RAF_Louvert

. I love flying the early years...always have, even back in my old RB3D days. There is just somthing about following along with the progression of the War that does it for me. And if I am lucky enough to survive beyond the first six months or so there's another feeling that comes of being one of the "old hands" in the fight. I am currently flying my first real campaign ever on the German side of the mud, as Paul Blum of FFA 48 in the spring of 1916, and have been posting his letters home in "Reports From The Front", (just posted another one today in fact). I truly hope he will be a survivor. Cheers! Lou .

. You know what might be really nice to have in P4? A Snipe. .

. rabu wrote: Actually, if you look back in the posts, I noted last evening that Bullethead's is the 1916 Lohner D.I Series 111 prototype. Here's another photo of it from a different angle: As to rabu's latest offering...I'm not saying a word. .

. Sorry rabu, you gave way too big a hint with "Max". I just pulled up his record of victories and found it there. I'll leave now. .

. Oh, oh ... I have yours sorted out now too, rabu. It is BE2c, number 4197, of 8 Squadron, shot down by Immelmann near Pelves, east of Arras, on the 13th of March 1916. .

. Not sure about yours Rabu, but I have sorted out Bullethead's after his hints. It is the 1916 Lohner D.I Series 111 prototype. .

. Only if it's been on an extended diet and really slimmed down, OvS. .

. Don't think that's it BigAl, as the D.XI did not have the cowl behind the cockpit. Also the cabane struts are different. I'm not sure on this one myself. It has a certain Rumpler quality about it though. .

. And more than that Olham, it is the Nieuport 11 Bebe of Lt. Armand de Turenne of Escadrille N48, circa mid-1916 Cheers! Lou .

Good Morning All, Work has seen me crisscrossing the state of North Dakota since Monday. Now, while I am less than fond of driving about NoDak in the dead of winter, I do dearly love the chance to kick around it's western side in the summer. I spent the last day-and-a-half in the Badlands, and took about a three-hour hike down into Painted Canyon. Thought I would share just a few photos Here is the highway as it starts into the heart of the Badlands, (the area is quite large, from 10 to 30 miles across and running north-to-south through two states): This is a group of photos I snapped of Painted Canyon and then pasted together to try and give an idea of the expanse, however this falls far short of showing the beauty of the area: Here's your's truly thorougly enjoying the day, (I had just come out of the canyon after seeing a herd of about 15 buffalo...very cool): I had to share this photo of a water station I saw when I stopped for fuel. It raises two questions in my mind: Just how pure is that water? And what is the "plus"? (note the location of the water taps). Alrighty then, back on the road I go. Cheers! Lou .

. Great picture Hasse Wind, it's beautiful, thanks for sharing. I would love to travel around that area of the world. And you are quite right of course about "Skål". I was tired when I posted so I took the shortcut with the Americanized "Skol" since I do not have the accented "a" on the keyboard of my laptop, (and did not take the time to google and cut and paste the needed punctuation). But as one who truly does like things accurate I appreciate the correction on your part Sir. As to books on the subject of immigration, mine are all leftover texts from my college days about a millenium ago. Olham, very true about those large flat areas of Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. However, the majority of the Scandinavian immigrants were not "landed gentry" so even if they had lived in those regions they would not likely have owned property. Also, the average size of a farm in those countries back then was around 7 to 10 acres, (if memory serves), so most folks were involved in subsistence agriculture at best. Just imagine what they must have felt when they first saw the endless miles of open prairie available to them in the "new land", with top soil so thick and rich it could support any crop they might wish to plant for years to come. And they were going to be given 160 acres of it for free! All they had to do was cut away the 16" thick sod that covered it all; dig a well; build a house to live in; plow and plant and tend and sow; clear rocks and trees, (if they were lucky enough to have trees on their tract); survive the storms and winds and floods and droughts; survive the insect infestations; survive the Indian attacks; survive the flu and small pox epidemics; do all that and then some and raise a family in the process and you have the midwest version of the American Dream in the last half of the 19th century. And they came in droves to live it, and counted themselves blessed to have the chance to do so. Oh Pioneer! To but have such spirit in this country once again. Off to Fargo for now, and points beyond, but I should be home by tomorrow night. Cheers! Lou .

