Fighter Combat

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS 83direction). Although the engagement was determined rather quickly herebecause of the large disparity in speed, in more evenly matched situationsthe crisscrossing of the flat scissors may continue for several cycles beforeone fighter gains a significant advantage.This maneuver is best analyzed in phases: the nose-to-nose turn, thereversal, and the lead turn. Each of these phases normally is repeated inorder during each cycle of the flat scissors.During the nose-to-nose phase each pilot attempts to get the nose of hisaircraft pointed at the opponent first to produce flight-path separationinside the other's turn which cannot be taken away. In general, the sloweror tighter-turning fighter will win this phase, as illustrated in Figure 2-13.The flat scissors tends to draw fighters closer and closer together, so speedusually remains the determining factor in the nose-to-nose phase as long asthe scissors maneuver continues. To gain advantage during this phase, afighter should decelerate as quickly as possible.After one fighter has generated some separation, it must reverse andlead-turn its opponent in order to gain further advantage. Reversal techniqueand timing are critical to success in the scissors. First, the rollingreversal should be as rapid as possible. This usually involves unloading theaircraft and applying full roll controls, as described in the Appendix. Eachfraction of a second during the reversal the aircraft is traveling essentiallyin a straight line, wasting valuable turning time and decreasing hard-wonseparation. A significant roll-performance advantage can negate a substantialspeed differential.The timing of the reversal determines the TCA at the overshoot, withan early reversal resulting in lower TCA and subsequently greater angularadvantage (lower AOT) later in the maneuver. The reversal point alsocontrols the nose-tail separation at the overshoot, however. The longer thereversal is delayed, the greater the separation will be when the overshootoccurs. Assuming the opponent reverses at the overshoot, setting upanother nose-to-nose situation and continuation of the scissors, the nosetailseparation at overshoot is directly related to the range and AOT thenext time the attacker's nose is pointed toward the target. Figure 2-17illustrates this relationship.In case 1 the two fighters are in the initial nose-to-nose phase of a flatscissors at time "I." Both fighters here have about the same turn rate, butFigure 2-17. Effects of Reversal Timing