Mr. Lucky

What's your wife's name again?

Actually, this is an interesting question. I'll add a little to BH's post. There's more to it than just 'Yank'. Here in the U.S. during WWI, people of German heritage were persecuted, lynched, etc. I'm from Cincinnati which had a HUGE German community (spoke German in school, church, etc). Until WWI. Many people even changed the spelling of their name. My family kind of split that way..from Pirrmann (my name) to Pirman. So, Hun doesn't bother me, Yank doesn't bother me, even the dark side doesn't bother me because I know the connotation and spirit in which it is delivered. These terms may bother others, but there is an element here some may not have considered. Those of us who are pilots understand the bond between airmen of all nations, so while we try to kill each other, we are still brothers of the air and can take these names as good natured ribbing. Remember the reunions between British and German pilots after WWII? Take anything out of context or on it's own naked definition and you can take offense or umbrage, but take it in the spirit it is given (especially here) then you can't help but smile. If you have studied any history, dialogues are rife with these terms and idioms given in respect, friendship or even affection. It's been said here earlier that we are also trying to immerse ourselves in the period and atmosphere of WWI and that is a part of it, just as surely as the bad weather, flaming airplanes and the sound of artillery battering away at the soldiers in the trenches. I could give many more examples where the spirit in which something is delivered completely changes the affect of the naked object itself. Also, ignorance of the language and readiness to take offense at anything can also create issues where there should be none i.e. the word 'niggardly' here in the U.S. BTW, from studying early American history, I think Yankee is a bastardization of the French Ainglaze (spelling?) referring to the English colonists. I think the Portuguese had a similar term for the English.

Thank you very much for this. I love to read and you gave me a whole lot of entertainment.

So you're the bastard giving me such a hard time! I almost exclusively keep flying Jasta 17 in Oct 1916 to try and survive in the EIII, upgrading to the Halb DII and then the Alb DII. I also love the scenery and on my very low end machine, the dearth of activity in that sector allows me to get playable frame rates until I upgrade my machine. I do get tired of the rain though. (I do try and fly for the U.S. or Lafayette Esc. sometimes.)

Don't forget the Voisins. I don't think I want to get into 1915 either due to the lack of air activity, but these all could help fill out early 1916. Besides,it'll all be over by Christmas!

If it's an attack mission: airfields, railyards, troop positions, etc., you will lead regardless of settings.

I don't know what system you hds, but does anyone have used parts they can send him, maybe he can patch something together for OFF til he gets a proper rig?

"Then you the satisfaction of knowing you served the Fatherland"

Sholto Douglas wrote that he flew Sopwith 1 1/2's during Bloody April and used to bomb from 200 feet almost exactly like you said, so your technique is a good approximation of the method used. Though I only ever make one pass, because it's almost impossible to coordinate the wingmen, leaving me as the sole object of affection for the ground gunners and I want to make it back home. Also the Sop 1 1/2 had 'dive brakes' which are modeled in OFF.

I was flying IL2 and decided to give CFS3 a try despite the criticisms of it and came to my conclusion that it was garbage compared to IL2. So it gathered dust on the shelf. Then, since Oleg decided to put fantasy aircraft in IL2 instead of the next logical progression of the Korean War (95% of it was already there), I looked around for other sims or upgrades and mods to Mig Alley. I stumble upon the Dogpatch Crew's Korean Skies and that resurrected CFS3 for me. A little later, searching for WWI sims, I found OFF and didn't hesitate nor ever looked back, mind you, I'd already been flying modded CFS3 so I was past my prejudice. I'd really like to see the efforts of neeoqb and OBD working in concert...kind of like peanut butter and chocolate.

I was using alt q while doing some tweaking with my settings in order to not have the time logged or the missions count since I was aborting early if the setting proved detrimental. However, the manager still processed my one claim, so while time didn't advance in game, the claims board still did.

I believe stumpjumper is one of the guru's on this subject. Look for posts by him and you should get some good info. He might also answer here as well as others.

Hey Stiff, Welcome to death in the air. Pity you waited ten years, OFF has been out at least 3 or 4 years I think, starting with phase I til now. It's been a great experience growing with her and every day is something to behold. BTW, I run it on a P4 3.0 ghz with a Radeon 3850 and I still find it enjoyable. Mind you, I will be upgrading soon.

I fly with tight formation and the only collisions I get are during combat ... friendly and enemy, but mostly enemy.

I always wondered how they got that pattern. It wasn't hand painted surely.

