Life span of a Pilot ?

[bruceD 1]

Well I tried early in the war around 1916 and didn't survive more than 1 mission, now I'm in the Sopwith tripe and I've made it to 2 missions. How long should pilots live anyways? (Reposted)

[NS13Jarhead 6]

bruceD,

 

It depends on how you fly. If you fly it like an arcade game, 1 or 2 missions sounds about right. If you fly it like a real pilot on a real mission, only taking reasonable chances, avoiding getting into scraps when outnumbered, you should be able to last a lot longer. However, for me, the second way is not as much fun as diving into a furball and slugging it out.

 

My personal favorite missions are "scramble" missions, where I know I'm going to get a lot of action right away without that boring "to and from" flying. Don't get me wrong, the scenery is fantastic, but I'm a very busy man and I don't have time or patience for too much sightseeing.

 

So, in any event, my flying style is a mix of the two, leaning about 60%-40% toward attacking every enemy I see. I'm usually able to last about 10-20 missions before either being killed or captured. Speaking of which, it's time to enlist Hauptmann Otto Treiharder, CXVII.

[bruceD 1]

NS13Jarhead (Scott ?) is that a print by Jim Dietz by any chance? Its amazing the amount of detail , and how he conveys whats going on. Yep I was doing a search and found it. Its called Circus Rolls at Dawn, just in case anybody wanted to know.Robert Taylor and Dietz are two of my favorite artists.

[Olham 164]

bruceD, if you stay tuned with the sim and get addicted to it, your style may change after some time.

In my case it took almost two years so far, still not ending.

 

I started like Jarhead describes "having fun", I wanted immediate action and dogfights.

For that, the Quick Combat is a good exercise, or, as Jarhead said, the "scrambles".

 

But then I discovered more and more all the historical detail of the campaign, and I wanted to almost

"be a pilot" in a Jasta of my choice. I discovered the varying qualities of the squadrons/Jastas, and

the different opponents you get, depending were you fly.

And now, almost two years later, my interest is much more, not only to survive but to bring my wingmen

back alive as well. That is a real challenge, cause they can get killed very quickly, when running into an

enemy ace squad. So I had to change my whole style.

I'm content now with one kill per mission, and I am REALLY happy, when my wingmen are still with me

after the fight.

You see - there is a lot of possible development potential in this sim. Find your way, Bruce!

[Creaghorn 10]

Well I tried early in the war around 1916 and didn't survive more than 1 mission, now I'm in the Sopwith tripe and I've made it to 2 missions. How long should pilots live anyways? (Reposted)

 

the ones who survived the first baptism under fire and survived flightschool etc. and gained some experience what to do easily had lot of hours. at least between 500 and 1000 or more. others died after the first solo or in the first dogfight with a handfull hours. the germans usually had many more hours in the first place from flightschool. so actually if starting a new german career there should be initially about 50h +/- hours before even flying the first sortie. for the allies, especially brits and belgians maybe about 10 or so in the worst times, when they quickly passed the schools and were thrown into combat.

 

it's more like in medieval times. the people reached ages into the 60ies, 70ies, 80ies, or even more. but due to the large infant mortality the average life lasted for about 35 years or so.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Many, if not the majority, of the most successful fighter pilots and aces started flying in two-seater squadrons before they transferred to fighter units. This experience helped them to stay alive. The best ace to live through the war, France's Rene Fonck, flew over 500 hours in two-seaters before he became a fighter pilot and then quickly started to get kills and became an ace. The Germans and the French had the most thorough training programmes for their new pilots, which reduced their casualties among beginners. Many British losses were the direct result of throwing pilots into combat when they had too few flight hours and didn't really know what they were doing. It was a quick method to fill in the gaps, but had tragic consequences for many pilots who could have become something if they hadn't been sacrificed when they weren't ready for combat.

 

The fierce aggressiveness of AI pilots in OFF makes it much harder to stay alive long, especially if you also fly very aggressively. But it's certainly possible to have pilots with hundreds of flight hours in OFF too - you just have to very careful and not fight when the situation is not to your advantage.

