Fighter Combat

392 APPENDIXFigure A-3. Level Instantaneous Turn Rate and RadiusPerformanceat any speed between V c and slightly greater than V s . Very slow airspeeds,however, cause dramatic rises in level turn radius. The importance ofcorner speed in optimizing instantaneous turn performance is highlightedin Figure A-3.Altitude also has a significant influence on instantaneous turn performance.Figure A-4 depicts the variations for a typical jet fighter. At speedsbelow V c , both rate and radius performance are usually degraded (i.e.,larger radii and slower turn rates) with increasing altitude, because ofreduced lift capability. At speeds above the corner, instantaneous turnperformance is generally limited only by structural strength, and so isusually independent of altitude. Since the plots in Figure A-4 use trueairspeed for the horizontal scale, V c is seen to increase with altitude. Asexplained previously, however, Vc is normally nearly constant with altitudewhen it is expressed in terms of indicated airspeed.Energy ManeuverabilityBeware the lessons of a fighter pilot who would rather fly a slide rule thankick your ass!Commander Ron "Mugs" McKeown, USNCommander, U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School2 Victories, Vietnam ConflictEnergy comes in many forms: heat, light, electromagnetism, etc. Infighter performance the concern is primarily with mechanical energy,