Air Combat Maneuvering
Flight Procedures
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A savvy bandit will anticipate your nose low move and lead turn you. You must honor this
by either pulling for the overshoot (if the nose is not already committed down) or redefining
the fight into a defensive spiral. If you continue with the unload, you will most assuredly
die.
LUFBERY
You may at times find that you have successfully countered the bandit but were unable to reduce
lateral separation. The most classic case is when you find yourself fighting the bandit directly across
a circle 180 degrees out from you. This is a stalemate situation known as a “lufbery,” named for
Raoul Lufbery, an American ace during World War I. The lufbery is an energy-depleting fight that
should be terminated at the earliest opportunity. But avoid performing a one-move disengagement
since the lateral separation and AOT are usually not great enough to prevent the bandit from gaining
the advantage.
To disengage, begin a series of unloads and pullbacks to gain airspeed and nose-to-tail separation
by reducing AOA momentarily to an unloaded condition. Maintain your AOB to disguise your
extension maneuver and pull back into the bandit to stabilize AOT. With sufficient airspeed and
nose-to-tail separation, execute your bugout or defensive pitchback. If the disengagement is
unsuccessful, then you may need another defensive maneuver. Because this maneuver requires a
great amount of time and fuel, the instructor may decide to terminate the lufbery prior to a disen-
gagement attempt.
LAST-DITCH MANEUVERS
The defensive maneuvers previously discussed were developed to safely keep you from ever having
to defend against a bandit’s guns solution. But what about the times when the bandit has out-
maneuvered you or has surprised you, and is behind you pulling lead for a shot? You have to do
something, and you have to do it now! To survive, you have to perform a counter that is extremely
aggressive and unpredictable. These counters are referred to as “last-ditch maneuvers.”
(10-98) Original
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