Chapter2: Flight Maneuvers
 
 
 
 

This section of the guide will cover some of the more widely used flight maneuvers in online Red Baron. Also it will attempt to cover some philosophy that may help you develop your own flying style as well. It is wise to remember that what works for one pilot may very well be disastrous for another. We are all individuals, with different strengths, not to mention different computer systems.

                First the philosophy part.
 
                Think about the way things move while in air currents. They don't usually jerk about in sharp angles. More often they seem to flow in curves and circles. When we design a car or bicycle to be more aerodynamic we reduce the flat surfaces that will impact against the air... in favor of smooth surfaces that will allow the air to pass over with less resistance. When you fly you should attempt to fly as if you were a mote of dust riding in an air current. If you attempt to fly against the wind you will not succeed without great effort, and you will do so only slowly. If you ride with the currents you can make greater progress.

                This translates into the simple idea that you will be better off by making natural curved-flowing movements other than sharp jerky-edged ones. If you are banking hard to the left you may attempt  to change directions by rolling to the right and proceeding into a right bank turn. Better yet, you could use the left-ward momentum  to assist you. If you nose down just a bit, and then curve upward-left  and  over until you are flying right,(kind of a half barrel roll)  you will have more efficiently  exchanged the ENERGY of your left-movement for right-movement.

                Now I've breached the subject of ENERGY. Flight and dogfighting can be seen as a type of formula involving potential ENERGY (altitude and speed) that can be exchanged for more speed and/or maneuverability to gain a favorable position to fire upon  your target. Or, of course, you could exchange the potential energy  for more altitude, which would later be exchanged. If you are in a slow very ungainly plane but at a high altitude, you have the option of exchanging that altitude (by diving) for speed and maneuverability.  By diving you increase the speed at which the air flows over our  wings. Thusly you also increase the result you receive when performing  maneuvers, due to the fact that increased air flow over your control surfaces (such as rudders, aerileons, etc) gives you increased...  control!

                As we begin to discuss the specific flight maneuvers that should be useful to you in Red Baron, keep in mind the philosophy of curved-flowing movements, as well as the possibility of exchanging energy for more speed, maneuverability, and altitude. A bit of  experimentation on your own should reveal to you that curved move- ments usually offer a more efficient way to transfer energy from one form to another, or from one direction to another.

                Also at this point it is important to mention two very vital concepts of flying that will either preserve or destroy your potential  energy. Those two concepts are "commitment" and "following through".   If you commit to a maneuver you will have invested a substantial  amount of energy in the effort to doing that maneuver. If you do not  follow through with that maneuver you have broken your commitment.
 
                Breaking a commitment could very well mean the forfeiture of  most of the energy you have invested up to that point. (The way to  regain energy is to either gain altitude, or fly straight, which will  increase your speed.)

 
Banking Turns
 A banking turn is achieved by applying either left or right  ROLL. A banking turn is usually performed after flying a straight  pass on your target. You will usually achieve the tightest banking  turn by having at least a 45 degree angle of ROLL. In some planes it  may be wise to use an even greater amount of roll. To enhance a  banking turn even further you should apply PITCH as well. Upward  PITCH (Pulling back on the stick) will help you bank tighter.

                Some planes, most notably those equipped with Rotary Engines, will turn much tighter in one direction or another. Usually in Red  Baron that direction is to the right. This has two impacts upon your making a banking turn. The first being that turning in the direction of the torque of the engine will increase your turn rate. Secondly, turning against the engine's torque will be likely to slow your turn  rate.
 
                The easiest way to counter that slowing effect in a banking turn to the left is to increase your ROLL angle. In most planes equipped with a rotary engine, up to a 90 Degree angle of  ROLL can  help you turn more quickly to the left. This is also likely to drop your altitude as you turn though, so be aware of this and cautious until you are familiar with the effects of a steep ROLL angle in  conjunction with a leftward turn in a Rotary engine plane.

 
Roll 
 
                A Roll was used as an example for an alternate method of  switching the direction of your banking turn in the intro to this chapter.  It is important to understand that you may apply ROLL to  your plane as in the definition and you may use the method of  turning called a Roll.
 
