ANECDOTES

Me in a full AB climbout.

Checking six.

The first time I fought an F-18 Hornet, I wasn't quite experienced enough to know how to handle one.  An Eagle driver likes to hit the merge (180 degree pass) at about 440 kts to put on a good, energy sustaining 9g break turn.  A Hornet driver will hit the merge at about 350 kts and take advantage of his incredible nose turning authority.  Just about half-way through my turn, the F-18's nose (ie, missile envelope) is already almost on me.  I made a classic error in this case where I saw a defensive scenario and cash in all of my energy, turning hard into him to defeat his shot.  At that point, it’s all over, because it’s a low energy, descending nose-position fight and the Hornet owns the sky.  The guy was all over my six taking raking shot after raking shot, though I’m (>cough<) marginally happy to say, my guns jinks were good enough that he didn't quite get a stable shot.

 Some years later, I got my next chance with a Hornet, same set up, same initial moves, no new Hornet tricks.  However, being the more wily fighter pilot by then, I kept my relative altitude as high as I could, eased into him just enough to defeat that first intimidating shot and maintained my energy advantage.  A Hornet cashes in everything he has to get that first shot, and all I had to do was just barely defeat it and not panic at the sight.  Sure enough, his nose immediately fell off and he is in a descending fight with no where else but down to go.  I immediately ease off the stick and let the massive Eagle engines just cook, building up a huge energy and altitude advantage.  Like a freight train, I chewed my way high around the turn circle, eating up angles on the Hornet in a way that fighter pilots salivate over.  In two turns I went from looking at his nose to kicking back, sipping a (figurative) Margarita as I lobbed Aim-9s up both pipes and topped it off with four long seconds of signing my callsign on his airframe with 6000 rounds per minute high explosive 20mm… all simulated, of course!

I had my hands full the first time, but never twice, and revenge was sweet!