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Sometimes you're the windshield

ChiefPilot

Well Known Member
...and sometimes you're the bug. Today I was the bug.

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Having gone vertical at the merge, the RV lost sight briefly but re-acquired as it pulled vertical. The Pitts turned obliquely, and the RV adjusted accordingly. Pulling through the buffet across the top, the RV and the Pitts completed another circle at which time the Pitts executed a vertical reversal. Being lured into following the Pitts in a slow-speed turning fight, the RV attempted to follow (mistake #1) but had insufficient energy over the top to wait for the Pitts (mistake #2). Coming off the top, the Pitts capitalized on this mistake and obtained a guns tracking solution.

The amazing thing is that I knew how this was going to play out just after going vertical. At that point, it was only a matter of time until I heard the "guns guns guns" call on the radio. Doh!
 
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We thought long and hard about how to do this, actually. Lots of reading, learning, and discussions with .mil trained pilots. We started with the information presented in "Every Man a Tiger", but have since adjusted our rules based on the Naval Air Training Command "Basic Fighter Manuvering / Section Engaged Manuvering - T-45 Strike" pub and adjusting speeds and distances for light aircraft speeds.

I don't have the rulesheet in front me (it's at the hangar), but off the top of my head:

  • Briefing required (pre and post)
  • 1v1 only.
  • Daylight only.
  • VFR w/7 miles visibility or greater
  • Legal aerobatic airspace (4nm away from airway, etc.)
  • 4,500' hard deck
  • 100' bubble minimum
  • Constant radio calls
    • Call tally before turning inbound for the merge
    • Call tally again after rolling inbound for the merge
    • "blind", "continue", "knock it off" as appropriate
    • "ballistic" when low speed (50 kts in the RV)
    • "knock it off" for any reason (stranger, hard deck, bingo fuel, etc.)
  • No blind lead turns
  • Rear-quarter only attacks (behind the 3/9 line)
 
Ah, the classic SPAD vs Fokker Triplane pairing. One is faster and climbs/dives better, while the other has a better turn rate and smaller turn radius. Chief, you tried to fight the Fokker's fight (except this Fokker is flying a Pitts). :D

Thanks for the debrief, Chief, you guys must have had a real blast. :cool:
 
  • VFR w/7 miles visibility or greater

Chief,
On a serious note, I strongly urge you to add a few words to your weather training rule:

- VFR/VMC with 7 miles visibility or greater, and an accurately discernible horizon.

Reason: Through the years, the Air Force, Navy, and Marines have lost dozens of aircraft and aircrews to special disorientation and misorientation during air combat maneuvering with visibility that met your current criteria. However, without a discernible horizon (which we 2-dimensional creatures rely on peripherally to maintain our up/down awareness), they lost control or even flew into the ground not knowing they were in a dive. By "accurate," I call attention to cloud formations that can present a false horizon, which are just as disorienting.

Fight hard, fight safe, have fun, and remember: I'm mere months from finishing "Kelli Girl" and pitching into the fight. :cool:
 
Chief,
On a serious note, I strongly urge you to add a few words to your weather training rule:

- VFR/VMC with 7 miles visibility or greater, and an accurately discernible horizon.

Reason: Through the years, the Air Force, Navy, and Marines have lost dozens of aircraft and aircrews to special disorientation and misorientation during air combat maneuvering with visibility that met your current criteria. However, without a discernible horizon (which we 2-dimensional creatures rely on peripherally to maintain our up/down awareness), they lost control or even flew into the ground not knowing they were in a dive. By "accurate," I call attention to cloud formations that can present a false horizon, which are just as disorienting.

Great clarification - thanks! I don't do acro without a defined horizon for those same reasons - it should be codified as such for BFM as well.

Fight hard, fight safe, have fun, and remember: I'm mere months from finishing "Kelli Girl" and pitching into the fight. :cool:

Outstanding! When in doubt, put your lift vector on him and pull! :)
 
Do you have any video of the fights?

Some. This flight was the first one where we had a camera that didn't have a 170? wide field of view and the results are much better than we've had previously. I have a couple of GoPros, which with their wide field of view, don't work so well. The frame above was from a video taken by a head-mounted Replay HD cam with a 110? field of view.
 
If all else fails, just keep him airborne for another five minutes and he'll run out of fuel. #PittsProblems

:D
 
Awesome post!

Love the pic and the account of the battle. Nice to see some other like-minded folks having fun the same way that I would like to when my RV is finished. I would gladly attend a class for basic dog-fighting tactics in an RV to learn how to do this sort of thing safely, if such a class were ever conducted.

Any thoughts about mounting a laser system on an RV like some of these other outfits flying the L-39s, T-6s, and T-34s are doing?

Sorry all you dedicated formation flyers, but I would rather spend my time learning how to dog fight like these guys are doing than flying in formation all day long.

Check your six!
 
Any thoughts about mounting a laser system on an RV like some of these other outfits flying the L-39s, T-6s, and T-34s are doing?

Not a laser system, but something cheaper/easier that accomplishes the same goal (sans the automated smoke). It's a pet project I've been working on that is showing some promise.

Edited to add
Sorry all you dedicated formation flyers, but I would rather spend my time learning how to dog fight like these guys are doing than flying in formation all day long.
I wouldn't sell formation skills short - I think they (and aerobatic skills) are pretty important to the point of being a pre-requisite. Formation flying all day long might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it builds skills in being able to identify position, closure rates, and precision aircraft control relative to a point other than the horizon (among other things). Aerobatic skills are a must - perhaps moreso in RVs than in a modern (or even WWII) fighter. Airspeed and load factor limitations must be strictly observed lest you bend or break the airplane (or worse).

For me, it was kind of like getting an instrument ticket long ago - at first, flying on the gauges was hard but it's something that must be second nature to complete an IFR flight safely. Formation flying is like that for rat racing - it needs to be second nature, something you do almost automatically.

PS - I'd welcome input from the experienced folks here on VAF. Lots of learning opportunities here I think and I'd like to take advantage of them if/when possible!
 
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...and today I got to be the windshield.

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The Pitts and RV engaged in a co-operative merge at 5500' AGL (6500' MSL), with the Pitts beginning with a horizontal break turn to its left. The RV responded with a slightly oblique break to the right, forming the basis for a one circle fight. Paying close attention to airspeed and AoA to extract the maximum amount of turn performance, the RV was inside the Pitts' turn circle after the first 180º. The Pitts responded with a low yo-yo but the RV rolled in, keeping its lift vector pointed directly at the Pitts while continuing to hold at corner speed and pulling to the buffet. The Pitts did not see the RV where it was expected to be and resumed a left-hand turn thus placing the RV directly behind it. The RV switched to pure pursuit to close the gap and called guns. Elapsed time from merge to guns call was thirty two seconds.

It seemed both much longer and much shorter :cool:


ETA: Our training rules and such for those who are interested in how we fly: Link
 
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Bryan,
When you get your project finished come down to 1v6 and let?s have a go at it. I lost my sparring partner and formation wingman due to a health issue five years ago but I thrive on acro, fighting and formation flying. My dog still hunts. The MOA down here is perfect for our activity.
 
... The frame above was from a video taken by a head-mounted Replay HD cam with a 110º field of view.
I really like my Replay's!

This is the rig I made, it screws into the tie-down fitting and might work great for that kind of playing. One camera is pointing forward and the other aft.

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