RAF_Louvert

. Congrats vyrago on your first official award. This of course means you buy the drinks tonight. Si, you are quite correct that it should be the Military Cross as the DFC did not come along til mid-1918. I change the entry in my pilot logs to show the MC when I'm presented the DFC before it's available. .

. Yes Sir, I have seen that book. There is a similar table of aircraft loss totals in Raleigh and Jones, "The War in the Air". .

. I add my wishes for a quick recovery as well, CaptSopwith. Take care Sir. .

. Thanks Olham, I have corrected my faux pas. Now I can sleep tonight. .

. mmmmmmmmmmmm...pancakes or, in German .

. Yuppers, similar to what you might call a berliner, Olham. Which reminds me of John F. Kennedy's famous quote made in West Berlin on June 26, 1963, when he stated, “Ich bin ein Berliner”. He learned a short time later that could mean two very different things. .

. Excellent requests everyone, and I would agree with them all. Of course, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. But it is fun to wish. Olham, I think I would prefer to use the map as reference for ground installation confirmation of kills, (assuming we did have a better in-game version). If it were set up so that you could enter something along the lines of this in your claims form: "EA crashed 3 miles SSE of Saint-Mihiel near Allied gun position. Request confirmation from ground units in this sector." This would keep the immersion factor high. And since we are wishing here anyway, another fun thought would be if we could actually drive out to a crash site that is on the friendly side of the mud and grab a souvenir as well as get out confirmation, just as it was done in the war. .

. In my own little corner of the world on September 1st, 1894, the Great Hinckley Fire swept through the small Minnesota town of Hinckley, killing over 400 people and destroying an area of nearly 500 square miles before it was finally contained. Excellent marches both, Bullethead and Olham. Also, Hasse Wind, I prefer my bismarcks freshly baked, with white frosting on top. .

. Greetings All, Yesterday my lovely wife surprised me with a new 22" LG monitor for my flying computer. Is she a great woman or what, (the answer to that rhetorical question being a resounding YES!). I got it set up last night and all I can say is WOW! What a major difference in all levels of enjoyment. Now, I had also been working on a portside throttle system after uncleal's post about the PZ45 he modified. Unfortunately, when the one I purchased arrived it turned out to be DOA and I had to send it back. But after I saw it and how large it was I decided it was not quite what I was after anyway and the gears started turning in my old noggin. On Friday evening I went out to my barn, which is packed full of all the junk and bits and pieces from years of different hobbies, and after about 30 minutes of scrounging I came in with the parts needed for the experiment I'd cooked up. A couple hours worth of fiddling with assembly and adjustment, and by 10:00pm Friday night I had the following system working beautifully: The throttle lever feels just exactly the way you would expect it to in a WWI kite, and by using a pair of fiber washer and bushing at the pivot of the lever I was able to adjust the drag to the precise spot I wanted. The "Bowden Cable" is actually a heater flap vent control cable from a1969 AMC Javelin and the throttle lever itself is...well actually I'll see if anyone can guess what that started life as. I have been thoroughly enjoying the early hours this A.M. flying in my new and improved OFF cockpit. Me so happy. Now, for that "Smell of Victory" product British_eh posted. Cheers! Lou .

. On the rare occasion that I actually fly a scramble I use your method Olham. I immediately turn and climb away to gain alt, then come around and dive into the fight, and try to keep my height advantage as I do me best to clear the skies. More often than not I will take enough damage that I have to force land on the field, but I don't end up dead at least. The scramble missions are very unrealistic from an historic standpoint. When an airfield was attacked the pilots did not attempt to take off but instead dove for cover in a nearby trench or bomb shelter, then headed out after the enemy once the attack was over. In real life trying to get your plane off the ground whilest being bombed and/or strafed would most certainly be a one-way ticket to the Sweet By and By. .

. Yuppers, stumpjumper has been busy with a couple of new planes for us, and posted his recent work over in the Photoshop and Paint forum. But uncleal, you think Homeboy is no longer with us? That would be sad indeed. .

. Many thanks Olham. I just may take you up on that offer Sir. .

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. OK, despite having to travel a lot the last couple of weeks, I have had some time to fly with my new monitor and throttle set-up, and it is GRRRRRREAT ! (to quote Tony the Tiger). I am amazed at how much more I can now see when flying. And reaching over to port to adjust an actual throttle lever is just one more sweet little immersion factor. I am now toying with an idea for a real choke knob fitted ahead of the throttle lever too. Now then, where to mount that fan and castor oil spritzer so it will blow squarely into me 'ol kisser. .

