MARCH 17, 2019

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL PILOTS CONCERNED

SUBJECT: NOTICE OF PLANNED GUIDE UPDATES

1. This guide has since become obsolete, with the addition of more content which alters the gameplay experience in racing mode as well as Sky Knights as a whole.

2. New aircraft include:

• AJS 37 Viggen with high acceleration but modest turning power
  
• Su-17 Fitter with variable geometry wings and different flight models for the two wing positions

3. New mechanics include:

• Speed Brake
  
• Mods which can improve flight characteristics

4. Two new tracks have been added to accommodate the addition of the AJS 37 and Su-17. They are shorter than the previous ones, but also have much lower time requirements - and lower margin for error, too.

5. As such, Maj MechPilot has seen fit to mark this guide as obsolete, and efforts are being made to bring the content of this document up to date so that newer aircraft and technologies will be properly explained for racing. Mastery of these technologies is critical for a high placement on the leaderboards. Until then, the document still discusses topics which can help achieve a fast enough lap to unlock aircraft. Any inquiries can be directed to this document's primary author.

MAJ MECHPILOT524
1615 FW / 524 FS

ADDENDUM 1: MARCH 4, 2021

At this time, the guide has been updated to cover modifications. Speedbrake is To Be Added.

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I'm Major MechPilot, and I'm back with another briefing.

The Chief of Staff has ordered pilots to train on difficult race courses, in order to prove your airmanship. Those who reach a certain time threshold are granted access to a pair of older planes that we use as aggressors, the MiG-21 Fishbed and F-5E Tiger II.

Now, I know what you're thinking, and I'm in a similar boat. I'm a combat pilot at the end of the day. I'm in a Tactical Fighter Squadron, not a racing team. But these races do help you get better at flying, and with the muscle memory to execute the moves better, you will become a better combat pilot, too.

Nevertheless, I've enlisted one of the fastest pilots around to help me on this one. Rocko held the fastest times on the two original maps for several months. He'll lend his advice to this briefing as well as his opinion on my techniques.

I'll first explain how you need to prepare yourself to race, with the correct traits, upgrades, and modifications. Afterwards I'll cover the importance of various aircraft which will be available to you, including which to use and not use and why. To succeed on the course, you the pilot must approach the time trial in an appropriate way, and I will brief you on the best mental techniques for that. Lastly, this is all about airmanship, so I will teach you some maneuvers that may be of use out there, before explaining the current tracks at their critical points.

There are two profile traits that every racer agrees you need in order to get the best time. They are:

• Hellbender: Increases turning power by 5%, but decreases afterburner fuel by 10%.
  
• Speed Freak: Increases thrust by 10%, but decreases hull durability by 10%.

Note that Hellbender removes 10% of your afterburner fuel. That may sound like a mild impact, but it can be crucial - sometimes, it's better to use maneuvers if you simply don't have the turning power, while nothing can replace the ability to boost your speed. In some airframes, I actually don't use Hellbender, though many players like Rocko and TorchedForever still swear by it.

This concern, however, is much less valid if you have a Modification to increase Afterburner Fuel. When I first equipped the AB fuel increase in my Eagle, I realized it almost compensated for the loss of Hellbender, and with the newer Race 3 and Race 4 being short maps, it's possible to have afterburner fuel to the very end and still put up a competitive time.


In terms of upgrades, Tuned Engine is almost automatic, because increasing speed for free is almost a no-brainer. You have 200 credits left, and two choices:

• External Fuel Tanks will allow you to use more afterburn, gaining time in areas where you don't need to maneuver much.
  
• G-Suit and STOL Tech can both be bought. If you maneuver a lot or make numerous hard turns, G-Suit will make just enough of a difference to keep you in the race. I've also heard many pilots complain they have difficulty landing; STOL Tech will make landing easier, and help you take off faster enabling a higher speed when the race starts.

It might be tempting to purchase G-Limit Override, if you have it unlocked, but it is an expensive upgrade which will leave you unable to purchase any other. The impact of having only G-Limit Override will have an impact in turns, but is useless in straightaways. There are two scenarios where using it makes sense: either in a MiG-21 which has the lowest turning power of the viable aircraft, or if you have Speed and/or Afterburner modifications and feel you have compensated well enough there. For one or two racing maps, this may go farther than higher speed.

