Defensive circle

"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 01 Oct 2003 14:17:33 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:


"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
.. .


From another perspective, however, I had always learned that a
Lufberry was a 1-v-1 situation in which the attacker and defender were
trapped in a single circle, same plane fight, tail-chasing each other
and simultaneously trying to attack and defend against the other guy.
If transitioned from horizontal to vertical, it became a rolling
scissors.

Modern tactics and missiles have long ago
outdistanced any advantage in a Lufberry per se', and as for being
defensive
to the point of initiating a rolling scissors against a smart
shooter.........that's a heart attack on a bun for sure!!!
:-))))

When we used to instruct the scissors, either as a classic reversing
scissors or the rolling scissors, I used to tell the students that it
was the last place they ever wanted to be since more than 50% of the
people who enter a scissors die there.

They would look quizzically and then suggest it wasn't possible, as
one would be the victor and one the lose, hence 50%.

I then would point out the high likelihood of a mid-air between the
two frantically reversing aircraft, each trying to reacquire nose-tail
separation. Yep, more than 50%!

You are so right about losing sight. One of the greatest misunderstandings
among novices about aerial combat, and something they learn very quickly as
they move into the learning curve, is the value of sight. Many come in
visualizing only the written material, which as you and I well know, doesn't
begin to paint the "real picture" of what it's like up there when you start
yanking the damn thing around. They all seem to have that rock solid line
drawing view of what to expect. Then, all of a sudden, reality sets in as
they go nose to nose with a closure of 1000 kts or more. In fact, I don't
know about you, but one of the earliest "lessons" I had to deal with
personally when aggressively maneuvering a fighter was that my damn helmet
would slip down and block my vision in direct proportion to the g I was
putting on the airplane. Hell, I began to "really" learn something when I
realized that I could almost tell the g I had on the bird at any moment by
where the upper lip of the helmet was on my forehead!! :-)))
I also remember that one of the first things you encounter as an acm
instructor is getting them through that first hour of 1 v 1 with some kind
of feeling of self accomplishment, as all their preconceived "book learn'in"
and "notions" go right out the canopy and they start screaming through the
ICS...."How much offset did you say I need"......."Where is he????.......
Where the hell IS HE?????" "DAMN!!!! THERE he is!!!!........"
:-)))))
Dudley