Remember to fly low, usually between 40 and 100 feet as this keeps you below most of the Early Warning Radar. If you have to fly above 250 feet, try not to so for too long as the more time you spend up there, the more easily can radar spot you and send out fighters to destroy you.
You should use the Auto Weapons Selection for most missions. The only change that should be necessary is replacing FFAR's with AGM 214 Firestorms. The Firestorms are more accurate, although they can't lock on if your nose optics are damaged. If you have any missions that require destroying enemy Early Warning Radar, use the 122L SMARM missiles. These are "fire and forget" missiles that home in on any strong radar source. Just point the helicopter in the general direction of the target and raise the nose slightly before firing (this gives the SMARM a better chance of locking onto the strong signal). Success can be achieved at long distances, so you don't even have to be within sight of the target to hit it.
Enemy fighters can be annoying, especially the SU-25 Frogfoot, which has the nasty habit of flying very low and firing lots of missiles before switching to its cannon. Use your chaff and flares until it runs out of missiles, then use an AIM-11 (fire and forget missile and very difficult to dodge) missile to knock it out of the sky. The technique is different if you only have AIM-10 Cobra missiles, which can can also be fooled by flares, as it takes two to destroy the SU-25 Frogfoot. If you've run out of missiles and are taking hits from enemy fighters, fly around 30 - 60 feet above the ground as incoming fire is less effective at low altitudes.
Try to use the terrain as the enemy can't fire through hills and mountains! They also dampen radar sources, forcing enemy helicopters to fly over hills to get at you.
Listen for the missile warning indicator. As soon as you hear it, check the display to find out whether it's a radar guided or a more common infra-red missile. Launch an appropriate decoy (i.e. chaff for radar-guided and flares for infra-red) and turn away from the missile if it's in front of or behind you. Missiles fly in a straight line to their target, through anything that gets in their way including you!
The on-board jamming systems should be used sparingly (usually if you've run out of decoys) as prolonged jamming makes you extremely visible to radar.
The best time to shoot at an enemy fighter is when it turns towards you. If a MIG 29 or an SU-25 is approaching from behind, let it pass, slow down, and wait for it to turn towards you before locking on and firing. Don't forget to avoid any incoming fire.
There are two types of attack helicopters that you'll run into:
The Hind is the most common and you'll find it is armed with both missiles and a cannon. It isn't very good at dodging missiles, so getting a lock with an AIM-11 will normally seal its fate. The Hokum can out-turn and out-climb you, so the first thing you need to do when you locate one is get a missile lock on it.
The Hokum can't dodge the AIM-11's, so you should use them if available. You're really in trouble if you have no missiles left. The only thing to do is to blast it to bits with your cannon, which isn't as easy to do as it sounds. The best technique to use is to wait for it to stop dodging about and then fire a short burst. The Hokum will climb to avoid your fire. Apply full throttle to keep up with it as soon as you fire.
The best weapons against ground units are the AGM-214 Hellfires or FFAR's. If you're bombing the target, you must always hit it dead center. If you're a little bit off-target, you'll miss. Fly at least 250 feet above the ground when using Mk81 bombs, or you'll most likely be caught in the blast. You need to be flying at 500 feet at a minimum for Mk82's.
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