone usually makes a mistake long before you get to this stage.

If you are not pushing the bandit down you may need to increase the frequency of your attacks. Pull over the top just a little bit harder in your immelmans. Even with a perfect BZ game it takes time: be patient, but don't let him alone for any longer than you have to.

From the other end, the plane being boomed and zoomed first has to evade the attack (try to time your maneuvers to make sure you are near corner speed when the zooming bandit gets into range) then can try to get his guns on the BZer before he escapes back up to altitude. Barrel rolls and scissors are good options to evade and, if you can time it right, these maneuvers can also get your guns onto the attacker's six as he blasts past. However, really good pilots who understand BZ probably won't give you that opportunity.

Note that a very common way for the lower plane to get killed is to chase up for too long, subsequently getting caught nose up and slow when the BZ plane makes his next attack. At slow speed, you can't maneuver effectively and will be unable to evade. In the BZ plane, you should always be on the lookout for an opportunity such as this. Get on it as fast as you can. In the turner, make sure you get your nose down before the other guy.

Relative Plane Performance:
In a matchup, ie in a sweep with two types of plane, one plane is almost always faster and the other turns better. If you are in the faster plane, DO NOT try to dogfight the turner. You will lose. You have to get an E advantage, get into position on your opponent's high six, and then start booming and zooming.

If you are in the turner, you should still try to challenge for the E advantage. You probably won't get it against a good pilot but it makes things tougher for him and takes him longer to get on top. During that extra time he might make a mistake, allowing you to close. If you do get lucky, and get on top in the turner, you are holding all the cards: not only do you have more E but, when you close, your superior turn ability makes it almost impossible for the faster plane to evade your attack (unless you are making a very high speed pass which reduces your maximum turn rate).

Some planes might be relatively slower low but faster up high; maybe they turn comparatively well at slow speeds but very much worse at high speeds. Relative roll rates, acceleration in a dive, and engine power at different altitudes are also significant factors.

There is a lot of data in the EAW manual but there's no substitute for doing some flight testing offline, stopwatch in hand. A good knowledge of the subtleties of relative plane performance, and what tactics to employ in order to capitalize on that information, is vital to success in online sweeps. There's a lot to learn and experiment with but you've got to get "the knowledge" if you want to be an online ace. With good pilots, online fights are like a game of chess - that's what makes it such an absorbing game.

Many pilots have a favorite plane which they fly more than others. Knowing how to squeeze the last drop of performance out of your mount can make all the difference.

 

Marksmanship:
Flying skills are only half of what makes a dangerous pilot. Once you have maneuvered into position you still have to hit the target. Good marksmanship is an essential skill and the only way to learn this is to practice. It's hard at first but you'll get the hang of it.

Conserve Your Ammo:
Since you are playing full real with limited ammo, learn to conserve it. Short bursts of 1 or two seconds are all you need if you are on target. If you are not on target, don't shoot. A quick "peck" can be useful to test your aim. If you do run out of ammo, you can always try to ram!

Range:
Maximum gun range is around 4,000ft but varies slightly with different planes.

At close range, under 1,000ft, more of your rounds will land on target and your guns will do a lot more damage. Some pilots recommend conserving your ammo until you get a close range opportunity like this but I would recommend shooting them down at any range you can, any chance you can get. If you learn to shoot well, you can often tag bandits even at 3,000-4,000ft. In fact, at extreme gun range, many pilots will think they are safe and will stop jinking. That can be an easy kill if you are a good shot.

Use the zoom modes for long range shots - and make sure you've got these somewhere on your stick.

Aiming Your Guns:
Various factors affect exactly where the rounds will land.

The shot starts to fall as soon as you have fired it. If you are flying in a level chase, you have to aim slightly above the bandit in order to take account of the drop - the more so the longer the range. If you are in close drop is not much of a factor.

Different guns have different muzzle velocities which means that the shot falls at different rates. Gravity obviously remains the same but a faster muzzle velocity means the rounds don't have time to fall so far by the time they reach the target. You have to allow for that. Cannon drop much faster than machine guns for example. Unless you are in close, there is often not a lot of point in using cannons and machine guns together since, at long range, they do not hit the same point in space. On the other hand, if you are not quite sure exactly where you are aiming, a wide spread can increase your chances of getting a hit.

