Wingman tips and concepts

[daddog]

I want to start a thread that I will add as a page to our web site. In a nutshell a simple list of tips or suggestions for wingmen, but then detailed explanations on concepts also would be good meat for our dog bones.

I will start with one and this is something Baumer and I chatted about briefly the other day.

The difference between telling someone to check 6 and break.

Telling someone a Check 6 simply means they should look for an enemy on their tail (back quarter) and that they could be in danger shortly.

Telling someone to Break! means they should (without question) break hard left or right and avoid any enemy who is about to end their sortie.

All wingmen should know the difference and use accordingly. As you become more familiar with your wingman you can add a break left, break right, or other directions to help you quickly line up and kill what is a threat to your wingman.

[JDog]

One tip I know of. If your lead, then throttle back slightly, it allows your wingman to keep up easily, and allows for him to maneuver around you as necessary

[daddog]

 

[mrmidi]

Probably the hardest one for most to remember is that, when the lead pilot is engauged his wingman is there to keep his six clear, not
to try and score kills.

[Malap]

Occasionally i follow squadies round in TA while they are fighting someone, and sometimes i notice being further back i get a perfect shot at the bandit, while the squadie, being closer hasn't got the angle.

Should the shot be taken?

Though, thinking about it, i guess there is the risk of hitting the lead as he follows the bandit through the maneuver.

What are other peoples thoughts?

[BigRat]

Malap, I normally find that if my wingman in trail is firing past me at the bandit, it tends to startle me.  Not knowing if it's friendly or enemy fire coming from behind.  If you let your wingman know that your going to do it, then it should be fine however.

 
BigRat

[trap78]

Robert Shaw's book "Fighter Combat Tactics and Maneuvering" has an excellent section on wingman tactics. He covers welded wing, fighting wing, double attack and loose deuce. It's really a must read for understanding the theory behind wing pairs. I also have some material (around here somewhere) authored by an old Warbirds pilot explaining how wing pairs work and their function as the building block of larger formations.

One thing I think is important for a wing pair to be truly effective is communication. When engaged the pilots always need to be talking to each other, not just about what's happening at the moment, but what the next two or three moves will be. Another is formation flying. You've got to be able to fly station as either element lead or wingman. You've got to be able to transition from a tight trail to combat spread and back again smoothly and quickly. The last one is execution; you've got to carry out your assigned role. Be it lead or wingman. You have to look at things differently. It's not the individual who scores the kill, it's the wing pair that does. I can get many more kills when I've got a wingman covering my back because it cuts my work load in half. It's a great feeling knowing someone’s got your back and you don't have to worry about it or vice versa.

[Ghosth]

Midi is correct for a welded wing. However for most wingpairs you can be more effective by going with a loose duece, or less rigid structure. First guy to see the con takes the lead, or whoever is in the better position. Or the guy with the fewest kills gets first shot, there are many ways of doing it. In most of them Lead should flow back and forth as needed, depending on many factors.

Greed kills, Period.
It kills teamwork, then gets you killed.

Wilbuz and I used to fly together a lot in the mains back a few years.
At this point his skills were awesome, mine were just ok.

So I would often fly bait, leaving him free to hunt where and how he saw fit.
He would often rack up 6 - 8 kills in a sortie, while I'd get 1 - 4, then we'd go land them.

In that situation, I was not there to worry about his 6, he did that better than I ever could.
Granted if he got in trouble I was there, ready to do whatever it took.
But it was seldom needed.  I'd be in the middle of a furball, turning and burning, and he'd be hunting the edges from above.
Knocking them down and warning me about fast movers.

Personality, flying skills, style, plane choice, all come into play.

The one thing that seems to be fixed is that the longer you and your wing have flown together, the better you'll do.
You'll have a better idea of how he will react to any given situation. What each of you are capable of, and where your weak spots are.

[Baumer]

Here are a few points I've been thinking about after reviewing my last FSO film.

• "When in doubt, get some alt"

I notice that I was wandering around, after the closest bandit had split S'ed and I was not getting any altitude back. Consquently, the longer the fight lasted the lower I got, and the more bandits I had over my head, and that's NEVER a good situation.
 

• "Don't HO your wingman"

Twice I got to far away from my wingman chasing a bandit. When I'd reverse to get back with him, I wound up nose to nose with him, that just prolongs the rejoin and makes it hard for both to have a good view of things. When you reverse to pick up your wingman give him a lead turn, just like a bandit and you'll join up much more quickly.
 

• "No kill is worth loosing a wingman (or sqaudmate)"

I got so fixated on the bandit 400 in front of me, that when my wingman called that he was going up to get some alt, I missed the bandit under him in a zoom climb.
 

• "Think, Lion not Cheetah"

That's just another way of saying patience, patience, and more patience. As Ghosth said "Greed Kills", think of a Lion vs a Cheetah. The Lion SLOWLY stalks his prey and only ponces when he's got the shot. The Cheetah starts out the same way, but we've all seen film of a Cheetah running at full speed focused on one gazelle, and run right past several other gazelle's that are not even moving. Try and stay clam in the fight and see the big picture around you.

• "Don't just talk, communicate"

Especially now that we have Ventrillo and everyone using it this is even more vital. Think about how best to communicate with your wingman. It doesn't matter what strategy you employ (loose duce, double attack, welded wing, ect.) but until you have a good sense of flying with each other you need to tell them what you're doing (or thinking about doing). I like short one word comments;

[/list]


Engaging- Telling my wingman I'm going to attack a bandit

Disengaging- Telling my wingman I'm not going to continue the attack

In- Telling my wingman I'm coming in to take a shot at the bandit he's engaged with

Off- Telling my wingman that I am maneuvering to get a shot at his bandit

Rejoin- Telling my wingman that I'm maneuvering to get back within 2k of him

Reverse- Telling my wingman I'm making a 180 maneuver (usually an Immelmann)

Bugout- Telling my wingman that I feel we've lost the advantage and we need to separate from the fight, an advantage back like, altitude or to regain better SA.

Check 6-Telling my wingman (or squadmate) that there is a bandit getting into position to cause harm

Break- Telling my wingman to IMMEDIATELY make a MAXIMUM evasive turn (or split S) to avoid incoming fire


That's about it for now, I'm sure we'll come up with more as we get better at this.

   Baumer

[Blutik]

My biggest problem is keeping my wingman in view after I make a hard manuver.
Having said that I have found that after flying with the same wing (BigRat) I am learning some of his tendicies and I can pick him up sooner.
Second is knowing how far to extend, I tend to extend to far (MA mentality)
I'm not used to someone covering me as I tend to fly alone in the MA.
Hopefully I'm getting better and BigRat will stay alive