RAF_Louvert

. Absolutely right, it is the Goldenes Militär-Verdienstkreuz. Well done Olham, and as you've pointed out, it was referred to as the NCO's Blue Max. Thanks for the links too, I was aware of the Order of the Württemberg Crown as I had come across it before in one of my other research projects. .

Olham, the rivers, lakes, and rail lines tend to work the best when navigating in OFF by paper map. You can do it with some roads, but there are so many that it can get confusing rather quickly. I use the maps available in the OFF downloads section and always begin a new campaign with a "Cook's Tour" of my AO, making notes of various landmarks and such. It might seem a bit intimidating at first , but after a few flights you will get the hang of it. And just like our RL counterparts experienced, as you become familiar with your particular area you will be able to find your way around simply by looking down at the scenery. I highly recommend it. .

. More great screenshots vonOben, nbryant, and Olham. Very nice, and thanks for sharing. .

. Sound advice and information, uncleal and Olham. Wayfarer, I fly the Die Roll setting too. I feel it is closer to the RL outcomes that occurred than the DiD setting. .

. Hello vonOben, Yes, you will have stays in the hospital from such incidents as you describe, depending on what setting you are using in the workshop. If I remember correctly the Normal Die Roll setting should do it. As to landing with the motor off, you need to know the glide angle of your plane and then pick a spot on the runway to glide to. Each plane is different so practice finding the stall point without power. You can burn off speed by side-slipping and/or circling as well in order to get lined up. It's really all about a bit of practice. Enjoy! .

. Did you miss the part where I said I couldn't say that with a straight face? .

. I'm sure glad we Yanks don't owe anyone any money. OK, I thought I could say that with a straight face, but no way. .

. Oh yes, any restoration of old aircraft is a very, very good thing. Interestingly, the tiny little Iowa Aviation Museum in Greenfield, Iowa has two flying examples of the Tiger Moth; one Australian version, and one Canadian version. Iowa Aviation Museum BTW, their Chile Fly-in, held every January, is a blast. .

. This is really quite bizarre. .

. Hey, no worries Olham, it's only really important that the info gets out there. I'm just glad to know you have the CD. It is great! And thanks for the eye candy. Don't trouble over it WM, I simply find it funny, and I've done the same thing myself. Repeatedly missed folks pointing to the purple striped dog at the side of the road over and over, and missed the dog too. Then one day, for whatever reason, I suddenly hear someone say, "Hey, did you see that dog?" And BOOM, there he is, all purple and stripey, and me going, "How the Hell long has that dog been there, and why didn't someone tell me about him before? He's really something!" .

. hee,hee...I have mentioned Bob's CD quite a number of times in these forums over the last year-and-a-half or so, and extolled it's virtues. Even provided the link to his website where it can be purchased. Glad you are finding it useful Olham, and it is a fantastic go-to source for anyone skinning aircraft. But then, I believe I may have mentioned that before. .

. Thanks nbryant, glad to know you found Paul's saga entertaining. Herr Prop-Wasche, I hope you will enjoy the read as well. .

. YIKES! Now I really wish I had a bigger checkbook. Pity though that the Aero Conservancy has to start selling off parts of its collection, a sign of the economic times I'm afraid. Thanks for the link and the heads-up on this sandbagger. And about my signature, it's a paraphrased line from one of our timeless U.S. comedians, Groucho Marx. I included a tip-of-the-hat to his character Captain Spaulding who uttered the original in the movie "Animal Crackers". And has anyone has ever noticed the "RACC" in the quote credit? "Royal Animal Crackers Corps" Olham, I should have listened to your warning. Now I must have those items. As to my wife, no problem there. I am always the man of the house, whenever she's not around. .

. There are times when I wish my check book was much, much bigger. Very cool, appraiserfl. .

. Good Morning All, I returned from my week on the road and had a package waiting for me at home. When I saw the size of the padded envelope and the "Grand-Charmont, France" sticker I knew immediately what was inside: An original WWI French aviateur's flying cap from the Alsace region of the Western Front. The woman who had it collects and sells WWI items from the region where she lives, which just happens to be a few miles south of Belfort. If you know your Great War map you will recognize this area as being the one where the Escadrille Americaine first saw active service in 1916. The cap is exceptional, with the leather still being quite supple, and the fur and wool lining sound and complete. It has a wonderful aroma that mingles the scents of the leather, wool, and fur, along with just the faintest hint of an old oil. I hestitate to treat the leather with anything for fear of disturbing this vintage smell, but I suspect at some point I'll have to to insure it stays preserved. Just imagine, there is a possibilty that this very cap could have been by worn by one of the American volunteers in the French Air Service. Cheers! Lou .

. Ras, six years apart? We could still have been like Wally and the Beav then. Olham, it appears boys will be boys, in nearly every place and every time. .

. Greetings All, It's been a while since Paul's story moved along. I hadn't forgotten about it, I've just been busy with work and such. However, I was able to devote some time this weekend to young Blum and for those interested the next installment has been added. Paul Blum's Story If all goes well, he and Karl will be back in the air soon. Cheers! Lou .