You can. I'm flying EIII's with Jasta 17 in Vosges in 10/1916 and about all I see are N11's, 16's and 17's. But I use the tactics suggested earlier. I try to get as much altitude as possible so I'm not jumped from above. When I spot enemy formations I only order the attack if we outnumber the enemy or am high enough that after we make a pass, we have a chance of getting away if it turns bad. I only attacked with even odds one time because I saw two comerades below me getting attacked. This caused the enemy to concentrate on them while I kept maneuvering and firing at any that were on their tails. I managed to shoot down one and when I saw both my comerades go down, I scompered off. One on one against the AI, you stand a chance, but never when outnumbered. The visibility is good, but that large wing blocks a lot of the downward view causing you to bank to see what's below which makes spotting enemies below more difficult. Earlier with Eindekkers would be more fun when we get more early planes like Caudrons and Farmans, etc. Then we can enjoy some of the Fokker Scourge instead of the Fokker durge.

I tried the S VII in 1918 in an American squadron just to start from the beginning. Fighting Alb DV's, DVII;s and DR1's I got my butt handed to me. The DR1's even sticking to my tail when I tried to dive away as the Spad was noted for. I think that was before the super patch though. I always like the DH2 for unsurpassed visibility and clean up in 1916. Those hour long flights to the front get daunting though. Part of the challenge of WWI and OFF is sticking with an obsolete aircraft and changing your stance from offensive to survival until your turn at technical advantage. I'm flying a campaign in an EIII in late 1916 trying to survive until I get the next new plane. I had to adjust my thinking accordingly. I might retry the Spad if it's better with the super patch.

I remember playing that here across the pond. I used to hate that magnifying security thing. I remember I was more interested in the trading and commerce aspect but was always getting jumped by somebody.

Should've. Those are all modern gauges and certainly not original to the taube, which probably only had a tach, if that.

Just read 'Horses don't fly' by Frederick Libby and he gives a good account of flying and fighting in Fee's. He started in summer 1916. Basically, they didn't even have formal training at that time, so that accounts for the flyers' inexperience. Even the trained one's later only got 5 to 10 hours in combat aircraft. Also, the bombers, esp. Fee's were told to stay close in formation for mutual protection as a lone plane was easy prey. They went pretty deep into enemy territory and the new scouts (N11's and DH2's) couldn't stay up as long, so had to rendeszvous on their way back. Also, one or tow flights of Fee's would act as escort while one flight would do the recon or bombing. It was a very interesting read.

You're quite welcome. Word has filtered down from idfleig that we are due to receive Halbs in late October. If I can hang on for the next 30 days or so, it should be exciting. I'm flying VERY conservatively and picking my battles carefully. Word also is spreading that we'll re-organize from our KEK to something new. I hope that means the other fliers get better. Right now, they fly like they've got cranial rectumitis. Fortunately, the frogs seem to be sleeping and have largely left us alone. We're the stepchildren of the air force down here in the Vosges, so I'm sure we'll get the new Albatross when everyone else is refitted.

Prosit!

Herr Olham, I have enclosed a photograph for your perusal. It was a crisp,clear autumn day (Oct. 1916) over my home field of Frescaty about 5 miles northwest of Metz. I apologize for the poor quality, but I'm sure you understand how difficult it is to operate a camera while trying to fly an EIII!. I even dropped a plate somewhere, I hope it didn't land in the commander's sauerbraten. I was forming up my flight for a balloon defense mission and the view is looking to the south. On the very left you can see the Mosselle river valley trailing off towards Nancy. In the center running across the photo is the hollow where the road and railroad from Metz to Verdun is located. Also, the hills in front form a ridge that runs south between the Moselle valley and the broad Meuse valley to the west, where the north-south front lines are located. On the very right is the farm house on the hill that overlooks the northwest end of our field. The farmer's wife takes in laundry from the bordellos in Metz and on a clear day, you might catch a glimpse of some frilly underwear hanging on the line. I will try to get some better photos as the weather and time permit as this only scratches the beauty of the terrain down here. If you'd like, I can even mention to the commander that you might like to visit for a few days and fly a few missions. Unless that photo plate did land in his lunch, in which case, I'd better avoid him. Your obedient servant Flieger Johann Perrmann I do have to say that the job WM has done on this scenery is phenomenal. I can't imagine a simulator being more realistic. It is almost exactly like the forest and farm fields I used to fly around in Ohio. I'm running with scenery and terrain set on 2 and the ground detail set on medium in workshop.

They are in Verdun for a while then move to the Arras sector in late 1917 I think. their pilots improve with time. I like to start when I can historically so I experience the good and the bad. I must say WM's scenery in Alsace is awesome on a clear day. The valleys, rivers, hills, etc. I would start earlier but there would be no activity, and there's little enough as it is in late 1916. I also want to experience moving up through technology, because, like you, I love the albatross and can handle most anything in it.

I usually fly for J17 near Verdun in Dec. 1916 and I usually get my hat handed to me by the N11's. Mostly a combination of bad weather making situational awareness difficult, being outnumbered and poor wingmen. One on one, I found I can hadle a N11 with the Halb DII.Right now I'm trying J17 in an EIII trying to survive to get the Halb.