History Main / DodgeByBraking

TruthInTelevision, as forcing your opponent to over-shoot is actually a keynote of dogfighting tactics. There are many ways to do it, from the simple ''[[http://www.flightsimbooks.com/f15strikeeagle/097_1.jpg defensive high-speed yo-yo]]'' to the more complex ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scissors vertical and rolling scissors.]]'' The real-life maneuver most commonly seen in media is the ''[[http://www.flightsimbooks.com/f15strikeeagle/093_1.jpg barrel roll defense,]]'' where the defending aircraft [[DoABarrelRoll pops up and rolls gracefully before coming back down]] behind the attacker. It looks [[RuleOfCool cool,]] and the split-second reversal of advantage is suitably dramatic. This works just as well on [[OldSchoolDogfight jets as it does on biplanes;]] it's just that dogfights are much less common in RealLife these days.

* In ''Anime/TheSkyCrawlers'', this is Yuuichi's signature move, with which he wins several dogfights across the film. [[spoiler:It's a [[LukeIAmYourFather plot]] [[CloningBlues point]] that it also turns out to be a favorite tactic of The Teacher.]]

* The various versions of ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' regularly feature these maneuvers since it's a series about {{Ace Pilot}}s in dogfights.

** In the ''{{Anime/Robotech}}'' novelization, this is referred to as "Fokker's Feint".

* Boba Fett did this when he was chase by IG 88 in the ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'' comic.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' does this as well.

* ''Film/TheAssignment1997''. The protagonist is in a stolen taxi that's falling apart under the abuse, being pursued by gunmen. He drives down a stairway halfway then pulls on the handbrake and ducks--the car behind hits the back of his own, flips over and [[EveryCarIsAPinto bursts into flame]].

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Luke does this during the speeder bike chase on Endor.

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' is able to use the ''Razor Crest's'' engine thrust reversers in mid-dogfight to get the advantage over a pursuing bounty hunter.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** In [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E03SonsAndDaughters "Sons and Daughters"]] General Martok orders the IKS ''Rotarran'' to do this while dogfighting with some Jem'Hadar attack ships. He's on the tail of one, and a second is on him from behind. He blasts one, brakes, and blasts the other.
** In [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E06TreacheryFaithAndTheGreatRiver "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River"]] Odo pulls this against a pursuing Jem'Hadar attack ship in a runabout, enabling him to get above his pursuer and AttackItsWeakPoint.
* On ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', [[AcePilot Tom Paris]] uses this tactic against a Kazon fighter.

* A standard tactic in ''[[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Aeronautica Imperialis]]'', especially effective if an Eldar Nightwing dumps the throttle and pulls a nice sharp climb to drop its speed by 5 (on a 0 to 9 scale, no less), forcing the tailing Ork fighter to [[TooFastToStop rocket-booster along]] and let the Nightwing drop down behind it and shred it in a barrage of shuriken cannon fire.

* You can do this in ''Tom Clancy's [[VideoGame/{{HAWX}} H.A.W.X.]]'', but realistically it's only possible with the higher-performance modern jets and not, say, a [=MiG-21Bis=] "Fishbed".
** However, the type of maneuver the game encourages you to use to get behind your enemies is the one tactic most pilots would try to avoid, which would be deliberately stalling your plane.

--> '''Wolf:''' [[GoshDangitToHeck What the heck?!]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' episode "Inside Job", Buzz uses this twice as it is his [[ChekhovsSkill Chekhov's Maneuver]] for the episode. He referred to it as "Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll!".

** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' has an aerial version. When Jaws skydives down on Bond and is about to bite his foot off, Bond pulls the ripcord to deploy his parachute, dramatically slowing his rate of fall. Jaws then tries to do the same [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrenght and the ripcord comes off in his hand]].

* In ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Film/JamesBond finds himself driving an underpowered Citroën 2CV against two hostile pursuers. He uses a clever brake dodge to make them collide with each other, eliminating one from the chase.

* Unorthodox manoeuvres, such as skidding (sideways slide by inserting stick to one direction and adding opposite pedal) or snap rolls (controlled spin along the longitudinal axis by applying the stick and pedal diagonally opposite) ''are'' this trope.