Lo all
Sorry at the lateness of the report. We had an excellent practice at the weekend with Coldfire, Bry-Z and Likeorob turning out for blue wing with support well beyond the call of duty from Usafcar (still playing at 5am).
In the main we practiced winging up and turn fighting after cold passes. There were good dog fighting skills on show from all pilots but communication needs more practice. Calling out targets, letting each other know when they're down/target down and general information on situational awareness are priorities.
I do feel we need to practice the skills of identifying and sticking with wingmen when flying in team events. This can mean communicating who you are winging up with to the pilot nearest to you. Other squad pilots always seem to hunt in pairs, each communicating with each other, picking up the others wingman or generally covering each others 6's. I want us to practice this until we are as good as them.
Really enjoyed this one but still want more attendance from the other members of Blue wing. If you cant turn up send an email or post on the forums to let us know. I don't expect people to be able to make every practice but I do expect you to let us know whats happening!
Thanks to all those supporting this practice session.
Laterz
BSS_Zarn
Blue Wing Leader
BSS Archives
Post a replyBlue wing practice 01/11/07
7 posts
Thank you Zarn for your report on the Blue wing practice. I use these reports for attendance and other factors. As our squad grows I'm looking to find the dedicated pilots to those who are more recreational.
I'm glad to see that the turn ut for practices is steadily growing though be it a slow pace. IF we keep our practices consistent and on a regular schedule, I'm sure that more and more will start to show up.
I try to follow up your post and e-mails with e-mails of my own. It looks as though some of my e-mail address that I have are no longer valid. So I'm going to have to up date them. I got a lot of returns on my mail that I sent.
In addition, I also noticed that the squads we practice with and fly against in matches seem to work in pairs. This is something that I want to institute in our squad, but there is a little controversy over that issue.
The way I see it is, if its good for the USAF, USMC, USN, then it should be just fine for us too. The good thing about us is that in a game when we get killed, we get to come alive again and go find our wingman again. In real life we don't get that option.
Actually Zarn, I was going to pick you up as a wingman last Sunday because it seemed I was always some how near you. I also wanted Top_Gun to work with Tbar last Sunday. I believe if we try pairing up we might do a little better, but the communication has to be there. One pilot need to attack the other needs to fly cover, but they have to communicate.
FD was killing us with this method last Sunday. I notice that Tzu and Skydancer were paired up, I noticed that Psy and Maddog were working together and that Tbone and 68_WTR were paired together. And why do I know this??? Because, when I attacked one the other was quickly on my 6!!!! This match was a lot of fun and we are going to have more.
Hopefully, you guys can see the reason now why we are having the Wild Wings Western Shootout. Have you looked to see how its set up??? One pair of pilots on each base. 2 pairs from red wing and 2 from gold wing. All planes will be available, if it is one we will likely use in real competition.
That means the following planes will be available. La_7, Yak_3, BK_109_ K4, Spitfire IX and XIV. I might even have the P-51 as another option.
Ok, I kinda went off subject and long in my speech, but I think everyone gets the drift of the message.
JoKeR
I'm glad to see that the turn ut for practices is steadily growing though be it a slow pace. IF we keep our practices consistent and on a regular schedule, I'm sure that more and more will start to show up.
I try to follow up your post and e-mails with e-mails of my own. It looks as though some of my e-mail address that I have are no longer valid. So I'm going to have to up date them. I got a lot of returns on my mail that I sent.
In addition, I also noticed that the squads we practice with and fly against in matches seem to work in pairs. This is something that I want to institute in our squad, but there is a little controversy over that issue.
The way I see it is, if its good for the USAF, USMC, USN, then it should be just fine for us too. The good thing about us is that in a game when we get killed, we get to come alive again and go find our wingman again. In real life we don't get that option.
Actually Zarn, I was going to pick you up as a wingman last Sunday because it seemed I was always some how near you. I also wanted Top_Gun to work with Tbar last Sunday. I believe if we try pairing up we might do a little better, but the communication has to be there. One pilot need to attack the other needs to fly cover, but they have to communicate.
FD was killing us with this method last Sunday. I notice that Tzu and Skydancer were paired up, I noticed that Psy and Maddog were working together and that Tbone and 68_WTR were paired together. And why do I know this??? Because, when I attacked one the other was quickly on my 6!!!! This match was a lot of fun and we are going to have more.
