Check Six
A Virtual Pilot's Guide
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Have you ever dreamt of the “days of old”, when the purr of twin Allison engines, the wind rushing over the windscreen, gave you such a peaceful sense of serenity that you just hated to interrupt it with the harsh sound of 4 50 caliber machine guns and a 20mm cannon? If that comment makes sense to you, then you know I’m talking about the era of the “fighter pilot”, World War II; where evolutions in the world of fighters constantly changed the aerial combat arena, and the men who rode their metallic steeds to war knew that every sortie could potentially be their last. Yes we have all day dreamed about those days, and for some of us we have tried to “recreate” them by going to our personal computers and flying combat flight simulators. In the last 9 years, the flight simulator world has gone from you vs computer programming, to you vs “whoever” in the massive multiplayer world of online flight simulators. So now, instead of finding “one move” which beats the code, you come up against the cunning, and complex side of the competitive human mind...and chances are you find yourself lacking in the skills and knowledge required to survive.
Steve “Crutch” Thompson has written this book to help you through the very steep learning curve required to survive, and become a killer in the world of online Flight simulators. He bridges the gap between the somewhat technical writings of Robert Shaw’s “FIGHTER COMBAT TACTICS AND MANUEVERING” and the average aviator/flight simmer wanna-be. He does this by taking his 9 years of experience in the flight Sim world, his 3 years as a Trainer in iEN’s WARBIRDS & WARBIRDS III, and his knowledge of air combat gained through self study, and putting it in “plain English” for the average non-aviator to read.
I can vouch for his fighter pilot skills in the cyber skies, as there has been many-a-times I have found myself defending vs his well set up attacks, or finding myself engaged in a rolling scissors with what I thought was going to be an easy bounce, only to find out “in the kill buffer” that it was Crutch I was dueling...some times it was in my favor, sometimes in his, and sometimes we both decided it was time to leave and found ourselves extending out opposite directions while typing on a private channel “was that you?” to each other. But these “first mistake will be the last mistake” aerial dogfights are memorable events for me and what makes it even more memorable is the fact that I find myself engaged in a mock World War II era fight with a guy who is thousands of miles away, and is a self taught aerial combatant.
Why do I say that? I have 17 years of tactical military aviation experience as a Weapons Systems Officer in F-4Es, and F-15Es. While I don’t “fly” the aircraft during the execution of our mission, I need to know how they are flown since I am an Instructor in the aircraft. So, my background is one, which is filled with professional, military training, and while the “game play” does not translate over, the knowledge, theory, and application of my training surely does. I will say, having read Crutch’s book, he has expertly targeted a market which is in dire need of assistance; one in which a newbie may fly a few sorties and after dieing for their umpteenth time, will decide this game is just “unfun”, and leave. So for the newbie flight simmer out there, looking for something to move them up on the scale of the “food chain”, this book is for you.
Enjoy and Check Six!
Scott “Dobs” Stevenson,
86 FWS
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Book Details
About the Book
Welcome to the Wild Blue Skies of Virtual Aerial Combat.
The purpose of this book is to help you, the new gamer, with the steep learning curve found in flight simulations.
The chapters are designed to help you chose the hardware and the controllers needed to fly and introduce the basic maneuvers and tactics used in aerial combat.
This book is not the last word on aerial combat simulations. The genre is changing and expanding too fast for anyone to do that. The subjects covered here are common between all Sims but it is the gamer’s own desire to learn and excel that will propel him to higher plateaus of excellence.
Pilots fly these simulations for a wide range of reasons. Some are drawn to the era or the aircraft. Others are attracted to the virtual squadrons. Some recreate the great air battles of history and still others are here for the intense competition of man vs. man combat.
The community is composed of people from all walks of life and levels of skill. Most of the players are male but there are ladies flying too – Hint! The women are dangerous. Do not take them for granted.
Remember, the most skilled opponent you face started at the same level as you. He had to learn the lessons presented here the hard way.
Whatever reason brought you here, welcome.
About the Author
J. Steve Thompson started his involvement with aviation simulations with the Apple II e in the early ‘80s. In 1996 he was introduced to the world of online simulations with an early version of Warbirds. He has since accumulated over 6,000 hours of online flight time and served three years as a trainer for Warbirds. His peers in the training staff elected him “Trainer of the Year” in 2001.