Hello everyone. Rick Rawlings suggested that I should introduce myself. I am Jerry Herd, 63, Dental Technician from St Louis. I have been through the forum pretty thoroughly by now and have found the postings very helpful, thank you all the taking the time.

I was interested in finding out what the experience of confronting the AI pilots has been for others. I played ROF for awhile and the sim has its good points, but good, intelligent AI is not one of them.

I have looked at tons of videos and read several books on air combat tactics but find that when I am in the cockpit and the action starts, all that goes out the window. The best advice I've found was what Biggles told some of his new boys in Biggles and the Rescue Flight.

"If you are meeting a Hun head-on, don't turn; it isn't done; make HIM turn; that's how we keep their tails down. Finally, if you are attacked by a Hun and things look grim, don't try to get away. Go for him as though you'd made up your mind to ram him; it's your only chance; it will give him the idea that you mean business, even if you don't, and the odds are he'll clear off and leave you alone."

That's pretty much what I follow because everything moves to fast to pretend your in a chess game. Of course, the general rule of keeping altitude advantage which equals speed, when you have it applies, but mostly I just keep facing a machine on or trying to get my tail until he either looses sight of me and gives me an opportunity or decides I'm going to be too much trouble and heads for home, sometimes I can run up on him then, sometimes I just let him go, depending on the machine I'm facing and the general situation. Most of my encounters end in a draw.

I had three Bristols on me recently. I just kept facing about and going at them until first one, then the other and finally the third got sick of me and went away. Didn't kill anybody but my character is still flying.