"Hunting fun factor" or long lasting pilot ?

[Interlocutor 0]

The need for trackir is obvious as there are so many blind spots without it. I look forward to a new experience once I can head-track. I've been flying DiD without it and it is huge challenge.

 

Wow Rickity, the fact you can stay alive at all without TIR leaves me awestruck . TIR has made all the difference for me. At first I still tended to "tunnel vision", looking forward all the time instead of looking around.

 

But now I feel like my head's on a swivel, I look around so much I get cricks in my neck after flying . I've been noticing this week that I can get into a turn-fight scrap, and never even need to glance forward. Yesterday I went round & round with an E3 for about 10 minutes, gradually reducing my angle off his tail, my head always turned to the right to watch him as I cut the angle, or glancing back to check my six. I think flying the same a/c for long stretches really helps with this, I can fly my Bebe now by sound and feel with little need to worry about stalling or spinning. Yes, I love the Bebe, too, it really outclasses the E3 I think.

[Rickitycrate 10]

I've spent many hours at the stick of the EIII, constant work and worry of losing control. I considered it paying my dues but also enjoyed it. The bebe is completely different animal. Here is one of my favorite pics from a bebe

[Olham 164]

Wow, great shot, Rickitycrate!

Yes, you will like TrackIR after short time. First, I didn't know, it had "precision" choice.

But now, I have modified the curves for it's action/reaction in a very good way; and I've

put "precision" on a thumb knob of the stick.

Whe you press it, it is, as if you stiffen up yourself and you neck. You can't look around

so quick then, but your shooting is much easier. When you get used to switching there

and back, you'll find it a great improvement!

When you get TrackIR, I can send screenshots from my curves. You can, off course,

save your own modified curves/set ups; but you can also use pre-shaped ones - from

"smooth" to "aggressive".

[Bullethead 12]

Here is one of my favorite pics from a bebe

 

I see views like this all too often. They are always immediately followed by a sickening crunching sound, then a black or red screen for a second, and finally the dreaded "You died of your injuries" screen :).

[Rickitycrate 10]

True enough Bullethead but not in this case. Don't get me wrong, the pilot is long gone.

[Todt Von Oben 0]

You know I'm just getting started in OFF; but back when I was flying RB3D campaigns, I knew what you guys meant about "two styles" of flying.

 

Sometimes, I'd start a campaign in an Eindekker, and tell myself to fly to survive. My goal was to make it to the end of the War. Accomplish the mission of course; knock down any airplane I could; but first, make it back to the aerodrome alive. And I made it to Armistace Day that way a few times.

 

Then again, there were times when I'd just fly like a maniac and try to see how many kills I could score. Sometimes I'd be going along great guns, and then get nailed by something i didn't see coming.

 

But all too frequently, my problem was: I'd start the flight clearheaded and telling myself I was just going to do the job and stay alive; but when I got up there and ran into targets, I threw caution to the wind and just wanted to down every plane in the sky.

 

I rationalize all that by telling myself it's just a game. If this was reality, I would certainly be focused first on survival, and everything else would be secondary. Or would it?

 

Think about guys like Werner Voss. In that last hack, he could have just climbed away from those SE5's and lived to fight another day. But he decided to stay and fight against overwhelming odds. And that was no game. That was for real. What makes a guy do that?

 

It's like that scene from The D.I. starring Jack Webb:

 

"You're out of ammo, outnumbered, and surrounded by the enemy. What do you do?"

 

"KILL 'EM ALL, SIR!"

 

 

I intend to fly OFF/BHAH for fun. I'll start off trying to live to a ripe old age; but I know when I get up there with hostiles in the area, I'm going to feel the overwhelming desire to flame each and every one of them. I might make it, or I might get killed. Either way, I know I'm gonna have a great time.

 

Prost!

 

TvO

[Rickitycrate 10]

Todt, that's it in a nutshell. Well said.