#Basic air combat maneuvers how to#

To successfully execute the aerobatic Immelmann turn, the pilot accelerated to sufficient speed to perform a loop in the aircraft.

However, an Immelmann is a poor defensive maneuver, turning the defender into a slow moving target. The Immelmann is a good offensive maneuver for setting up a high-side guns pass against a lower altitude, slow moving opponent, going in an opposite direction. The aircraft performs the first half of a loop, and when completely inverted, rolls to the upright position. In World War I aerial combat, an Immelmann turn was a maneuver used after an attack on another aircraft to reposition the attacking aircraft for another attack.Īn Immelmann trades airspeed for altitude during a 180 degree change in direction. That said, BFM is still the foundation of air combat, whether you fly WWII or 21st Century fighters.The term Immelmann turn, named after German World War One Eindecker fighter ace Leutnant Max Immelmann, refers to two different aircraft maneuvers. Modern weaponry changes things significantly, and in ways not discussed in depth in this guide. It also is mostly written with respect to guns or rear aspect missile combat only.

It covers the foundations that should help readers develop and understand more advanced techniques. Before reading, bear in mind that this is not a complete guide to BFM, and it is not meant to be. This is the objective of this guide.īelow you will find links to the chapters. It also allows someone to quickly understand an entirely new situation they have not seen before, since they understand the underlying concepts at its core. We then bring them together and use them as building blocks to construct several standard combat maneuvers.īeing able to derive complex ideas from more basic principles is often key in fully understanding a subject. Each one is covered in detail in the sections linked below. When a combat maneuver is performed, it is almost always aiming to exploit or control one or more of these components to gain an advantage over the enemy.

Understanding and managing the lift vector of one's aircraft in three dimensional and out of plane maneuvering, and how this relates to the topics above.Choosing or forcing a lag, pure or lead pursuit.The turn rate of the aircraft, it's turn radius, and exploitation of either in one and two circle flow fights to gain an advantage.The management of an aircraft's kinetic and potential energy, it's conservation and recuperation.These principles concern the following: Energy There is more than one way to de-compile BFM, and although no one component is completely independent of another, it can be usefully represented by four fundamentals: Energy Management, Circle Flow, Pursuit Curves and Lift Vector Control. Understanding these four concepts allows us to disseminate why particular maneuvers are effective, what they are trying to achieve, and allow a pilot to react more instinctively in the ever changing environment of aerial combat. This guide aims to break down BFM into four core, fundamental components from which the standard maneuvers arise. The balance is constantly changing in a high speed and fluid battle for the advantage.

#Basic air combat maneuvers how to#

It's all well and good knowing how to perform a rolling scissors, or a high yo-yo, but combat is dynamic, and infinitely variable. Whether you're flying an FW-190 or an F-18, the same basic physical principles apply, even if the exploitation of them differs. Basic fighter maneuvers are all about gaining a positional advantage on your opponent during combat.