When you are shooting at a turning bandit you also have to allow for the fact that, by the time the shot gets to him, he has moved on. You have to aim ahead with a deflection shot (notice how the target in the above illustration is below the gunsight center dot). Exactly how far ahead depends on how hard he is turning, how hard YOU are turning, the range, and how fast he is flying: you need more lead the harder he turns, the harder you turn, the farther away he is, and the faster you are flying. Watch where your rounds are falling and adjust aim accordingly.

When you can get deflection shots at 1,000ft or more you're starting to crack it. In time, you'll get a "feel" for where your shot is going to strike.

It's hard to be a marksman in every plane. Some guns are wing mounted, some are nose mounted. You have to adjust your aim slightly to take account of this. In EAW, I find wing guns need to be aimed a touch higher than nose guns. I'm not sure if that's due to their alignment or to the different muzzle velocities of the planes' armament. Wing guns also give you a wider spread of fire making it easier to get a hit.

Sometimes the bandit will pass quickly across your guns, eg in a scissors fight and you only have a gun solution for a moment or two. It can be hard to judge exactly when to pull the trigger, so start firing just ahead of the target and hold the trigger while he flies through your shot.

Watch Those Smokers!:
Finally, when you do get a good hit, be careful: a smoking plane can still fly around for a while and cause trouble. If you get a pilot kill, or shoot his tail off, he's definitely out the game though.

 

EAW Manual:
There's also a lot of useful information in the EAW manual. It's worth reading carefully.

Intercept:
If you get in close to a big bomber formation you won't survive for long in all that concentrated defensive gunfire. You could try swooping attacks at speed, breaking off with tight turns or barrel rolls: the AI gunners are not very good at hitting a fast turning target. Alternatively, attack from long range: 3,000ft or even 4,000ft. You can get kills even at 4K if you are a good shot. Just ignore the fighters, as far as you can: your mission is to destroy bombers.

 

Escort:
If you are defending bombers, try and stay in "the zone": ie a few thousand feet above and behind the bomber formation. From here, you can dive down to chase off attacking bandits, then zoom back up again as soon as they turn away. A couple of pecks is usually enough to make them break off their attack. Don't chase them for too long or you will get separated from the bombers. Your mission is to defend bombers until they get on target, not to chalk up a bunch of kills.

 

Interdiction:
On a ground attack mission, blast the target but be careful not to get caught in the sights of an AA unit. If you are at risk, hard turns usually get you out of there in one piece. The AI gunners have a tough job of hitting a turning target.

You could try taking the AA out by attacking them first. You need to be a pretty good shot for that: if you don't get them at long range its odds on they'll get you when you close.

 

Fighter Sweep:
Try and keep your wingmen alive in fighter sweeps. If anyone's in trouble, attack the bandit who's chasing them until he breaks off or you get him. This can often be an easy kill.

Keep on top of the battle, if you can. If you have more E than the bandits you are free to get offensive rather than worrying about where the next attack is coming from.

Medals:
Medals are awarded for a series of exceptional missions with a consistently high points score. That usually means doing just enough to achieve the mission aim, then breaking off on a solo quest to wreak havoc on ground targets such as trains and oil storage tanks until you run out of ammo.

Winning Medals in EAW is a reward for a job well done. Here is some brief information you will want to know about how to win them.

• To earn a medal, you must reach certain goals. For the Allies, you must achieve the mission goal, and accumulate sufficient points for a particular medal. For the Germans, medals are based on kill total.
  
  
• Each side has certain basic parameters which must be met.
  They are:
  1) you must fly with "unlimited ammo" off.
  2) you must fly with "invulnerable" off.
  
  You change these items in EAW by clicking on the "Configure Game" tab in the opening screen of EAW. From there, click on "Difficulty", and check the various parameters listed. Click on "Combat", and set the various parameters.
  
  
• You will earn more points for a given mission if you fly with the various settings turned on their hardest values. Try flying with all the values in the flight section at "realistic" or "on". (you do not need full realism to obtain medals however) If you want turn everything to easy, go right ahead.
  
