Gunship Academy
by Richard Sheffield
Tutorial 4: Gun Practice
Almost all of the targets in the game are vulnerable to fire from the chain gun, with the exception of an occasional bunker. By following this tutorial, you'll learn to engage targets effectively with the gun. You'll also learn that doing so can be extremely dangerous.
Set the INS to match the position on the map.
Take off and fly toward the INS cursor and then turn toward your targets. Fly at a speed of 100 knots at an altitude of 100 feet. By attacking in this manner, you'll have a number of targets lined up in a row so you can deal with them one at a time.
Follow the basic flight plan on the map but zigzag back and forth as necessary to line up the targets. (It isn't necessary to point the crosshairs directly at the target, but the gun is more accurate when the target is near the center of the screen.) Wait to fire until the target is 0.7 kilometer or closer. (Waiting until it is 0.3 kilometer will guarantee a hit on the first shot.) If a target is off to one side, you can switch to the Left or Right View before the target is off of the front screen, and the TADS system will continue to track it. Pick a target and destroy it in this manner with the gun. As you start to fire, you'll notice that the gun causes the nose to pitch up, so you'll have to correct constantly by applying forward stick to prevent the aircraft from gaining too much altitude.
As you get into the enemy area, you'll start to take hits from enemy weapons. Activate the jammers and watch many of the missiles pass right by you. Enemy fire is the main problem with using the gun. Getting close enough to use your gun also puts you in range of a number of enemy locations.
When you finish the second leg of your attack, set the INS back over the base and head for home.
Table of Contents
Previous Section: Tutorial 3: Low and Slow/High and Fast
Next Section: Tutorial 5: Combined Gun and Rocket Attack