Jump to content

Top Tactics for the Dora?


Zilch

Recommended Posts

Hey, folks. I finally got some free time to play DCS again and I figured some time in the Dora was long overdue. I'm finally feeling comfortable with the aircraft and absolutely love the feel of it. It's snappy and responsive, but somehow retains stability. The cockpit is one of the most ergonomically brilliant ones I've seen and the armament is ideal against fighters, bombers and ground targets. Can't find a serious fault with the plane. Nothing will ever replace the Mustang in my heart, but damn if the Dora isn't just making me smile every time I fly it.

 

I'm curious how best to fight in it, though, beyond the obvious indication that it's best suited for energy tactics when fighting against its contemporaries. The acceleration, speed, and roll rate combined with its armament package seem to make it ideal for climbs, dives and even rolling scissors if you get in trouble.

 

Beyond that general concept, do you more experienced Dora fliers have any more tips for combat against the Mustang (my god, that hurts to say) and Spitfire? Seems that the Mustang is easier to tackle so far against the AI, what with the Spitfire's insane turn rate as a counter to my roll rate and vertical speed.

 

Just wanted a bit of dope before I dive into MP servers and get smacked by Stangs and Spits.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Zilch79's YouTube Channel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boom and Zoom.

 

If you can see that you have to deal with a newbie Mustang pilot, you can try to turnfight it. Use combat flaps and when you are slow, use landing flaps.

 

Against Spitfire? Boom and Zoom only. Turn and you are dead.

 

Same altitude and speed? MW-50, some rolling and maneuvering and hope for support before you die or pray that he is a bad shooter.

 

I have some videos of me showing how I use it in only sorties, more and less effective.

 

If you want, you can contact me and me and maybe a friend will fly with you and show you some stuff. We mostly fly german side but from time to time, I use the Spit and Pony too not only to see how they behave, but also to have fun...


Edited by razo+r
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Engage MW-50 and spiral climb away from a Mustang with ease. Try to stay between 400-450kph when fighting a Mustang. Any slower, you'll be out maneuvered and any faster the Mustangs superior high speed control and zoom will come into play.

 

You can still combat a spitfire at equal energy. Just don't turn fight a Spitfire. Simply keep distance by engaging MW-50 and keep your speed above 400kph. You don't necessarily need to zoom back to altitude after you strike. You can just gain separation in level flight as your 50kph faster at all altitudes below 6000m

 

A real nasty trick that applies to the Mustang and Spitfire is to yank the stick at high speed if their on your 6. Due to ze superior German engineering Dora can't break like feeble allied fighterz. So if the allied pilot falls for the bait they'll snap their wings off lol.


Edited by DSR_T-800
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boom and Zoom.

 

If you can see that you have to deal with a newbie Mustang pilot, you can try to turnfight it. Use combat flaps and when you are slow, use landing flaps.

 

Against Spitfire? Boom and Zoom only. Turn and you are dead.

 

Same altitude and speed? MW-50, some rolling and maneuvering and hope for support before you die or pray that he is a bad shooter.

 

I have some videos of me showing how I use it in only sorties, more and less effective.

 

If you want, you can contact me and me and maybe a friend will fly with you and show you some stuff. We mostly fly german side but from time to time, I use the Spit and Pony too not only to see how they behave, but also to have fun...

 

 

I agree , congratulations for the excellent explanation :thumbup:

 

 

The Dora must be used necessarily with the boom & zoom, if you enter in dogfight you are a dead pilot...

 

 

:pilotfly:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Against Spitfire? Boom and Zoom only. Turn and you are dead.

 

What sort of boom-and-zoom are we talking, exactly? Is it a single diving attack, followed by an extension and then a shallow, long-term zoom climb? This is the sort of long-term fight I called my "anti-Zero trick" (while flying P-38 in other sim-games); the idea was to slowly (but at high speed) climb while already out of gun range, keeping the horizontal component of your velocity just high enough that the enemy couldn't enter gun range.

 

But I wonder if a more immediate fight is possible against Spitfire, if one has sufficient energy in the Focke-Wulf. Namely, a steep zoom climb that does not allow one to exit gun range, followed by a loop or even a stall-turn ("the flop," I called it; it's like a hammerhead, but on the pitch axis instead of the yaw axis). It's dangerous because, if the enemy already was at a high speed when you fired on him, then he likely can pull up as well, and get a shot at you before he stalls.

 

It largely depends on just how maneuverable the target is, and I'm wondering if the DCS Spitfire is like the Spitfire in other (lesser) sim-games, which means is it so maneuverable that this kind of "tight" BnZ isn't possible to safely execute against a high-skill Spitfire pilot, no matter how much E you start out with? Again, assuming that he isn't already at low speed when you begin your initial attack, but that this is instead a one-on-one situation where a skilled opponent knew you were coming.