[bruceD 1]

Thats the thing I've been having brit pilots the whole time.I actually had 7 die so far. The one that I did have in a campaign started in early 1916. I was supposed to scout out troop positions and was just flying in formation, trying to stay nice and tight , had the TAC on and didn't see anything when all of a sudden bullet holes and the sound of machinegun fire filled the air. Never even knew what happened.I was set on fire and started spiringly down.

It was all over in less than a minute, never even fired a shot and he was dead.

[Hasse Wind 46]

Never trust the TAC completely. Always be aware of the situation surrounding you. If you have TrackIR, it's MUCH easier to keep an eye on your surroundings than without. Situational awareness is something that improves with experience. And we have an advantage over the real pilots, who often didn't get another chance to learn from their mistakes.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

I feel your pain Bruce. War is hell, even on the virtual front. Like the rest of the folks here I have gone through more pilots than I can count trying to survive in the OFF skies. All you need do to understand the odds in this sim is to read though the "Krauts vs Crumpets" thread. It says it all, in spades.

 

Best of luck Bruce, and keep at it Sir. Your pilots' longevity will improve, I assure you.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

.

[Olham 164]

Not sure, but it might be, that the TAC does NOT show aircraft, which are really invisible for the player -

like when they come out of the sun. Could be so.

Another question is: how low did you fly eventually?

Cause the ground gunners are many, and they all fire at your crates. Even von Richthofen was most

certainly killed by a machine gunner, when he was flying low behind the lines.

[Barkhorn1x 14]

...had the TAC on and didn't see anything when all of a sudden bullet holes and the sound of machinegun fire filled the air. Never even knew what happened.

 

Never had that happen to me. Be sure to cycle through the TAC to select a/c only. This filter will ensure you don't get jumped.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Barkhorn1x

[themightysrc 5]

Bruce,

 

He who fights then runs away, lives to fight another day.

 

Or, put even more succinctly into OFF argot - he who simply runs away unless possessing superior numbers, height, a better plane and proximity to friendly territory is indeed a wise man.

 

I certainly remember the shock of OFF having been used to cuddly old RB3D and even vaguely cuddly FE. This game is not cuddly. I managed to lose my first dozen pilots pretty quickly, on pretty much full realism (I only had automixture on) and over 100% 'realism' under the original release. The first kill took some time to come up, not unnaturally.

 

It'll take time to get into it, but hang in there.

 

Also, find yourself a Sopwith Triplane squadron if you must fly Briddish, and learn how to hand back the brickbats to the Huns!

 

Cheers,

Si

[Barkhorn1x 14]

My advice posted from the Tech thread:

 

- 1918 is HARD for the Germans (GAS) as there are so many Allied (Entente) crates about

- 1916 - 1917 is more "balanced"

- But...the GAS planes must be flown correctly (never turn fight in an AlB DV and rarely in a Pfalz - they bleed speed rapidly and then - curtains ).

 

- Try to stay w/ the first flight so, if a scrap develops, you will have 8 vs. X instead of 4 vs. X.

- Pick a plane and really LEARN that plane. I prefer the Fokkers (DrI & DVII - and I do fight in 1918 - but I've been at this awhile). And I still get shot down.

- When outnumbered - run - unless you are real good.

- Try not to fight on the wrong side of the lines - this is one area where the historical accuracy of the sim falls short for the GAS as there are too many attack missions on Entente facilities than was historically the case.

- CHECK YOUR SIX - - OFTEN !!! - target fixation gets you killed.

- Get Track IR and rudder pedals - these will allow you to fly more "naturally" so you can concentrate on SA and tactics.

- Practice, practice, practice. Set up a pilot and fly him in Quick Combat against various opponents. Be sure to check the Pilot Never Dies box (or some such - it's below the weather variables boxes) so you don't have to constantly re-enlist pilots.

 

Good luck w/ the best WWI sim to date.

