Fly from Kestrel Field and destroy the enemy base at the far end of each map: its fuel depots, and later its command bunker. Every kill pays. Spend the money in the hangar on armour, bigger tanks, a heavier cannon, wingmen, a refuelling tanker, and new flak guns and SAM batteries for the airfield. Each operation strikes further away, over open sea, so you will need to land on a carrier or refuel in the air to make the distance.
Flying east, ← climbs and → dives. Hold it through the top of the arc to loop round. To land, come in upright and nearly level, throttle at zero, below 270 kt. Then roll to a stop.
Altitude is a choice. Hug the terrain and SAMs struggle to see you, and a ridge between you and a missile breaks its lock, but flak is deadly down low. Climb above the peaks and flak can't reach you, but SAMs see you from miles off and enemy fighters come up in numbers, some carrying missiles. Air kills up high pay 50% more.
Use the clouds. Inside a thick white cloud nothing can see you: SAMs and guns hold fire, missiles lose their lock and fighters fly to where they last saw you. But you can't lock anything inside one either. Thin, see-through cloud only spoils everyone's aim a little.