I have been trying work on my gunner for sometime now
I end up flying all the time because I can't find anyone that can fly
Many folks have posted some fine chopper guides
I just wanted to add a few notes, maybe explain some tactics that perhaps the tactical super geniuses who are out there flying everyday don't think about
My gunners, if they can even hit sometimes, will end up with the top or near top score every round, but I can't get anyone to fly for me.
#1 problem, knife fighting with infantry
Helicopters are very vulnerable, very very vulnerable (they get shot up easy and everyone wants one)
Yet every IDIOT seems to want to get right down into the action and get all shot up
Stay back from the target and kill everything that can hurt you with TV missles, then come in, OUT OF ANTI TANK RANGE and shoot the gun at infantry while you circle the target at a DISTANCE
A helicopters speed can get you to and from the target area fast, once there you must use terrain masking (hide behind stuff) and distance to place yourself in position to fire on the target without EXPOSING yourself to fire for more than a couple seconds
#2 TV missile misses
Most gunners miss alot, I even question the ones who hit, clearly there are many network issues with precision weapons. I’ve seen many of the videos and I cannot make my system work like that.
One of the gunners most important duties is to keep track of how many missiles they have left
It matters not though, if you STAY BACK away from the action you can even hid behind an imaginary line created by your own mobile AAA (which keeps enemy helos/jets off you) and TV everything in sight or even out of sight, don't rush foreward into unknown territory, they will some for you I promise.
The pilot should know exactly where to place the hud to be inside the TV box
then the gunner can shoot far enough away on some maps that he can't even see the target until a second or two after the missile launches. And that is very safe
IF the gunner misses I am usually high enough that I can back up while the missile reloads and then nose back down on the target giving them another steady few seconds to shoot again, all the while OUT OF RANGE of their weapons or even sight
Flying low should be reserved for running away or terrain masking for a difficult to reach targets
You cannot hit well when you get .01 seconds of target view in the hud
I always try and give my gunner three seconds of TV view with a STEADY helo
Even then they miss quit often so you must be ready to turn 360 or back up and give them another shot. They don’t get three seconds it’s the pilots fault they miss
The worst thing you can do is run foreword with rockets blazing hoping for a kill, because the helo behind the target, the target, his buddies in the AAA, and everything else back there starts shooting at you. Inevitably you crash into him or take splash damage or get the shit shot out of you and have to go repair
One of my favorite TV missile tactics is called TV missile recon. I pop up my nose on the way to the target and the gunner shoots a missile there looking to figure out what’s going on knowing that the missile will die before he can hit something. Works like a champ try it.
#3 ignoring targets
Never pass a base that is owned by the enemy, especially if there is a fixed stinger/AAA launcher in it, on the same token don’t ever pass up a jeep that goes underneath you to create havoc at your own base
take out everything that shoots back, before you pass a target, if the map is crowded let someone else take the flag, I usually wait and spawn rape the point, until some of my team arrive.
Simple math; a flag that you hover over for ten minutes is worth 2 points, each tank/person is worth 2 points you have 8 TV missles, one spawn kill and you get the same points as taking the flag
#4 Use a systematic approach to taking a target
Most pilots just fly straight to a target swoop in and fire off your rockets hoping for a chance kill, while your gunner reaches for his barf bag instead of the trigger because all he sees is a kaleidoscope of motion out the window
Run to the target area, which is the TV missile range 450m radius. That’s ½ of some maps away. Once in the target area find a spot to hid that looks toward some juicy targets, then pop up and kill stuff that can kill you, with the TV missile and then move to a new spot, lather rinse repeat, once the only thing left is infantry, come in and clean up with the gun. Watch where your team and especially your mobile AAA is and stay close AIDing in the assault.
A helo and a mobile AAA working togther, are in my opinion the most dangerous combo in the game
Think!!!! where does the tank/apc/fav spawn. Where are the stinger launchers and the TOW. How can we come in so they cannot get you but you can get them.
#5 R U good with the gun?
Good, fabulous, stylin, then no reason to SHOW OFF by using it. Use the gun when we are taking a target apart, (as in maintaining a diameter) after having destroyed everything that can kill us. If your shooting somewhere other than in the pilots view you won’t be ready when he points you at some juicy targets
Pilots are supposed to keep targets right in front always and talk the gunner onto them. “guy at the build, guy on the fav, guy on the roof etc.”