. Cool links Olham and Hasse Wind, thanks for sharing. . No worries here, von Baur. Besides, those artifacts are long gone and likely went the way of many such things back then, via the endless trades we young boys engaged in a lifetime ago in the early 1960's: "I'll swap ya these genuine for real Indian arrowheads for yer old Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Bernie Allen, but ya gotta throw in those two aggies and that giant steelie shooter." "Ah yer crazy. Ain't no way I'm givin ya all that for yer crummy old arrowheads. You can have the cards for em but that's it." "You must be screwy! Look right here, ya know what that is? That's dried blood, probly cowboy blood too. Ya ever seen an arrowhead with dried cowboy blood on it? Huh, have ya? Makes it worth a bunch more than those cheesy cards and marbles ya got there, an maybe I don't want any of em now that I'm thinking on it." "HEY! No takin it back after ya said it. I'll trade ya, I'll trade ya." "OK then, it's a deal, and no backsies either." .

. Olham, it has been over 30 years since I was in Europe, and when I come back that is one of the things on my list too. I really want to see some of the sites of the old WWI airfields. Also, as to the issue of digging, it should be remembered that thousands of WWI relics still turn up every year when the farmers plow their fields. The Great War literally lies inches below the grass all along the old front lines and is unique in this regard when compared to other historic settings. No other conflict on the face of this old Earth has left behind so many items of destruction and survival in such a relatively condensed area, and I'm afraid they will be popping up out of the ground forever as haunting reminders of one of the most horrific and heroic times in human history. .

. Hasse Wind, you are quite right about the damage to archeology that such digging can and does cause, and this of course has been going on for centuries. Some people do it for the money, some do it to own a "piece" of history, and some see it as a way to preserve that same history. No matter what the reasons, any unsupervised digging at an historically significant site will absolutely diminish or destroy the chances of gathering the valuable information that might be available to the trained archeologist. But on the flip side of that argument, you can also say that some very large bits of history have been uncovered by the "treasure hunters" who were out digging and simply ran across something no one knew was even there. When I was a kid I worked on a friend's farm in the summers and we would ocassionally turn up old arrow heads out in the field. On one particular day of a very dry summer we went digging for them down near the edge of a bog and, boys being boys, we got sidetracked in our quest due to the fun we were having mucking about in the soft spongy soil. After we had dug a hole about ten feet deep, (yes, ten feet, we had grabbed a ladder from the barn to see just how far down into terra-not -so-firma we could get), we hit a layer of black earth that was very odd. It was slippery, and oozy, and it stunk, so of course we began flinging it at each other. But we soon discovered there were little bits of a woody pulp-like material in it that was very strange. Long story somewhat shorter, after my friend's father contacted the county extension office about it they sent out an agent who took some samples and within a couple of weeks a crew was out excavating in what turned out to be a prehistoric deposite of plant and animal remains that yielded some large sections of old tree trunks, ferns, and mammoth bones. You never know what might be lying just under your feet unless you go digging for it. .

. Oh, bad form Hellshade. An ill wind coming your way after that one Sir. Better do something to buy back a bit of good karma ASAP. Good little video though, really. .

. Thanks von Baur. And I too have seen such items as that one you describe, and wondered how people who attempt those frauds justify to themselves such dishonesty and outright lying. As to the woman who offered the cap I purchased, she described it as: "A flying cap of a French pilot from 1914/18, in good general condition. Leather worn, but no holes". I looked through the other items she had for sale, most of which were WWI battlefield recovered pieces such as spent bullets, boot and belt buckles and the like. I then traded a few emails back and forth and decided she seemed honest and genuine, so I took the chance and purchased the cap from her. I am very pleased with the item that arrived, and given the small amount I had to pay it's a bargain even if it turns out to be from a later date. But I will dare to dream. Olham, I have run across a few wonderful old German WWI flying caps on eBay and other places, and they always seem to command higher money than their Allied counterparts. There's an original one right now on eBay that is priced at over $400. .

. Vasco, it's not an nVidia problem. I've been running a GTX 9800+ with WIndows XP Pro 64 bit for quite some time and have always had the mirror reflections. .

. Olham, I don't think a taxidermist was a stupid idea at all as they are very familiar with methods used to preserve and stabilize leather and fur. I should clarify that when I said I was hesitant to use anything on the leather it was more about losing that wonderful old aroma the cap currently has. I have treated vintage leather items very successfully with mink oil for a good many years and it is highly recommended for such use as it does not degrade the leather in any way, nor does it affect the old cotton thread, (but it does have it's own "unique" smell). It couldn't hurt though to stop by my local museum and simply ask their opinion on the care of such things as this cap. .

. Thanks folks. Hasse Wind, you are quite right about such items. Unless they are accompanied by documentation and a fair amount of credible provenance it is hard to be sure, (and sometimes even with those things). However, the cap itself does possess the proper look, construction, and materials to have come from the WWI era, and the type of wear and aging to the item also supports it's supposed vintage. Add to that the woman who sold it lives in the area where the cap was supposed to have been worn, as well as her own statement of it's origin, and there is enough "evidence" for me to have a reasonable amount of faith that it is what it appears to be. Of course I have no way of proving or disproving it, (and likely never will), none of which detracts in any way from the intrinsic value and beauty of this wonderful old cap. I look at these old things in much the same light as Olham expressed: they touch at a "string" inside, to know they are somehow a part of history. Cheers! Lou .