("Mods")

One of the more complex and long-term systems Sky Knights offers, modifications can also have a large impact on your racing performance. Unlike perks and upgrades, these change over time as you obtain better modifications in battles and use scrap to improve what you have. Also unlike perks and upgrades, a given mods will only affect one aircraft and mods will be only usable on one (sometimes two) aircraft. The exact names of the modification can vary, even if their effects are the same. For example, a mod to improve stamina recovery will be called "comfy chair", "gentle chair", or "soft coaster". They all have the same effect if they have comparable power.

The effect of any modification is limited, since they can be obtained indefinitely (perks are all unlocked after a relatively low level) and they do not reset every game (as upgrades do). None of the modifications, even when purified to their maximum power, will match the corresponding perk or upgrade. Not everything can be upgraded with mods, either.

Here's a breakdown of what mod types can help with racing:

• Gun: None
  
• Tech: 5-20 Brake Power
  
• Hull: 0.7-1.3 Stamina Regen / 1-3 sec Fuel
  
• Engine: 10-25 Speed / 2-4 Acceleration / 2-4 Afterburner Power

Gun and Tech are straightforward.

For Hull, you'll probably want more fuel for more afterburner. Rarely should you have real problems with stamina; if you align decently and don't do too much maneuvering, you'll never black out, and you usually have enough straightaways to recover (at least somewhat).

For Engine, any of the three could work, but if you're using one of the more competitive aircraft you'll probably want to increase afterburner power (which refers to both top speed and acceleration). Most of when your speed goes to best use is when recovering from a turn and/or roaring down a straight, times when you'll want to squeeze as much speed as possible with the afterburner - and what better way to get the most from that than by improving the afterburner's acceleration and top speed?
Acceleration would likely come second; it may improve chances of you recovering from a turn without using precious afterburner, likely because another turn is coming up. Top speed seems the least useful, as it would only affect times when you should be using afterburner.

Although you can use almost any aircraft to complete a race, there are really only three good ones.


The F-15 is an excellent all-around aircraft when it comes to racing. It's very fast, second behind the MiG-21. It also has great maneuverability, with a turning power topped only by the F-5E and Su-27. This mix allows the F-15 to achieve speeds of over 600 knots with Speed Freak, and still perform well in the turn. It's worth noting that this is the fastest default plane in the game, as the MiG-21 must be unlocked in Race 1.

In terms of upgrades, it's really up to the pilot and how they think a race should be flown. If the pilot thinks it's better to have that maneuverability, then opt for Hellbender. If you would rather have the easier landing and the quicker recover on the maneuver, go for G-Suit and STOL Tech.










The MiG-21 is the fastest plane in the game, currently. It's very light, and uses small delta wings to reduce drag - which results in high wing loading, which translates to lackluster maneuverability.
But hey, this MiG-21 is like flying a rocket. It's best for those who can slide through turns really smoothly, because the speed and afterburner power will make it a huge reward for anyone who can master it.

Since the MiG-21's pretty hot to handle, there's a greater chance of needing to use Maneuvers. There's also a chance you'll need help to land quickly. As such, it's probably better to get STOL Tech and G-Suit as your upgrades, but real hotshots can definitely put the extra afterburner from External Tanks to good use.




Although this might not come as the first choice to many pilots, the Su-27 is what I'd consider a viable contender to beat time trials in. In fact, I'd more readily recommend it to pilots who want to complete the course with relative ease and don't care about making it to the speed leaderboards.

The main reason why some wouldn't recommend it is because it is not as quick as the Eagle or the MiG-21. It's slower to accelerate and has lower top speeds all-around. That's valuable time, and even though the Su-27 makes my hotlist, I have to acknowledge that I achieve slower times in the Flanker than I do in the Fishbed and the Eagle, both of which I view to be roughly comparable.

But the Su-27 has an ace up its sleeve... its maneuverability. True, you won't need to do corkscrews or Pugachev's Cobra. But this aircraft is still very maneuverable, and it's great for a pilot who has trouble making turns. It will stay on course very easily thanks to its high turning power, and it'll perform maneuvers quickly, reducing stamina loss since it doesn't take too long. For those reasons, I have no problems recommending the Flanker: it's got a lower skillcap, but also easier to use especially when trying to make it through turns.

Since you might be on the booster alot in the Flanker to make up for its lower speed, I'd recommend avoiding Hellbender, and using only the External Tanks upgrade as well as Tuned Engine as always.



The only planes you won't be able to reach unlock-level times in are the CAS planes. They're just too slow, and to make it worse, they completely lack afterburner. I consider it nearly impossible to do a lap under a minute and a half with them. The one possible exception is the Su-25 on Race 1... but I've never gotten under 1:26.5 there either.