  
• Next, you must accomplish the mission goal without excessive squadron losses. If you are on a bomber escort mission, most of the bombers must make it to their target. Your personal kills are secondary to the bombers success in this case. On a fighter sweep, the juicy ground targets will have to wait until the enemy breaks off and heads for home.

• Distinguished Flying Cross (or Bars) 300 to 600 points and a mission complete.
• Military Cross (or Bars) 500 to 800 points and a mission complete plus DFC 2 Bar.
  
• Victoria Cross (or Bars) 900 plus points and a mission complete plus MC 2 Bar.
  
• Distinguished Service Order (or Bars) 100 to 800 points and something must be done, outstanding. I do not know what, but something. It might be points plus time, I don't know what it is, but its not random.
  

• 5 kills and MC (mission complete) Iron Cross 2nd class
• 10 kills and MC Iron Cross 1st class
  
• 15 kills and MC German Cross
  
• 25 kills and MC Knights Cross
  
• 50 kills and MC KC with Oak leaves
  
• 100 kills and MC KC with Oak leave and crossed Swords
  
• 150 kills and MC KC with OL, CS, and Diamonds
  

Read on for a detailed guide to winning all the major EAW medals.


The Medal of Honor
The following article was written by Reese Moore. This man has alot of European Air War flight time. Reese has devoted a lot of time to doing basic target research. This information should be very valuable to you in your quest for the "Medal of Honor".

Winning the Medal of Honor requires a few prerequisites: at least one Silver Star, excellent (selective) marksmanship, patience, and a target-rich mission (a little luck wouldn't hurt either). The first step on the road to the MH is selecting a type of aircraft. I have been lucky enough to win the "big one" in all three American aircraft:P-47C, P-38J(two awards), and P-51(awards in B and D models). I would suggest starting out in the Thunderbolt, but one has to choose the plane that excites and fires the imagination, then put up with and work on the nuances and peculiarities of that particular aircraft. I will relate here a "play by play" account of the mission to Juterbog on 13 Jul 44, as a member of the 356th Squadron, 354th Group, flying the P-51B. This was an escort mission, as were all but five of the previous 34 missions in this career. I start out as a major, so I have more control and still look forward to promotions. To date in this career I have an Air Medal with two bars, DSC with one bar, DFC with two bars, and one Silver Star. I should mention that with only one Silver Star the points total must be fairly high to get the MH. More than likely one will get the second and third Silver Stars, then be in line for the Medal of Honor with a points total somewhere between 2500 and 3000 points. None of my five Medals of Honor have been below 2700 points. Others may have had different results, but this has been my experience.

On the runway, Alt N to rendezvous and Alt N to target--enemy fighters are sighted as the bombers radio "Ten minutes to target." I tell the squadron to drop tanks but hold my own. I then command them to attack bandits. I dive under the incoming enemy fighters toward the target. On the way another gaggle of Ju 88s appears. I fly into the middle of their formation to break them up but fire no rounds. At 100 points per aircraft they are no bargain. I am trusting in my squadron, which has five aces, to do the job. Tab/7/3, "Twenty miles, vector 090." The target is an airfield and I don't intend to attack it, but I'm hoping the town will contain other targets. Tab/7/3, "Ten miles to target, vector 090." I hit snap rear view and see the squadron in a massive furball with the Ju 88s. The second enemy formation has not gained enough altitude to harass the bombers. Tab/7/3, "Five miles to target, vector 090." I hit the D button on my Sidewinder Pro and cycle through the enemy targets. There's nothing in the town and I decide not to bother with the airfield--there are four Lt.AAAs. Circling the airfield at a safe distance until the bombers approach, I hear one call for help and see one line of chutes. Twenty-six will make the target, enough for an excellent rating--now I can hunt.