Dive 
                A dive is very self explanatory.  You nose down by applying downward pitch and fly down for a specified amount of time/altitude. It should be noted that diving is exchanging your energy for speed. You *should* have something in mind to do with that speed!  This could  include anything from performing a maneuver such as a loop, or a high-speed strafing run on a target taking off from his or her drome.

 
 

 
Barrel-Roll
 
 
                A Barrel-Roll can be thought of as performing a cork-screw flight maneuver.  Novice pilots often miss the utility of this maneuver.  A well executed Barrel Roll can fool a pursuing opponent  into thinking you are doing a Roll to either side, and as he COMMITS to turning after you in that direction you may follow through with  your Barrel Roll ending up going the opposite way he expected.  In addition to this potential of fooling your opponent the Barrel Roll  is also a series of exchanging and regaining the energy I mentioned.  At the high point of the Barrel Roll you are very slow and have exchanged most of your speed for maneuverability, but at the low  point of the roll you have gained that speed back, and may reinvest  it in another maneuver.
 
                     . B .
                    C      .
                      .  .
                       A    D . . E. . ?
 
                The above is an illustration of a Barrel-Roll. Imagine  proceeding from Point A to Point E in that order. This illustrates  with a simple line several important points on the Barrel-Roll. (note I hope to make an animated gif of this soon)

                Point A on the Barrel-Roll can be seen as the point at which you committed to performing the Barrel-Roll. You have invested enough of your speed at this point that if you were to abort the maneuver it could very well be disastrous and result in the loss of most of your invested energy/speed. You begin at this point to apply pitch (pull back on the stick) and to apply Roll (push the stick to the side)  these should be done simultaneously to properly execute the Barrel Roll.

                Point B is the Apex of the Barrel-Roll. At this point your  opponent may very well believe that you are rolling to the left.
 
               This point is also where you have exchanged most of your speed/energy for maneuverability.
 
                Point C is where you descend from the Apex of the Barrel-Roll and have 1:regained much of the energy you invested in the Roll and   2: have the choice of continuing the Roll (making it into a true Barrel-Roll) or flying on . There are several reasons you may choose  not to complete the entire Barrel-Roll just one being that you may  have seen that your enemy has stalled or turned away from you, giving  you an opportunity to get on his tail.

                Point D of the Barrel-Roll is where you have completed the  Barrel Roll. Depending on what your opponent has done, you may choose  at this point amongst several options (one of which is to do another  Barrel-Roll).

                Point E is a theoretical one at which you may also choose to do another Barrel-Roll. The factors that decide this of course are  many, which will be made aware to you by situational awareness.  Knowing where your enemy is, and how he reacted to your Barrel-Roll  will help you determine what you should do afterwards.
 
 
Immelman Turn
 
                The Immelman turn is one of the most useful maneuvers you can perform in most of the planes you will fly in Red Baron. It allows  you to efficiently exchange your energy for an extremely tight turn. The Immelman turn is a MUCH tighter turn than a banking turn, but it takes longer.  Also it is not to be performed in every plane.  Most  notably the Triplanes do not perform nearly as well doing Immelman  turns as the mono and biplanes.  As a matter of fact, the turn rate in Triplanes is such that you shouldn't need to perform an Immelman.
 
                The Immelman turn is basically a gravity assisted turn. You start by exchanging your energy/speed for some altitude. Apply  upward PITCH (pull back on the stick) until you loose sight of the   horizon. Once you loose sight of the horizon you should apply YAW in  the direction of your turn. (rudders are used to apply yaw)  Now you  should Roll your craft in the direction of your turn as well, until  the horizon comes back into sight.  Once you have done this you should  now apply upward pitch (pull back on the stick) which will cause you  to turn back in the direction you started from.(When the horizon is visible after rolling it may be advantageous to cut the throttle by  half. This will help drop your nose sharply in the direction you  just came from.)

