Javito1986 14 Posted July 31, 2011 So 92 Squadron is on its way home to Serny after a successful patrol. Several Fokker biplanes destroyed, only one SE5 loss that I know of. We fly home, merrily merrily merrily. I'm busy making mental calculations in my head. "Ok, we're 10 miles away from the aerodrome, traveling at 115mph, we should be over the aerodrome by approximately 7:56am..." blah blah blah. I get bored and decide to warp the rest of the way. Can't do it because there's enemy aircraft in the area. "Whatevs" says I, it's a busy war and there's always recon aircraft operating on our side of the Line at mad altitude. I only have about 100 plugs of ammo left in the gun so I pay it no mind. Merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream, figure we're about 3 miles away from the aerodrome if my math is right... check the TAC (set to 'ships')... yep! 3 miles away! Hahaha I'm so clever, I should have stuck with calculus in college. Then a friendly flak shell bursts right in front of us. "CUTTING IT A LITTLE CLOSE YOU BUGGER GUNNERS" says I. I look behind and... Well, let's just say the wife thought for a moment I'd stubbed my toe on something. The silhouettes of four Fokker DVIIs coming down on me is not what I was expecting and ranks #1 on the list of "Worst Things EVER". I panicked, paused the sim, turned labels on, the lead was 650 meters out. Another few seconds and he'd be in firing range. I dove immediately, but we were already at 800 feet so there wasn't much to dive for, and they were diving and easily kept up with us. Lead Fokker opened up on me but all his shots missed and once our altitudes leveled my SE was able to outrun him, and I made a safe landing. But Christ that was a near thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 5 Posted July 31, 2011 Javito, sounds to me like you're in 'Sim Shock'! Something I have experienced several times when things appear have to been running smoothly. The alarming of other family members by desperate cries, and the instinctive need to post the details on this forum are classic symptoms! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted July 31, 2011 The title of your thread is the lesson you have (hopefully) learnt, Javito! When you are travelling so low already, and enemy aircraft come diving down on you, it might be better not to dive - you give up more alt., and they will still be faster, cause they were in their dive already - but to perform a tight turn. That should make them overshoot, with not much time to get keep you in their gun sights. Good you could get out of that - otherwise your wife might have assumed from the noises from your room, that you had decided to modify the house by tearing down some walls? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rickitycrate 10 Posted July 31, 2011 Javito, just like in R/L, you never know with OFF. I recall being in a hell of a furball while flying a 1 1/2 Strutter. We dished out the lead and we took a few. Got shot up pretty good but I managed to land the crate in one piece. The Strutter came to a stop and I selected outside view to see the damage we had taken. As I'm rotating the camera all of a sudden the engine catches fire and me and my observer perish. I too thought I was safe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CaptSopwith 26 Posted August 2, 2011 Javito, just like in R/L, you never know with OFF. I recall being in a hell of a furball while flying a 1 1/2 Strutter. We dished out the lead and we took a few. Got shot up pretty good but I managed to land the crate in one piece. The Strutter came to a stop and I selected outside view to see the damage we had taken. As I'm rotating the camera all of a sudden the engine catches fire and me and my observer perish. I too thought I was safe. That's just cruel Rickety! Talk about insult to injury! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hasse Wind 46 Posted August 2, 2011 Reading these threads always makes me feel nervous about my Fee pilot, who's lived a VERY long time already. I DON'T want to lose him, but staying alive becomes harder and harder the longer the war goes on. What is mostly peaceful flying in 1915-1916 turns into something deadly in 1917. And I'm almost there now... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 2, 2011 Well, guess how I feel with my "serious" campaign pilot - he reached September 1917! That would be more than a year to go! ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Parky 8 Posted August 2, 2011 Olham, I'm still trying to figure out how Javito's pilot has been alive for 150 hours. I'm lucky if I can get a pilot to survive 17. I've only managed to do that once so far......and that was while being extremely cautious about which battles I willingly took on. Cheers, Parky Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) Parky, I guess the longer you fly in this war, the more luck do you need to make it. Even the most careful Creaghorn never made it to the end of the war, as far as I know. My pilot has now flown 63 missions in 60 hours - and I'm beginning to feel his time is running out. The S.E.5a of No. 56 Sqdn, RFC, appeared in his area; and the new Sopwith Camel, flown by aces from the Royal Naval Air Service, or the famous No. 43 Sqdn, RFC. It is getting tougher every day, and the Albatros D.V is out of date now. He'd have a good chance, if the Fokker Dr.1 could be delivered to the front now - but it will soon prove to have wing problems, and not get re-introduced before spring 1918. He will fly the D.V until January 1918, when the D.Va will arrive - or he will fall before that. Edited August 3, 2011 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
