F-16 vs Mig-15

[RodBorza]

Hello all,

 

So I decided to try out the F-16 in the last free to play given by ED. It is an amazing dogfighter, and for the record, Dogfight and Missile modes make things way easier.

I'm not the world's greatest dogfigther (maybe one day i'll get to the Growling Sidewinder's level) and I know that the AI use the Simple Flight Model, so I could try my luck dogfighting against Mig-29s and Su-27s with relative success.

However, I'm having a hard time in guns only dogfight against Mig-15s. Oh boy, those things are pesky. 

So, my question is: besides my questionable dogfighting skills, are there any reasons why the Mig-15s are so hard to shoot down? I mean, their lower speed may give them some better turn radius and turn rate, and/or their wings are better suited for this kind of fight? Are there any tips or tricks while dogfigting in the F-16 that can be useful?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Northstar98]

If you're fighting the AI, it's their AI flight model - and it can be quite ridiculous - especially apparent when the same aircraft in the same configuration fight each other - I think the MiG-15bis, MiG-21bis and F-5E-3 are particularly notorious.

 

Edited February 15 by Northstar98

[RodBorza]

12 minutes ago, Northstar98 said:

If you're fighting the AI, it's their AI flight model - and it can be quite ridiculous and I think the MiG-15bis, MiG-21bis and F-5E-3 being particularly notorious.

 

Yep, it is the Ai, particularly on that The Gauntlet mission.

[razo+r]

Your F-16 has an afterburner, the MiG-15 doesn't (even with questionable flight model). Use it... And then it will be a breeze of a fight.

 

Merge, extend and climb, turn around and gun them.

[zcrazyx]

Mig 15 and Mig 21 AI have questionable flight performance, if i remember correctly the 21 uses its old fm before they updated it. so players use the new while ai use the old. 

for the mig 15 they fight in very specific ways i have noticed and depending on difficulty will decide how they fight, e.g in a sabre they will try go vertical, if they do that against a mig 15 or consiquently other aircraft with high thrust to weight then they become easier targets. 

[razo+r]

AI will always do a looping if it knows that it is faster than you or infront of you. 

 

If it is behind you, it will follow you, but has serious issues with certain maneuvers, so they will go vertical again. 

 

Basically, AI can only do two/three maneuvers. 

 

Follow you

Do looping

And from time to time also crash into the ground

Edited February 15 by razo+r

[RodBorza]

On 2/15/2021 at 12:36 PM, zcrazyx said:

Mig 15 and Mig 21 AI have questionable flight performance, if i remember correctly the 21 uses its old fm before they updated it. so players use the new while ai use the old. 

for the mig 15 they fight in very specific ways i have noticed and depending on difficulty will decide how they fight, e.g in a sabre they will try go vertical, if they do that against a mig 15 or consiquently other aircraft with high thrust to weight then they become easier targets. 

 

Oh yes, they do use the old FM. For what I heard, any AI aircraft that you go against, uses the old FM, while you are with the new FM, with its advantages and disadvantages.

 

On 2/15/2021 at 12:52 PM, razo+r said:

AI will always do a looping if it knows that it is faster than you or infront of you. 

 

If it is behind you, it will follow you, but has serious issues with certain maneuvers, so they will go vertical again. 

 

Basically, AI can only do two/three maneuvers. 

 

Follow you

Do looping

And from time to time also crash into the ground

 

Thanks man. Started to observe that, and that's exactly what they do. It doesn't matter if you they are a FW-190 or a Mig-15, they will always do the same pattern.

[Exorcet]

The MiG-15 AI flight model is probably one of the worst, so it in particular doesn't provide a great experience to dogfight. That said, earlier jets were slower and more optimized for slow speed combat relative to modern fighters. You can't necessarily expect to out turn them. You should be able to easily outclimb and out run them though (at least if the flight model is accurate).

[TLTeo]

Never ever ever set the AI skill above Normal (or trained?), and for the Mig-15 it should honestly just be set to Rookie because it's notoriously silly. From what I recall, you can definitely outrun an AI Mig-15, but depending on energy state it may not be possible to outclimb them because DCS spaghetti code.