There is another related advantage of a move into the vertical — you will have a lot of aircraft planform to look at, so it is easy to maintain a tally. The big disadvantage of this move is that your initial turn rate is poor as you fight gravity on the pull-up. At the top, of course, you have gravity’s help, so your turn rate goes back up. Unfortunately, the bandit will have made some angles on you by then. Another disadvantage of going into the pure vertical is that you present a very hot target, from the heat plume of your jet exhaust, against a very cold sky background. This, coupled with the fact that the bandit has probably gained some angle advantage, might lead you to grief. As a general rule, don’t go into the vertical on the first move.
If you must go into the vertical, here is how you do it. As you pass the bandit, start a wings-level pull at 550 knots or as close to 550 as you can get. This is not corner velocity, but it doesn’t matter. As you start your 7 G pull, you will bleed off knots like sweat off a pig. Figure 4-8 shows this initial move in the vertical and how much altitude you will gain on the bandit by pulling straight up, rather than turning in the oblique (somewhere in between horizontal and vertical).
As you get to the pure vertical (straight up), pick up the bandit and pirouette to rotate your lift vector right on him. When your lift vector is on him, pull down. If he sees you, he will pull up into you. At this point, you will be on the receiving end of the nose-high-to-nose-low lead turn. In this situation, counter the lead turn by starting a lead turn of your own. After you counter the lead turn, continue around in a level turn to put your lift vector on the bandit.
The other option is to continue the vertical fight. If you do this, go up again and do not wait until you get 550 knots. When you have 300 knots and are passing the bandit, pull into the vertical. If you delay your pull up, the bandit will gain angles on you. Once you get to the pure vertical, repeat the pirouette and pull. You know you are winning this fight when the bandit no longer pulls his nose up into you. This is a sign that he is out of energy. You now own the turning room above the bandit and can use it to convert on him.
Over-the-Top Airspeed
Here is a story that will you give some insight into how this is done in the F-16.
Students selected to attend the Fighter Weapons School are highly experienced instructor pilots from all over the Tactical Air Force. Before we send a pilot off to be chewed up by the Weapons School meat grinder, we normally give him a few prep rides. I was one of the Weapons and Tactics Officers at MacDill Air Force Base who used to fly with these guys to get them up to speed. The Wing Commander at MacDill did not want to see any of them back early with their tail between their legs, so we put together an extensive BFM course at MacDill to get them ready. BFM is the toughest part of the Weapons School, so this course got the pilots ready to go straight up and straight down in the big leagues.
One day, I fought a guy named Butch. Butch was a good IP with above-average hands, so I figured we would both break a few blood vessels. On the first setup, I was out in front about 6,000 feet. The fight started, and Butch drove right into the entry window and turned the lag corner with the style and grace of a pro. I fought hard but ended up getting shot with the gun after a few violent jinks. Earlier, I had briefed Butch on the dangers of using the vertical during the drive into the turn circle, and he had taken it to heart and killed me quickly.
The next setup started with me out front again at 2 nm. I was not in a good mood due to the results of the previous fight. Even though the student did exactly what I briefed him to do, it is never any fun getting shot. Show me a fighter pilot who doesn’t mind getting shot, and I’ll show you a guy who should be giving chickens enemas in his veterinary practice instead of riding around on a 30,000-pound blowtorch. Since fighter pilots are bred for combat, most of them feel like I felt after this first engagement — disgusted and irate.
When Butch got back at 2 nm, we called “Fight’s on” and I rolled the jet to put my lift vector right on Butch’s noggin. This roll was followed by an 8 G break that caused the bright blue Florida sky to fade to black. I kept the pull going, even though my vision was fading, until I knew I was around the corner. I eased up on the G to re-acquire a tally and found Butch quickly moving forward on the canopy. A 2 nm setup is really a head-on fight if the guy out front pulls hard enough. I was definitely pulling hard enough to force Butch in front of the 3/9 line.
As we passed close at high angles, I estimated that Butch had plenty of knots on his jet and I had gotten slow in my pull. This was normal because I had to pull all the way around to meet him at high angles and all he had to do was drive in on me. Because I was down to 250 knots, I released the G and accelerated the jet for a few seconds. When I got back to 400 knots, I put my lift vector back on Butch and started a 7 G pull. While I was extending for knots, Butch had kept pulling at maximum G, and he was back at about 7:30 on me at 1 nm. My turn quickly drove him forward to my 9 o’clock position. The 7 G turn cost me about 200 knots and placed Butch and me in a Lufbery. We were both pulling on the limiter across a 3,000 foot circle with nowhere to go. As I looked at Butch, I could tell that he was about 50 knots slower than me. We went around for 180° and the fight stayed the same, except we both spent another 50 knots in a futile attempt to gain angles. It is precisely in these type of situations that I dust off the old high-low trick maneuver. This maneuver converts the fight from the horizontal to the vertical.
I eased off on the G to gain knots, but kept my wings set to mask the move. As I slowly accelerated, I gave up position and Butch started gaining angles and getting behind me. Before he could get around for a shot, I had reached “over the top airspeed” which, for the F-16, is 250 knots. I suddenly rolled wings-level and started a pull straight up. As I got to the 90° point, I looked back to see what Butch was doing. I wasn’t sure if he knew what to do in this situation. When I picked up a tally on Butch, he was still pulling, trying to complete his turn and get his nose uphill on me. Now I was sure that he didn’t know how to fight in the vertical. He was a dead man.
After reaching the 90° point, I rolled to put my lift vector on him, and pulled over the top to wings-level, inverted. I did not pull down into him. He still had not unloaded to gain enough energy to follow me up, so now all I had to do was stay above him and fly around to his 6 o’clock. I owned the turning room above him, since he did not have the energy to maneuver in the vertical. Turning room belongs to the guy who can use it most efficiently, and since I was the only one who could use it, I now had the advantage in the fight. I drove above him for a few seconds and then sliced down behind him. His jet continued to wallow around at 120 knots as I gunned him.
What should Butch have done? When a bandit maneuvers vertical and you do not have the energy to follow him up, you are defensive. It is usually no problem because all you have to do is accelerate and then go up with him. If the bandit goes into the oblique, you can stay with him sometimes without accelerating. When a bandit goes straight up, however, he knows what he is doing, and you must get to over-the-top airspeed and follow him up. If a fight is in the vertical and you can get your nose on the bandit, remember to lead turn out the top of the circle and lag out the bottom. This way you won’t overshoot down the back side. All Butch needed to do was to unload for airspeed and then follow me up.