Boom and Zoom in CFS2
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Life's just not fair - one minute you're reading your map and trying to refold it so it makes sense, the next you look up and four Zeros have appeared from nowhere. You are low and slow and they have the drop on you. At this altitude one Zero is a real handful - it will turn inside you and rip you apart with its cannons.
Four Zeros are a death sentence. And yet ....
... one Corsair properly flown will win against four Zeros EVERY time. With barely a scratch.
The trick is to fly the plane as though your life depended on it. Not your shallow, respawning sim-life - your real, can't-afford-to-get-hit, daren't-crash life. The life that won't take a single unnecessary risk. The life that chooses not to fire if there is the slightest risk of a collision thereafter.
So let's start: two Zeros ahead and closing fast. Speed and altitude advantage. Another two behind you - ditto. The first thing to do is to extend, i.e. gain sufficient distance from the enemy to put you at a safe distance. As the enemy have a speed advantage you will have to use your weight and power advantage in a dive to trade your meagre altitude for speed. So throttle to max, nose down (or invert) and head smoothly for the deck. Level off at 100 feet or so - you should have achieved 370 knots or so.
This is the most dangerous time in the entire mission - you will be within range of the Zeros' guns for a few seconds. The trick is to get that speed as soon as possible - minimise your chances of damage. Your concave path (positive G) as you level off will make you an impractical target for their cannon; a few machine gun bullets are the most you should face.
You are low and fast. Extend. Run away, if that's what you call it. Get distance - at least three thousand feet. Keep flat and low, with a speed over 285 knots.
OK - thinking time. What are the advantages of the Zero at this altitude?
Ok - not a pretty picture. So what are the advantages of the Corsair?
OK - the logic bit. If we cannot use speed to kill, we can at least use it to defend ourselves. If we can do that well enough so that we DON'T GET HIT AT ALL, then we need only the occasional hit on the enemy and a lot of patience to win. If it takes 18 minutes of intense fighting, like the first time I did this - well then it takes 18 minutes. It's your life.
To sum up the above - we must hit the Zeros and run away, hit and run. To use the common parlance - Boom and Zoom. The stereotypical "get on the bandit's six and stay there" combat method will not work. We cannot stay on his six for long - we will either lose him or slow down within range of the other enemy guns.
Right - here we are, low and fast, skimming the waves. The pursuing fighters recede to tiny dots in the distance. We need enough distance so that we can make a wide level turn and end up facing the oncoming bandits and still have a considerable distance between us. I would suggest about 3000 feet.
The turn should be wide enough to keep your speed above 240 knots. Don't climb or yo-yo and lose speed. If you find yourself pulling a bit tighter, you should have been further away when you started. Right, now you're facing them.
Aim at the FURTHEST BANDIT AT YOUR LEVEL. When you fire you will have to do a slight decelerating turn or climb. You want all other bandits to have passed you or be much higher than you. Don't worry - the nearer bandits will not be able to fire at you as long as you have some lateral separation (i.e. as long as you fly a bit to the side of them rather than directly over/under).
As you approach you target in the merge, fly a little to the lower right of the merge path (see illustration). This will prevent him from firing at you. If you approach him directly you will get shot down or crash. Don't.
As you are about to merge pull up and left so that your aimpoint crosses the bandit's flight path and fire. Do not pull up so early that YOU actually cross the bandit's flight path. Just fire and hope to get a few rounds on target.
CRITICAL - once you have fired and hit or missed be aware you will now have at least two Zeros screaming round a tight turn in your rear. Don't try to follow anyone or get on anyone's tail. Just nose down, pick up speed and get out of there. Go straight and head for the deck. You should still be going fast enough that the Zeros are too slow and far away to fire by the time they have turned. Extend again to 3000' or so and 290 knots.
If anything in the merge doesn't feel right then just fly past and keep going. It would be hard to overemphasise this. If you feel the bandit is too high and you would lose speed - keep going. If the bandit rolls at the last minute and you think you might crash if you pull towards him - keep going.
Once you have extended, turn and repeat.
At some points you will be tempted to stray from this and it will occasionally be safe to do so. Make sure your speed stays high and you have no other bandits around. But even with a single Zero be careful you don't get sucked into a turning dogfight. If you need to get away you'll find your speed has dropped so much he can gun you before you escape.
So, that's it - kill the Zeros bit by bit,
one by one. Don't rush - don't get killed.