I head out of town on a heading of 270 and eventually intersect a railroad. I strike out on a heading of 253 and come to a small town with an oil plant. As I approach I hit 2x magnification to check for Lt.AAAs; none are present, so I bear down on the two oil storages tanks and collect my 200 points. Back on the tracks at 253, altitude 2500 ft. A train appears ahead; I cycle the D button and discover the makeup of the train--engine,tender,flatbed guns,oil tanker,boxcar, flatbed tanks. I dive on the train with the flatbed guns highlighted, a two-count burst destroys the guns and separates the engine and tender from the rest of the cars. Now I'm free to make perpendicular passes and take out the oil tanker and tanks with very short bursts. The boxcars, engine, and tender are left for other hunters. Twenty miles down the tracks and another train appears--engine,tender,flatbed guns,flatbed,flatbed guns,boxcar,boxcar,flatbed guns,oil tanker,flatbed guns. It's not worth it. I climb and flair off to port until I'm clear, then head back up the tracks. Another town, but there's only an airfield--not worth the chance. Dots in the distance, it's another train. This time it's good, six oil tankers and five flatbed tanks with only two flatbed guns, one behind the tender and one at the end of the train. I put a two-count burst into the rear guncar at 3500 ft. This one has to be destroyed for sure. It goes up nice. I swing up to the second guncar and at 2000 ft let fly a short burst, nice fireball and the engine and tender go on their merry way. I circle to pick off those they left behind, leaving only a couple flatbeds and boxcars.

On down the tracks to another town with a factory and one oil storage. I can't touch the factory but pick up the 100pts for the storage tank, then speed away from the tower of black smoke, back to the tracks. Shift A and Page Up(2x) until I sight another train. The next one has three flatbed guns but several oil tankers and flatbed tanks. I can't pass it up. I hit the first guncar hard and it goes up, shoot through the smoke at the second, hit an oil tanker, so more smoke, go for the third and nail him just as he's returning fire. Just when I'm about to congratulate myself I hear a heavy "thunk." I've taken a round but survived (a rarity) a flatbed gun overflight. I jink like crazy and come around again to get that gun. At 3500 ft, he's history and the rest of the tankers and tanks are mine. Another town appears and I pick up three more oil tanks and two attending LtAAAs. There's another train ahead and I have that feeling on the back of my neck that I'm getting low on ammo so I sweep the train, guns blazing, with my thumb and forefinger over the Alt and N keys. I knock out all eleven cars so apparently I have some ammo left. Another large town--four more oil storage tanks. There's a railhead on the far side of the town, so up the tracks I go.

Now it's nervous time, another train. I'm 45 minutes into this mission and have to make a decision--do I want to take any more chances. Do I have the points I need? I decide to go until the ammo's gone. I dive on the train, thumb and forefinger poised over the keys, finger on the trigger. I light up a flatbed gun and three tankers when the guns go silent--Alt N and home. I bring her in nice and easy, no auto pilot for this mission. She's down and parked. The Y/N appears. With a little apprehension and a little confidence I reach for the key--Colonel Pop Moore is awarded the Medal of Honor! Total points--3280.

I had two reflys on this mission. One was a flatbed gun mishap, and the other heavy AAA, only the second time in hundreds of hours of EAW that I have succumbed to heavy AAA(wish I could say the same for the light stuff). To get top medals one has to fly outside the tactical parameters. Being unorthodox and improvising is what it takes. If one is on an escort mission deep into Germany, one has to range. Missions to the French coast are the best, especially if they contain V-1 sites. My strategy for this mission was to head back to the Calais area and search for pockets of V-1s. Fortunately, I ran into enough trains and oil storage tanks to get the points I needed. The mission took about an hour to complete. I did have good luck on this mission. With the exception of the flatbed gun hit, I had no trouble. There's always a chance one will be jumped by fighters and the need to defend will override the medals quest, but that makes it worthwhile. If medals were as regular as promotions the game would be unbearably dull. Some may find my method of selectively shooting train cars to be tedious. Given the amount of ammo in the P-51B, and the possibility that I could lose half that ammo to a jam at any turn, makes selective targets a necessity. With the P-47, one can afford to "sweep" trains. In my Medal of Honor run over Wissant in the Thunderbolt I shot up only one train, but had enough ammo to take out several V-1 sites and airfields (plus everything else in town) to get the needed points.

