Congrats on graduating BFS tonight...was a good time flying with your class!

Salute S.L.N. !

yeah, still not happy with the way i fly though.............

Maybe i set my bar too high and cant figure out why the hell i cant reach it
oh well dont know, just know I want to get better....

You can have anything you want, if you are willing to pay for it, and being a really good pilot comes at the price of practice, patience, and perseverance. Congratulations on making your first down payment toward becoming a really good pilot by successfully completing Joint Ops BFS.

S! S.L.N

Congratulations on completing BFS.

Now you have some good tools to practice and become the pilot you want to be.

See you in the sky

S!~ Sir,

Congratulations on completing Joint-Ops BFS. As BigO has said, it gives you tools to become the pilot that you want to be. You don't magically become better because Joint-Ops sends you an image of your diploma (although it is rather cool).

In additition, we are developing a training program for the =AVG=. We intend to build on the training that you received in BFS, and we encourage you to take more classes at Joint-Ops.

ooh a ribbon

I didnt expect to magically be good, I guess what Im saying is i wont be happy till i can go out, get multiple kills, and return alive consecutively

S.L.N - anytime you want to work on flying in terms of a learning capacity...let me know (however I am not magic either!!). I of course don't know everything there is to know, but I can hold my own against Wolf half the time (and the other half he gets me)...and I consider Wolf a very good pilot! He, Hollywood, Bear, Bojan, and OB (god forbid) are the JO Pilots I love going up against to see how I am improving.

A lot of "getting better" is knowledge outside the cockpit...IE knowing the aircraft you are flying AND knowing the aircraft you are going up against. Some quick examples.

- Wolf and Shayd were flying Ki-84's last night - I was in a Spit Mk IX (CW)...now they can outclimb me on a short run up to a vertical...AND that is bad because they were flying the model that has hell cannons. BUT - they cannot out-turn me. So as long as I keep my energy above theirs and get into a turn fight, I can juke and jig just enough to get behind them every time.

- Bear was flying a J2 - those are small and beasty to shoot down...you have to get right up on them (they take a bit of damage)...AND they are speedy. He got you once or twice when you were flying a '38...and that was because you were down low with him...and he took you into HIS fight rather than you playing to your advantages.

- Happy and Perseus on the student side were flying 190D-9 models...and were also getting sucked into turn fights. Now the D-9 is a great accelerator and a hell of a diver...but not the best turn fighter (it is moderate). KC was going up against them in a Spit...and that is a well-matched fight until the D-9 accelerates out (which it will do faster than a Spit)...Funflak suckered me into extending on his D-9...I was simply outrun in my Spit.

Honestly getting "better" is a lot of the above - knowing the battle before you engage. The turning and shooting? That is literally just practice! When I am getting ready to engage - I am thinking ALL of the above about the other aircraft and comparing it to mine. Unfortunately, I still have a lot of aircraft to learn about!

I graduated BFS with Warren, Trouble, and Raz - and I would be surprised if I shot anyone down graduation night (maybe 1)...and guess who I was flying against? Raptor, Fifties, Bear, OB, Funflak, Kimo, Hollywood, Shayd, Wolf, Sierra, etc. The same names But a year later I am flying as well as most of them, and would gladly go 1 v 1 or 1 v 2 with any of em! (and enjoy every minute of it)...I know you were getting frustrated, but trust me - you did great. You were flying against staff and graduate students that had taken the following:

1. BFS - you just finished.
2. PGS - teaches you ground maneuvering in weather, navigation (ie that ADF from the Co-op), etc
3. IPS - Energy Management, Deflection shooting, and a host of other information
4. APS - AWESOME class - advanced navigation, gauge understanding, trimming concepts, AND Aircraft Profiling (great tool).
5. AFS1 - Advanced energy management, combat control tactics, targeting specific points on aircraft, wingman tactics, etc.
6. AFS2 - more of the above. AFS1 and AFS2 are taught by Ms. Firesalamander - one of the toughest (if not THE toughest) in the JO skies)

The last one that I have not taken is AFS3 (I was on vacation)...but it gets into 2v2, 2v1, and builds on AFS2. I WILL be in the next AFS3 offering. And the above is JUST the fighter path...there is Imtermediate Bomber School, and Advanced Bomber School 1, and ABS2. Those are starting in a few weeks.

Think on the fact that EVERY bogey but one last night has taken ALL the above courses - and most of them are teaching as well.. So considering that - BFS students that shoot even one bogey down? They are doing great.

And I flew your high-six a few times last night - you were getting hits and staying in there with every other BFS graduate...you did just fine in my book.

Anytime you want to break off a server and practice quietly - holler at me. And that goes for anyone, I need the practice as well!

~Salute~
S.L.N. congratulations on completing Joint-Ops BFS.
~Salute~

~S~

Congratulations SLN, Good Job!