Posted: 6/25/2017 10:29:31 PM EDT
| What is the significance of a jet fighters ability to fly with a 'high angle of attack'? In particular when they seem to just creep along at low speed with the nose tilted way up and it looks like the plane will stall, but does not. |
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Flexibility and maneuverability.
But don't confuse deck angle (what you described) and aerodynamic angle of attack. When the F-15 was new, the most remarkable part of the airshow demonstrations were the speed over the ground of the low speed passes. Flyers were amazed. |
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Power controls altitude, pitch controls airspeed.
If you want to go slow, the nose goes up Re-read the post and realize two different questions were being asked, or two things were being confused. For air shows, slow flight and heritage flights, then the above holds true. For serious stuff, then high alpha is king. Others have elegantly posted about it, so I won't rehash it. |
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Depending on the fight, usually you see it most when defensive (not always the case and most definitely not a hard and fast rule of thumb), the fastest guy to get slow has the better chance to win.
By using alpha and g you can get slow...quickly, creating angle/closure issues for the adversary. You can also use it to point and threaten (not talking about HOBS here). Which in a mature fight usually happens at the floor as you can't use altitude to gain/sustain energy. Just one of many examples... But I will say this, just because a jet can pull more alpha doesn't always equate to an auto win. Every jet has their own gameplan...and a few tricks up their sleeve. When you get the old guys flying BFM you will see the dumbest shit work and it'll leave you questioning WTF just happened (damn old guys  ).
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Aircraft that can do that well also tend to be able to point their noses really well, even when at relatively low air speed. Being able to point your nose toward the target allows you to employ your weapons against that target. Also, in dogfights, often times the pilot with the ability to fly the slowest while maintaining control has a serious advantage. Dogfights begin with aircraft flying at their optimum turning speeds. But with each aircraft pulling tight turn after tight turn in an effort to gain a firing solution (or to avoid being shot), that speed gets scrubbed off bit by bit. The longer the fight lasts, the slower you get and the more altitude you lose, as you trade that altitude for energy so you can keep maneuvering without stalling. Dogfights that drag on for very long usually devolve into a "rolling scissors" where neither pilot has a decided advantage. Unless one of the two aircraft can disengage from the scissors and break away to regain air speed before returning to the fight (a dicey proposition with today's dogfighting missiles), then the pilot with the ability to fly the slowest while maintaining control will eventually get the upper hand and a shot opportunity. The other aircraft, not able to slow down as much as the opponent because it will stall, will eventually slide out in front where it will be easy pickings.
Read about Duke Cunningham's fight against "Col. Toon" on 10 May 1972 over North Vietnam. That is a good example of how a dogfight usually plays out between two very skilled pilots that know the strengths and weaknesses of their aircraft. The fight just continued to drag on and on until Toon finally made a mistake and Cunningham was able to take advantage of it. Even so, I bet Duke would have given his left nut to had an aircraft with the slow speed handling characteristics of an F-18 Super Hornet in that fight. The move he used to cause Toon to overshoot put him in a situation where his Phantom was on the razor's edge of losing controlled flight. Had Toon not panicked at that moment when he shot out in front then dropped his nose and tried to run, Cunningham may never have been able to get that shot off because he was out of air speed and couldn't maneuver. By running, Toon allowed Cunningham to likewise drop his nose and recover energy as he accelerated in the dive. |
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Pointing noses is good. Putting on the brakes is BS. That gets you killed because energy is EVERYTHING in a fight. Harrier pilots used to brag about a maneuver for putting on the brakes like no other airplane. In the UK, they went so far as to do a demo. I can't remember what the opposing fighter was, but it embarassed the Harrier, every time, and embarassed the brass.
Energy and speed are life in a dogfight. Pointing the nose in attack mode is the best reason for the high AOA. Other than that, it is just a by product of a very maneuverable aircraft with high thrust, and looks cool at airshows. |
