Fighter Combat - Tactics and Maneuvering

BASIC FIGHTER MANEUVERS 83
direction). Although the engagement was determined rather quickly here
because of the large disparity in speed, in more evenly matched situations
the crisscrossing of the flat scissors may continue for several cycles before
one fighter gains a significant advantage.
This maneuver is best analyzed in phases: the nose-to-nose turn, the
reversal, and the lead turn. Each of these phases normally is repeated in
order during each cycle of the flat scissors.
During the nose-to-nose phase each pilot attempts to get the nose of his
aircraft pointed at the opponent first to produce flight-path separation
inside the other's turn which cannot be taken away. In general, the slower
or tighter-turning fighter will win this phase, as illustrated in Figure 2-13.
The flat scissors tends to draw fighters closer and closer together, so speed
usually remains the determining factor in the nose-to-nose phase as long as
the scissors maneuver continues. To gain advantage during this phase, a
fighter should decelerate as quickly as possible.
After one fighter has generated some separation, it must reverse and
lead-turn its opponent in order to gain further advantage. Reversal technique
and timing are critical to success in the scissors. First, the rolling
reversal should be as rapid as possible. This usually involves unloading the
aircraft and applying full roll controls, as described in the Appendix. Each
fraction of a second during the reversal the aircraft is traveling essentially
in a straight line, wasting valuable turning time and decreasing hard-won
separation. A significant roll-performance advantage can negate a substantial
speed differential.
The timing of the reversal determines the TCA at the overshoot, with
an early reversal resulting in lower TCA and subsequently greater angular
advantage (lower AOT) later in the maneuver. The reversal point also
controls the nose-tail separation at the overshoot, however. The longer the
reversal is delayed, the greater the separation will be when the overshoot
occurs. Assuming the opponent reverses at the overshoot, setting up
another nose-to-nose situation and continuation of the scissors, the nosetail
separation at overshoot is directly related to the range and AOT the
next time the attacker's nose is pointed toward the target. Figure 2-17
illustrates this relationship.
In case 1 the two fighters are in the initial nose-to-nose phase of a flat
scissors at time "I." Both fighters here have about the same turn rate, but
Figure 2-17. Effects of Reversal Timing