                Once you have reversed your direction the completion of the  Immelman turn is to spot your target and head towards him, and  hopefully get in a shot. (If you dropped your throttle, it is best to bring it back up at this point)
 

 

 
Yo-Yo Turns
 
                Yo-Yo turns come in two varieties: low and high. The basic principal for both turns is the same, just slightly differing application is necessary depending on which you wish to perform. The purpose of a Yo-Yo turn is to cut through the middle of a circle you  are turning in. The best example is if you were chasing an opponent, using the banking turn, but could not catch up with his tail to get in a shot; a Yo-Yo turn might be very appropriate.
 
                In general the Low Yo-Yo should be used when you are flying very slowly, or have lost most of your energy. The LYY is done by cutting your throttle, and dropping your nose inside the circle you were turning. When you drop your nose, you may for a short moment view your enemy you were chasing. You should increase your throttle after your nose drops, and utilize that increased throttle as well as the energy you gained by dropping your nose to climb back up and  keep turning after him. After executing this turn a few times you  should have brought yourself within the range necessary to make a  shot.

                The High Yo-Yo is similar in concept to the Low Yo-Yo, just slightly different application. It is better used when you are circling at a high speed, and can not seem to catch up to the opponent. The HYY is done by noseing up, and then falling back over, and towards your opponent.  You might best assist the falling back towards him by cutting the throttle slightly.

 
Landing Your Plane
 
 
                Landing your plane in Red Baron is fairly difficult the first few times. Usually there will not be a need to land your plane, but for those rare occasions that it is necessary I am including this topic to help those who have little experience doing it. If you have the home version of Red Baron this would be the ideal place to practice landing, as well as taking off.

                Landing your plane (with or without your engine power) is pretty much the same procedure. Even when you have engine power you  will have the speed so low for the actual landing part that it is  almost negligible. Landing can be done almost anywhere, with the obvious exceptions such as on buildings, on trains, but you CAN land on water! I recommend leveling out at about 500 feet (depending  on your speed you may level out sooner to prevent yourself from slamming into the ground!) From 500 feet you should begin a glide down to 0. In some planes... especially those marked as underpowered  it is okay to keep about a 3-4 throttle maintained.

                Once you are under 100 feet, and really approaching 0, you should keep the nose of your plane even with the horizon. Usually this will mean the horizon line is in the middle of your screen. Keep drifting along like this until you have been at 0 for a second or so... make sure your throttle is very low... then drop it all the way, and pull back gently. This will usually settle your tail on the ground and you will have successfully landed. If your nose starts to drop you should pull back even more, and if possible give it throttle to  prevent from crashing. If your engine is out, you should pull back and pray!
 
Taking Off
 

                I almost didn't include this subject. It is covered in the  INN documentation, and most should master it after only one or two tries! But occasionally I know some people have a really hard time getting some of the older planes off the ground. It is important to put the throttle on 9 (maximum) when you intend to take off.  Anything less is preposterous!

                Allow the plane time to reach its maximum ground speed, this should usually only take about 2 seconds. In an underpowered older plane, it can take almost to the end of the strip. Don't keep pulling back before the plane is at full speed, you will just spend  the energy in lifting the nose for a second and then it will drop back down possibly causing you to crash!

                They way to tell if you are at maximum ground speed is to listen to the sound of the engine. The engine sound will be higher pitched at higher speeds, and lower at lower. (Gee..that almost makes sense!)  When the sound has peaked, you are ready to pull back and  take off. I recommend pulling back on the stick slightly, just a bit at a time until you see the altimeter indicate you have taken off.

                Also keep in ming to take off your tail will have to lift off of the ground. If your plane's tail does not lift withing a second or so then you may wish to manually lift it by applying pitch. Be carefull when you do this though, as if you attempt to lift the tail as it  is naturally doing so you may cause yourself to crash!

                Some of the old planes will not have altimeter's on expert level. If you are in this situation you'll still be able to tell by seeing the horizon drop below the halfway point on your screen... and stay there. If you aren't off the ground it should bounce back  up as your nose drops!

                Very occasionally I have heard individuals say they were a  absolutely stuck on the ground! If this happens it is possible your  stick controls are not being read. Usually hitting ALT-J two times  or ALT-R two times should remedy this! If that STILL doesn't work...  I would probably leave the game and hope it does not recur!


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