RAF_Louvert

. Depends on how much pub flying we'd been doing the night before...hee, hee, hee. .

. Welcome to the OFF skies GHunter, new lads buy the drinks! I have been running TIR 4 with the TIR 5 software for quite some time now, and it has worked beautifully for me. But you can't go wrong either way, IMHO. Another item that really makes the whole WWI OFF experience is a good set of rudder pedals, as these old kites love vast amounts of rudder input to really toss them about. So, if you don't already have a set you may want to consider those at some point in the not-too-distant future as well. Now then, seeing as how it's still quite early, I believe I'll just go with an Irish coffee, thank you very much. Cheers! Lou .

. Ras, I am truly happy for you Sir. There is NOTHING that compares to flying in an open cockpit. My first flight ever was in an old Stearman, so I was right there with you when I was watching your video. Wish I would have known about the show, I'd have tried to find a way to make the two-hour drive to Alex myself. Cheers! Lou .

. Wowzers! That is going to be THE way to experience OFF appraiserfl. Post a video once you are up and running. There, but for the grace of a bigger checking account, go I. .

. Outstanding work Bullethead! Your attention to detail on that skin is second-to-none, and having that hex pattern line up flawlessly on the model wrap had to have taken some serious time. Also, that jester is sinister and then some. Very well done Sir, and worth every drop of the two fingers of Lagavulin 16 you treated yourself to. Hell, stop by the pub and I'll treat you to two more of that treasured single malt for good measure. Cheers! Lou .

. Greetings All, Here's a short one that is the result of being up far too late the previous evening, (oh me achin 'ed). Cheers! Lou .

. Many thanks Gents, and a safe and happy Independence Day to all my compatriots. Spirit of '76! .

. Greetings All, Dej reminded me earlier today in another thread when he posted his Royal Aero Club Pilot Certificate that I too had the same basic project sitting in my old computer at home. So, I went on a quest this evening and located it and then spent a couple of hours finishing it up. I moved it over into my Paint.NET program and rebuilt all the old bits and pieces there, re-typed all the verbiage with the nearest matching fonts I could locate, created the stamp from scratch, and then went online and actually found a better image to use for the leatherette binding as well as the official's signatures. The following shows the original, and then the rebuilt item with my newest OFF pilot's info and photo added: If any of you Commonwealth pilots would like such a certificate of your own to add to your OFF flyer's virtual portfolio you can simply send me the pertinent info on your pilot, (i.e. name, date and place of birth, date certificate was awarded, and certificate number), along with a photo, and I will be happy to plug those items into the template I now have, create the new certificate, and email it to you. And, if you pop back over to the following thread, An Incredible OFF Pilot Persona History Resource , you can find a pilot persona to use along with the needed info I just outlined. As for the photo, many RFC pilots pics can be found simply by doing a Google search. Just think how much more of a vested interest you'll have in your brave OFF aviator with this bit of added immersion. Cheers! Lou .

. I suppose I best be careful what I ask for, eh? Concerning my abbreviated sabbatical, as I mentioned earlier I discovered that OFF in general and you lot in particular have become a sort of refuge from the craziness of the day-to-day. I was not actually aware of this fact until after I'd been away for a month or so. To quote Joni Mitchell, "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone." Cheers! Lou .

. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of interest in this facet of our beloved sim, and also that no one has taken me up on my offer to put together a pilot certificate for them. I thought there would be at least a few requests but apparently not. I guess those who take the immersion factor of this sim above and beyond are more than capable of creating their own documentation. Ah well, c'est la vie, I gave it the old college try. Up and away to other things. Cheers! Lou .

. von Baur, as one who can remember watching not only Rocky and Bullwinkle but also their predecessor, Crusader Rabbit, I know exactly who Captain Peter Wrongway Peachfuzz is. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go check up on my Upsidasium mine as I fear Gidney and Cloyd may be helping themselves to that most rare mineral. .

. Olham, thank you for your wealth of information and for the correction on the meaning of "Schuldt". I imagine the usage I heard in town here is a result of immigration and "Americanization". I've said it before Sir and I will again: Your understanding of English, even on to many of it's subtle nuances, is far better than that of some folks in my country who learned it as their mother tongue. I wish I understood your native language 1/1000th as well as you do mine. Now then, if you would be so kind, I do have a brace of German surnames I'd like you to check on: Schramm, and Bloem. They are the names of two of my "grandmothers", and I use the quotes because while niether were related to me by blood, both took on the roll of grandmother just as if they were a biological part of my family. Cheers! Lou .

