CaptSopwith

Yikes... sounds like my Christmas. Lots of family strife, and very unpleasant.

Hi Olham! I am coming out of my Christmas Coma. It wasn't the best holiday season I ever had but... I spent a glorious New Years Eve with my beautiful girlfriend, drinking champagne and dancing the night away in a beautiful ball room. I too am starting the new year with some physical activity. I'm visiting the gym here at my apartment complex every day (I'm taking today off lol), for about half an hour to an hour. It's made a huge difference in my outlook on my work and just life in general. You probably missed it because you were off on holiday but I had a terrible experience with customer service regarding my Laptop which has been broken since September. It looks like the story might have a happy ending. After blogging angrily about it, I got the attention of someone at Lenovo and it looks like they are going to get it back to working order (for the first time!), free of charge. We'll see how that turns out. How's things on your end my friend? I have to admit, the flight sim bug has bitten me harder than ever. I'm flying lots of patrols and even venturing into the civilian side of things with FS2004. My girlfriend is talking about buying me some flying lessons for my upcoming 30th birthday next month! (How cool is it to date a gorgeous woman who comes with her own flight suit? I kid you not!). I hope all is well in Germany. Good to see you back around the boards!

I wouldn't normally double post this (I also put this over in my normal, OFF Forum), but I need to get the word out on avoiding this company. I've been having a miserable time with my "work" laptop computer...

While my worries are not nearly as severe as Tranquillo's...

Happy Birthday Widow! I share Mike's sentiments - you're actually less than twice my age (I hit 30 in February ). Hope it's a great night mate! Have one for me and here's to another 50 of good health and good memories with you and yours!

Lou! Good to see you my friend! I take it, from the expression on your face, that you watched the Phase 4 video? Yeah, it's pretty good...

Likewise Mike, should be great. I'm officially addicted to this video - I think I've watched it a few dozen times today. Just looks fantastic!

No one has mentioned this yet - but I'm totally digging the new OBD Software animation - the phonograph and the dog are fantastic! I love it!

Even sprinkled in a little OFF magic for fun (no one else will know lol): Here's the title: Between Heaven and Hell: Life and Death Above the Trenches of World War I.

Wrapping up my paper - a long night is drawing to an end!

Two hour cat nap. Bugger! I'm still working away - will be out like a light this afternoon once it's all over!

It does indeed!

So Charles Lindbergh stayed awake for 33.5 hours flying to France... I don't suppose tonight will be quite that bad. That said, this is my second one in four days. I'm frantically trying to complete papers that are overdue - in fact, one of them involves World War I aviation. This is just a funny way of checking in and keeping myself awake. Feel free to comment back if you feel like it. I'll check in each hour until this thing ends!

Still up working btw: 17 pages and counting. Bloody Hell these all nighters hurt a lot worse than they used to.

And I have to add - the movement of the aircraft looks fantastic - it looks so fluid and dynamic - like they're really cutting through the air and working with the actual laws of physics. I don't know... it's the old adage of if it looks right, it is right. Well done guys! Bloody well done!

Utterly amazing! I saw with my jaw hanging open as well... I've watched the video about a dozen times now - it's the most remarkable thing I've seen out of a WWI flight simulator in years. You haven't just improved on P3, you've reinvented the genre! The new manager looks superior to literally, anything else out there. The music is moving to the point of giving me chills - it's easily the most evocative and emotional thing I've heard in a game in a long time. And just to prove how good that is - I'm looping it all night while I write a paper on the conceptualization of death by WWI aviators for my graduate class... time to give these men the recognition they truly deserve and the new OFF music is helping to spur me on all night!

I'm in the same boat with you Prop! I'm a PhD student and a graduate teaching assistant. Tonight I have a mountain of history book reviews and reflection papers to grade. I doubt I'll see my bed until rather late. It's nice to know I'm not the only pilot here whose job involves a little "red ink!"

What kind of grading Herr Prop-Wasche?

Here's another great video. I love this song!

I swear, if the PhD gig somehow fails, I'm going to New Zealand and beg these people for a job. The Vintage Aviator has to be the world class of aviation restoration and reproduction at this moment. This video shows you most of their stock flying. Entire flights of Fokker Dr1's and SE5a's are just incredible to see... They also seem to have aircraft that simply don't exist anywhere else in the world anymore. Why, oh why, does this amazing place have to be the farthest possible distance from where I live? They might as well be on Neptune.

Sounds great Widow! I look forward to seeing them!

Hi Gents! I was reading through the old flight simulator reviews on SimHQ and came across this little gem from 2006. It's a review of Phase 1 of OFF. It features some fantastic screen shots of the old menu system as well as some in flight pictures too. My, how far the Devs have taken us since the beginning, eh? If you haven't seen it, or you came into OFF after Phase 1's initial release, this will give you an idea of where it all started. http://www.simhq.com/_air5/air_172a.html Compare that with their review of OFF HiTR and you'll see just how many miles they've moved the development of this wonderful sim in such a relatively short period of time. http://www.simhq.com/_air13/air_445a.html

Gents: I'm working on a research project that (finally) makes use of our World War I pilots. I'm currently rounding up source material for the project and I'm wondering if anyone has a digital version of with Mick Mannock's personal diary or James McCudden's book Flying Fury? If you do, please contact me. I don't know how I can compensate you, other than with my thanks and immense gratitude as I try to give these men the notoriety and place in history they so richly deserve.

As of right now I'm playing with HPW's new DM with the Arc Mod and the Empty Tank mod and I have to say, the balance of the game feels quite good. It's a welcome change to take off with my wingmen, rather than see them take off, climb to absurd altitudes, and have me straggling behind trying to keep up. So so far, so good. I'm enjoying the sim immensely!

I was randomly searching things on YouTube - James McCudden being one of them (Jimmy is far and away my favorite pilot of WWI). And lo and behold, I find a 45 minute documentary on World War I. Here's the link. Enjoy!