"I couldn't believe it, that guy stayed right behind me just pecking away at my tail. He got me so mad I didn't pay attention to where I was going and almost slammed into a cliff." Psychological Warfare
Pilots are a testy bunch. Sometimes they get mad at the smallest thing, while at other times they rarely even get something a little wrong. This is where psychological warfare comes into play. No you don't need any kind of college degree, you just have to know what buttons to push. Next time you're in a fight taunt the guy by staying one step
ahead of him. No matter what he does, stay in behind him. Eventually he'll get frustrated, bored, or angry and he'll do something stupid. That's when you kill 'em. When you rattle someone's cage, they get mad. And as anyone knows when you get frustrated you can't seem to get the smallest things correct. A normal maneuver becomes your arch enemy, you swear at everything that goes wrong, and
the only thing that makes it worse is that guy behind you who keeps pecking at your tail. What to do, and how to do it
© Delta6
A Warbirds pilot just after a short lesson in psychological warfare.
The best pilots aren't shaken up by these kind of things, and they know how to wait. Patience, and the ability to wait for the right moment, are the two things that make a pilot great. New pilots, or pilots that have been getting their butt kicked lately, are easy to get frustrated. And the guy behind them has a grin on his face because he knows
that he's in control of the entire fight. He keeps his airspeed low enough to counter every move they make, he drives with a light touch on the stick, and he carefully guesses what will happen next. When that frustrated pilot watches the screen jump after he gets hit, or when he hears that tell-tale ping or thud of getting hit, he'll get mad. Why? Easy, he can't do a damn thing about it. He knows there's someone behind him that's a good pilot, and that pilot is pecking away at him for fun.
He can't do anything to get this guy off his butt. Every move is countered expertly, bursts are fired during a carefully chosen pause in maneuvers, and the guy out in front is getting mad as hell. Pilots in any flight sim don't mind getting killed, hell it's part of the game. But they do mind when someone just pecks and nips at their tail. They know some smart ass is behind them, but they don't know that smart ass is ready for anything. All you have to do is wait him out. When he jerks on the stick and makes his aircraft go into a spin; blast the guy. Never fight fair, it gives the enemy too much of a chance to nail you. And what ever you do, stay calm and very patient. When the same thing happens to you, you'll know how to counter it. You know what you're going to do, and what the enemy can try to get you off his 6. But he doesn't know that you can counter every move he makes, and send a burst of fire into his aircraft anytime you want.
If you want to really get on some one's nerves, here's how to do it. Lets say that you found a lone Bf-109G6 flying home from a strike. He's flying home, so he's more concerned about landing than getting jumped. All you have to do is pull in behind him slowly, from his 6 o'clock low, and fire off a quick burst into his tail. You're looking to
get on his nerves not kill him, so don't make it too long a burst. Once you have his attention stay behind him, letting him know that you're still back there with the occasional burst. The more frustrated he gets the less he thinks about his maneuvering, and the more likely he'll screw up. Once he does give him a final blast, and move on to the next target.
Japanese aircraft are the best planes to pull this kind of stuff off in, mainly for their outstanding turning speed. American and British aircraft have a distinct disadvantage against them, since they have a larger turning radius. German aircraft have terrible turning qualities, so it's best for them to attack using high speeds. The only trick
is to get in behind the enemy plane and stay there. If you peck away at him long enough, he'll do something stupid; then you kill him.
The entire point is to use minimal effort to gain a kill, and you can do this just by thinking. You out-think your opponent; you don't out turn him, and you don't out gun him. All you have to do is think of a way to get in behind him. Once you've got a plan go in and mess with his head, since mind games are the best way to get someone frustrated.
Once he's frustrated beyond belief he WILL screw up, and that's when he dies. Pilots live by out thinking their opponents, and the smartest pilots will live a long time just by knowing when to fight and when to run.
For the energy fighters reading this, here's how to get someone REALLY mad at you. When you come behind an enemy plane at high speed approach from below him so he can't see you. When you get very close give him a lead bath, and he'll end up back in the tower wondering what in the Hell hit him. Do this several times and he'll start to get paranoid, and he'll wonder if anyone is behind him all the time. When he gets this paranoid he'll use up most of his airspeed turning to look behind him, and he will fly all over the sky searching for any enemy plane. This gives you yet another opportunity to nail him.
If that pilot is running around looking everywhere he will make mistakes, namely when he's too busy recovering from a stall or some other maneuver. That's when you come in from an unexpected direction and kill him. Fire like a man possesed and make every shot count at close range. Yet again he'll end up back in the tower wondering where the hell the you came from.