Bloody April IX AARs and pictures

[J5_Bäumer]

Please post for everyone's enjoyment.

[US93_Larner]

[JG1_E.Davjack]

Still gotta love those 103rd AARs!

I don't have a lot to say on this one except that I need to practice the N17. Not just shooting at AI, that's just normal single-gun gunnery, but flying the damn thing.

I had an encounter with me and Baer in N17s vs 1 D3 (Trupobaw) just before the weather set in. We came in slightly below him, but Baer was behind me by a bit and so when Trupo turned and engaged me, that set him below Baer. In this instance, I should have done a lot better. I know I can be hard on myself, but this was a whole different beast:

1) N17 CAN outturn a D3. I could not because I don't have a great feel for the edge of the envelope, and then an Alb is so forgiving that they can push it into maneuvers that I might spin trying to follow, so timidity + lack of feel = bad times.

2) I spent a lot of the time behind, but unable to pull lead on, Trupo. Just didn't have the energy. Didn't help that Baer and I had just taken off 15 min prior and Trupo might have had far less fuel than us.

3) The real problem is that I flubbed basic maneuvers that should have given me a shot. For instance, I lost too much energy during a displacement roll and at the end of the roll couldn't bring my nose around to follow him. If I were in an Alb, I would have felt so confident with that maneuver, but rolling out in a N17 did not feel right, nor work for me. Give me a nerfed Camel any day, yeesh. But that's my problem.

Eventually Drookasi joined the fight and shot Baers elevator off, but I was already oiled and on my back foot and could not help Baer vs two enemies by just sticking around, so I ran. I feel like what we did was tactically sound for the situation (Baer and I have fought well together before), but I couldn't fly the plane as well as I needed to, especially against a guy like Trupo. I had maybe 5 or 6 times where I think if I knew the N17 I could have poured shots into him, but couldn't bring my nose around.

SO, in summary: If you (like I) plan on flying scouts this next weekend, and you don't like the N17, spend some time yanking and banking in it. I'm thinking not even doing much AI combat, because that only teaches so much, but focusing on simply flying it, testing the limits, gradually tightening up turns in a safe environment, refreshing myself with how it snap-rolls. Stuff like that, because the N17 is one of those planes I've just never connected with.

[US103_Talbot]

Very nice. Typewriter lookin good!

[BA_1PL_Lucas]

Still gotta love those 103rd AARs!

I don't have a lot to say on this one except that I need to practice the N17. Not just shooting at AI, that's just normal single-gun gunnery, but flying the damn thing.

I had an encounter with me and Baer in N17s vs 1 D3 (Trupobaw) just before the weather set in. We came in slightly below him, but Baer was behind me by a bit and so when Trupo turned and engaged me, that set him below Baer. In this instance, I should have done a lot better. I know I can be hard on myself, but this was a whole different beast:

1) N17 CAN outturn a D3. I could not because I don't have a great feel for the edge of the envelope, and then an Alb is so forgiving that they can push it into maneuvers that I might spin trying to follow, so timidity + lack of feel = bad times.

2) I spent a lot of the time behind, but unable to pull lead on, Trupo. Just didn't have the energy. Didn't help that Baer and I had just taken off 15 min prior and Trupo might have had far less fuel than us.

3) The real problem is that I flubbed basic maneuvers that should have given me a shot. For instance, I lost too much energy during a displacement roll and at the end of the roll couldn't bring my nose around to follow him. If I were in an Alb, I would have felt so confident with that maneuver, but rolling out in a N17 did not feel right, nor work for me. Give me a nerfed Camel any day, yeesh. But that's my problem.

Eventually Drookasi joined the fight and shot Baers elevator off, but I was already oiled and on my back foot and could not help Baer vs two enemies by just sticking around, so I ran. I feel like what we did was tactically sound for the situation (Baer and I have fought well together before), but I couldn't fly the plane as well as I needed to, especially against a guy like Trupo. I had maybe 5 or 6 times where I think if I knew the N17 I could have poured shots into him, but couldn't bring my nose around.

