Joint-Ops
Top Gun Competition
July
21st and 22nd will be the 2nd 2007 Joint-Ops
Top Gun Competition. Those that
have competed in Joint-Ops Top Gun Competitions will tell you that this is about
the most competitive virtual event you can ever participate in.
It is free to all Joint-Ops Members and a Plaque is awarded to the winner
for permanent display and bragging rights.
ANYBODY can win Top Gun. As the real traditional Top Gun rates the combat abilities of pilots, the JO Top Gun tests ALL of your pilot skills, not just the combative abilities!
Our winners for the 1st 2007 JO Top Gun were N213SE_Eagle1 and
V239FS_OB. Eagle is a veteran JO
Member who has competed in many JO sponsored Events including being a 3 time Top
Bomb Winner. OB was a new Joint-Ops
Member who recently graduated Basic Flight School just a month or two before the
competition took place. OB will
also tell you that he was a fairly new IL2 Pilot who came to Joint-Ops to
improve his piloting skills. In a
rare display of top notch competition, we had a tie after two days of
competition which awarded both pilots the award.
So, as OB can attest, ANYBODY can win.
The
first day of competition is strictly qualification as the finals held Sunday
will only test the top 5 pilots from the qualification round, including the
previous Top Gun Winners. This
means, if both Eagle and OB decide to compete in this Top Gun, both will be
guaranteed a seat in the Final Round and we will be qualifying 3 other pilots.
We
urge every JO Member to at least compete in the Qualification Round.
It’s a day of fun flying, a little competition, and a great learning
experience for those who may want to try for the finals in the future.
And, who knows? You may surprisingly find yourself qualified for the finals,
whether you choose to move on or not.
JO
Top Gun tests your dog fighting skills, general pilot skills, and general pilot
knowledge. It is ALL about the
decisions you make and the consequences that come with those choices mixed with
the element of LUCK. Luck has
always been an element in Combat, Wars, and definitely in JO’s Top Gun.
Because
the event is taking place in 2 months, we suggest you start practicing for it
now. As a JO Member, you have access to the JO Bulletin Boards.
At the bottom of the Boards, the link under the Joint-Ops Downloads is
the link for Top Gun / Top Bomb. The
password for the Top Gun Board is listed in the description of the board.
Through that link, you will be able to download the IL2 Top Gun Package
which will contain rules, schedules, and all the mission files you will need to
have installed in your game to practice and participate.
Although your Combat Skills will be tested during the Qualification Round, the Final Round tests everything else. Along with Aircraft Races are the Bonus Rounds. The Bonus Rounds can make you or break you. Many pilots concentrate on their combat skills and don’t spend enough time on the piloting skills tested in the Bonus Rounds. They are tasks that have to be practiced to help you make personal choices the day of competition.
The
Bonus Rounds consist of:
Quick
Landing Competition
– To see how fast you can get your aircraft down on the runway, choked,
locked, and shut down.
Carrier
Landing Competition
– Choose your Carrier to land on. The
shorter the Carrier, the higher the points…IF….you are successful.
By the way, no tail hook!
Dead
Drop Event – Land your aircraft on a very narrow landing strip thousands
of meters high, then roll it off the cliff with no power and land successfully
on a nearby airfield.
Bridge
Loop-Over Event
– Fly your aircraft down a very narrow corridor, fly it under the bridge, loop
over and fly under the bridge again.
These
are just some of the events you will compete in at JO Top Gun along with the
dreaded competition closing JO Death Race.
Here’s a race dream come true….or a nightmare gone bad.
It is a race, a grueling race where you are allowed to shoot down the
competition. If you make it through
the course alive, you still have to land your crippled aircraft on a very, VERY
short runway. This one will raise
your Blood Pressure!
Now is the time to start practicing for this event. If you are a Joint-Ops Member, get started now and be prepared the day of competition. If you are not a Joint-Ops Member, you can go to www.joint-ops.com, enroll and complete Basic Flight School, and be eligible for the next Joint-Ops Top Gun Competition - along with all the other courses and events that take place at JO.