Hopefully, you guys can see the reason now why we are having the Wild Wings Western Shootout. Have you looked to see how its set up??? One pair of pilots on each base. 2 pairs from red wing and 2 from gold wing. All planes will be available, if it is one we will likely use in real competition.
That means the following planes will be available. La_7, Yak_3, BK_109_ K4, Spitfire IX and XIV. I might even have the P-51 as another option.
Ok, I kinda went off subject and long in my speech, but I think everyone gets the drift of the message.
JoKeR
Thanks for replying Joker. I too have the experience of attacking targets only to be picked off by their wingman. I believe this is because if I don't have an identified "partner" I may as well be flying independently as in FFA. This is how it feels sometimes when we are in match situations for me. Loads of avoidable point losses as its just as important not to get shot down as getting kills in my book.
I dont think we have to wing with the same person necessarily but I think we should communicate who we are pairing up with on take off. I need to have confidence that if I say "I'm in on whoever" that someone is watching the situation, calling out threats or taking care of the targets cover. This is what I observe other squads doing against us. What do others think? Comments please.
Zarn
I dont think we have to wing with the same person necessarily but I think we should communicate who we are pairing up with on take off. I need to have confidence that if I say "I'm in on whoever" that someone is watching the situation, calling out threats or taking care of the targets cover. This is what I observe other squads doing against us. What do others think? Comments please.
Zarn
Yes Zarn, You are correct. If you'll remember in a couple of my past post here in the forums, that is the reason for us to hold practices. First off when I divided the squad into 3 wing teams the objective was/is to fly together so you can learn one another strengths and weaknesses. Get familiar with each others flying style. To start small and then slowly start grouping everyone back together.
Somehow, we get off track in our practice sessions. The last few practices with Red wing, with the exception of last Tuesdays flying circus, we start out with a little formation flying. This basic little task would seem easy, but it is not. It would be a lot easier in real life with real planes than it is in the game.
Formation flying serves a purpose even though it is boring and seems useless. If you can get 4 to 6 plane flying in such a tight formation say no more than 500 feet apart or less, how do you think it would look on the radar screen. With one tight formation it may look as there may be only two or three planes, then all of a sudden a pair of attacking enemy just got gang banged by six well trained pilots. This is with just a plain old every day simple formation.
We do have manuals and stuff for people to use, Just pick something out and go with it. I took and printed a copy of the flight manual and put it into a loose leaf notebook.
Its the small steps the lead to bigger things in life. We've got a long way to go, but I think we are geeting there a little faster than expected.
Keep Up the Good Work Zarn!
JoKeR!
Somehow, we get off track in our practice sessions. The last few practices with Red wing, with the exception of last Tuesdays flying circus, we start out with a little formation flying. This basic little task would seem easy, but it is not. It would be a lot easier in real life with real planes than it is in the game.
Formation flying serves a purpose even though it is boring and seems useless. If you can get 4 to 6 plane flying in such a tight formation say no more than 500 feet apart or less, how do you think it would look on the radar screen. With one tight formation it may look as there may be only two or three planes, then all of a sudden a pair of attacking enemy just got gang banged by six well trained pilots. This is with just a plain old every day simple formation.
We do have manuals and stuff for people to use, Just pick something out and go with it. I took and printed a copy of the flight manual and put it into a loose leaf notebook.
Its the small steps the lead to bigger things in life. We've got a long way to go, but I think we are geeting there a little faster than expected.
Keep Up the Good Work Zarn!
JoKeR!
another thing to do is to watch Fd_Skydancer in the freindlys we have.. i have observed many a time that he was picking us off one by one as we got to concentrated on one man.. he would swoop down, kill us then run for cover... it was a well thought plan that has to be watched everytime we face FD or any other squad..
i bet if any of you recorded that FD match you could find out what i and zarn and joker were talking about.. Recordings are very useful
i bet if any of you recorded that FD match you could find out what i and zarn and joker were talking about.. Recordings are very useful
Yes Top_Gun you are correct, and I would bet that 8 time out of 10 the person we were fixated when Skydancer attacked was TZU. These guys work as a wingteam almost exclusively. Next time we fly against FD in a friendly, have a wing man with you. 1 So when you attack the other can be tracking the Skies for Skydancer. He will most likely be the higher plane.
JoKeR
JoKeR
copy and salute Joker x/o
TopGun
TopGun