SO, in summary: If you (like I) plan on flying scouts this next weekend, and you don't like the N17, spend some time yanking and banking in it. I'm thinking not even doing much AI combat, because that only teaches so much, but focusing on simply flying it, testing the limits, gradually tightening up turns in a safe environment, refreshing myself with how it snap-rolls. Stuff like that, because the N17 is one of those planes I've just never connected with.

My 2 cents:

1) Select fuel load depending on type of your mission. If you will take off with full tank and 10 minutes later you will meet the Albies, you will be probably shot down. This is because the N17 becomes a reasonably turn-fighter below 60% gas in the tank. So, when I know that I may have a huge chance meeting the enemy after take off, I grab about 70% of fuel. At low altitudes the N.17 burns it pretty quickly (just like the DFW C.V)

2) What also helps with the left turns is to compensate the rotary engine by moving ailerons to the right. This is difficult to master, but it helps, especially if you have almost full tank.

3) The lower you are, the better your performance against the Albies is.

Regards,
Lucas

[US103_Talbot]

And then when that alb realizes you can turn left, you can actually see the moment his fear sets in.

[JG1_E.Davjack]

Good point about the fuel load, Lucas. In this instance, we had been tasked with an observation patrol to the mid Air Superiority point and then a north-western patrol hunting balloons. We expected to be up for at least 1.5 hours...if we didn't see anything at the Air Sup point. So, we planned for a long flight and ended up with a short one.

This is another thing that I always wonder: Am I a coward for running to a better position? I was Lead, and I called the attack on Trupo. I also could have called us to reverse East and try for a better position, since we were not over the objective point yet.

Like I said, I second guess my missions a lot.

[J5_Hotlead]

Last Saturday, I got in at 20:00 GMT in time to begin the daytime missions. I had the pleasure of winging up with Larner, FourSpeed, and Phil! However...it had to be in single-gun N.17s. Given how I love to hate that plane, I previously wouldn't touch it if any other alternative was available. However, I may now have to reconsider my verdict: the N.17 did surprisingly well against the Albatrosses, proving itself to be more than a match for them, provided it wasn't fully-loaded with fuel. Got into a nice scrap with 4 Albatros D.IIs after patrolling the lines for a bit. At the end of the fight, I had to wonder why I hadn't done Bloody April all these previous years. I was missing out, for sure!

Despite the fact that a few technical errors caused an early end to the second session, the event organizers handled it professionally, isolated the problem, and reassured the weeping pilots that all would be fixed for next Saturday. Thusly, after drying our tears, we went over to Flying Circus for some furball fun. It was great to fly with I-Got-Shot and some JG1 mates I hadn't flown with in awhile!

Anyway, here's the livestream: (Note - from 01:11:56-1:50:00, the stream is muted due to tactical discussions for Red Team. Since not much goes on during that time period anyway, feel free to skip...you won't miss anything.)
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/407204786

And here is a highlight clip of the N.17 scrap:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/407389501

Looking forward to next Saturday!

[J5_Matthias]

Can I get a copy of that as a blank form please? That is pretty neat.

[J5_Hotlead]

Last week's Bloody April campaign was a rousing good time! I got to fly with Phil, Joker, and GUYNEMER in SPAD 7 150s. The weather was very overcast, with lots of fog to go around, so visibility was down to claustrophobic levels. Still, our flight had some very good successes during the first hour and a half of operations.

The next hour and a half saw the German pilots really step up to the plate and give us as good as we had given them. Some very staunch fighting and I barely escaped with my life! Salute to both my wingmen and my Blue Team opponents! I look forward to sharing the April skies with you again in a fortnight!

This week's livestream:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/410606241

[whi5key123]

i had a blast as well. Very nice flying with you gents! S~

[J5_Bäumer]

But where's the pictures and videos guys?!