What Side Do You Fly For and Why?

[+Dave 2,322]

Just curious, and my intent on this thread is not a debate on a countries poltics, but the planes they flew. Like for example, I love the Camel so I fly for the Brits. I think you get my drift.

[+CrazyhorseB34 937]

Austro Hungarian Empire.

[Olham 164]

For me, it's the Albatros I fell in love with - so I fly all of it's variants in the according phases of the war.

(But I also have one or two Entente pilots; right now one British in No. 46 Sqdn, RFC, flying the Pup;

and one French in Escadrille 26, flying the Nieuport 11).

[phantom67 0]

I usually play for the Germans. Lost of variety in both World Wars. You go from completely stomping your enemies, to being on the receiving end of it all and having to fight very hard for your own survival, and the Germans also have some cool looking tech. That, and due to my ancestry I probably have more in common with the Germans than the British.

[Hellshade 110]

Most often for the British because the Sopwith Triplane and the Pup are such easy, beautiful planes to fly. For their time period, they are absolute killing machines with incredible turning power, excellent lift and a wonderful field of view.

 

Hellshade

[DukeIronHand 8]

Both sides for me.

 

Two Sop Cam careers, one with 70 Sqd and the other with 8 RNAS.

Se5 with 56 Sqd.

N17 with 60 Sqd.

BrF2b with 48 Sqd.

Sop Tri with 10 RNAS.

Alb DIII with Jasta 11.

N28 with 94 USAS.

 

I fly (hours wise) both side pretty equally but the number of plane types means I have more British careers.

I mostly fly in 1917 so there is not alot of variety flying for the Germans hence the one career.

[Macklroy 2]

I've flown both sides, simply because I wanted to get the entire WWI sim experience. I love the Fokker DII (the most 'foolproof' aircraft in the game in this pilots opinion). The se5a for me is second, although a distant second.

 

But France is the country I most fly for. In this sim mainly because I enjoy the early years. Taking a flight up over the lines and maybe I run into the enemy, maybe I don't. I love that asspect that you dont see as much later in

the war. The 'fokker scourge' and the introduction of the 'bebe'. I simply love that little bird. Although the meger armament make it less leathal than it otherwise could be.

 

 

To make a long story short. I fly for ALL countries, but more exclusively French 1915-(early)1917.

[+elephant 36]

As Olham, I'm too an Albatros fan and fly all it's D variants throughout the War, mostly.

From time to time I fly Entente Careers for a change.

I now have an ongoing French Career with Esq. 28, Flying the Sop. Strutter.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

75% Brits...25% German.

 

When I get hold of the Snipe..100% Brits

[MikeDixonUK 5]

Nature decided that I would be born in England, politics decided that I'd have to go shoot at people that were born in other places.

 

C'est la guerre.

[themightysrc 5]

I think I can probably say that my choice of nation has been predicated more upon the uselessness of the aircraft. I flew OFF for a while, sampling various different aircraft from the combatant nations, and then, for reasons I'm hard pressed to explain, decided that having a crack at the BE2c was - for some inexplicable reason - a Good Idea (when it patently wasn't). I lost my first two BE pilots, but my currently existing pilot has graduated - if that's the word - to the RE8, and so that's what I fly, and obviously it's for the RFC.

 

The underlying reasons have become these: I identify with that style of warfare (ie, running away all the time), and I'm very much used to the aircraft, as others here may attest. Dig a little deeper and I think that there's a large - but largely unremarked - factor in that a long lasting (which is to say, cowardly) pilot in a campaign allows you to sample the full glory of the OFF P3 campaign system. I rarely, in fact almost never, change the mission I'm assigned, but grit my teeth, grumble and curse the upper reaches of HQ for the incompetent swine that they clearly are. It's a long term, major league investment of time, faith and effort in an experience that I couldn't get in another sim. It's not a one off, it's not spawned random nonsense over a sterile landscape: to me, it's the life and death experience of an RFC pilot doing his damndest to survive in an insane situation, and therefore it is entirely worthy of my fullest attention.

 

<hops off soapbox>

 

And, I'm sure, players who have French and German pilots feel the same way.

 

I've got a bit off thread, so I'll try and drag it back on thread. I don't actually fly to experience the best aircraft that WWI had to offer, although it's nice. I fly to indulge my senses in a smidgeon of what it might have been like for the people who did it in reality, and often at mortal cost.

