need combat tips!!
 

ok, the next combat session my club will be having, i will have a S.P.A.D by then so i need some tips on how to try and win the other guys, does a bigger engine also help? and any prop recommendations?

thanx in advance :)

need combat tips!!
 

VTOL,

Open B combat is the most popular, so lets set you up for Open B. Start with a good .25 engine and a 9x4 prop. Big engines and speed are not the important. What is important is the ability to fly you plane. I try to get behind my target and stay on his butt until I have his streamer. If you can get a helper that will help you find you next target then by all means, do so. You helper can tell you if you a farther away or closer than you opponent. But the most important thing is just have a blast!

Bob

need combat tips!!
 

On my Raptor, I used a thundertiger GP 25 and 9x6 props, the experts at our club say to use 8xsomething. My setup pulled my plane along pretty well, until I ripped the wing off. My advice, make sure your plane can haul, but make even more sure that you can control it. Don't take this to heart, I have neverflown combat, but watched several.

need combat tips!!
 

Nearly every one of the top combat pilots in B class use the MAS 9x4 prop.

The MAS props are generally stronger than other brands, which is important in combat.

The 9x4 is used because straight line speed is not that important, however, maintaining speed in constant high-G turns is critical. A 9x4 allows the engine to continue to pull hard though the turns. If you run a 9x5 or 9x6, you'll go fast in a straight line, but once you start to turn or loop, you'll see the speed bleed off, and you won't be able to continue the turn.

Tips for getting cuts:

As Bob said, pick a target, and keep on them until you get them.

Combat is a 3-dimensional game. It's very hard to judge all three at a time, you try to position your plane relitive to your targets such that you can eliminate one or two dimentions.

AJ did a great writeup here:
http://www.rccombat.com/sections/workshop/workshop.asp
click on TEAMseaholm on the left side, then on "Aerial Tactics and Techniques" on that page.

I have 3 or 4 "setups" I like to use to get a cut on someone. These are relationships between my plane and my target that I look for that I can comfortably use to run my plane across the tail of my target, taking their streamer. AJ's article describes one of the best, I have a few others I like as well.

One of the absolute key elements to being good at combat is learning how to not watch your own plane too much. You have to look away from your own plane in the air to follow your target. If you concentrate on your own plane in the air, you won't be able to see and follow someone else, so you have to "soften" or "expand" your vision and fly that way.

Know your plane. If you aren't comfortable with your plane, you won't be able to look away from it in the heat of combat.

If possible know your opponents. I like to get up in the air as soon as I can in the 90second window to make sure I'm in trim, but to also size up my opponets. I'm looking for types of planes that I'm familiar with, looking for particular pilots, and looking for planes that seem to be faster or slower than mine, so I know what kind of approach I have to use to get them.

Well said Montague!
 

Monague has it figured out. I don't believe I could have said it better myself... :D

Head over to http://www.rccombat.com/forum_2000/default.asp and ask as many questions as possible. There are hundreds of people there willing help you out.

Good luck, may the cuts be with you...

A.J. Seaholm
TEAMseaholm
[email protected]