Fun Mod 1.4
Air Role Guide

Table of Content
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I. Air Basics: Crash course on how to fly
II. Heavy or Advanced choppers?
III. Understanding threats to Air
IV. Pro Tip: Evading missiles.
V. Pro Tip: Evading detection by the enemy.

I. Air Basics: Crash course on how to fly
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Rule #1: Avoid flying different helicopters in the same unit selection (for example, flying 3 heavy choppers with 1 scout altogether like you would in unmodded game).  

Every class of helicoipter in Fun Mod have different maneuvering speed and altitude controls. Selecting different class of helicopters in same selection will force all of your choppers to fly in the most slowest possible speed, making them much more vulnerable to enemy anti-air capabilities.  Choose a helicopter you want to fly and only control same class of choppers in single unit selection for best results.

Rule #2: Altitude controls. 

To raise altitude, issue a Move order on a map that is located far away from where helicopters currently are.  They will fly to that location using maximum altitude lift possible.

To lower altitude, issue a Stop or Attack order.

To fly in NOE (nap-of-the-earth) flight formation, where you fly in low altitude at all times, simply issue series of Move orders on a map that is located very close from where your helicopters are currently located.

Rule #3: How to *properly* attack enemy armor with rockets.

Do not simply issue an Attack order on enemy tank -- your rockets will not penetrate heavy armor, period.

Instead, issue a Move order to a location far-out on the map in the direction of where the enemy tank is.  The goal is to raise altitude and *fly over* on top of enemy tank at maximum altitude possible.  As soon as your choppers are flying right over directly on top of the enemy tank, issue an Attack order.  Your helicopters will fall down like a rock and nose-dive into the tank while pumping rockets into the thin and weak *top armor* of enemy tank.  Tank will be destroyed instantly, especially if your choppers are ranked up.

This attack mode is called "nose diving" or "pop-up" attack.

Rule #4: How to fire an Anti-Tank Missile (offensive ability for Advanced Attack Helicopters) properly.

If you want to stealthily take out an enemy target without alerting them of your presence, use the long-range anti-tank missile using the offensive ability.

Important Note: Anti-tank missiles will not penetrate heavy armor on their front and side armors. When hitting the front armor, the missile will simply dent the tank and bounce off without causing any significant damage at all. However, when anti-tank missile falls on thin *top armor* of a heavy tank, it will result in total penetration and instantly kill the tank, even at full 100% health! 

To properly attack an enemy tank, pop-up into high altitude, then fire the missile on the tank, improving your chance of top-armor hit. Note that Apache attack helicopters for US and NATO factions are much more easier to use when aiming top armors.  You only have to raise altitude very briefly or sometimes don't even have to raise altitude at all when firing the missile from an Apache.  The Longbow Hellfire II missile will fly in ballistic arc trajectory to try to aim at enemy tank's top armor, making it much easier to hit top armor than USSR counterpart's AT-9 Spiral missile.

II. Heavy or Advanced Choppers?
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Heavy choppers are loaded with a full rack of 70mm rockets.  These rockets are great for taking out infantry blob (instant blob kill, it's like airborne artillery!) and even tanks if you do a proper nose-dive run.

Advanced choppers are loaded with only half-rack of 70mm rockets.  The other half is filled with Anti-Tank missiles fired from special ability, such as Hellfire II or Ataka-V/AT-9 Spiral. 

Heavy chopper's full load of 70mm rockets provide them with great firepower against any enemy targets, especially when they are ranked up.  However, heavy choppers are extremely vulnerable to enemy anti-air assets as these choppers do not have onboard radar to provide you with sufficient vision and early warning of enemy SAM threats.  It is best to use heavy choppers as a *supporting role only*, operating on and away from front lines.  Infantry commanders can also buy one heavy chopper to support their men on the ground as well.  The heavy chopper can be used to quickly provide fire support then retreat back away from frontline while dropping flares to evade enemy SAM's.  It is not recommended to fly past the frontline with heavy choppers as enemy SAM will rip them up very quickly.  If you need to cross the frontline, it is ideal to have another air player provide you escort with advanced choppers.

