Here is how to use the gun cross/funnel combination to kill the bandit:
► Place the gun cross out in front of the target. Picture the target with a long pitot boom[20] sticking out the nose. The gun cross should be placed on this extended pitot boom. If the target changes his plane-of-motion, then fly to place the gun cross on the new position of this imaginary pole sticking out of the nose of the target.
► Next, overlead the target by making the wingspan of the target extend past the funnel. This will place your bullet stream in front of the target’s nose.
► Fire the gun while easing up on the G. This will move the target from the bottom of the funnel to the top. Cease fire when the target’s wings are inside the funnel.
► Make a slight jink out of the bandit’s plane-of-motion so, when he blows up, you don’t suck a body part down your intake.
This technique uses the gun cross and the EEGS funnel to place the bullet stream in front of the bandit. When you ease up on the G, the target should fly through your bullets. Figure 2-12 shows how to make this shot.
Fighter Pilot Training Sorties: Offensive BFM
Here are a few fighter pilot rules of thumb for setting up an offensive BFM training sortie.
► There should always be one guy who is getting the training and one guy who is the training aid.
► It is easy to set up offensive engagements by first starting line abreast and then executing an in-place turn as shown in the diagram below.
After getting in lead-trail formation, the guy out in front should start an easy 30° bank turn and the trailer should use lead to close the range if necessary or go lag to increase the range. Both pilots should be at the proper airspeed. For setups at a mile or greater, this airspeed is 400 to 500 knots. For setups at 3,000 feet, the airspeed of both pilots should be no more than 300 knots. Any airspeed faster than 300 knots at ranges of 3,000 feet or less will cause line-of-sight rates that the offensive fighter cannot handle.
► For sake of discussion, we’ll call the trailing pilot “Falcon 1-2” and the guy out in front “Falcon 1-1.” The fight should start with the trailer saying, “Falcon One-Two is established at 1 mile and ready.” The guy out front should say, “Falcon One-One is ready — fight’s on.”
With the “Fight’s on” call, Falcon 1-1 should crank into a defensive turn, forcing Falcon 1-2 to BFM. When flying offensive setups, both guys should fight full speed. If the offensive fighter cannot get into guns position and achieve a kill, the fight should be set up again, with the defender pulling a 5 G level turn. Continue this setup until the offensive guy gets in for a gun shot and then go back to a more dynamic engagement.
Conclusion
Offensive BFM is not as straightforward as it appears at first glance. This chapter contains a lot of talk about turns, turn circles and turning room. On the offensive, you must constantly be aware of your position in relation to the bandit’s turn circle. You must also control your airspeed because it is the key to turn performance. A fighter at corner velocity has the best overall turn rate/radius performance — slower or faster speeds degrade turn performance. It sounds simple, but you can spend far too much of your life suffering under tremendous G and not turning the jet because you let the airspeed run away. The message here is this: control your airspeed or you will lose the fight!
Finally, you must also remember to factor in Gs. As you pull Gs, you must place your nose on the proper pursuit course to the target. Remember, on the attack, lag the bandit until you are inside 3,000 feet. At 3,000 feet, go lead for the gun shot but watch your overtake.
The academic lecture on the videotape will polish up your knowledge of offensive BFM. After viewing the offensive BFM section of the tape, you can come back to this book and take the offensive BFM quiz located in “BFM Lesson Plans.”
Chapter 3
DEFENSIVE BFM
I learned the most about fighting defensive BFM while flying as an IP in the F-16A at MacDill AFB. MacDill, as I mentioned earlier, was an F-16 training base. When flying student rides, we seldom fought at full speed, but when we flew sorties against the other IPs, we gave it everything we had. Competition was intense among the instructors, which led to some very rapid learning during BFM rides.
During one particular engagement, I learned the value of keeping your lift vector right on the bandit when performing a defensive turn. This engagement occurred during an instrument check ride. On an instrument check at MacDill, we normally flew down to Southwest Regional Airport near Ft. Myers and did an ILS[21] and an SFO[22] approach. We then entered an over-water range and did some BFM. After finishing our BFM, we went back to MacDill for a TACAN approach and an overhead pattern. A check pilot chased us through all of those maneuvers and graded our performance.
The guy giving me this particular check ride was named Smitty. Smitty was the Wing Top Gun in bombing and an all-around good flyer. After finishing our work at Southwest Regional, we entered the over-water area and got set up for a perch BFM engagement with me out in front. Smitty found his way back about 7,000 feet, and when we both had about 450 knots, I called “Fight’s on.” Then I started an 8 G defensive turn to the left with my lift vector right on Smitty’s noggin.
Before I go any further, it might be beneficial to explain some of the physical demands that you encounter in the jet when making a defensive turn. I normally describe BFM fights and immediately get engrossed in describing the detailed geometry of the fight, skipping the physical aspects of air combat altogether. Since the chapter you’re about to read is on defensive BFM, it might be useful to briefly describe the physical side of the defensive fight. Defensive BFM is one of the most violent physical activities you can undergo (without dying). You must pull high Gs while keeping sight of an enemy at 6 o’clock. Throughout high G maneuvering, you must fight the Gs in order to keep the blood flow to your cranium. You accomplish this by using an L-1 maneuver: a series of 2- to 3-second grunts against a closed windpipe. This maneuver raises your blood pressure, which keeps the sky blue (rather than black) and your brain working. The L-1 manueuver is slightly different from the older M-1 manuever, in which the windpipe is open during the grunts.
The most difficult task to perform under high G is to check 6 o’clock. In an F-16, it’s much harder to check 6 when turning to the right because the F-16 stick is on the right side of the cockpit. Since you must keep your right hand on the side stick controller during a turn, you have to twist your body to the right and look over your right shoulder. You actually accomplish this by pulling yourself around with your free left hand. (The throttle is in afterburner and usually stays there so your left hand is free.) The F-16 has a “towel rack” located on both sides of the cockpit. These towel racks are used to help you move around the cockpit when the elephant is sitting on your shoulders. In a right-hand defensive turn, for example, you grab the towel rack on the right side of the cockpit with your left hand, pull yourself to the right, and look over your right shoulder. It’s easier to turn to the left to check 6. With your right hand again on the side stick controller, you simply push off the left towel rack, lean to the right, and look over your left shoulder. In the fight with Smitty, I made a left-hand turn. In a left turn, it is relatively easy (as easy as it could be with a 160-pound head) to keep a tally.