. Just as a sidebar. IMHO, if you are going to sit down and attempt to sort out just what the next great WWI air war movie should be, (and who should star in it, and who should direct it, etc.), you really owe it to yourselves to sit down and watch the first great WWI air war movie made. William Wellman's 1927 "Wings" won the Acadamy Award for Best Picture, and with good reason. It was the last of the "epic" silent films and featured an all-star cast. Clara Bow is at her "It Girl" best, and Gary Cooper's two-minute film debut really shows why he became the star he did. And, while a large portion of the biplanes used in filming were not the "real deal", the aerial dogfights and crashes certainly were. No CGI, no models floating about on wires, just honest-to-goodness seat-of-the-pants flying by the best stunt pilots of the day. If you have never sat through a full-length silent film before, you will want to prepare yourself for it if you wish to get the most from it. You need to keep in mind that this was THE entertainment of the masses in the early part of the last century. Yes, the acting seems melodramatic by today's standards, but that was the style of silent films and an integral part in trying to convey the entire range of human emotions without the luxury of audible speech. Try and place yourself in the context of the time and set aside as much as you can of what you now know about the world. If you attempt to watch this 1927 silent classic with your 2010 ultra high tech eyes you will be sorely disappointed I'm afraid. However, if you want to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about way back then, here is the link to the full movie: 'Wings" on You Tube It is in about 15 or so parts of about 10 minutes each as this is an epic in length as well as scope. I recommend you pick a nice dark wallpaper color for your screen and then click the "pop out" button on the lower left of the You Tube screen and reduce the page down to your task bar, that way you'll have fewer distractions. Also, dim the lights in the room you're watching in, it helps a lot to create the atmosphere. And you will really appreciate that atmosphere when you get to the scenes of the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. Cheers! Lou .

. Oh Hasse Wind, but it had been invented by then. Behold Paintshop 1912 Deluxe with the Power Pro add-on... .

. My pleasure Sir. And unless you are familiar with the word "brevetted" it is not one that would ever come to mind when trying to make out some old, blurred text. .

. Feh! All this drivel about Flyboys vs. The Red Baron. Everyone knows full well there hasn't been a decent WWI air war movie since the 1971 classic Von Richthofen and Brown. NOT! What was the true crime in that gawdawful flop was that they had the entire collection of aircraft that was used in The Blue Max and then some at their disposal, along with a whole flight of excellent stunt pilots. What a waste. To the point about the planes flying too fast, I concur that it's all about Hollywood wanting to pump up the action of the dogfight scenes, and they have been doing that since the get-go. When you watch actual footage of WWI dogfights it appears more as a slow motion ballet, but that would be a yawner for most audiences to have to sit thorugh and so we have what we have. .

, Yes Bruce, my son and I went there several years ago, and it is an amazing place. On the first day we were there it was raining and when we arrived, just as they were opening the gates, we discovered we were the only visitors and had the place to ourselves for several hours. I was wearing my old USAF flight jacket at the time, and I think due to that, (at least in part), I was allowed to climb up and sit in both the Alb DVa and SE5. If anyone is ever in that area during the summer months they should be sure to find the time to go and enjoy the entire collection and weekly air show. Please do post your photos Sir, I'd love to see them. Cheers! Lou .

. nbryant, here is the larger version of the photo Olham has thoughtfully posted for you: And here is an even clearer image of the same style document for a balloon pilot, from about 20 years later: Hope this helps. Cheers! Lou .

. Hellshade, I'll see if I can capture some footage for you this weekend. .

. .

. No carrick, I'm afraid the caption is quite incorrect about it being a Fury. That Sir is most certainly the Hawker Nimrod MK I on display at Duxford. Cheers! Lou .

. NS13Jarhead, thanks for bringing this firsthand account to our attention Sir! Very little of such WWI USMC aviation-related material exists. I have not read it myself, but I have found the digital copy online and will enjoy it this weekend. As to the four-gun N17, I would imagine that was set up for trench strafing. There were Camels similarly equipped with an extra brace of guns mouned at a slight downward angle in the undercarriage. Cheers! Lou .

. Olham wrote: Olham, my "winziges bischen Deutsch", (is that even close to correct?), comes from listening to the old timers I have encountered over the years living in Minnesota. As Ras mentioned earlier, there are a lot of folks here in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" who claim Germanic ancestry. Heck, within just a few miles of my home there are the towns of New Germany and Hamburg! It has been an ongoing argument for the last 150 years as to which group migrated here first; the Germans or the Scandinavians, (it was the Scandinavians BTW, and in particular the Norwegians...that's my story and I'm sticking to it). In our town the current mayor's surname is Heimerl, which from what I can gather is a less-formal form of Heimeran and, (again, if I remember correctly), in English that translates to Raven Home. The other day I heard one of the old generation German-Americans in town yell over to him on Main Street, "Hey Schuldt, when are dey gonna spray fur mosquitoes around dis place?!" I had to chuckle, not only at the vernacular, but also because Schuldt is an old German surname that literally means "Mayor". Cheers! ...or should I say, Prost! Lou .

. Now there ya go Wallaroo. A Hawker Nimrod, and a MK I to be precise. However, I will confess I know it's a MK I due to it's tail number and the fact that this particular Nimrod resides in the Imperial War Museum collection in Duxford, and not because I can spot a 477 hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel power plant from its exhaust ports. Thank you carrick, may we have another please? .

. Oh, it's a Hawker to be sure. And this particular model was named after a somewhat significant figure mentioned in the Old Testament...hint, hint...wink, wink...nudge, nudge... .