Advanced choppers have lesser amount of fire power compared to heavies but they are equipped with advanced avionics package allowing them to see much farther out.  Their rockets are also much more accurate than heavy choppers due to the aid of an onboard fire control computer.  However, their biggest advantage is the long ranged anti-tank missile such as Hellfire II or Ataka-V/AT-9 Spiral.  These long ranged missiles and advanced avionics package allows the advanced chopper to stay hidden as much as possible even behind enemy lines, allowing you to ambush the enemy and operate in areas where you normally shouldn't be operating in.  Advanced choppers are great for independent gameplay, however heavy choppers inherently depend on support from your team to survive.

III. Understanding threats to Air
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Helicopters are very fragile and even small arms fire could bring them down in Fun Mod.  Attack helicopters are better armed on their bottom belly area to withstand sustained small arms fire.  The cockpit glass area could withstand some small arms fire but sustained fire will bring down the helicopter.  The tail rotor area is extremely vulnerable and even a single SAM hitting the tail rotor could bring down a 100% healthed helicopter in one shot.

While playing Air, you will encounter various threats to your helicopters when enemy detects your presence.  Following is a list of common threats you will face:

1. Heavy SAM

These long ranged surface-to-air missile batteries are a reminder that you should never stay in one spot for too long.  The moment enemy detects your presence, expect a telephone pole sized surface-to-air missile heading your way. Make sure you always fly in and QUICKLY finish your dirty business then FLY OUT as fast as you can to avoid Heavy SAM from targeting you.

As annoying Heavy SAM's are, they are also vulnerable = they cannot fire at you at close range, they can only fire at long range.  If you see a Heavy SAM sitting lonely on its own, quickly close into it at maximum speed and kill it before it does any more harm.

2. Medium SAM

The Medium SAM is weak at long range and your anti-tank missile could easily neutralize it from a safe distance. However, these units form the classic definition of "No-Fly Zone."  They are often hidden behind tree lines to protect Heavy SAMs from enemy air attack.  Also, Medium SAM's are often "networked" together using their offensive ability mode to create a huge concentric web of no-fly zone around the enemy Heavy SAM site.  Flying into an area protected by a network of Medium SAMs is a reckless suicide so don’t even try doing that unless you are fully aware of what you're doing.

3. Light AA

The light AA units are anti-aircraft artilleries directed by a fire control computer using radar. Their range is short so they are avoidable, but remember that Light AA's can be networked together with Medium SAM's using offensive ability mode, increasing their lethality and accuracy. Networked Light AA's are dangerous to touch especially if you become ambushed by one hidden behind a building or treeline that you did not spot.  If you fly directly over an area defended by a Medium SAM and Light AA's together, the Light AA will quickly clear the sky of your helicopters faster than their SAMs.

4. Search Radar

In WiC, line of sight of a team is often concentrated on outer perimeter of their forces, typically where the front lines are located.  The inner perimeters and spawn zones can sometimes become "dead zones" when it comes to line of sight, where vision is spotty to warn of enemy air sneaking around.  This inner perimeter area is also where many arty noobs face death and destruction by enemy air.

Search radars are designed to protect the inner perimeter by detecting enemy air units around the inner perimeter and providing additional line of sight to cover the "dead zones."

Be careful when attacking enemy targets near their search radar.  The radar will pick up and track your helicopters even in dead zones, queuing up Heavy SAM's and alerting their team of your presence.  This could especially be a pain if the other team has a medium helicopter player.

Also note that an enemy Heavy SAM site with Medium SAM's and Light AA's in networked mode (using their offensive ability) rely entirely on their Search Radar to detect air units around their perimeter.  Killing or jamming the enemy search radar will blind them, making it easier for you to attack their SAM site to neutralize Heavy and Medium SAM's.

5. Medium Attack Helicopters

These helicopters are mosquitoes. You can expect them flying your way once your presence has been discovered by the enemy.  Run away from them and lure them into your friendly team's Heavy SAM range to get them off of your tail.

IV. Pro Tip: Evading Missiles
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As dangerous as the missiles are, they can be avoided if you are quick with your reflexes.
The very first step is to make sure that camerafreedom is enabled on your WiC and improve your battlefield perception so that your eyes are trained to detect enemy SAM launches at long range.

Most SAM and air-to-air missiles in Fun Mod use the "lead-pursuit" principle for tracking as they are homing into you.  Lead pursuit tracking means that the incoming missile will "lead" your moving helicopters and alter its course heading to an area where your helicopters are expected to be for a hit-to-kill interception. 