It's plausible to reach unlock times with the multiroles and the F-5E. But I generally finish several seconds slower in those craft than even the Su-27. Their real downside is they really aren't fast enough. They also all have some form of disability in the way of afterburner: the F-5E, while boasting the best fuel capacity in the game, is simply weak, and struggles to reach 500 knots. The multiroles have a decent boost strength, but they have almost no afterburner fuel. While their lower speed also allows one to take turns easier, and using them to learn the tracks aren't such a bad idea, they will not get you qualifying times very easily.

The number one thing I can tell you is that you need to memorize the turns. It's hard to get around this one, at least until your reflexes are honed to a sharp edge and you're that good at seeing the turns coming. Watching the minimap can help, too.
The other thing is to stay calm and collected. I've seen pilots get frustrated, for sure. You definitely want those light fighters, I get that. But if you only get angry, you might lose your ability to focus, and focus is key to performing in a race map. Cool off somehow if you need to, otherwise all you'll achieve is the embarrassment of throwing your chances out the window. Seriously.

And of course, that means patience. Sometimes to understand the course, and to discover the best way for you to engage the course, you have to execute repetition. Just keep trying, over and over again. You will find a way - no matter what the dead end feels like, it'll give way and you'll have your fighters. Both myself and Rocko will tell you, get a different aircraft and fly the course low-speed. Multiroles and the F-5 will struggle to get you under 1:17, but it's easier to navigate the course with them for a number of reasons, and you can get used to the flow of the map without worrying about obstacles and objectives that only become difficult at high speed.

In this section I'll introduce some maneuvers and how they can be used. You might rely on these maneuvers, and you might never need these maneuvers. I myself depended on them until I had honed my precision flying down, after which I only needed them for the sharpest turns. Your mileage may vary.

If you're addicted to maneuvers, it might be a better idea to opt for the G-Suit (and with it, the STOL Tech).



Obstacle avoidance is a basic and fairly easy means to avoid mountains or even the ground. When maneuvering, planes will naturally begin climbing in anticipation of a loop. This increases your altitude and allows you to simply fly over obstacles. Whenever I close in on the Death Trap on Race 2 and I don't think I'll be in the gap, I'll hold the Maneuver button for a half second. This pitches my nose up just enough to get me over the ridges forming that bottleneck. Bonus points, it also helps me cut the corner right after. So use the Maneuver key to help avoid becoming the latest contemporary modern art piece on some mountaineer's homestead.



The vertical half-loop is simple: press the Maneuver key until your plane is upside down and reversed. This is the common method of turning around. It's possible to go into a full loop or such by holding the maneuver key for longer. Generally, you'll use it to turn around. Combining the Immelmann with a turn is what I call a Modified Immelmann, not to be confused with other moves like the High Yo-Yo or the Wingover.

Releasing the button early results in the aircraft still pointing up and much momentum is lost as you begin to stall, but you lose less stamina. Timing it to a perfect 180 will cause the plane to conserve much of its momentum, but use more stamina. Finally you can hold it longer to cause the aircraft to point back at the ground. Be careful, though! If your angle of attack down is too steep, you may run low on stamina and crash into the ground, particularly if you are boosting out of the turn.



Although it is hopefully never needed, a last-ditch means to slow yourself to land instead of overshooting the runway is to perform a full loop. This will kill your airspeed if you throttle down entering the loop, and usually you're at a good altitude at the bottom of that loop. It's going to cost you a few seconds, but fewer seconds than if you were to overshoot the entire runway.



The high-speed yo-yo is a dogfighting maneuver intended for an attacker to decrease his turning radius to keep from overshooting a defender. In racing, you can use this to stay inside a turn. A high-speed yo-yo combines a left turn with some use of the maneuver button, causing the plane to elevate. This reduces speed and allows more control surfaces to contribute to the turn, resulting in a tighter turn. This maneuver definitely uses more stamina than your average turn, however.



An alternative to the Half-Loop is the Wingover. Instead of going a half-roll up and turning over, you perform a steep climb and use your elevator and roll into a horizontal 180. (Horizontal from the pilot's perspective.) Most of your speed will be conserved, as well. Used properly, this can improve your positioning compared to a proper Immelmann. For instance, many 180-degree turns aren't actually perfect direction reversals: they usually offshoot at an angle, requiring a stamina-draining course correction in the middle of or after your half-loop.

The major concern is spacing. While a half-loop follows practically the same route out as the route in, a Wingover needs some space to the left or right, especially if there is a bottleneck - similar to Salty's Peak on Race 1. A wingover also isn't as intuitive as a half-loop, so expect some painful learning. But I believe this maneuver has more potential than the Immelmann.