 

Cheers,

Si

[Cody Coyote 1]

I try to rotate between British fighter, British bomber, German fighter, German bomber, and French fighter. So, I've got five active pilots going at a time and no particular national preference. I'm doing this to try and experience as many different aircraft types as I can; searching for the one I like most.

[Creaghorn 10]

I think I can probably say that my choice of nation has been predicated more upon the uselessness of the aircraft. I flew OFF for a while, sampling various different aircraft from the combatant nations, and then, for reasons I'm hard pressed to explain, decided that having a crack at the BE2c was - for some inexplicable reason - a Good Idea (when it patently wasn't). I lost my first two BE pilots, but my currently existing pilot has graduated - if that's the word - to the RE8, and so that's what I fly, and obviously it's for the RFC.

 

The underlying reasons have become these: I identify with that style of warfare (ie, running away all the time), and I'm very much used to the aircraft, as others here may attest. Dig a little deeper and I think that there's a large - but largely unremarked - factor in that a long lasting (which is to say, cowardly) pilot in a campaign allows you to sample the full glory of the OFF P3 campaign system. I rarely, in fact almost never, change the mission I'm assigned, but grit my teeth, grumble and curse the upper reaches of HQ for the incompetent swine that they clearly are. It's a long term, major league investment of time, faith and effort in an experience that I couldn't get in another sim. It's not a one off, it's not spawned random nonsense over a sterile landscape: to me, it's the life and death experience of an RFC pilot doing his damndest to survive in an insane situation, and therefore it is entirely worthy of my fullest attention.

 

<hops off soapbox>

 

And, I'm sure, players who have French and German pilots feel the same way.

 

I've got a bit off thread, so I'll try and drag it back on thread. I don't actually fly to experience the best aircraft that WWI had to offer, although it's nice. I fly to indulge my senses in a smidgeon of what it might have been like for the people who did it in reality, and often at mortal cost.

 

Cheers,

Si

 

 

that's great and about the same attitude as i have. IMO one can only really enjoy and appreciate a campaign when it's long lasting and when you know your mates, lose one after another slowly and when you are involved in history by experiencing all the major events and battles etc.

i have always only one campaign at a time and invest all the focus on him and his life and story, trying to survive as long as possible doing the duty.

so to say rather than to romantize the aerial warfare of WW1 (which often and easily happens in sims) i try to get the anti-war feel like really beeing in a place where you rather would not like to be. in a war with small chance of survival with all the horrors and fears. like somebody of the era who is involved because politicians decided to war against each other, not because it's "cool" to have dogfights etc.

what you call "cowardish" style is rather how it was in real. nobody would jeopardize his real life only because it's cool to try to fight against 5 enemies. it's not cowardish but just doing your job while more than that trying to survive, and going into the really life-dangerous situations just as long as necessary. i think even frank luke or voss in his last flight misinterpreted the situation and the odds, otherwise they would have left the area much sooner.

the picture of the joyfull talking pilot and the knighthood blah was often the public picture because in those times nobody would admit openly to be scared to death. inside their four rooms they have been very old, youn men, possibly drunks with nightmares every night and the 1000 yards stare. and without the band of brothers they experienced, and the credit they mostly experienced after the wars, they would end as poor old broken veterans.

 

oh, and mostly i fly the german side. currently i have a british campaign going.

Edited June 15, 2011 by Creaghorn

[Hasse Wind 46]

I fly for all sides. Lately I've spent most of my time flying a British two-seater career. This pilot has lived a long time already and may become something really special, if the gods of war allow it.

[shredward 12]

Si, and Creaghorn!

I salute you both.

I just hope that you will find the P4 campaign worthy of noble spirits like yours.

All the best,

the shredder

[Creaghorn 10]

Si, and Creaghorn!

I salute you both.

I just hope that you will find the P4 campaign worthy of noble spirits like yours.

All the best,

the shredder

 

thank you,sir .

does that mean that the p4 campaign is going into this direction? that's great news

[Olham 164]

Sounds very promising indeed! Even for lesser noble men like me.

[Hasse Wind 46]

The way you like to play OFF doesn't make you any less noble, Olham. There is no right or wrong way to play OFF. You do it the way you enjoy the most, and that's all that matters.

[Olham 164]

That's very kind to say, Hasse Wind - thank you!

And OFF is actually so realistic, so true, that it slowly but surely makes me a more and more "serious flyer".

I don't have to try to become one - it makes me one.

I don't know any other sim, that could have done this.

[themightysrc 5]

"Si, and Creaghorn!

