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JFM

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Posts posted by JFM

  6. Posted

    Hello. For those interested, after eight years of work I am announcing the publication of my new book, Inside the Victories of Manfred von Richthofen, Comprehensive Victory Summaries and Combat Statistics, published by Aeronaut books and available worldwide on Amazon.

     

    faf3CGQv.jpg

    As seen on the flyer, the book is divided into two volumes. We preferred it to be a single volume but the exigencies of print-on-demand publishing (where a book isn’t physically made until it is ordered) require a 400-page limit, and this book came out to be 474 pages. Thus, rather than delete material—there is no filler to delete—it required two volumes.

     

    The book is so new I don’t even have my own copy yet—I’ve only seen pdfs—but I can say it contains more information than all five of my previous books combined. It’s doubtful you’ll commit everything in the book to memory—I started writing it in the first place because I wanted a personal reference source without having to thumb through ten billion other books/notes/files/reports, separating the fact from the error as I went—so you’ll turn back to it again and again as necessary for the rest of your life.

     

    Much of the material is new and refutes many tired-yet-still-kicking myths about MvR. I’m not talking the old yarn about Roy Brown shooting him down—surely all those flat-earthers who hung onto that notion realize the world is round by now! :bye:  I mean various details of his victories; the realities of his fight with Hawker; who shot him down 6 July 1917, and the extent of his injury; comprehensive examination of his souvenirs; and a complete debunking of the hyper-exaggerated belief of “post-traumatic stress disorder” and how it “caused” Richthofen to be shot down and killed—that chapter alone is the size of an Osprey book. In fact, the Osprey books I’ve written are 22,000 words each. Combined, Inside the Victories of Manfred von Richthofen contains over 180,000 words, not including photo/illustration/profile captions. Some of the topics and information have been touched upon in my previous books, of course, but with nowhere near the nth degree detail as presented in Inside the Victories. And while there are several excellent books out on Richthofen, nowhere else is “everything you need to know about MvR” contained within a single, go-to reference source.

     

    I certainly don’t expect people to buy this. I’m just advising everyone that Inside the Victories now exists.  Once I get my copies I’ll attach a few photos here so you can see what they look like.

     

    Thank you for your time.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    The writer failed to substantiate her claim these men were "feared" as much as MvR. And made no cases for why they were "better and more skilled," whatever her undeclared criteria for what she constitutes as better and more skilled--it obviously isn't total credited victories. :no: I'm not saying those guys were or weren't "better and more skilled," but today people can just blather anything in the "press" without supporting evidence, as long as it makes a catchy headline. I had hoped she'd make a case for her claims! Regardless, even MvR would have said Boelcke was the best, considering what/when/how he did what he did. In fact, he even stated that.

     

    But I will say that if you go through the RFC Communiques, during his "reign" Richthofen is discussed frequently and more often than others. Not just mentioned, but discussed. The RFC may have "feared" others more, I don't know, but they certainly weren't as interested in them, at least as far as the command structure was concerned.

  21. Posted

    Yeah I forgot about visible bulletholes on hi-res skins. And strange that after building some realistic airfields for earlier versions - I recall supplying WM with some diagrams - these have disappeared. More than realistic airfields, though, I'd like to see that Holy Grail of WW1 flight sims - ground crewmen spinning your props and then stepping back to watch you depart!

     

    I agree, but with the caveat that attention be paid to which engine utilized that. For instance, since the Mercedes engines had starting mags you wouldn't have guys spinning props for the Albs, Fokker DVII, Walfisch, etc. You see repros having guys swing props but not even for all of them, as I saw a Fokker DVII in CA and the pilot fired it up. But I agree it would be cool to have that. Will sims ever progress that far?

     

    Speaking of spinning props--and I know this would be WAY down the list even if these things were actually addressed--the props in WOFF spin too freely after the engines are shut down. They spin and spin and spin like props on a modern turboprop spinning in the breeze. But turboprop props aren't connected to a crankshaft and pistons. Props on recip engines had to overcome cylinder compression and that stops rotation quickly; sometimes the props "back up" partially at the very end. Behold the very end of this video for an example:

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HYpvRBlti4

     

     

  23. Posted

    Good stuff! Is it a bonus that my pet favorites would also enhance historical experience? :bye:

     

    Let me start by saying I expect none of the following to be implemented. Just thinking aloud:

     

    1. Variable degrees of fuel tank damage. Currently, one bullet drains the tank. I.e., the tank must always be hit at the lowest point. I'd like to see the sim recognize damage at the midpoint or near the top, where only SOME of the fuel drains out. Of course, beyond that, one shot to a pressurized fuel tank should cause nearly immediate engine failure, LONG before the fuel would drain out.

     

    2. Prop damage, from flak, enemy machine guns, and synchronization failure.

     

    3. Flat tires.

     

    4. Icing.

     

    5. Glory. Not the honor kind, the atmospheric kind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_(optical_phenomenon)

     

    6. Historically accurate airfields. In lieu of providing that, allowance for outside parties to provide them. A toe was stuck in the water in that regard but the movement throttled down very quickly.

     

    7. Cockpit damage.

     

    8. Bullet holes with high-res skins. Also, an upgrade to the bullet hole damage. Respectfully, its visual appearance is a bit arcady at the moment.

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