F-15C Dogfighting tips

[marktheshark]

Could anyone give me some tips for dogfighting in the mighty eagle? I keep getting beat by the AI mig-29. What speed should I stay at, and should I go one circle or two?

Thanks in advance

[Rudel_chw]

this is an old guide, but most concepts are still valid

 

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Ai6cuX3YQI26gqVS0lX6SfvYiKbeAQ

 

[draconus]

On 5/21/2025 at 2:43 AM, marktheshark said:

Could anyone give me some tips for dogfighting in the mighty eagle? I keep getting beat by the AI mig-29. What speed should I stay at, and should I go one circle or two?

The subject is so wide I don't know where to begin, esp. not knowing what you already know and what level you're on.

I'd advise you to read a lot, ex.:

https://theaviationist.com/2020/06/07/here-are-the-basic-fighter-maneuvers-fundamentals-you-need-to-understand-dogfights-explained-by-a-fighter-pilot/

and watch & listen to see how it should look like, ex.:

These are just examples, I don't know if they are even good but there's plenty of articles and videos out there.

The F-15C is great energy dogfighter so you should rather stay fast (over 350kts) and high (it flies better up there) but remember no two dogfights are the same  - you have to press and react to your enemy's moves, improvise, wait for the moment to shoot, take advantage of opponent's mistakes. You may very well be dragged to low alt, low speed fight having to hold there.

Installing Tacview can help you watch the fight after, check your mistakes and draw conclusions from it. Basic version is free: https://www.tacview.net/
Learning is one thing, practice is even more important, so whatever you learn practice a lot. You can start with AI for now but you'll have to start practicing with human opponents online to get to your best.
AI is not the best enemy because their flight model is not very realistic (they use simplified SFM) so they usually turn better than they should IRL but they are also limited in what they can do. So you'll get to the point where it'll become a bit predictable after a while.
You can counter too good AI by choosing a less powerful aircraft to fight with, lowering their skill or making them heavier with more fuel, while flying light loaded yourself.

Edited 1 hour ago by draconus