The following TACTICAL turns, along with IN PLACE, CHECK and SHACKLE turns are engaging type turns, which means they are sustained energy type turns, done without airspeed or significant altitude loss by the section. If cruising in spread at tactical speeds in F4, you normally will not be at %100 power. Engaging turns are normally made at 100% or MIL power (In F4 just get 99%-100% on the HUD and avoid AB). Once at MIL power, the airspeed is maintained by the amount of pull or g you apply; climbs and descents are typically avoided. Each pilot will turn 90 degrees at MIL and use g to maintain airspeed and then will roll out, reduce power to hold briefed airspeed, and continue along. If he finds himself getting fast, he must increase his pull (g) to decelerate to target speed and conversely getting slow means he pulled too hard, as the throttle is fixed at MIL during the turn.

This pilot must ease the pull and allow speed to increase. Be smooth. This is difficult at first and you’ll find staying within 50 knots is tough, but soon enough you’ll find you can do it within 10 - 20 knots easily. Practice offline doing 360-degree turns until you can do this readily plus or minus 10-20 knots. Use the cues provided in F4 like the sound of the wind, glance forward (if not in 2D view), and Shift 3 to get your instruments in padlock mode. You eventually want to be able to do it without just staring at the front cockpit for airspeed, g, and heading, but doing just that initially is not a bad way to learn.

NOTE: If at high altitudes or in a very heavy/draggy configuration, lead may brief AB TACFORM and AB may be used by both fighters during turns, but let’s stick to the basics or now.

Tactical turns (known as Tac turns) are the bread and butter of combat spread maneuvering and are typically turns which change the base heading of the section by 90 degrees. There are 2 types of TAC turns. Turns INTO the wingman and turns AWAY. These are delayed type turns, with one fighter turning while the other delays and then turns. Lead will not always be turning first. The OUTSIDE fighter (the fighter that the section will be turning away from) will always turn first, followed by the inside fighter. This is not as complex as it sounds and becomes fairly natural. An example: with lead on the left and wingman on the right, lead desires a left turn (away from the wingman) of about 90 degrees. If both planes turn simultaneously, the wingman will roll out in a trail position, which is not desirable. So, wing will turn first and after a delay, lead will follow. This delay is typically until the fighter that turns first has his nose is pointed right at the other fighter or 1 -3 potatoes later (often hard to see, so use the "L" zoom view. Some sense of timing will be required and the fighter turning first can make a call for the other fighter to turn until the new pilot gets that sense of timing down). This is a rough guideline and must be adjusted as needed. If the inside or second fighter to turn continually rolls out acute (in front of the 90 degree bearing on lead), then he should delay longer next time.

If he’s often sucked (rolls out aft of the 90 degree bearing on lead) when the maneuver is completed, then he’s waiting too long or not pulling as he should during the turn and getting slow. Once on the new heading, however, it should be the wingman that maneuvers to regain correct position if he’s not perfect, while lead goes about his duties on the new heading. (If the wingy is grossly out of position, lead may help out by briefly altering his airspeed. Normally after rollout the lead will not help out the wingman, however). Wingmen should not be afraid to put the nose down or up slightly if they see they’ll not roll out on the new heading in the correct spread position (on the 90 degree bearing). Both fighters must do a reasonable job maintaining airspeeds, altitudes, and being smooth (basic airmanship or airwork). If one pulls too hard and slows 40 knots, he’ll get around the turn sooner and turn tighter causing the other to go acute and possibly too tight or wide as well. Smooth control of backstick pressure maintains airspeed; don’t climb or descend significantly. This is a bit hard at first, but rapidly becomes second nature. You’ll find that around 5 g’s will hold 450KIAS in a 6 missiles configuration at 15,000’. As you get lighter, you’ll get about 5.5 g’s or more at MIL without decelerating.

For turns into the wingman, lead will turn first and Dash 2 (the wingman) will follow when leads nose passes through him. TAC turns are normally 90 degrees, but can be 90 degrees + 45, and anything other than 90 degrees should contain a new heading in the call for the turn (i.e. if lead is heading 270 and desires a non 90 degree turn then… "Cowboy 2, TAC Left 200"). If just 90 degrees, then "Cowboy 2 TAC left" and in this case the turn would be made to a 180 heading (90 degrees left of 270, the original heading). For training, lead may call the new heading on every maneuver until the wingman gets good at it. All TACFORM turns are executed on the wingman’s reply "Two." This is very important and must be done for each command given by lead.

It's the same as a Tac turn, but both fighters turn simultaneously and in the same direction for 180 degrees. They will be in position if both do the right thing and fly the numbers (good airwork). They must both maintain the briefed airspeed and altitude using MIL power and g to avoid airspeed changes. The wingman must regain a tally early on and correct for any incorrect position he sees. "Cowboy 2, In place left." The reply is the execute command "Two." If not 180 degrees, add a heading to the call.

