Air Combat Manoeuvres

Book excerpt: Computer flight simulation is one of the fastest growing modern hobbies, with thousands of 'pilots' or 'simmers' going online everyday to pit their flying skills against their computers or opponents from all over the world, in many different scenarios, both current and historical. 'Flight simmers', in terms of interest, can be placed into three categories - general aviation, airliners and combat simulation. The one common theme is the desire to be able to improve their flying skills. This is the definitive guide for flight simmers interested in combat simulation with easily accessible information and colourful illustrations that can be used as a guide to the methods of air combat from World War One to the modern day. Using state of the art digital illustration techniques the book shows how and when to employ the best manoeuvres to beat both the computer and other players. Diagrams show both the manoeuvre itself and the actual methods used on the joystick. Further sections deal with ground attack, mission planning and the historical perspective. It will be relevant to those at an entry level and those who have been in online gaming communities for years and will be ideal for both the expert gamer and the more casual player. Eminent author Steve Thompson wrote one of the original guides to air manoeuvres for flight simmers twenty five years ago, and has now updated his original best selling book to give the flight simmer the complete guide to flight simulation combat manoeuvres in the most modern context. To help bring the book to life the text and diagrams are supported by historical narratives derived from real combat pilots, design histories on key aircraft, and enviable full colour profile artworks.