Скачать или смотреть BFM Reality Series – Energy Dominance in a Knife Fight

#DCS #F15C #BFM #Dogfight #AirCombat #Flightsim

This is not just a knife fight.
This is an energy management problem.

In this engagement, I’m flying the F-15C against the F-5E,
guns only, no missiles — pure geometry and physics.

The F-5E is lighter, smaller, and capable of very tight radius turns.
The F-15C, on the other hand, dominates in thrust and sustained energy.

This fight will be decided not by who pulls harder,
but by who controls time, energy, and geometry.

At the merge, the first decision is circle flow.

If I commit to a one-circle fight,
I’m allowing the F-5 to exploit nose authority
and instantaneous turn performance.

That’s not ideal.

The Eagle wins by sustaining rate,
not by snapping the nose.

So I bias toward two-circle geometry,
prioritizing turn rate over turn radius.

Energy state is the primary variable in this fight.

Total energy equals potential plus kinetic.
Altitude and airspeed are currency.

The F-15C has the advantage in energy generation —
thrust-to-weight ratio allows faster recovery
after aggressive maneuvers.

If I stay above corner velocity,
I maintain turn rate dominance.

If I drop below it,
the F-5 gains relative leverage.

The F-5 wins in a slow, flat, radius fight.

The F-15C wins in a sustained rate fight.

So the objective is simple:
Avoid low-speed nose-to-nose contests.
Stretch the fight.
Let time favor sustained performance.

Every second that passes
without losing energy
increases my probability of gaining angles.

Now we introduce the vertical.

The vertical isn’t about aggression.
It’s about forcing decisions.

If the F-5 follows me up,
he sacrifices energy.
If he stays flat,
he sacrifices angles.

Either choice costs him something.

Vertical maneuvering converts excess thrust
into positional leverage.

The most dangerous phase for the Eagle
is a low-speed rolling scissors.

Here, mass becomes liability.
Closure control becomes critical.

If I allow overshoot with insufficient separation,
the F-5 can reverse faster.

So patience replaces aggression.

I manage closure.
I manage lift vector.
I avoid desperation pulls.

Once the F-5’s energy state degrades,
the geometry shifts.

Now sustained rate translates into positional dominance.

This is where discipline pays off.
I don’t force the shot.
I stabilize tracking.
I control closure.

High probability solutions only.

This fight demonstrates a core principle:

BFM is not about pulling harder.
It is about managing variables.

Energy.
Geometry.
Time.

The F-15C does not defeat the F-5 by turning tighter.
It defeats it by sustaining energy longer.

In knife fights, impatience kills.
Discipline wins.