Edited by Echo38
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's an excellent point, because if you're zooming while still in gun range, a fairly decent Spit pilot will hold level and retain speed until you're about to "flop" back on him, and then zoom up to catch you when you're slow. It may work, it may not, sounds like circumstances and skill differential may matter a lot.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Zilch79's YouTube Channel:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
What sort of boom-and-zoom are we talking, exactly? Is it a single diving attack, followed by an extension and then a shallow, long-term zoom climb? This is the sort of long-term fight I called my "anti-Zero trick" (while flying P-38 in other sim-games); the idea was to slowly (but at high speed) climb while already out of gun range, keeping the horizontal component of your velocity just high enough that the enemy couldn't enter gun range.

 

But I wonder if a more immediate fight is possible against Spitfire, if one has sufficient energy in the Focke-Wulf. Namely, a steep zoom climb that does not allow one to exit gun range, followed by a loop or even a stall-turn ("the flop," I called it; it's like a hammerhead, but on the pitch axis instead of the yaw axis). It's dangerous because, if the enemy already was at a high speed when you fired on him, then he likely can pull up as well, and get a shot at you before he stalls.

 

It largely depends on just how maneuverable the target is, and I'm wondering if the DCS Spitfire is like the Spitfire in other (lesser) sim-games, which means is it so maneuverable that this kind of "tight" BnZ isn't possible to safely execute against a high-skill Spitfire pilot, no matter how much E you start out with? Again, assuming that he isn't already at low speed when you begin your initial attack, but that this is instead a one-on-one situation where a skilled opponent knew you were coming.

 

You should execute a high-side guns pass followed by a shallow climbing turn to regain altitude advantage. If you miss your first pass the spit can potentially get guns on you as you fly past him- this is why your zoom climb should include a turn, as it makes any shot the Spitfire takes a deflection shot (and they're much more difficult, as we all know). Doing a steep zoom followed by a tight, low speed loop is great for getting another pass in quickly, but at the peak of your loop you'll be 'hanging' in the air and exposing the largest possible target area to a plane that is shooting up at you.

 

Another option: When I played another WW2 sim that shall not be named (but it rhymed with bore under) I often combined a high yo-yo and a barrel roll to set up extra passes on lower-energy enemies. Basically after the first pass I would start a high yo-yo to one side (typically the left, though I can't say why- it just felt better) then transition into a barrel roll as my speed dropped to bring me back onto a course that was pointed at my target. I would fly a lag or pure pursuit course to get in position behind him again. If the defender turns the same way as your initial maneuver you just continue with the high yo-yo (omitting the barrel roll) and come back down behind, and if he turns the opposite way you do the barrel roll and have a bit more catching up to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What sort of boom-and-zoom are we talking, exactly? Is it a single diving attack, followed by an extension and then a shallow, long-term zoom climb? This is the sort of long-term fight I called my "anti-Zero trick" (while flying P-38 in other sim-games); the idea was to slowly (but at high speed) climb while already out of gun range, keeping the horizontal component of your velocity just high enough that the enemy couldn't enter gun range.

 

But I wonder if a more immediate fight is possible against Spitfire, if one has sufficient energy in the Focke-Wulf. Namely, a steep zoom climb that does not allow one to exit gun range, followed by a loop or even a stall-turn ("the flop," I called it; it's like a hammerhead, but on the pitch axis instead of the yaw axis). It's dangerous because, if the enemy already was at a high speed when you fired on him, then he likely can pull up as well, and get a shot at you before he stalls.

 

It largely depends on just how maneuverable the target is, and I'm wondering if the DCS Spitfire is like the Spitfire in other (lesser) sim-games, which means is it so maneuverable that this kind of "tight" BnZ isn't possible to safely execute against a high-skill Spitfire pilot, no matter how much E you start out with? Again, assuming that he isn't already at low speed when you begin your initial attack, but that this is instead a one-on-one situation where a skilled opponent knew you were coming.

 

You should execute a high-side guns pass followed by a shallow climbing turn to regain altitude advantage. If you miss your first pass the spit can potentially get guns on you as you fly past him- this is why your zoom climb should include a turn, as it makes any shot the Spitfire takes a deflection shot (and they're much more difficult, as we all know). Doing a steep zoom followed by a tight, low speed loop is great for getting another pass in quickly, but at the peak of your loop you'll be 'hanging' in the air and exposing the largest possible target area to a plane that is shooting up at you.

 

Another option: When I played another WW2 sim that shall not be named (but it rhymed with bore under) I often combined a high yo-yo and a barrel roll to set up extra passes on lower-energy enemies. Basically after the first pass I would start a high yo-yo to one side (typically the left, though I can't say why- it just felt better) then transition into a barrel roll as my speed dropped to bring me back onto a course that was pointed at my target. I would fly a lag or pure pursuit course to get in position behind him again. If the defender turns the same way as your initial maneuver you just continue with the high yo-yo (omitting the barrel roll) and come back down behind, and if he turns the opposite way you do the barrel roll and have a bit more catching up to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...