Air Combat Maneuvering
Flight Procedures
maneuver out-of-plane to defeat your guns solution. Because you have only a short time to reach the
snap guns window, timing is everything. Delaying your reversal causes you to overshoot before you even
place the pipper on the bogey. Reversing early generates too many angles, causing you to miss the
envelope entirely. In either case, your attempt at a snap guns shot against a counter-maneuvering bogey
will result in a high TCA, causing you to overshoot. Immediately after the overshoot, both you and the
bogey return to the original heading in combat spread, ready to initiate subsequent attempts.
You should use the following calls anytime a guns shot is attempted during ACM.
For a solution of 0-30 degrees AOT, transmit, “Pipper’s on, tracking,” and “Pipper’s off,” when the
bogey destroys the solution.
For a solution of 30-60 degrees AOT and you are able to hold the pipper on the bogey, transmit,
“Pipper’s on, raking,” and “Pipper’s off,” when the bogey destroys the solution. If you are unable to
hold the pipper on within 30-60 degrees AOT, transmit, “Trigger down, raking,” as the bogey flies
through the projected flight path of the bullets.
For a solution of 60-90 degrees AOT, transmit, “Trigger down, snap,” as the bogey flies through
the projected flight path of the bullets. Evaluate your gun shot by calling, “Miss low/high,” if you
feel the solution was inaccurate. If you believe the shot was valid, additional calls are
unnecessary.
We will now look at several maneuvers that will be first practiced and soon used in concert tactically to
achieve a kill.
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1 Attacker
Defender
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Figure 8: LOW YO-YO
LOW YO-YO
The low yo-yo in Figure 8 is a lead pursuit maneuver, accomplished by flying inside the bogey’s turn,
designed to decrease range by increasing closure rate, but generally resulting in higher angle off once the
bogey maneuvers against you. Use the low yo-yo to close on a bogey to reach an appropriate weapons
envelope, as well as to transition from a missile to a guns envelope. Remember that the experienced
T-45C Revision 1
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