Typically both fighters start an engaging type turn into each other for 45 degrees of turn and go wings level. They should pass right over each other (note how long from going wings level to the pass and delay the turn back to original heading for that amount of time, usually about 1-3 potatoes), and then turn back to original heading. A swap of sides has been completed. Be careful to maintain agreed airspeed throughout the maneuver. If wingman is sucked, for instance, lead can call for a shackle. Lead will then do most of the turning while the wingy drills almost straight ahead, going down range and making up for being sucked. The guy out in front turns more than normal (50-70 degrees), the guy in back not at all or just enough to get on the other side of the guy out in front (10-20 degrees). If the wingy is acute, then lead will help him out by turning only enough to swap sides while the wingman turns more than 45 degrees in an aggressive S-turn to stop his downrange travel and try to get back aft to the bearing. When it’s all said and done, the formation is corrected, sides swapped, sixes checked, and ready to press on. This can be done to a change in heading of up to 30 degrees or more often, just on the original heading. It is used more often to redress formation. "Cowboy 2, shackle" or "Cowboy 2, shackle 210."

Both fighters turn at the same time and maintain airspeed with pitch attitude while holding max ‘g’ ( 9 g’s in F4). The turn is made into each other, with the wingman normally passing over the top of lead and both rolling out on a reciprocal heading in spread. "Cowboy 2, Cross turn." If a turn other than 180 degrees is desired, add a heading to the call. Remember to maintain airspeed by putting the nose down if required...and it often is.

When practicing, I recommend highly that all online player use smoke. I think this is preferable to labels, which typically show everything within about 8 miles. Smoke will help you visualize flight paths as well. Oh yes, record your practice sessions.

There is a lot more to all this than is noted here, and military pilots spend many months learning this stuff, so don’t get discouraged. Also, while most of this is pretty much how things are done at the most basic levels in real life, some of it is not real easy to mimic in simulators. Therefore, my recommendations in this article are specific to simulators, even though they are usually applicable to real life flying.

Very Important: One must remember these are not hard and fast rules but guidelines. TACFORM is fluid and it’s hoped that the wingman will in time develop a sense of geometry and 3 dimensional awareness to just "do" what is right to maintain or regain position quickly and with a minimum of fuel usage. He must always take advantage of geometry and change sides and use altitude as he chooses to allow a shorter and quicker path to the proper position. His job is to always be there, no matter how hard lead makes it for him. He must learn not to wait to roll out of a turn to see if he’s in position, but to anticipate errors and make corrections during turns to arrive IN position. He must be the "magic" man and always be there, always correcting, and not waiting to get out of position before doing so.

For lead's part, it’s essential he communicate and direct the flight while flying a precise jet. Heading and airspeed control will be critical and make the wingmen’s job much, much easier. If lead is good, wingmen will find they don’t need to spend much time looking at lead and flying spread; they just set the power and hold airspeed and heading. This does not mean they should not be checking their and lead’s six often.

But don’t spend so much time trying to get into position you are not doing your job. Remember, TACFORM is not the mission...killing bandits is the mission. The less time and effort required by the wingman to hold position, the more time he has to develop SA, keep an eye out, and kill bandits. If your section is spending tons of time trying to stay together, you will need to practice more before your section is combat ready.

Additionally, many times there are no bandits around and turns can be made "by the book." But if a threat is seen 3 miles out and nose hot and it’s desired to turn 90 degrees quickly, it may not be wise to do a relatively leisurely TAC turn. Lead may fly a much more aggressive TACFORM maneuver and accept AB and altitude loss. The accomplished wingman will recognize this and just do what it takes, as there will be little time to talk about it. If really threatened, then it’s often "Cowboy2, bandits left 9"...the lead will immediately turn hard left, and the wingman must use what he’s learned to try and get there. It’s almost always better to take an extra second or two to turn as a section, but judgment must be exercised.

I have flown with wingmen and taught them these basics in 1/2 - 2 hours dedicated online formation flying time. It is a real hoot to look out and see my wingmen just there in F4 all the time. He does a great job and reports that it’s pretty easy to do if lead just helps him out a little by flying accurate headings, airspeeds, and by communicating. It’s fun and rewarding to be able to maintain support for each other, and coordinate our actions. Practice in a benign environment until you can go into a mission and still have enough time left over to do your job. It’s tough at first and your performance might actually suffer initially, but once the light comes on you’ll be amazed at how well you’ll be able to do as a section and how much fun it is to fly as a coordinated team. Have fun, enjoy...and kill MIGS.