Dej

Have to agree with RC there, Olham, excellent though the poll is. My main criterion for selection in the last section was that I, personally, don't want the Devs to expend their time on things we can tweak for ourselves with a bit of effort, e.g. TAC colours, pilot squadron moves, sound and tracer mods, skin previews etc. Let them attend to the things we can't, e.g. more campaign two-seaters, proper reconnaisance missions, spy drops, accurate airfields and the in-flight map in general (alright, granted the last one we can do for ourselves too but I'm not hardcore enough )

A very good point. One must be very mindful of bias. I'm reading, or rather re-reading, Ira Jones' account of Mannock's career. In contrast to when I first read it I'm finding some of the disparaging remarks about the courage and tactics of the German pilots actually quite offensive. A key stregth of this community is a maturity in response, so that even if a body might post a polarised statement, it will generally be responded too in an erudite and non-judgemental manner. I'm therefore grateful to all who post here for aiding in broadening my perspective. Thank you.

Yep. WB Olham. I look forward to imminent posts of Albatros exploits and shiny skins.

I thought WM was being subtle and was referring to the girl! The plane is a Camel... isn't it?

The only decent aircraft produced by the Royal Aircraft Factory in WW1, so go fly it... The guide is 99% the work of the man above, I just played the critic.

Aye Pol, we should appreciate your constant dilemma as developers... you can't please all of the people all of the time. As far as I'm concerned you've done a grand job already. For those that want a bit more 'Hollywood' there's the Strong setting for Guns for instance - regular flamers guaranteed. For those that want a more true-to-historical experience then the OFF default delivers - you've got it as right as you can for P3, IMO. I've FE1 & 2 and, like rabu, Wings of War with all the mods on my rig and am not ashamed to fire up whichever matches my mood and available time. But OFF is where I go after reading any WW1 pilots autobiography and want immersion. Anyone who might doubt OFF's approach to authenticity need only read Louvert's character's last encounter with Navarre.

I feel I owe it to the memory of all those poor sods who perished in that R.eally A.trocious F.lying coffin to take up my BE2c pilot again at some time, so yes, Si, please do write one. PM me if you're up for it and I'll PM you the document template and the font file we use. Having said that, my BE2 pilot does have a Halberstadt to his name... so you can air fight with 'em... as long as you've a large pice of luck installed.

Thanks you, Lou. But I should point out that I personally have only written the two to which you yorself have contributed. British_eh wrote the Strutter, Dr.1 and imminent SE5 guides and Bullethead wrote the Fee and D.VII ones. By committee I meant that if folks would like to offer advice on the Albatross here then either Richard or myself could compile a guide from the thread. By the way, a guide to the Roland CII would be a valuable addition

We'd asked Olham already but I think he's too busy to write a whole guide himself... plus, as he points out, there are several variants each with different characteristics. Personally I think it best to post advice here in public as each observation could set off a useful chain of discussion. It would be the first committee-written 'Flying and Air Fighting....' guide

Fabulous write-up Lou. Very gripping. Sometimes, when the aces really fly like aces the immersion is total and I certainly felt that in this last installment. Paul had better take care of himself (or rather you of him - 'grats for getting your bird down almost in one piece).

This family stuff is all jolly nice and that, but get the lad back to the Palace... I reckon he could be in there with her Maj.

Cross & Cockade International have announced their WW1 Aviation Painting of the Year 2010. It's best viewed here and is, IMO, one of the finest pieces of WW1 aviation art I've seen. Great composition, superb angle, evocative action, lovely attention to detail etc. The Guild of Aviation Artists site is worth a visit too, if you've never been... the online galleries are here

You could pretty much recreate that in OFF, SM... how cool would that be to have as wallpaper! Lou, like all your choices too, though I confess it was Laurence Hemming's 'Bristol Fighters over Jerusalem' that made me think of you

Very nice, Lou. And reminder to me that when I've time to lay my hand to a joystick once more I must continue Jonty Tepes' tale in Naval 10.

It may be just me, but in these days of internet 'information overload', I'd kind of forgotten that 'old-fashioned' resource, my local lending library. They provide a phenomenally good service. There are a couple of books I'd been searching for on the web and on e-Bay for years: Jefford's 'RAF Squadrons: A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of All RAF Squadrons and Their Antecedents Since 1912' Dr. Martin O'Connor's 'Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1914-1918' Both of these cost hundred pounds or more on the rare occasion they 'pop' up. Got them both from my local library in the past couple of months, O'Connor's book in particular coming all the way from Louisiana State Library for the princely fee of £9! Just a reminder, if any needed it...

Thanks to all who've commented. A big thanks from me to you and your colleagues, themightysrc, I wish I'd caught up sooner. The tremendous service offered by public libraries cannot be emphasised enough and it's not just in the UK. To embellish Bletchley's post, Aldershot Library ('next door' to Farnborough) houses the largest British Army collection, Gosport (also in Hampshire) houses a huge Royal Naval collection and - to reveal another personal area of interest, ahem - Winchester (also in... ah, you've guessed) houses one of the largest Railway collections (11,000 items). A lot of this material will be available via the ILL scheme too.

There were, within the greater tragedy of the enormous loss of life in WW1, great losses to the Arts as well. George Butterworth was one such, a friend of Vaughan Williams and contemporary of Gustav Holst, too little of Butterworth's 'quintessentially English' music remains. Shot by a sniper, his body was hastily buried in the side of the trench by his devoted men. Lost in the subsequent shelling, his body was never recovered. Here is probably his best known (and my favourite) piece

That's the gen. Here is the photo. As you can see I had to do some research of my own Next?

Well, 'Pfeil' will get you closer, but not close enough Gibt es jemand anders, der dieses flugzeug wisst?

Lucky WM... personally, looking at the photos on that site, Olham my next ambition doesn't involve OFF at all but rather it is to fly with Sabena airlines!

As I didn't comment on your original post either, Lou, I shall say now that I think it a fine piece of work indeed, with a slight Miltonesque or Popeish flavour, invoking Greek myth as it does. I realise you suggested favourites from the Great War era but may I be forgiven for posting the 'classic' poem below? From another war, where another generation of young men from those same nations fought and fell, as had their brethren twenty or so years before... High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air.... Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark nor even eagle flew— And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. John Gillespie Magee Jr.

Nope. It was built by a German Aircraft Works . Here's a clue. It's a very early war aircraft that might have caused some upset to the RNAS. Why?

Ah, but I didn't. How about this one...

First Nieuport triplane prototype, 1916. N.17 fuselage 110hp Le Rhone engine, one synchronised Lewis. Not accepted into service. Evaluated by the RFC in January 1917 and by the RNAS in March 1917, the latter having a 130hp Le Clerget and a N.17bis fuselage. In all cases its flying characteristics were found to be unacceptable.

When I was One and Twenty... (with apologies to A. E. Housman) When I was one and twenty I joined the RFC, To serve my King and Country In April ‘17. I dreamt of fame and glory As another Albert Ball, For I was one and twenty And I thought I knew it all When I was one and twenty My squadron mates all said, ‘Don’t go charging at the Hun, my lad You’ll only end up dead.’ But I was keen for victory And sped into the fray, For I was one and twenty. One and twenty I shall stay. I find parodies much easier to write and in a way, because it recalls the original to mind, you have two poems for the price of one, so to speak .