Jet Fighter School

Air Combat Simulator Tactics and Maneuvers
by Richard G. Sheffield

Zoom Maneuver from a Turn

Situation:	You're in a hard-turning fight. You can't obtain an advantage and you're too close for a missile shot. Both you and your opponent are at low speed. The object here is to use your high thrust-to-weight ratio to perform a steep climb so that you can get enough distance between you and the enemy to use your missiles.
Maneuver:	• Fire your afterburners (1).
	• Perform a very steep climb (2).
	• Continue until you've climbed 5000 feet or so. Throttle back your engines and perform a stall turn (3).
	• As soon as your opponent comes into view, fire a short-range missile.
Note:	While climbing you may present your opponent with a good missile shot, so take an occasional look out the back.

Your jet can perform a ballistic climb—use this advantage to put some distance between you and the enemy.