You can exploit this principle to your advantage when dodging incoming missiles as follows:

1. Quickly change course heading, easiest way to do is to make a zig-zag flight pattern.

Altering course heading of your helicopters will place your helicopter in a perpendicular angle to the incoming missile.  When the missile is suddenly in a perpendicular approach to your helicopters at the last second, its previous lead calculation will no longer match and cause the missile to lose its lock on your helicopters (aka 'lock broken').

Do not fly away from the missile in a straight line where the missile is trailing right behind you. As its target lead has not changed, it will continue homing into you and worse, it will most likely hit your tail rotor causing significant damage to your helicopter (sometimes even one SAM hitting the tail rotor will kill your helicopter in single hit).

2. Dive to ground.

Sounds like a crazy idea but this works very well believe it or not.  Lowering altitude and diving to ground will result in missiles leading your helicopters (using the lead-pursuit principle above) into a negative altitude below ground level, since your helicopters are moving toward the ground.  As a result, the missile will crash into the ground thinking your choppers are going to be flying below ground level to hit them.

And also note that ground clutter affects SAM missiles and decreases their chance of hitting you when you are flying too low.

3. Fly into the missile and change altitude (also known as 'changing pitch' while flying into the missile)

Flying into the missile while changing altitude (i.e. dive to ground or raise altitude) will rapidly close the gap in the missile's closing distance to hit your helicopters.  This throws off the previous target lead calculation in the missile's tracking algorithm, causing the missile to lose its lock on your helicopters and harmlessly crash into the ground. 

4. Raise altitude

If you are flying at a low altitude near ground-level and you see a Heavy SAM missile coming straight at you, immediately pop-up and grab sky.  The missile will miss you but *may not* lose its lock on your helicopters just yet.  Most likely the missile will make a 180 degree turn and re-engage your helicopters so you may need to perform additional evasive maneuver to dodge it.

5. If all else fails: pop flares!

Use your countermeasures defensive ability to get missiles off of your tail.  You should only drop countermeasures when you are facing multiple incoming missiles to increase your survival.  Don't waste flares to dodge a single missile when you could simply dodge it by taking evasive maneuver.  Reserve your flares for more desperate situations, such as when multiple SAM's and medium helicopter threats are attacking you at once in different directions.  You cannot dodge every missile being thrown at you with evasive maneuver, so that's when you have to drop flares to save yourself.

V. Pro Tip: Evading detection by enemy
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The key to properly using advanced attack helicopters is STEALTH.  Remain invisible to enemy as much as possible and make use of your long range Anti-tank missiles to take out key enemy targets of opportunity without alerting them of your presence.  

When you have to do it dirty and old-school style to attack your opponent using rockets or chain gun instead of an anti-tank missile, you should be aware that your helicopters will show up in enemy team's line of sight.  This means their Heavy SAM's can begin engaging you at long range or their medium chopper player will be alerted to intercept you.  So if you are going to take out targets using rockets and guns, make sure you are well versed in FIFO rule: "Fly IN, Fly OUT"  Nose-dive attack is the best to do this -- fly in and quickly dump rockets to your target of opportunity, then immediately fly out of the area.  The goal is to limit your exposure to enemy's vision as much as possible.

Evading Search Radars:

Flying high allows you to perform nose-dive attacks and makes your choppers much more lethal, but remember that you are in effective SAM range at high altitudes.  Search radars will pick up your helicopters flying in high altitudes even in spotty areas that normal LOS cannot pick you up. So, fly low toward the ground (called nap-of-the-earth flight) when in reconnaissance to remain invisible to enemy search radars.  When you need to attack, that's when you briefly pop-up and quickly fly out and low to become hidden again.

Flying low toward the ground allows your choppers to use terrain and tree line for cover, greatly increasing your ability to remain hidden from enemy radar contact.  

Radar Warning Receiver:

When you are flying and suddenly your units are talking back to you in stressed out/yelling voice-overs for no reason (even when there aren't any enemies near you), that's because the radar warning receiver has been tripped on your helicopters.  It means your choppers are visible on opposing team's line of sight and not only that, you are being actively tracked for a Heavy SAM launch.  Dive to ground to avoid radar contact!

Note that although helicopters are less visible or invisible by search radars at low altitudes, they can still be found by other units at low altitudes, such as by infantry.