Dogfighting

[Midnight Rambler]

Well at least you're subtle

[Iceman]

Ohhhh this is definitely very cool!

All this time of laying off the game, and Ive become quite rusty (Iceman 3-0 Me) = 2 minutes lol I suck as of now!! BUT!!! With these words of Wisdom and Knowledge I shall swiftly rise to the top of flight!!!!!

MWAHAHAHAHHAH!!!!!!!


ookk......now off to practice my butt off

Looking forward to our rematch.

[Phoenix]

I take it you ask first whether they want a fight?

Just it sounds as if for it to work:
-They must not know where you are
-Or what you want to do.

[Midnight Rambler]

I know it's a revival but it needs to be said. I've got some more advice to add.

Typically you should ask if someone wants a fight, common courtesy dictates this. Don't just start shooting at someone, most servers have this rule in effect and it can be annoying to be attacked...

I was talking with Bombcat earlier and we agreed in that if you want to fight, expect to be thrashed. Simple as that. Don't expect to win your first fight, second fight or even 50th fight.
What will happen, however, is that you will start thinking tactics, trying new ideas, watching others fight and eventually this constant fighting will bring you above average standard. I still go into every fight believing that I can win, but never underestimating my opponent.

Another point that I hear constantly is that a mouse is worse than a stick. Quite simply, suck it up. Don't use it as an excuse, but learn to control it. I say this from experience as I learnt to fight with a mouse, managing to beat both Raven and Maverick in separate fights.

There is something that needs to be said, though. If you want to learn to fight (to shoot someone down using 30% fuel, only guns loaded, flaps and no trim) then you need the passion (I know it sounds corny, but stay with me). This passion has several forms I believe, the main is to accept defeat and to learn from it. The second is to build upon your learning/experience to make yourself better. The third is be willing to pass your information on, to help others.

This is why I almost always accept a dogfight. I do this to find another person to perhaps train, but to also learn anything new. This also help give the other pilot new ideas and some more experience, somewhere to aim. When looking at a person fighting I take note of several things.

What is their plane control like?
How quickly do they adapt to change?
Can they follow simple advice and orders?

One last note: If you accept losses and build from them you will join a small group of elite fighters and earn mutual respect throughout the community . The commitment shown to get to that level as well as general skill will help you get into any squad.