Fighter Combat

116 ONE-VERSUS-ONE MANEUVERING, SIMILAR AIRCRAFTbogey and threaten it as quickly as possible. If he is unable to point at thetarget and force it back down, the attacker should pull for a position behindand below the bogey, as shown at time "5." The angles fighter shouldclimb as close to the bogey's altitude as possible at time "5," whileretaining enough speed for maneuvering. The desired position at time "6"is slightly behind and beneath the bogey, with minimum nose-tail separationand the angles fighter's fuselage aligned as closely as possible with thebogey's.At time "6" both fighters will be near minimum-controllable airspeed.The angles fighter's position forces the pilot of the high fighter into asteeply banked turn, or a series of turn reversals similar to a flat scissors, inorder to maintain sight of his opponent behind and below. The anglestactician should maneuver as necessary to remain out of sight on thebogey's belly-side. Concern over his opponent's position should eventuallycause the bogey pilot to pull his aircraft's nose sharply down in order toincrease his turn performance. Figure 3-8 depicts the end-game.After the bogey pilot has committed his nose steeply down, the anglesfighter should continue a level turn until the bogey approaches co-altitude.At that point the pilot of the angles fighter can roll inverted and pull hisnose sharply down toward vertical (time "7"). After overshooting thealtitude of the angles fighter, the bogey pilot will usually begin a pull-outto increase AOT and maintain sight. If his turns are properly timed, theangles fighter pilot may be able to pull his nose to the target and fire (timeFigure 3-8. Angles Fight (RQ Missiles): End-Game