I salute you both.

I just hope that you will find the P4 campaign worthy of noble spirits like yours.

All the best,

the shredder"

 

Oh give over...

 

I'm absolutely chicken hearted in the air, partly because I fly crocks, but mostly because I'm a bloody useless pilot who couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. Noble spirit indeed...

 

Having said that, I'll be absolutely delighted if the P4 campaign improves upon the P3 one. I can think of areas - such as home leave, more variable injury periods, transfers, etc - where I think that OFF could be made better without (I suspect, but don't know) taking an axe to the engine, and I'd dearly love the two seater campaigns to have more meaningful missions in terms of reconnaissance and spotting (like mechanisms to do such in game). I genuinely hope that some or all of the above can be addressed, because were that the case OFF would be unbeatable for some years to come as a campaign. In case this all comes over a little curmudgeonly, let me reiterate more initial post: the OFF campaign is superb as a mechanism, but like all mouse traps, there's a better one to be had, I hope.

 

Cheers,

Si

[Wayfarer 5]

One of my main reasons for getting OFF, rather than RoF, was that the campaign enabled you to experience in detail how the war gradually developed and changed over its course. Doing some background reading beforehand, I developed a great admiration for those two seater crews, of all nations, who carried out reconnaissance and spotting duties. It seemed to me that their job often required that they stay in vulnerable situations with less opportunities than scout pilots to improve the odds.

Couple that with an empathy for other awkward creatures and I have, therefore, solely flown BE2s with 2 squadron RFC since I got OFF. Starting in February 1915 I have now reached July 1916 (using Bletchley's 1916 mods).

There is something about seeing the old Quirk, with it's 'chimneystacks' smoking, heading determinedly towards the enemies lines. Trying to keep as far away as possible from the allied AA - signalling enemy scouts to the left and right, dodging Archie, and knowing that at some point you are going to to have to give up all attempts at evasion and spend that endless minute keeping your eyes glued to the instruments, to fly as straight and level as you can to get those photographs that could be so valuable to the troops on the ground.

That said, I also really want to experience the point of view of a German scout pilot. After reaching armistice with my BE2s I intend to start again with Eindeckers (despite the sage advice of wiser pilots to start with something more amenable).

And the only reason I haven't mentioned the French is because OFF will be up to Phase 11 by then and I haven't thought that far ahead!

 

 

[themightysrc 5]

"and I have, therefore, solely flown BE2s with 2 squadron RFC since I got OFF."

 

Yes! <punches air> Get in!

[33LIMA 972]

It's the German side for me, so far, always had a soft spot for the Albatros scout, especially the DV/DVa, for me it's the supremely elegant WW1 warplane, plus it has the exotic association with the Jastas in their hey-day and an unrivalled assortment of varied and interesting colour schemes. Like First Eagles, OFF gives me plenty of opportunity to indulge my passion for admiring 'my' Albatros as I fly to the Lines.

 

Always liked the BE as well but was put off flying a campaign on finding OFF's otherwise excellent model has an odd, fixed forward-firing Lewis (thru the prop disc, most unusual for a Lewis) and no gun for the observer. I mean I know the field of fire from the front cockpit was restricted, but at least give me a Lewis for the observer!

 

Also running a 56 Sqn SE5 campaign, always admired Jimmy McCudden since reading how he rose from the ranks at a time that meant a lot more than it does these days, and his accounts of stalking 2-seaters and his moving tribute to Voss, all the more poignant as it starts "As long as I live...' and he hadn't that long. Always liked the SE, ever since I built the Aurora 1/48 kit a long, long time ago. Being a Biggles fan I suppose I should favour Camels but no.

 

Anyway like others it's a case of flying the planes I like most, generally, but the fact OFF has so many, compared to about everything else but Red Baron, means I have plenty of scope, as there aren't too many WW1 planes I don't like, and plenty I do. Will take a 'survey sim' over a 'study sim' 9 times out of 10, for that reason I suppose. Variety is the spice of life and it's one of OFF's strongest points so 'play the [Flanders] field', says I.

Edited June 15, 2011 by 33LIMA

[Olham 164]

... always had a soft spot for the Albatros scout, especially the DV/DVa, for me it's the supremely elegant WW1 warplane...

... an unrivalled assortment of varied and interesting colour schemes.

Be my guest with this keg of "Warsteiner", my friend!

[33LIMA 972]

Be my guest with this keg of "Warsteiner", my friend!

 

Prosit!