World of Warplanes Air Maneuvering Guide

World of Warplanes Air Maneuvering Guide by _Grim_

I decided to make this (rather basic) guide for some air combat moves which would be an asset if known for any WoWp player ,especially for all those who just joined us in the Open Beta.

So I guess I should first introduce myself –I’m sure a lot of you already know me (in which case you probably also know everything in this guide),but if you don’t feel free to read my memoirs. After that’s out of the way we can continue.

I’ve tried to keep things as clear and simple as possible.On each maneuver I’ll try to explain how it’s done and when it is usefull in WoWp.I’ve added pictures to almost every maneuver to make the explanation more clear and I may add videos at a later moment in time .So, without further adieu ,here it goes:

Break

This is the most basic of basic stuff-it’s just a fancy word for “turn sharply in one direction when attacked”(one would think I shoudn’t even mention this move as it’s just instinct to turn when getting shot at,but my ingame experience tells me otherwise  )..It’s quite obvious what you would use a break for-evading someone on your 6 and denying him an easy target.It’s quite effective in more agile planes like the Zero . To actually profit from the break ,you should turn into your attacker’s vector of attack in order to give him the smallest possible time to fire upon you.Here’s an example to make it a bit clear an enemy is making a pass on you from 3 o’clock.In this situation you should break right as this will minimize the enemies firing solution.If you break left,you’ll make yourself an easy target as he’ll be exactly on your six then..

Loop

Everyone know what a loop is ,so this should be rather simple. You begin flying leveled, preferably at enough speed (if you are close to stall speed when entering the loop-don’t, it really won’t work out >.< ).To begin the loop pitch up and continue to do so till you are leveled again. With a loop you can bleed of some speed and well…look fancy from the perspective of a bystander

I wouldn’t recommend using the loop as a means of evading someone on your back,as,as soon as you pitch up,you’ll give your enemy a great target.I usually use a loop when I’m attacking someone’s six ,however,I’m moving too fast(but not fast enough to set up a second BnZ attack) .I fire a few shots at his tail and just before overshooting I enter a loop which will place me right at his tail with enough speed to follow him after completing it.

Another situation where I like using a loop is when I’m flying parallel to an ally getting followed by someone.After performing the loop ,I’ll be on the enemy’s six because there is a big chance he would be too distracted by his attack on my ally to notice.Do not attempt this if you are the one getting followed(explained above).

Barrel roll

Yeah,again you all know this one.Again we are starting leveled -to do it you need to roll your aircraft(who would have guesed) until you are leveled again .

What’s the barrel roll good for-well,you can use the barrel roll to reduce your speed so that you don’t overshoot an enemy or so that an enemy overshoots you.One other thing the barrel roll is really good for is making yourself harder to shoot, especially if you are trying to set up the enemy for an ally’s pass .In that case you’ll be trying to fly in straight line(so that the ally get’s an easy shot on the enemy on your 6) so the barrel roll would be one of the few things you can do to evade the enemy fire(constantly pitching up and down is another great thing to do).

Split S

One of the more common maneuvers you’ll see in WoWp-pretty much consists of a half roll and half loop.You begin flying leveled ,after that you do a 180 roll (which means you start flying inverted) and then pitch up and continue to do so untill you are leveled again(effectively you are doing a half inverted loop).When you do a Split S,you have effectively made a 180 turn and have sacrificed a bit of altitude for more speed.

I usually use it when I’ve spotted an enemy flying a course opposite to mine below me(usually soon after the game start).When I spot such a plane ,I continue to fly leveld till we pass each other.As soon as that has happened ,I perform the Split S which will put me right at his tail.If he is way below me even after the Split S,I follow it up with a dive so I can attack him.

Immelmann turn

You could call it an inverted Split S. Again you begin flying leveled.After that you enter a loop and at the top of the loop(meaning after you’ve done half of the loop),you do 180 roll.Again you have made a 180 turn ,however,this time you have sacrificed some speed for more altitude.