Before we say anything more about Race 1, let us first hold a moment of silence. Rest in pieces, Jimmy Branson....


Now that we've got that out of the way, let's illustrate the best moves for this race. It's characterized by its S-turn at Mount Rollie, and that deadly little charmer, Devil's Face. The critical points are demonstrated in order of encounter.



This start is a quick one. It's recommended to use some afterburner to get your speed up quickly as you approach Mount Rollie, but only use it intermittently as you enter the first, gentle turn.

Video timestamp: 0:15


When you reach Mount Rollie, stop accelerating. There are a series of close turns which form the letter S, and in order to succesfully take these turns, you need to take it at cruising speed.

Once you're at the bottom of the S-turn, hit the afterburner as you enter the straightaway of Martin's Valley, and take the turn at the end of Martin's Valley as early as you feel comfortable.

Video timestamp: 0:21


Once you reach the Dunes of the Wyvern, the moves you make will influence your positioning as you approach the Devil's Face. Take the turn early and hug the mountain, but DO NOT boost out of the turn. Maintain your speed.

Once you've passed that mountain, just go straight until you hit the next waypoint. As soon as you have crossed it, you will need to maneuver to avoid the steep cliff known as Devil's Face. Execute a modified Immelmann turn: combine a half loop with a slight turn to the left. When timed perfectly, this will bring you close enough to the Devil's Face waypoint, keep you from following Jimmy Branson's footsteps, and point you straight towards your next waypoint. Overdoing the maneuver will cause excessive stamina loss.

Video timestamp: 0:37


The area immediately out of Devil's Face is a straightaway, so it's a good idea to regain your speed by boosting once you're out of the turn. But around the time you hit Tobbe's Tunnel, a rock arch over the valley, you should pause boosting to ensure your pilot won't hit the ground. The turns through Grizzle's Graveyard are easy and you can use a decent amount of boost here.

Video timestamp: 0:43


There are two difficult spots left, and Trigonum Fields is one of them. Coming out of Grizzle's Graveyard at high speed, the big trick is to time the maneuver here just right.

You also have a choice when it comes to which maneuver you want to use. You can either perform an Immelmann, either a straight one or modified.

• The straight Immelman is easier to control but you need to approach from a slightly different path to be able to continue down the track.
  
• You can use a modified Immelman, as with the Devil's Face, but this turn is much steeper and it is more difficult than it was there. Without practice, you often point in the wrong direction.

What I prefer for this is a Wingover. A Wingover is caused by a combination of pointing your plane straight up and turning left; this causes a very tight stall turn at higher altitude, allowing you to control the turn itself very well. Perhaps to a further extent than the Immelmann, however, it demands good timing.

Comparing the two, I start my Immelmann near the last rock before the Fields. I start my Wingover, however, at approximately where you cross the Martin's Valley straight.

Boost out of the maneuver towards Salty's Peak, but beware crashing into the ground as you descend.

Video timestamp: 0:52


The way you take Salty's Peak is similar to how you take the Trigonum Fields. As you reach the last outcropping before the turn, execute an Immelmann or a Wingover.

It's good to cut your throttle leaving the turn for Salty's Peak. This is because you come up quickly on a hard left, and the pilot is usually low on stamina.

Video timestamp: 1:00


As you straighten out, open the throttle a little bit, but don't max it out or boost, because you're very close to the runway. There's one last turn before you're on landing approach, and it's a good idea to cut your throttle completely just before that turn. Execute the turn correctly, and you'll be in good shape to quickly land.

Video timestamp: 1:10


Here is a video of Mech running through Race 1 in the F-15A with External Tanks and Tuned Engine:


The video is by no means a perfect run-through, but it hopefully reinforces the section giving pilots a greater understanding. Note the following in regards to this particular video:

• Fumbled exiting the modified Immelmann at the Devil's Face.
  
• Performed a modified Immelmann at the Trigonum Fields, although I prefer Wingovers.
  
• Pulled too many G's at Salty's Peak and had to reduce speed to navigate the final turns.
  
• Did not have STOL Tech upgrade in this run-through.

Race 2 has more extremes than Race 1. For starters, you need a faster time. You also have more sharp turns and long straightaways, putting both your agility and your sprints to the test. You start out almost immediately by doing a 180 turn into a long semi-circle. And if you thought Bankler's only attempt to kill you was Devil's Face... think again. This one's called Death Trap, and it takes more precision to survive.

