I don't get flying.

[Jaged]

I just picked up an air calvery cert and I am baffeled as to how those really good pilots do it. How do you blow anything up if you have to spend every second focused on staying alive like me? How do you shoot another pilot out of the air before he gets you?

[Everay]

shoot first, and shoot ahead of him, get behind him, but if your both going head on, afterburn, and strafe and fire.

[SilverLord]

Know when to use a Reaver or Mosquito. If there are lots of Aircraft, go with the mosquito and when AA gets on you, afterburn and weave through tree's.

[Acaila]

Stay low to the ground, look at the sky.

In air to air, the trick is speed moderation. The slower your going, the better (and faster) turning circle you have. Go as slow as you safely can without losing your target, if you are coming head on at another aircraft, decelerate completely and follow him around as he flys past you. Boom, your on his 6. Use after burners to adjust your position rapidly if you start taking damage. Alot of pilots miss their kills or get killed because they are too heavy on the accelerator.

Remember that the Reaver fires from two 20mm and adjust accordingly. Aim the initial cross hair at the right most edge of your target. This is what prevents alot of new pilots from hitting even stationary aircraft at longer ranges.

The hit box of an aircraft extends further up than it does down. Aim high on them and you will hit easier. Aim about the top right of your opponent, when you have the right side reticule (the initial one) displayed. Leading your target by the proper margine is also necessary, which means recognizing and leading for the speed of your opponent, the direction on an x,y axis and the distance.

When you are engaged in a dogfight, always go upwards using "e", even when you are punishing your target and don't stop strafing.

Against a skeeter that has the drop on you, run behind some obstacle, slow and turret (using "e" and strafing aswell). Reaver > skeeter at AA.

Against a Reaver who has the drop on you, well, your fucked usually, if the pilot is any good. Just head for the nearest friendly base or aircraft and do some fancy flying (diving, erratic direction changing). If he breaks off, turn around and do the same to him. You can after burn around a hill or something, then slow up and rise, then drop down behind him as he comes flying around after you (ie. fancy flying).

Learn how long it takes to fire 16 missiles. It is alot longer than most people think, so plan your strafing runs on ground targets to match this period of time. Avoid hovering and spamming against most things, it makes you a good target for anyone with a decimator. Always do strafing runs, only hover and spam when you have to.

Against AA, it is not about running away, it is about putting something between you and it, then running away. A hill or tree will do, then run like all hell, you have to break lock first, especially against Starfires. Sparrows don't cause alot of DpS, you can usually just hit the afterburners and fly off into the sunset and not take a shitload of damage. Though depending upon the AA, the evasion is different. Remember to come back and kill it, then do a wise ass voice macro.

Set your mouse sensitive for piloting at just above minimum, it allows all the fine adjustments and gives you better control. Your turning speed is restricted anyway, so even if you are practiced in the art of twitching, it doesn't help you at all.

Practice is the biggest part though . Flying is one of the few things that require skill in this game to do well.

There is alot more stuff that is a bit more indepth.

[SilverLord]

Great post Acaila.

[TheRagingGerbil]

I like to reverse and strafe in the direction I am turning. It helps make a tighter turn IMO and also checks your speed to you can keep a good bead on your target. Hit your AB's as you come out of the turn.

If you get a missle lock or start getting flak spammed, hit the deck with AB's burning.

[ViperGTS]

I gave up the sketter cert.....to damn hard..........all the advice in the world couldnt help me with it. Just give air calvery up........

[Cryptica]

I second that, Acaila, good posting. I'll be getting my Air Calvary cert soon, so I hope to benefit from your wisdom!

[Christian]

One quick tip... To lose a missle lock you have to either get something between you, OR make your aircraft hit the deck. let your aircraft touch the ground. This loses missle lock and allows you to after burn away. So normally I afterburn str8 to the ground and hit it , then I aim towards a hill and afterburn away.

[Vick]

Dont ever go down against a starfire lock at range, AB and pull up.

Acaila's post tells your everything you need except for one thing:

Dont be an asshat pilot who always runs away from 1vs1 aircraft fights. You can run if it is 2vs1 or your at half life or something, but I see so many pilots AB it to a friendly base as soon as they take damage. Very lame...

[Lonehunter]

Use your elavate and descend keys, especially when your Diving to avoid Missile lock. Learn to blend them with turns to perform them much more smoothly. Learn how to manuever well, with this, you can win dog fights and avoid missile locks easier.

[Rbstr]

its always a bad idea to go after an AA thing if it knows your there you get owned. The best defence is when yousee the lock hit your AB's, go low, and weve through hills and stuff to break the lock (get anything between the AA max and you)

[Jagd]

This is all very good advice. The main thing to realize is that with your whopping 4 cert aircraft, you have turned yourself into a very juicy, highly visible and sought-after kill. Everyone and their dog has a 2 point anti-air MAX and those things will win every "fair" fight against you. You have to be sneaky, always approach a combat zone using hills (or trees if you got nothing else) for cover. Make fast passes, then hide, come back from a different angle. Never stop moving. Resist the temptation to hover and fire, that is a sure sign of a n00b and trust me, other pilots loooove taking down n00b pilots. If you can't hit targets while moving you should be in a turret, not whipping around at 100+ kph. Of course, it does take practice so keep at it. Before long you'll be picking off MAXes in one salvo while afterburning away from their buddy's missile lock.

Also unlike dogfighting in most other games, evasive maneuvers will usually get you killed. If you are taking fire from an aircraft spin your Reaver around and find where the enemy bird is, then open fire. Keep your crosshairs on him at all times and keep shooting. Most pilots try and run around a little bit thinking they are being smart and evasive, but with our lovely, easy to control hover-propulsion system every second not spent shooting at the enemy aircraft is another step towards the grave. You simply cannot afford to mess around or waste time when you are dogfighting in PS, and unless your enemy is incompetent you won't be able to evade them anyways. Flying low and dodging through canyons is one of the funniest things I see pilots do once I get on their tail. That works against ground-based AA. I prefer to stay up high where I can watch where you're going, all the while chipping your armor away with my 20mm. That's about it. Oh yeah, did I mention practice makes perfect?

[Rbstr]

You evade to some extent with a skeeter, and it help to turn alot and keep from being hit untill you can get around. I do jsut fine evading, be it taek some skill to make it work, the best is to zig zag in a corkscrew type thing if you have to evade

[Jagd]

Yeah but it only works if you have a lazy opponent, or can lead them to some friendly AA, otherwise you are just prolonging the inevitable.