Use the gun when CIRCLING the target or as directed by the pilot (like chasing a jeep going into our base), when we are on approach or running away be looking around using the outside views etc to find things that can kill us and point them out. A really good tactic is to have the gunner in TV view waiting for the command to fire when approaching a target.
Don’t shoot the gun at armor, it pisses them off, it pisses your pilot off, it pisses me off, it pisses off you when they turn around and blast you.
#6 dialog,
Always be able to communicate with each other. And learn terms, If the pilot says TV missile! the gunner hits the right mouse button no questions asked. If you see blank and the pilot says fire, FIRE the damn missile! Many maps, particularly the new armor fury maps, the pilot can see but the gunner cannot through the TV missile. Pilot lines up, gunner shoots blind, target comes into view in a second or two, sees target, redirects missile, Lots of time to do so, target no idea what happened (even if you miss), helo no damage reloading for two more points. When taking an armored column I like to go back to front using this method, they never know what hit um.
#7 We are getting shot, the health indicator is dropping fast, the buzz is going off, we don’t have them in our sights and can kill first, do we? (Except enemy helos)
A: Point toward the target and go knife fighting? (cowboy hat, and chest thumping prior to death optional)
B: Gunner Bail out (treason in most civilized countries)
C: Run away, flareing and placing terrain and distance between us and the target jinking back and forth. Where we find a spot to TV the target from safety.
That’s right it’s now time to show us what a good pilot you are. If you don’t want to get shot down by stingers then run the hell away, when the buzzing starts, show us how you can duck cover and fly, and come back from someplace else using your mobility and tactics to terrain mask and pop up scoreing points with and for your gunner, your team and the ladies in the bar later for those of you old enough that is.
The gunners job while running is to check the F9/10/11/12 keys for threats and call them out, This is “check six” (pilot) “six checks” (gunner) or threat, clock, type and position
#8 Dogfighting other helos,
Rule 1 DON"T DOGFIGHT Backstabbing is the preferred method. Always keep cleared airspace to your back. Fly to the edge of the map and then down it toward the enemy, this keeps two sides of the helo clear of threats. You’ll find the other helo, yelling bonsai as they charge straight into the targets like you used to do. Then sneak up behind him and shoot him in the ass, just like all the best fighter pilots in history do.
Rule 2 Pilots save your rockets for dogfighting, TV missile in the ass is the best method, shoot it and then all the rockets right into them, unless they have no idea your there, normal, time to reload and TV again.
Rule 3 never run from another helo. If you do then you get it in the ass and everyone knows it is better to pitch than catch.
There comes a time however when you come nose to nose with another helo and you must mano e mano it out.
Gunners job: TV missile shot, using short gun bursts until hits are seen, shoot gun till hot, lather rinse repeat.
Pilots job, Keep nose on target, I know from experience that many of you don’t know that you can’t hit what you cannot see. Move side to side, however if you have altitude you have the advantage. The little birds have a very hard time hitting you when you have altitude on them. I like to shoot one rocket and see where it goes and then adjust using Kentucky wind age and shoot the rest of the load salvo style. Then move around so I’m harder to hit while it reloads mindful of when the gunner is ready for missile.
If they duct go out of your field of view use exterior views to find them and place you nose on them as fast as you can.
#9 Tking for helos
Have you ever thought to ask. I have never had someone not get out of the gunners seat for my squaded and VOIPed gunner when I ask nice and I say please and thank you. You kiddies were supposed to have been taught that already. I have seen many guys just come in and TK for the helo without a word. Warning: I will and do hunt down and kill again and again anyone I catch Tking for a helo. Many even weeks later. I can flat ruin your day, count on it.
The truth is I haven’t found anyone who’s good enough that they should be the only ones to fly.
That’s all, its mostly a rant against the frustration of the untrained
I close with this: If you have not seen army doctors videos don’t get in a helo, learn to fly hover, sideways pedal turns etc somewhere else.
Having spent most of my life teaching I enjoy the opportunity to help new gunners and pilots as long as they will talk to me and at least try to listen without taking it too seriously.
Know one has all the answers; especially me, remember that.
I would love the opportunity to find a pilot that’s good and can help me get my gun on.
My gunners usually refuse to fly after I been in the cockpit a few minutes.