Rocko's most at home here, if only because he owns a particular Ridge after Torched Trail. Perfect for summer vacations with nothing but a beer cooler, a lawn chair and a MANPAD. Wouldn't it be cool if there were a bunch of rocks shaped like mechs at a turn, and they were simply called Mech Rocks.... ;)



Right out of the gate, you'll need to pull an Immelmann. I time it with the stripes at the end of the runway. Since you have plenty of space there's no real need to try and get your nose pointing far down here, just don't overshoot the long turn afterwards.

Video Timestamp: 0:04


There's not much to say about this part. There's a bit of room to accelerate, but there are two turns close together past that straight. Try and take the second of the two as aggressively as you can, but if not, don't be afraid to use a High Yo-Yo to stay on track.

Video Timestamp: 0:18


It's tempting to gun the engine in the straight legs after the sharp turns of Squig's Dust Bowl, but don't do it, especially after the final turn to the west. This will prepare you for the Death Trap, a narrow canyon that will destroy anyone flying at default altitude. Because of that final westward turn, pilots have a tendency to be just too far east to "thread the needle" here.

Either take it cautiously and position yourself to pass through the canyon, or use Obstacle Avoidance - which is something that myself and Rocko prefer, anyway. Using a High Yo-Yo here also lets you cut the turn directly after the Death Trap and afterburn across Torched Trail - possibly named after the ace pilot, but realistically for all the afterburner marks that would have been left there if such a thing was rendered in the game.

Video Timestamp: 0:25


For some reason, there's also a Tobbe's Tunnel here, at the end of Torched Trail.
Of interest is the semicircle around Rocko's Ridge. Watch out for MANPADs every third Sunday of the summer months, and be ready for that turn, too: either use a High Yo-Yo, a Modified Immelmann, a Wingover, or just turn perfectly to get through it.

You're going to boost along another straight as you hopefully fly away from Rocko's Ridge, past Tomahawk Hill. You can go all-out here, though it'll likely consume all your afterburner. If you're conservative, it's okay to save a bit for later. These turns are fairly easy if you get the timing down, even at 600kts in the MiG-21.

Video Timestamp: 0:38


The landing here's pretty tough. We'll start as we're approaching the airbase from the east-northeast. Drift a little north so you can better take the turn southward, try not to hit the no-fly zone to the west. As you face south, use whatever afterburner you have left.

You'll have one reverse turn left before you finish. It'll need to be a straight Immelmann since it's a perfect direction reversal. It's important to start the maneuver at the right time, but it's even more important to release the maneuver at the right time. You should cut off throttle by/as you enter the Immelmann; if you're foolhardy or if you simply have STOL Tech like me, you can cut it after the maneuver.

Releasing the maneuver control will determine your landing directly. Too early, and you'll fly too high to land. Too late, and you'll smash into the ground. When you time it right, you'll lose enough altitude to quickly hit regular altitude to land without becoming a landform. I can't emphasize how much of a difference STOL Tech makes if your landings feel impossible.

Video Timestamp: 0:55



Once again, this is an imperfect example, but again, the F-5E was unlocked with a healthy margin for more error. Bullet points for the video:

• Poor timing on the first Immelmann turn
  
• In many straight legs, didn't fly perfectly straight, lost tiny bits of speed and didn't recover stamina properly
  
• Mis-timed final Immelmann before landing, starting too early and hesitating on realization to cause a mediocre-executed turn.

So remember these things:

• Use the multiroles to get used to the track, but use the Su-27, F-15, and MiG-21 to try for the best times.
  
• Take turns aggressively, but don't be preoccupied with speed: it can actually help to take a turn slower.
  
• Although a large chunk of afterburner will get you to high speeds, using it intermittently can be fast too without using all your burner on one part.
  
• If you think you might hit something, use the Maneuver control to try and avoid it. If you think you can sharpen a turn, you can try and Maneuver that as well.
  
• Don't get frustrated and be patient. Focus on your objective and how you will achieve that objective, and you will have those brand old planes in your hangar in no time.

Lastly, if you do want to improve your time past 1:25 and 1:17 respectively, the best advice Rocko and I have for you is to learn your style. I prefer taking paths pretty straight most of the time and am more inclined to use a variety maneuvers, whereas Rocko does a lot of flexible drifting and comes in from different angles to use straight Immelmanns to keep his course in line. It depends on you, the pilot, and with time you will learn yourself.



There you have it - your guide to unlocking the MiG-21 and F-5E!

Thanks to Rocko, who provided valuable insight on parts of this guide, and to the community who requested it.

For more information, check out the Sky Knights wiki!
https://skyknights.gamepedia.com/Official_Sky_Knights_Wiki