Dog Fight Question

>>31958138
>what is energy dogfighting
That's the extent of my dogfighting knowledge

>>31958138

I won't say above is always better but it is a serious advantage that makes it preferable in almost all situations.

above can dive onto you and he can't dive up into you. at least t the dogfighting with cannons rule of thumb, I dunno if guided missiles shake things up but I imagine they don't

>>31958138
Thats autistic. Above is always better because you can turn that height into speed or you can dive away in an attemptto flee. If youre already low every maneuver you make bleeds energy making you slower and more vulnerable

>>31958138
In old school dogfighting, you wanted the altitude advantage. "Speed is life, and altitude is life insurance."
In modern air combat the line is blurred. Altitude gives you an energy advantage, but you're harder for both radar and I to pick up when on the deck, plus it's easier to evade a missile there. With modern radar and missile tech, it really depends on the individual situation.

>>31958138
Depends on the stage of the turn; flying upwards is worse because you bleed energy, flying downwards gives you more energy, almost as if your engine was twice as powerful.

If you both have the same speed and one is higher, one is lower, then the guy at the top has the advantage, because he can do that dive.

You know planes can roll right?

If both planes have the same energy state but one is above, then the one at the top has more portential energy and therefore has an advantage. Of course the pilot can be an idiot and give away that advantage.

>>31958623
Also, the ground is closer, which further reduce your options to manoeuver.

>>31958138

You want to be above, not only for the reason's mentioned here about being able to convert altitude into speed, but also because of the way guided missiles work.

When you fire a guided missile most only have one rocket engine which gives it a limited amount of energy. If you're above your target you, and your missile, have more energy to work with. If you have to fire up at your enemy you're already at a disadvantage, and then your enemy can climb to further reduce the kinetic energy of the fired rocket which means it may not make it to the target.

>>31958138
Beware the hun in the sun.

Always above, given everything else is equal.

Air combat essentially boils down to potential energy. The guy with more energy typically wins, but a careless pilot can spoil his advantage.

Energy comes from speed and altitude, which in turn come from thrust and lift. Speed and altitude can be exchanged, for each other. Slow and high can become fast and low, and vice versa.

Now to make things even more complicated, with more speed, comes more lift...

>>31958138
above and with the sun behind you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicta_Boelcke

the book on dogfighting hasnt really changed since the days of eddie rickenbacker and the red baron

>>31960984
This.

Energy fighting dictates that having greater altitude, and thus greater potential energy, is preferable.

However, the radars of Gen 3 and early Gen 4 fighters lacked look-down shoot-down capabilities, so fighters would often dive to below their target so they could get a usable radar return.

>>31961049
This is why you see the F-14's involved in the Gulf of Sidra incident back in 1989 diving from 8k feet down to 5k as they approach the MiG-23s. They then accelerate and climb to provide their missiles more potential energy at launch.

>>31958138
In propeller aircraft it's better to be above, due to GPE (gravitational potential energy) being used to dive on targets or flee

In modern aircraft, the engines produce more thrust than the weight of the plane; so altitude isn't as much as a major factor.

Modern dogfights usually come down to radar range and electronic warfare.

E.g. the F22 is designed to take out planes before the enemy plane even reaches dog fightimg distances