![]() ![]() As engines became more powerful, three-dimensional tactics became available to counter the stalemate of the Lufbery, allowing fighters to maneuver onto the tail of their opponents. This type of fight became a game of chicken, forcing one fighter to attempt an escape before crashing into the ground, and giving the advantage to the other. This type of engagement, however, is energy-depleting, causing the fighters to lose altitude until they run out of maneuvering room. ĭuring World War I, due to the low power of early aircraft, the most common type of engagement was known as a Lufbery, which consisted of two fighters chasing each other around the same circle, often 180 degrees apart. His bullets will generally pass behind you during the maneuver". "Watching carefully over your shoulder and judging the moment he will open fire, you turn your machine quickly so as to fly at right angles to him. The original Immelmann was an effective maneuver in the early part of the war, but as aircraft technology advanced, and fighter engines became increasingly more powerful, it became a dangerous maneuver, because the opponent could climb and shoot the German fighters when they were almost motionless at the top of the turn." īilly Bishop, the top Canadian ace of World War I, described a break: However, the modern Immelmann differs from the original version, which is now called a stall turn or "Hammerhead turn". However, other "last-ditch" maneuvers are used by the defender when the attacker achieves a firing solution, or the defender's energy becomes depleted so that maximum turn performance cannot be maintained, such as "guns defense" or the "defensive spiral".īasic fighter maneuver development began during World War I, with maneuvers such as the " Immelmann", named after German pilot Max Immelmann, the "break", and the " barrel roll". The defender will usually maneuver to force an overshoot, or to extend the range enough to dive away and escape. Defensive maneuvers more often consist of turning very aggressively to avoid the attacker's guns, with maneuvers like the "break" and the "high Yo-Yo defense" sometimes tightening the turn, sometimes relaxing it, and other times reversing the turn. Most maneuvers are offensive, such as the "barrel roll attack", "high Yo-Yo", "low Yo-Yo", and "lag roll". Conversely, the pilot in the disadvantageous position is usually either below or ahead of the opponent, and is referred to as the defender. The fighter pilot with the most advantageous position is usually above or behind the opponent, and is commonly called the attacker. The fighter pilot uses these angles not only to get within a range where weapons can be used, but also to avoid overshooting, which consists either of flying out in front of the opponent, called a "wingline overshoot", or crossing the enemy's flightpath, called a "flightpath overshoot". BFM also relies on the pilot's understanding of the geometry of pursuit within the three-dimensional arena, where different angles of approach can cause different rates of closure. BFM not only relies on an aircraft's turn performance, but also on the pilot's ability to make trade-offs between airspeed (kinetic energy) and altitude ( potential energy) to maintain an energy level that will allow the fighter to continue maneuvering efficiently. īFM are used in the three-dimensional arena of air combat, where maneuvers are not limited by simple two-dimensional turns, such as during a car chase. In actual air combat maneuvering, variations of these basic maneuvers may become necessary, depending on the different types of aircraft involved, the weapon systems each side is using, and the number of aircraft involved. In advanced training, pilots learn to fly against opponents in different types of aircraft, so pilots must learn to cope with different technological advantages as well, which more resembles real combat. Training usually begins with pilots flying the same type of aircraft, pitting only their skills against each other. ![]() BFM are typically universal maneuvers which can be performed in most any fighter aircraft, and are usually considered to be training maneuvers. The development of BFM began with the first fighter aircraft, during World War I, then continued with each following war, adapting to the changing weapons and technologies.īasic fighter maneuvers consist of tactical turns, rolls, and other actions to get behind or above an enemy, before the opponent can do the same. Basic fighter maneuvers are actions that a fighter aircraft makes during air combat maneuvering, historically known as dogfighting. ![]()
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