. Olham, I apologize if my point about Buckler's book was vague. I wasn't saying that he had an ulterior motive for writing his story, but rather the powers in charge at that time pushed to have the story published in order to whip up excitement and patriotism in the young men of Germany so that they would sign up for service in the Luftwaffe. From the excerpts I've read he seems to relate his story very well and without too much political rhetoric, (as much as that is possible for any of us to do). Hasse Wind, I agree, it's never too late to learn something new. I do muddle my way through short written passages in German and French, but it takes me a looooong time to do so, and I am sure I am missing a lot of the subtlety and nuance intended by the author. But hey, I'll keep plugging away at it. Cheers! Lou .

. I have flown in a few open cockpit planes and you don't hear much of anything apart from the engine and the wind. You would likely hear a machine gun going off if it were directly behind you, and in the firsthand accounts I've read that is mentioned from time to time. However, more often than not the flyer knew he was being shot at when he saw the holes appearing in his wings or when he himself got hit, which is why they had to have their heads on a constant swivel. There is also mention made in writings of the day about "feeling" the bullets hit, and I am sure you could if they made contact with a solid part of the aircraft. But I doubt very much you would be able to feel bullets ripping through the fabric, especially over the engine vibration and wind buffeting. BTW, I have my sounds set so that I cannot hear any of the noises below unless I am flying right down over the mud, and I don't hear my opponets MG unless he is very close, (but then I am a bit over the top with my "realism" settings). Cheers! Lou .

. Another nice group of videos Hellshade. Very well done Sir. .

. Olham, I hope the same thing as well Sir. As to propaganda in literature and it being used by those in charge to sway the masses, that has been there since the first words were written I'm afraid. I've noticed in my readings over the years that you will tend to get a much more accurate picture of how people felt if you look to the personal accounts and firsthand narratives written at the time than you will ever find in works written after the fact by others. In our particular area of interest you can get into the minds of the pilots and appreciate what they endured by reading their diaries and letters home, which is why I am always on the lookout for such works. This is not to say that these writings don't have their own slant, (they do), but when you move to the books written by others after the war you have to be 1000 times more careful to keep them in context to the time they were penned as they are often quite colored by events of the day. I've read several of the larger works outlining WWI that were written from the Allied viewpoint immediately following the war, and they all have a very obvious bias, thought some try to be more even-handed than others. The oft-cited "War in the Air", by Raleigh and Jones, while being the greatest single work covering the British Air Service in the Great War, also handles it's subject matter in a very unbiased fashion, all things considered. Olham, you mention Julius Buckler's book. I don't yet own that one but I've read passages from it and his personal accounts are wonderful. However, that is a good example of a work you have to read with the understanding that it was published in 1939 with a very definite ulterior motive. "Max Immelmann: The Eagle Of Lille", written by his brother Franz and released in 1935 is another such work, and even though it has obvious political leanings they detract in no way from Max's personal notes and letters home. You just need to read around some of the comments made by his brother and remember the political climate of the day. shredward, I will be sure and post a photo of Joseph if there happens to be one in the book. Hasse Wind, I wish I could read German, (and French, and Russian, and...). I would dearly love to be able to study the accounts written by the pilots of all the countries who fought in that epic and horrific conflict. Herr Prop-Wasche, I am hoping Joseph touches on that very issue in this book. Dej, I agree entirely with your point about this community being very mature in it's responses and observations to what can oft-times be very touchy subject matter. It makes for much more enjoyable and enlightening discussions. Cheers! Lou .

. Sweet looking Albs, Olham. I particularly like that 77b version. Thanks for sharing Sir. Cheers! Lou .

. Absolutely no objections from me, RC. Be sure to post a pic of your finished product Sir. .

. Creaghorn, I have done precisely as you've outlined with some of my Allied pilot campaigns, and it serves to give you a much greater investment in your virtual self. It would be excellent if this feature could be brought into OFF as a pick option when setting up a new campaign. As to the poll, I answered based on how I fly in the campaigns and picked the "1 kill in 2 missions" choice for all catagories, though it really tends to be closer to 1 kill in 3-to-4 missions when I am flying to survive. .

. Many thanks Olham, glad to know you are enjoying Paul's story. And he does look a LOT like a silent film star, though it's not Buster Keaton. CaptSopwith, it was a very close call for young Blum in his last mission. And you are quite right, it is only going to get more dangerous as 1916 moves along. .

. I was just checking in, (from the Minnesota/Canada border), and saw that you were back Olham. I hope you had a great holiday. Be sure and share those post cards and photos with us. Have fun catching up Sir. Cheers! Lou .

. OK, OK, I can't hold back any longer. The first is the Ansaldo, as noted by Rickitycrate, and further it is the S.V.A. I assume it will be version 5 when it is completed, (without the guns installed it's hard to tell). The second is the Aviatik-Berg D.I. And they are both very cool. .

. SWEET! Pol, this is great PR for all the outstanding work you folks have done on our favorite WWI flight sim. I hope there will be more kudos like this coming your way in the trades. Drinks all around! Cheers! Lou .