Here are some general guidelines that may help conserve ammo and get your points totals up. I generally don't bother with LtAAA unless they are protecting targets that are worth the risk. Three oil storage tanks guarded by one LtAAA is worth it. That's 300 points (325 with the AAA).Airfields with four AAA are, for me, a 50/50 proposition. If I have 2000 points under my belt there's no way I'm going to attack an airfield that heavily defended. Patience is the key. One must fly on--there will always be other targets. Concerning trains; leave the flatbed cars and boxcars. They are worth 20 points apiece. For the same ammo one can take out one can take out oil tankers and flatbed tanks for 50 points apiece. These cars are the best value in EAW. Oil storage tanks are good also (100pts), but one can take out three tanker cars for the same ammo and get 150 pts. Pass on columns of half tracks and staff cars. Sure, it's fun to fire them up, but they are only worth 15 and 10 points respectively, and theres always the chance they'll get lucky and put one in the engine. I never bother with warehouses; they take way too much 50 caliber for the 50 pts they provide. Radar towers are good, but take quite a bit of ammo before they fold, as does the radar station. The towers and station are worth 400 points if one takes out all three. As a fighter pilot it may seem almost unnatural to avoid combat with enemy aircraft, but in the reality of EAW this is the way to go. Don't despair; there will be many chances to "mix it up" with those 109s and 190s. It has been my experience that EAW does not like to give consecutive awards. In all my flying I have less than a dozen back-to-back medals. After you've received an award, take the next mission to get your kill count up. I believe strike and interdiction missions are the best for top awards. This way one has control of one's own destiny. On fighter sweeps one must count on the squadron to shoot down enough enemy aircraft to get an excellent mission rating. In my experience there won't be any medals for ratings of "good" or "average." Escort missions are not too bad, but don't invest too much time until the bombers have made it to the target. The only way to be sure is to count the planes in the formation, but one can generally tell from the bomber's radio messages how many losses they've sustained.

This treatise is intended primarily for pilots new to EAW, or for old hands who have been following classic tactical doctrine (doing their job). For those pilots out there who are disturbed by the gaping hole in the middle of their medals board--I hope this will help. These are tactics for getting medals in EAW and that's all. I would like to quote Stevie Kennedy,"...so all those experts out there who have actually flown a P51 or whatever can get off my case right now."  See you over the Channel. -Reese Moore.

Tips which are not described in the Official User Manual (or Official Readme's).

An Interdiction Against A Sea Convoy:
Usually, when you choose an interdiction in a single mission, a truck or a train will be selected as the target.
However, there are places where a sea convoy is selected as a target.
Defensive power will be stronger than that of a truck or a train.
If the AAA from a destroyer is severe, you should attack the destroyer first.
A sea convoy is selected as a target at the following locations:
Southampton, Portsmouth, Dover, Harwich, LeTouquet, Ostend, Emden, Wilhelmshaven, Stralsund

How To Setup An Attack Against A Tank:
Usually, a tank is not selected as a target in single mission, but here is how you can get a tank to appear:
1. Select the year in 1945.
2. Select the mission type (except for an interdiction type. If you choose interdiction, a truck usually appears instead of a tank. However, if you choose another city as a target, a tank appears.)
A tank will appear at the following places:
Aachen, Duren, Trier, the west of Deelen, and the north-east of Luxembourg

Player Team vs AI Team:
When doing annihilation offline, it is mostly to leave an unreliable ally AI and to fight with enemy aircraft only by oneself. Also, in case of annihilation online, players are often divided into German army and coalition army.
So, I will try to annihilate the enemy with AI only enemy team with a team of only players without attaching unreliable ally AI.
1, The host adds a parameter NoAI = 1 to [NETOPTION] of eaw.ini .
2, the player selects the same model if all of them can be in the same country .
The parameter NoAI = 1 is normally for not allowing AI machines to appear.
However, since it means that there are no enemies, all enemies will appear on the AI ​​plane instead.
The parameter NoAI = 1 can also be used for annihilation of air in "only players vs player".
Caution!
Even if NoAI = 1, AI machines may come up due to the adjustment of the number of units and the size of the battle.