. Hasse Wind, while that has been the reason noted in numerous sources over the years for the Scandinavian immigrants settling in Minnesota, it always makes me chuckle. Allow me to illustrate why. Typical landscape in the vast areas of Norway, Sweden, and Finland: Typical landscape of most areas in the upper Midwest settled by Scandinavian immigrants: The actual reason this hardy stock of the Norsk, Svensk, and Finsk gods chose to settle where they did in the "new country" was due to the fact that, at the time, this was where the large tracts of free land were available. The Federal Homestead Act of 1862 allowed for just about anyone who wanted to lay claim to 160 acres of "tillable" land so long as they were willing to break the ground, put in crops, built a dwelling, and live on the property for a few years. Once they had accomplished that the land was theirs for keeps. When the large waves of Scandinavians sailed into New York Harbor in the mid-to-late 1800's the upper Midwest was the nearest place to go for the free land they all wanted to grab for a chance at a new life. And so they came. My own little house on the prairie sits in Bergen Township which was originally settled by a pair of Norwegians who, sometime in the 1860's, after travelling as far as they could by rail, walked 300 miles from eastern Wisconsin to reach an area of available land they could lay claim to. They spent the summer breaking sod and clearing trees before walking back to Wisconsin to "winter over". They then came back the following spring and built a pair of sod huts, (one on each of their claims), and began in earnest the long hard job of creating a home and a life in "Amerika". This same pattern was repeated by hundreds of thousands of newcomers in the upper Midwest over the next several decades. Olham, I'm always willing to train a new assistant in the alluring ways of ambulance sales and service in the upper Midwest. Skol! Lou .

. Good morning again all, glad to know you enjoyed the photos. Von Paulus, a geologist's dream to be sure. You can see about 65 million years of Earth's history in just one look. Now as to what's in our water, I don't even want to know. But do keep in mind, alcohol is an excellent disinfectant. OvS, I love to go rock hunting when I am out in the Badlands. The fossil locale you might be thinking of are the Marmarth and Mud Buttes digs way down in the southwest corner of the state. They are part of the Hell Creek Formation, which covers parts of Montana, and North and South Dakota, and if you like fossils it is a great area to go to. I have been there twice to do a bit of digging, and also been to the far other corner of the state as well, up in the Pempina Gorge excavations. carrick58, if you've never been, you should make the trip. I could even meet you for a cuppa' somewhere along the way. Hasse WInd, if you like forests you just come to Minnesota. I'll take you into some pine forests that are so tall and thick you'll be lost inside of five minutes. Ras, Medora is a great little town, (I was there on Wednesday), and the play is a lot of fun. As to those buffalo, if you don't make any sudden moves they tend to not even give you a second look. Years ago when my youngest daughter and I were camping in the north park of the Theodore Roosevelt we woke up one morning to find a full-grown bull buffalo calmly grazing about 20 feet from our tent. We very slowly came out of the tent and watched him, and he munched away on the grass for another minute or two and then moved along. You find out just how gigantic those animals are when you are that close to one. When I'm tramping around the Badlands I am far more concerned about surprising a rattlesnake than I am a buffalo, (not that I want to surprise either one mind you). Widowmaker, if you and the Mrs. ever get around to my "neck of the woods" be sure to let me know and we'll meet up. Olham, the Sioux and Cheyenne are likely the more well-known of the Indian tribes that lived and hunted in North Dakota. Other prominent tribes are or were the Dakota, Chippewa, Assiniboin, Hidatsa, Arikara, and Mandan. There were many others as well. Tony, you are quite correct about the scenery in the South Dakota Badlands not being the same. It is much less colorful, ranging from dull white to light tan, and the features are smoother. But Wall Drug makes it worth the trip, not to mention the Black Hills. Well then, back to the highway for me, Gents. I've got a lot of driving to do again today. Cheers! Lou .

. AAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA, AAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA !!! Truer words ne'r spoken, HS.