I usually this when I’m performing BnZ attacks but my plane doesn’t outperform the enemy one so much so that I would do a Hammerhead(read below),however,it’s still faster than his so I can get some distance from the enemy.I usually enter a shallow climb-if he follows me ,he will start to go slower and the distance between us will increase(my plane is still outperforming his,just not by a large margin) .After it has become enough(1000+ m) I will do an Immelmann and I will charge him in a head on attack-as at this time I’ll have a clear atlitude advantage and he’ll be unable to raise his nose to get a shot at me due to his low speed,so he’ll be an easy target unable to fire back.Believe this move was called a Rope-a-dope but,honestly, I’m not sure.

Hammerhead turn (also known as Stall turn)

A rather tricky maneuver,but extremely usefull at any time when in a high performance plane as it make energy fighting a lot more efficient.To make a stall turn you need to enter vertical climb.Just before losing all vertical speed,extend flaps and apply full rudder to one direction.If done properly this will make you plane tip over and make a 180 turn with the nose pointed downwards.

In combat this is usefull when you have an enemy at a lower energy and /or in a worse performing plane than yours behind you.Due to the reasons explained above when you enter the vertical climb,the enemy will stall out before you do.After you perform the Hammerhead turn,you’ll be in the perfect position and heading to perform a pass on an effectively statinary target as he’ll be hanging on his prop.

The Scissors

Ahh,this one is a pain to explain,although I use it or see it happening all the time.It happens when two planes of similar qualities and similar speeds engage each other .By themselves the scissors is a series of turn reversals and overshoots in which the attacker tries to get a snap shot at the enemy.

There are two types of scissors-flat and rolling.

The flat scissors usually happen after the attacker has made a slow overshot after the defender made a break.Both pilots would then reverse their turns so the attacker will try to get a snap shot when the two planes pass each other again and the defender will try to cause an even bigger  overshoot eventually he himself getting shots on the former attacker…and then this repeats itself till one of the planes has died.It’s really hard to disengage from a scissors without getting the enemy right at your 6-best way is probably with a split S but even that can backfire horribly.Usually the scissorts is the result of the attacker failing and overshooting in his attack-you do not want to start this maneuver if you are attacking in a plane with a big speed advantage and performance advantageas the victory usually goes to the more agile plane.

The Rolling scissors usually results when the attacker overshoots at a higher speed-usually from a dive.To avoid the attack and gain a bit more separation between himself and the attacker, the defender will pull up and after he has climbed,he’ll roll and start to dive on the former attacker ,who had started to climb after his initial dive to again try to get a shot on the defender.And then the roles swich again(as again the initial attacker will have the altitude) and so on.In a rolling scissors,the more high performance plane will do better as he supperior engine power will give him an advantage in the climbs.

Both types of scissors slow down the forward motion a lot which makes the participants in it quite vulnerable to passes by other planes.So,I would advice you avoid engaging in a scissors,even you have the advantage,if you are facing two or more bogeys.

High Yo-Yo

An extremely usefull move when you engage an enemy who can outturn you,but you have a better performing plane and/or a speed advantage.By doing the high yo-yo you’ll get a firing solution on the enemy and evade an overshoot but you’ll also conserve your energy(something that won’t happen if you try to reduce your speed in order to not overshoot the slower enemy).

This is how you perform it- as soon as the enemy breaks in order to evade you,you don’t follow him in the turn but instead enter a climbing turn.Your speed will reduce the more you climb and due to this your turn radius will also get smaller and you’ll outturn your enemy and you can fire upon him.Furthermore,you have successfully evaded overshooting him ,which would have happened if you were to immediately try to outturn him, and have also gotten an altitude advantage on him.

Low Yo-Yo

Another rather usefull maneuver-pretty much the opposite of the high Yo- Yo.Here you sacrifice some altitude to get a momentary boost in speed to catch a fleeing enemy or gain an advantage in a turn .For example,an enemy is running away from –you dive,gain some speed and catch up with him.As soon as you do that you can pull up and get a snap shot on him-you’ll get only a small timespan to fire.

When used in a turn you can quickly cut range and effectively cut the corner of the opponens turn.After that you should pitch up as this will make you avoid overshooting and will place you on your target’s altitude.The Low yo-yo can be followed by a high yo-yo in order to not overshoot and to give you a better firing position.

As I’m not a real pilot or even a sim player,I’ve probably missed or missexplained some but ,at least in the WoWp environment ,what’ve written here should be pretty usefull.

And this pretty much covers what I had to say .Hope you liked the guide! If you have any questions or feedback on it-please feel free to share them.

Reaper signing off