Air Movement and Combat

AIR MOVEMENT AND COMBAT IN THREE PHASES

Aircraft rules should be complex enough to reflect the general characteristics of the individual aircraft types, but similar weapons will be grouped together, just with the ground weapons. Charts, protocols, and procedures mirror the ground rules for ease of play.

Assumptions

In air combat maneuver is more important than the weapons. In dogfights, aircraft use speed and maneuver to gain a favorable position and range to shoot down the enemy. The skill of the crew is also a very important factor and will increase the chance of defeating the enemy.

A single seat fighter can shoot down even large and powerful aircraft if it is close, in a good position and gets a lucky hit. A large aircraft with multiple engines will be more difficult to bring down than a small single seat aircraft.

Take Off and Landing

Aircraft require a ground distance equal to the bank distance in order to take of or land. Aircraft cannot fire or maneuver, during the take off, or landing turns, even while at higher altitudes. For simplicity, aircraft dive at the same rate that they climb. Aircraft firing at targets that are taking off or landing receive a 10% “to hit” bonus.

Range

Aircraft have a minimum endurance of a take off turn and a landing turn. Aircraft may stay airborne an additional four game turns for the first 100 miles of aircraft range and one additional game turn for every additional 100 miles of aircraft range. Aircraft must land on or before their landing turn or crash due to lack of fuel.

Aircraft Movement

In normal flight aircraft move at a rate of one inch for every two miles per hour, plus three inches. Divide the maximum speed of the aircraft at sea level in miles per hour by two, then add three to the result.

Aircraft conducting ground attacks move at a rate of one inch for every two miles per hour, plus three inches. Divide the maximum speed ot the aircraft at sea level in miles per hour by two, then add three to the result. That gives the maximum number of inches per turn that the aircraft may move in a turn in which they conduct a ground attack. Aircraft conducting ground attacks cannot fly faster than the speed of sound, 720 mph at sea level.

720 miles per hour / two = 360 + 3 = 121 inches per phase maximum for aircraft making ground attacks. 363 inches per turn / three phases = 121 inches per phase.

Aircraft must move each phase. Aircraft, except lighter-than-air craft, helicopters, and V/STOL aircraft are subject to turning limits. At the end of a movement phase an aircraft may fire any guns that it can bring to bear on a target aircraft.