. "What are you flying mostly?" This is one of my long-time preferred mounts, in the traditional early RFC CDL finish of course: You couple that bus with the classic pint-sized, liquid-filled, dimpled-glass joystick and you'll be hard-pressed to find a nicer flying set-up. .

. "Do the AI bombers use their bombs?" As already noted here vonOben, yes they do. And, quite well I might add. Wish I had their knack for sorting out lead angles and windage. Also, like BH, I too have had to do some fancy zigging and zagging to avoid having one of their eggs land right in my lap. .

. I have had the same issue many times since I began flying OFF. I cannot find a definite correlation to any one factor myself, and I've tested it with and without pausing, warp, time acceleration and the like. For whatever reason the sim engine just screws up on the actual flying time now and then, (I've a hunch it's an old, inherent Microsquish issue). I keep very accurate times of my flights with an external watch, and will go in after a mission and manually correct the entries in my pilot's log and dossier if they happen to come up wrong in the sim. .

. You are more than welcome Olham, and I hope it will prove useful to you. .

. nbryant and All, I had some time this morning so I took about 120 screen capture clips of the 1918 NGS Western Front map and assembled them into a very high quality JPEG copy. I also cleaned up a couple of spots on the original map scan, and I am posting a download link to a RAR of the finished item here: NGS 1918 Western Front Map This is a VERY large image, (about 7000 x 6000), so just be aware of that when you are downloading it and unpacking it. Cheers! Lou .

. nbryant, let me start by throwing you a heartfelt salute for your years of military service. Your dedication and sacrifice are truly appreciated Sir. Now, as to maps, I have an original of the 1918 NGS map you have noted in your link, and it is an excellent piece. You could purchase a paper copy of that map, or you could download a copy and use it via your computer, (or print it out from there). You could also use a free program such as HyperSnap to grab the highly detailed clips via the link you posted, (also available BTW at Nat Geo's website). After you have the clips you need you can then assemble them using an editor such as Paint.NET, (another free download). I highly recommend using an out-of-sim map because it really takes flying and navigating the missions to a whole new level of immersion. Also, as mentioned by Olham, rabu has a good set available in the OFF downloads, and I have made use of them myself many times. Here is a link to a free download of the 1918 NGS map: Nat Geo Map Pack 7 The quality of the scan in this download is good, but not as crisp as what you could grab as clips from the viewer in the link you posted. Best of luck nbryant, and if you have any questions about using outside maps with OFF feel free to ask. I'll help if I can. Cheers! Lou .

. Oh, I've no doubt P4 will knock my socks off. Thing is, I haven't found the last pair that BHaH knocked off me. I'm with Rickitycrate, Creaghorn, and Olham on this one, I still have waaaaay too much to experience in P3. As an example, I just started a career flying the Walfisch in FFA 48, and Creaghorn is spot on about landing one. Everything else is child's play after putting that beastie on the mark time and time again, not to mention winding it through the terrain of the Alsace. Now, about WM's Snipe... Cheers! Lou .

. Welcome to the OFF skies BigAl56. I use an "old school" approach very similar to Olham's for recording needed info. However you choose to do it, the more information you can collect and keep track of before heading out on your missions the better off you'll be when it comes time to fill out those combat and claims reports. Those brass hats are sticklers for details. Now then, I'll have two fingers of Balvenie and a black-and-tan thank you very much. Cheers! Lou .

. tranquillo, thank you very much for sharing this information about your grandfather, and good on you for trying to find and preserve his service record. Thank you as well to Baltika, MikeDixonUK, and Morris, for sharing the stories of your relatives as well. I wish more folks took an interest in their own family members who have like stories that should be preserved. Far too soon the last remaining, living sources of such valuable and personal information will be gone forever. .

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. hee, hee, hee...I think it's less than a good sign when Pol states "we have no release date yet", and in particular when you consider that his earlier reply of "soon" to the question of the release date for HITR proved to be about four months. Rather like when your doctor says, "you may experience some discomfort at this point". Could be a slight underestimate. BTW, welcome to the OFF skies Perth. I'll have a pinta' Newcastle Summer Ale, thank you very much. Cheers! Lou .