I live on the west coast look for Thumper9
I end up flying all the time because I can't find anyone that can fly
Many folks have posted some fine chopper guides
I just wanted to add a few notes, maybe explain some tactics that perhaps the tactical super geniuses who are out there flying everyday don't think about
My gunners, if they can even hit sometimes, will end up with the top or near top score every round, but I can't get anyone to fly for me.
#1 problem, knife fighting with infantry
Helicopters are very vulnerable, very very vulnerable (they get shot up easy and everyone wants one)
Yet every IDIOT seems to want to get right down into the action and get all shot up
Stay back from the target and kill everything that can hurt you with TV missles, then come in, OUT OF ANTI TANK RANGE and shoot the gun at infantry while you circle the target at a DISTANCE
A helicopters speed can get you to and from the target area fast, once there you must use terrain masking (hide behind stuff) and distance to place yourself in position to fire on the target without EXPOSING yourself to fire for more than a couple seconds
#2 TV missile misses
Most gunners miss alot, I even question the ones who hit, clearly there are many network issues with precision weapons. I’ve seen many of the videos and I cannot make my system work like that.
One of the gunners most important duties is to keep track of how many missiles they have left
It matters not though, if you STAY BACK away from the action you can even hid behind an imaginary line created by your own mobile AAA (which keeps enemy helos/jets off you) and TV everything in sight or even out of sight, don't rush foreward into unknown territory, they will some for you I promise.
The pilot should know exactly where to place the hud to be inside the TV box
then the gunner can shoot far enough away on some maps that he can't even see the target until a second or two after the missile launches. And that is very safe
IF the gunner misses I am usually high enough that I can back up while the missile reloads and then nose back down on the target giving them another steady few seconds to shoot again, all the while OUT OF RANGE of their weapons or even sight
Flying low should be reserved for running away or terrain masking for a difficult to reach targets
You cannot hit well when you get .01 seconds of target view in the hud
I always try and give my gunner three seconds of TV view with a STEADY helo
Even then they miss quit often so you must be ready to turn 360 or back up and give them another shot. They don’t get three seconds it’s the pilots fault they miss
The worst thing you can do is run foreword with rockets blazing hoping for a kill, because the helo behind the target, the target, his buddies in the AAA, and everything else back there starts shooting at you. Inevitably you crash into him or take splash damage or get the shit shot out of you and have to go repair
One of my favorite TV missile tactics is called TV missile recon. I pop up my nose on the way to the target and the gunner shoots a missile there looking to figure out what’s going on knowing that the missile will die before he can hit something. Works like a champ try it.
#3 ignoring targets
Never pass a base that is owned by the enemy, especially if there is a fixed stinger/AAA launcher in it, on the same token don’t ever pass up a jeep that goes underneath you to create havoc at your own base
take out everything that shoots back, before you pass a target, if the map is crowded let someone else take the flag, I usually wait and spawn rape the point, until some of my team arrive.
Simple math; a flag that you hover over for ten minutes is worth 2 points, each tank/person is worth 2 points you have 8 TV missles, one spawn kill and you get the same points as taking the flag
#4 Use a systematic approach to taking a target
Most pilots just fly straight to a target swoop in and fire off your rockets hoping for a chance kill, while your gunner reaches for his barf bag instead of the trigger because all he sees is a kaleidoscope of motion out the window
Run to the target area, which is the TV missile range 450m radius. That’s ½ of some maps away. Once in the target area find a spot to hid that looks toward some juicy targets, then pop up and kill stuff that can kill you, with the TV missile and then move to a new spot, lather rinse repeat, once the only thing left is infantry, come in and clean up with the gun. Watch where your team and especially your mobile AAA is and stay close AIDing in the assault.
A helo and a mobile AAA working togther, are in my opinion the most dangerous combo in the game
Think!!!! where does the tank/apc/fav spawn. Where are the stinger launchers and the TOW. How can we come in so they cannot get you but you can get them.
#5 R U good with the gun?
Good, fabulous, stylin, then no reason to SHOW OFF by using it. Use the gun when we are taking a target apart, (as in maintaining a diameter) after having destroyed everything that can kill us. If your shooting somewhere other than in the pilots view you won’t be ready when he points you at some juicy targets
Pilots are supposed to keep targets right in front always and talk the gunner onto them. “guy at the build, guy on the fav, guy on the roof etc.”
