Yeah, I pretty much stank up the place...just don't have the feel for the envelope right now.
What I was trying to do with the merge was a chandelle, which I'm told reverses faster than the Immel and gains angles at the cost of a little energy. I started using it on the general principle that I tend to lack killer instinct -- my natuiral instinct is to gradually work for an overwhelming advantage, then cash it in safely. The chandelle puts me into an aggressive stance from the start, looking for the angle immediately. Unfortunately, when I gave up that energy and got the angular advantages my ham-fisted flying pushed me past the envelope and I lost control.
Daddog does something different than I'm used to after the first immel, and although I'm not sure if its success was from its tactical advantage or my incompetence it WAS taught him by Yucca -- who is a far better fighter than I'll ever be. I've been taught that the best move is a second immel if you can, and if you don't have the E for the immel then maintain alt and do a flat turn. Yucca taught DD to do what looked like an angled split S with throttle chopped, which gave him enough E to maneuver aggressively and a turn radius smaller than a true dive. When DD came back up after this move, he generally was in position to smash me -- but again, I don't know if it was because I handled my plane poorly or from him using better tactics. Here's what the trainer website says:
Flat Turn vs Split-S
With a Split-S, we are doing the opposite of an Immelman. Gravity is working with our thrust to accelerate us even faster. This can be a problem if we are already at or near our desired cornering speed.
This turn match up usually happens two or more merges into a fight, in this case it's the 2nd merge. What happens is that while the plane performing the Split-S is accelerating through his turn, the opponent, delays his own acceleration while still reversing his heading with a Flat Turn. Once the Split-S planes 3-9 line crosses underneath him, he can then nose down and orient his lift vector to follow. In short:Flat Turn beats a Split-S
Regardless, No doubt about it, daddog flew well and I was an embarrassment. I didnt deserve to be in the same sky!
BTW, a clarification -- the dueling I'd done did NOT allow you to climb above hard ceiling and dive to merge alt. I was taught to keep the defined alt as a hard cceiling. You'd stay there until icon range, but from that time forward you were free to maneuver...which usually meant diving for the lower position at merge. Since they say the merge is often the whole fight, it seems weird to me that they taught DD that he couldnt even begin to turn till wingtips pass each other. Many of the corrections I've gotten in the duels I've done focus on the timing of the lead turn.
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