Well, this board is called Flight school, is it not?...

What's your favorite technique for getting out of a 'following loop' (two planes infinitely circling) when your opponent is:

1) less maneuverable than you
2) evenly matched (i.e. speed and turning radius)
3) more maneuverable than you

Assuming relatively evenly matched firepower / gun arcs. And remember: this is flight school! elaborate a bit for the sake of Skyrate newcomers.

(Also, feel free to post your own 'flight technique' questions!)

Countercircling.

Drop speed fast, wait for it to get a little bit off to one side, then Afterburn to smack 'im with a few arcs.

EDIT: Whoa, somebody added my avvie from Phe into Skycust! Thank you, Mystery Benefactor!

OK. Feel free to continue offering answers to the first question.

Second question:

When facing a crowd head on, do you:
1) barrel roll and dive right in?
2) attempt to turn (gradually? 90 deg maneuver? 180?) and get to safety
3) other?

Charge! (Assuming the crowd doesn't include mines, platforms, or rings.) Of course, it helps to have 11 armor and 27 armor class when you do this. And 4 flaks to make them regret clustering together like that.

If I wasn't flying a tank, then I'd run away and try to pick them off one by one. Having a rear-facing long arm is very useful for this, otherwise circle back on any that get separated from the rest.

Fisher pilot, sometimes geared for war, others geared for cargo. Four MGs and a tail LA.



Counterturn or g-turn as needed. Fisher needs to 'hip-check' other planes



Armored and no mines? Airbrake on top of them. (True only for 2.5, suicide in 2.4-previous.)

Built for speed or cargo? g-turn 45 degrees or so and strafe as I pass with all them side guns.

question 3)

How do dogfighting tactics change when moving from forward arc(s) only to A) rear arc(s) B) forward and rear arcs? (i.e. how can one best leverage the rear arcs?)

Forward arcs-only, the tactic is to get behind the target and blow 'em up. With front/rear arcs, you can get behind people or pull ahead.

With rear arcs especially, it's a good idea to outrange your opponent.

Question 4)
What are the most useful combat techniques to unlock early in the game? why?

Unlock Airbrake and Afterburner, as soon as you can spare the FP from more important skills like Flight License and Cartography.

I try to spend my CP on the Trinity+1 of Precision Fire, Eagle Eye, Crack Shot, and Gumption. But I can usually spare a few for unlocking Barrel Roll and Loop, unless I'm only flying trade planes.

Airbrake and Afterburner are vital for controlling your throttle, especially early in the game when acceleration is hard to come by. With them and Gumption, you can match speed with a faster or slower plane for a little while.

Barrel Roll is useful in any non-trader at least as fast as a Valkyrie, for avoiding damage when you have to fly through arcs, until you get high-tier perfs with really low silhouette.

Loop is good at attacking people who are behind you. Under certain circumstances, it can work better than Airbrake for fighting slow planes. Also, it leaves you at high speed for an escape, but you can Loop again right after if you're not done.

This.

Plus modification/clarification/specific use:
Loop is especially good in the lower ties for combating blimps. Careful pacing and placing yourself with a blimp in chase you can loop-snipe them all day if you need to.

Thanks for the excellent answers to that last one!

Question 5) Are there any combat skills that aren't worth the points, or not worth it until later in the game?

Smuggling is currently worthless. Combat Infamy should be used with care; you can't change your mind later. Leadership doesn't seem to give much benefit for its price. And I start with only one level in each maneuver, since I don't use them very much.

It is my understanding that the AutoResolver (for all its faults - which are many) DOES take into consideration the skill points you have invested in Maneuvers.
So... I wouldn't necessarily put them at the bottom of your list.