how to beat f18 in a f16? fox 2 bfm

[JonK]

im fighting my friend hes in a f18 hornet, and he obliterates me. I try to fight two cirlce fights but after the first merge he can get his nose around so fast and send an aim 9L and end me. any tips?

[fikmeinshizer]

Git gud lol

Joking aside, you need to study and learn the "doghouse" of your aircraft. This is the turn rate chart. You need to find the fastest rate of turn then fly to achieve it. For getting the weapon away early, use the HMCS to achieve radar lock as soon as possible then release when you get a tone. The seeker angle on the 9L isn't as good sa say a 9X but you should still be able to fire before you get nose on.

[2Polev]

Never try to dogfight an viper in a hornet if you are both in equal energy states and with no advantage. The viper will always out-turn and out-accelerate you, giving him a lot of room for errors. The viper suffers at low speed rate-fights due to its relatively low wing ratio, but it still retains a decent bit of maneuverability at low speeds especially with good low nose authority which he can use to punish you in an overshoot.

Learning your aircraft is a must. You should be familiar with the G limiter function on the hornet which when depressed allows the F-18 to push 7 to 8 Gees instead of only the 6 limited by the FBW.

A good tactic for defensive maneuvers is to force an overshoot. I've noticed that due to how light the viper is, it can be hard for it to bleed speed compared to other larger air frames. This isn't always viable though, as experienced F-16 pilots will usually account for this by maintaining some distance behind their prey, giving them room to peel off and extend away when an overshoot is forced.

Essentially all you want to do is bait him into a fast pursuit fight with the afterburner somewhere around 450-550ish knots, and then come off the throttle once he is good and horny for the kill. Be careful with your air break as the F-18 as a massive air brake that is painfully obvious from a distance. Deploying your air break too early will tip off your pursuer and they will do what they must to avoid an overshoot. Make sure you keep a mental note on how much speed you are bleeding as I would advise you not to drop below 250 knots as to maintain some nose authority and still be able to pull off a snap shot.

However, the conventional way to deal with an F-16 is to not get in a merge with it in the first place. The F-16 has outstanding maneuvering characteristics, making it an excellent choice in the merge. An F-16 in the hands of a skilled pilot will always out preform an f-18 on the deck. This means that instead of fighting the F-16 in a style where it can use all of its strengths, you should instead try to engage in a fight on your own terms. You have the F-18, a flying AMRAAM Launcher. Just SPAMRAAM and keep your distance.

[Xupicor]

What this guy said, he knows what he's talking about.

Originally posted by 2Polev | Pursuer 1-1:

Learning your aircraft is a must. You should be familiar with the G limiter function on the hornet which when depressed allows the F-18 to push 7 to 8 Gees instead of only the 6 limited by the FBW.

I will however flesh this out a tiny bit:

The g limit is variable and the on-board computer changes it depending on the weight of the plane. If you have a full three bags, mavericks and whatever the heck hanging down there the computer will limit the g you can pull quite a bit. G-limit override paddle will give you 33% on top of that current limit at your command and at your own risk.

The maximum limit of 7.5g is applied with a slick (or close to) configuration, paddle will grant you at most 10g at this point, which of course would get you in trouble if you pulled it without a good reason because anything above 7.5g rating is overstressing the aircraft, risking your health and life and mandates a thorough airplane inspection which can take anything between a week to months depending on parts availability and other factors. ;)

[FerrisBueller]

The OP is flying a F-16 fighting the friend who is in a Hornet...for everyone that missed that.

[Xupicor]

Hah! You're damned right! Now that's funny. ;)

[Richardus]

- Always go two-circle at the merge
- If he gets the nose around faster than you do, then you are not at optimal speed to maximize turn rate
- His tactic at the merge will probably be to expend energy for a quick alpha turn to get a missile off. If you see him make a high-bleed turn, do whatever it takes to stay out of his missile employment zone (going up works well if you have enough energy)
- Keep your energy up, Hornet has WAY better low-speed handling. If he gets you below 300 knots then you're toast
- As above, DO NOT let him slow you down. If you are at threat of an overshoot, break off and use your energy to get back into a two-circle. ONLY slow down to prevent an overshoot if you are 100% sure that you can down him in the next 2 seconds or you are 100% sure that he will shoot you down when you pass him
- If you're fighting with HOB missiles, just focus on getting the nose around ASAP, forget about energy retention.