[bruceD 1]

Great advice guys I appreciate it, thats the thing about this sim as well as RB3D, you "feel" about the pilots that are flying. The newest one I have managed to shoot down 3 aircraft.Thats one thing about getting low, which a lot of the AI pilots seem to do. If I get in a burst while there low they usually crash into the ground before they can recover. But Claiming kills is shall we say interesting. I really have no idea what type of aircraft they were. I don't have labels turned on, and yes i will eventually know what the aircraft are. But 3 kills and probably none will get confirmed !!! Arghh. As they said to Stachel, you must have your claims confirmed. Yes it is a cruel world isn't it?

I'm flying the Sopwith Tripe now ,and its an amazing aircraft. Only one gun, but thats good because I need to aim and shoot better, and that one gun makes me have every shot count.

Should I make it easier for myself by turning on labels or anything else for that matter? Yes I want it realistic, but not so much so I don't get to get into it and enjoy it.

Opinions?

[Olham 164]

Bruce, you could use a key for switching Labels on and off (mine is "Q"), and check for the type

of aircraft you encounter. Later, you will know anyway.

Also, there must be aircraft pictures with subtitles somewhere - I think in the briefing; click on "aircraft".

Barkhorn, don't underestimate the German fighters!

The Dr.1 outturns everything.

And in the Albatros, I can still outturn a Pup, a Nieuport, a Triplane or a Camel in a left turn - with a bit of skill, maybe.

[Barkhorn1x 14]

Oh...the DrI is tops in a turn fight. And Olham, you are an Alb expert ( ) and hardly a run of the mill pilot.

 

When I fly a DV/DVa I end up "low, slow and out of ideas". Then its curtains ( )

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

bruce D wrote:

 

Should I make it easier for myself by turning on labels or anything else for that matter? Yes I want it realistic, but not so much so I don't get to get into it and enjoy it.

Opinions?

 

Well Sir, I say set it up the way you will most enjoy it. One of the nice things about OFF is that it allows you to do just that. I personally fly with no aids of any kind and use an out-of-sim map to boot. But then I tend to be a glutton for punishment. To each their own.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

.

[themightysrc 5]

"And in the Albatros, I can still outturn a Pup, a Nieuport, a Triplane or a Camel in a left turn - with a bit of skill, maybe."

 

- skill

+luck!!!!!

 

I'm dying to meet you in MP, Olham!

[Olham 164]

themightysrc: I'm dying to meet you in MP, Olham!

 

Well, I have tried MPs, but those were WW2 sims.

I find it wrong to fly MP with Teamspeak and maybe even Labels on - it is not, like it really was.

Of course - without Teamspeak: impossible to do; so you can't simulate a PM like the real air

combat was; IMHO.

I still owe RedDog a PM (is RedDog still around? never seen him since a long time?), and his

team used to fly against AI, were I might be of some assistence. But against a human flyer in a Tripe,

I shouldn't get very far, if he knows what he must do.

In a fight of a Triplane and an Albatros - both manned with real players - the Albatros should be in trouble

and not be able to outturn the Tripe. The best chance of an Albatros against a normal (non-twin gun) Tripe

would be it's devastating weapon power. All the "Sopwith products" break quickly in the fire of twin MGs.

But even MvR ran, when I was on patrol with him in OFF, and we spotted Triplanes much higher.

[NS13Jarhead 6]

NS13Jarhead (Scott ?) is that a print by Jim Dietz by any chance? Its amazing the amount of detail , and how he conveys whats going on. Yep I was doing a search and found it. Its called Circus Rolls at Dawn, just in case anybody wanted to know.Robert Taylor and Dietz are two of my favorite artists.

 

bruceD.

 

Yep, That's a Deitz. I found his stuff while I was working at the Marine Corps Museum. He came and did a painting of Marines from the mid-20th century to the present. I was lucky enough to pose for him. I'm the one on the center left with the white hat and sword in his painting "You Will Not Fail Us" But if you don't want to spend $200+ on a painting, you can get the puzzle for about $13

Edited July 8, 2010 by NS13Jarhead

[nbryant 8]

Jarhead.... new museum? Or the old Quantico museum? I spent a lot of my career at HMX (11 yrs out of 20) and used to frequent the old museum up by OCS, as well as digging through the old crates and aircraft when they were stashed in Larson gym

 

 

 

.......new Marine Museum. Figured it out.

Edited July 8, 2010 by nbryant