Use the gun when CIRCLING the target or as directed by the pilot (like chasing a jeep going into our base), when we are on approach or running away be looking around using the outside views etc to find things that can kill us and point them out. A really good tactic is to have the gunner in TV view waiting for the command to fire when approaching a target.
Don’t shoot the gun at armor, it pisses them off, it pisses your pilot off, it pisses me off, it pisses off you when they turn around and blast you.
#6 dialog,
Always be able to communicate with each other. And learn terms, If the pilot says TV missile! the gunner hits the right mouse button no questions asked. If you see blank and the pilot says fire, FIRE the damn missile! Many maps, particularly the new armor fury maps, the pilot can see but the gunner cannot through the TV missile. Pilot lines up, gunner shoots blind, target comes into view in a second or two, sees target, redirects missile, Lots of time to do so, target no idea what happened (even if you miss), helo no damage reloading for two more points. When taking an armored column I like to go back to front using this method, they never know what hit um.
#7 We are getting shot, the health indicator is dropping fast, the buzz is going off, we don’t have them in our sights and can kill first, do we? (Except enemy helos)
A: Point toward the target and go knife fighting? (cowboy hat, and chest thumping prior to death optional)
B: Gunner Bail out (treason in most civilized countries)
C: Run away, flareing and placing terrain and distance between us and the target jinking back and forth. Where we find a spot to TV the target from safety.
That’s right it’s now time to show us what a good pilot you are. If you don’t want to get shot down by stingers then run the hell away, when the buzzing starts, show us how you can duck cover and fly, and come back from someplace else using your mobility and tactics to terrain mask and pop up scoreing points with and for your gunner, your team and the ladies in the bar later for those of you old enough that is.
The gunners job while running is to check the F9/10/11/12 keys for threats and call them out, This is “check six” (pilot) “six checks” (gunner) or threat, clock, type and position
#8 Dogfighting other helos,
Rule 1 DON"T DOGFIGHT Backstabbing is the preferred method. Always keep cleared airspace to your back. Fly to the edge of the map and then down it toward the enemy, this keeps two sides of the helo clear of threats. You’ll find the other helo, yelling bonsai as they charge straight into the targets like you used to do. Then sneak up behind him and shoot him in the ass, just like all the best fighter pilots in history do.
Rule 2 Pilots save your rockets for dogfighting, TV missile in the ass is the best method, shoot it and then all the rockets right into them, unless they have no idea your there, normal, time to reload and TV again.
Rule 3 never run from another helo. If you do then you get it in the ass and everyone knows it is better to pitch than catch.
There comes a time however when you come nose to nose with another helo and you must mano e mano it out.
Gunners job: TV missile shot, using short gun bursts until hits are seen, shoot gun till hot, lather rinse repeat.
Pilots job, Keep nose on target, I know from experience that many of you don’t know that you can’t hit what you cannot see. Move side to side, however if you have altitude you have the advantage. The little birds have a very hard time hitting you when you have altitude on them. I like to shoot one rocket and see where it goes and then adjust using Kentucky wind age and shoot the rest of the load salvo style. Then move around so I’m harder to hit while it reloads mindful of when the gunner is ready for missile.
If they duct go out of your field of view use exterior views to find them and place you nose on them as fast as you can.
#9 Tking for helos
Have you ever thought to ask. I have never had someone not get out of the gunners seat for my squaded and VOIPed gunner when I ask nice and I say please and thank you. You kiddies were supposed to have been taught that already. I have seen many guys just come in and TK for the helo without a word. Warning: I will and do hunt down and kill again and again anyone I catch Tking for a helo. Many even weeks later. I can flat ruin your day, count on it.
The truth is I haven’t found anyone who’s good enough that they should be the only ones to fly.
That’s all, its mostly a rant against the frustration of the untrained
I close with this: If you have not seen army doctors videos don’t get in a helo, learn to fly hover, sideways pedal turns etc somewhere else.
Having spent most of my life teaching I enjoy the opportunity to help new gunners and pilots as long as they will talk to me and at least try to listen without taking it too seriously.
Know one has all the answers; especially me, remember that.
I would love the opportunity to find a pilot that’s good and can help me get my gun on.
My gunners usually refuse to fly after I been in the cockpit a few minutes.
I live on the west coast look for Thumper9