Making Sure You Eject Safely:
Certain escape is required especially for pilot carriers. If a mission fails, if you want to continue after you have died, you have to start the battle again with Re-Fly. However, although if one succeeds in Ejecting in enemy territory, they become a POW.
If you fly horizontally above 1000 meters above the ground and your speed is less than 300 km / h , the parachute usually opens after Ejecting, but if the tail is damaged and the nose of the plane does not rise at high speed, most pilots will hit the plane when Ejecting, most of the time.
So, Try this:
1, pull the control stick back all the way.
2, the engine needs to be stopped/off.
3, if possible apply full Flaps.
Doing those three steps as quickly as possible, Eject when the speed falls. If speed increases for some reason, Eject quickly without hesitation.

Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory:
Normally, if you select fighter sweep with a single mission, the target airspace will be over Enemy Territory.
So I will show you how to use annihilation and be over Allie Territory.

(In the case of the German army)
1, set the duty to fighter sweep and the date to 1945.
2, Set the target area to the continental city of Europe.
3, Right click on the date and set it in 1944.
4, Set up the base.
 
(In the case of Allied Army)
1, set the duty as fighter sweep and the date as 1944.
2, set the target area as the city of the European Continent to become the Allied Forces in 1945 .
3, click on the date and set it in 1945.
4, Set up the base.

Note: If you increase the scale of the anti-aircraft fire, you will also receive aid from the ground.

Bombing A Friendly Facility:
This is similar to "Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory" listed above, just a bombing mission, the other steps are the same. If you destroy your goal, your score will be negative. Let others be destroyed.

 

Stop Attacking Friendly Units:
This is similar to "Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory" listed above, just a deterrent attack mission, the other steps are the same. If this also destroys the target, the score will be negative. Let others be destroyed.

Strange Escort:
This is similar to "Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory" listed above, just a escorting mission, the other steps are the same. We will escort ally bombers heading for bombing ally facilities.

Strange Interception:
This is similar to "Air Annihilation In Friendly Territory" listed above, but the procedure changes slightly.

(In the case of the German army)
1, intercept duties, set the age to 1944.
2, set the target area as the city of the European Continent to become the Allied Forces in 1945 .
3, click on the age and set it in 1945.
4, Set up the base.

(In the case of Allied Army)
1, Intercept mission, set the age in 1945.
2, Set the target area to the continental city of Europe.
3, Right click on the age and set it in 1944 .
4, Set up the base.

We will intercept enemy bombers arriving at bombing enemy facilities. Let's also pay attention to anti-aircraft fire in the enemy's airspace.

Easter Egg: P-38 Movie:
All movie files in EAW are compressed in a file called "Movies.cdf".
When you extract movie files from "Movies.cdf", you will find a movie file which is called "P38.smk" in "Movies.cdf".
This is a movie about the P-38 with narration!
Usually, "P38.smk" cannot be seen from "view objects" in a menu.
Here's how to watch "P38.smk":
1. Download "cdfextractor".
2. Extract "P38.smk" from "Movies.cdf".
3. Download "The RAD Video Tools" which is a player for *.smk type.
4. Play "P38.smk" using "The RAD Video Tools".

Easter Egg: Men:
Here are the steps you need to follow to see the Easter Egg:
1. Make sure your Graphics settings are high enough so that you can see men running from buildings when you destroy them.
2. Select a mission and as soon as you are airborne find a building to attack.
3. When the building blows up the men should run out.
4. Pause the game and type in the following (including capitals and spaces):  Friends From Out Of Town
5. Now take a look at the men running from the building. Notice anything strange?

Rockets:
In EAW, some plane models can be equipped with rocket bullets for use. The most exciting missions to use them in is with the interception of B17 and B24 by German aircraft. They have tremendous destructive power when one hits; you can surely break apart the enemy aircraft. Equipping Rockets is even possible with multiplayer.

German Planes Rocket Types:
Panzerschreck
(Panzer shreds)
Plane model: Fw 190 A - 4
This can not damage unless it makes physical contact. Start shooting about 1000 m before the target, aiming somewhat above target! If it works it can hit the enemy plane and give a fatal injury (falling apart in a moment). They are really for ground attack, but it is quite effective even for aircraft. Number of loading 12 shots.

R4M Rocket
Plane model: Me 262
With time limit fuse, it explodes in about 12 seconds after launch and damages the surrounding area. Perhaps without direct hit, it would probably be easier to use this way for intercepting heavy bombs. The shooting distance differs depending on the relative speed with respect to the enemy aircraft, but it exploses just about 6100 m from the front and from about 4200 m if it is from the rear. The number of loading is 24 shots.

WGR 21 Rocket
Plane model: Bf 109 G - 6 : Bf 110 G - 4 : Fw 190 A
This also has a timed fuse and explodes in about 6 seconds after launch. Bf 109 G - 6, Fw 190 A and Bf 110 G - 4 are mounted in only two and four, respectively.

Hit With A Rocket Bullet!:
Me. 262 fires a lot of R4M rocket bullets at once, but this type of Rocket explodes after a certain period of time. So let's explode them just inside the formation of enemy bombers. Hopefully it can damage multiple enemy planes.
 
(Situation) Aircraft itself: 500 km / h, enemy bombers: 230 km / h, distance: 3200 m

So launch the rockets with those speeds and distances from into the back of the target bomber! The result is shot down! (Although use the parameters as a approximation, reference guide only. For an example how the situation can be different; If the speed of the enemy aircraft is slower, or if its flying towards you, the Rockets need to be fired from a further distance away to time it correctly.

Technical Info:
Rocket Attacks are intensive and there is some difficulty in hitting targets, especially airborne ones, with the various rockets in EAW. I will attempt to explain some basic concepts of rocket attacks, and the effects of gravity.

Rockets in EAW are unguided. They go in the direction that the plane is pointing. If the plane has any yaw or pitch angle, then that will also affect the rockets flight path. The rockets are immediately affected by gravity. Their forward velocity, for all practical purposes is separate from their downward velocity, or "drop".

V1 Flying Targets:
They come over in sets of 3. I could never get the first one so always concentrated on the 2nd usually coming up behind me. They are a real bear to get but it is possible. (Also if you are flying a campaign, this is always a good time to rest your other pilots and go hunting for them on your own). The AI pilots don't seem to be of any help with V1's, even if a second group is between the target and the incoming V1.

At the altitude they came over, low (5000' or less), most contemporary aircraft could not catch them without a diving attack as their speed is in the 350-425 mph range.

Getting the first wave of V-1s that are flying too fast (seems upper 400's(mph) requires a "diver" intercept in single missions, (this is basically a Real Life technique; diving attacks). Also the following two waves are often slower and easier to catch up to. Heres what to do:

1. Fly the Tempest! (There were 11,  V1 Real Life aces with 20 or more kills. The top ace had 60 1/3 - S/L J. Berry, DFC and he flew a Tempest.) (Apparently a SpitXIV or Typhoon could catch them.) (In Real Life the V-1s were also intercepted with souped up Mustangs. They cranked the boost pressure on the supercharger. Lost several planes and a couple of pilots when the engines failed.)
2. Don't try to follow the first wave...usually (especially if you "Alt-N") you are too late to catch up with them.
3. Try to orbit on-station at around 10,000ft. or so. (flying high you'll have more speed to bounce them).
4. Making a good guess as to where it would appear (or you can cheat; use the target key to scan for oncoming V-1's. Just pretend you are getting updates from radar stations tracking incoming V-1's :| but consider this...You won't get much help from Ground Control radar stations).
5. When you find one try and time your diving attack to begin just before the V-1 reaches your position...then slam the throttle forward and start a medium shallow dive.
6. Slip in behind.
7. Fire in short bursts...try some "pot-shots" from longer range than you think you should...if you hit the little bugger it will make a BIG bang. Which brings up the next piece of advice...Don't get TOO close! (The Tempest pilots in Real Life did catch them in stern chases though, I remember reading that they learned not to be too close as the consequent blow up usually blew back on them. Then there are the guys that flew alongside and tipped them over with their wingtips).

[END]