RAF_Louvert

. Wels, you are quite right about the info concerning Mick. He was near death when finally released from prison which makes his recovery and rise to fame as an ace even more amazing, and poignant. To the immersion factor as mentioned by Von Paulus and BuB, I absolutely agree. More than any other factor it is the immersion that draws me to the WWI combat flight sims in general, and BHaH in particular. I want to try and understand, as much as possible, the experiences our Great War counterparts went through. Be it the tedium of dud weather and flightless days on end; the tension and exhaustion of the "long reconn"; the exhilaration of the hunt; or the terror of the death spiral; I want it all as much as is possible from the relative safety and comfort of my virtual cockpit. .

. Many thanks for the kind words everyone, they are much appreciated. Ras, I have been collecting my short stories and vignettes together over the years with the thought of building more of a novel-length work around them. My hesitation to do so has always been the concern of writing only what has already been written before, and by far better than I. But then I imagine many writers have felt just that way. .

. Great photo and kit Camel, thanks for sharing Sir. Outstanding tie. Even more outstanding date. I have to say though, as with most of us men, you appear to have outkicked your coverage. .

. Happy Birthday Widowmaker! Sorry you did not receive the items on your list. But what's this!? No traditional birthday beating...er...spanking? Does someone have a cricket bat handy so we can remedy this oversight? .

. Welcome to the OFF virtual skies Speedy! I'll have a black and tan with a bag of salt and vinegar crisps, thank you very much. .

. I have given this a lot of thought over the years as well and I believe you've hit it right on the head Olham. We are hard-wired for it, we love the thrill of the hunt. We yearn to throw ourselves into harm's way in an attempt to best another, be it man or beast. And now, in these times, as we grow older we no longer have to give up the chase but instead can continue it here with such outlets as BHaH. We are no longer relegated to the fireside swapping old war stories with other old farts. Now we can sit by the fireside with other old farts and swap new war stories. And Sieben, an excellent Robert E. Lee quote Sir. .

. Yes Check Six, that image of Boelcke is another one indeed and very telling. But for me it is the juxtaposition of Mannock and the little girl that makes it "most haunting". And I too would like to think she lived a long way from the front, but given the rural setting and the fact that the RFC squadrons were often stationed within just a few miles of the fighting, I fear she saw far too much for one so young. .

. Carrick58 asked: That one has an answer Sir. The rooster. .

. Good for you Check Six. I have read portions of that book and you will not be disappointed Sir. BTW, here is the last known photo of Mick, and IMHO one of the most haunting images I have ever run across. Look at the pain in that man's eyes and then look into the nearly-vacant gaze of the French peasant girl. Now try to imagine what each has seen since the War began. .

. You've talked me into it Sir. It is now on my list. Thanks! .

. Olham, from your short description it sounds like they were pretty accutate about Guynemer. I may have to go looking for this one myself. .

. Very, very cool Camel. I'd like to see some of your vintage outfits. That lawyer didn't give you his uncle's name did he? It would be interesting to look up which one MvR's downings the gentleman was. BTW Camel, since you like vintage attire, have you seen the thread on my French pilot's tunic project? Cheers! Lou .

. TKS Gents. Yes I did Olham, glad you like it. .

. I agree with Rickitycrate. A very concise analysis Bullethead, thanks for sharing it. I too take the lead for the very reasons you have so clearly outlined. .

. No need to apologize Rooster, you wanted to share a good book with the rest of us. There should never be an issue with posting items of interest here simply because they may have been posted before. With all the new people coming in this sort of info is likely unknown to them, so the only way they may come across it is if it keeps showing up in threads just like yours Sir. Cheers! Lou .

. OK, here's silly. Me thinking I'm ever going to get this thing off the ground: .

. I haven't even clicked on the banner link to go to the page yet. I don't want to torment myself more than I already do. I figure when it says "NOW AVAILABLE" I'll make the jump. .

. I'd ask the same question as Olham. You are one fortunate B/R driver. You best have bought the drinks all night after that one BH. .

. Close enough foreigndevil. It is actually the Order of Leopold I, Chevalier (Knight) Class, with crossed swords indicating it was awarded for valour in battle. Just like the one old Willy was presented way back when. .

. SWEET! .

. You're very close Paarma. .

. FD, it's nice to have another flyer around here who has an interest in the Belgian efforts during the Great War. That was one feisty little country. BTW, you might find this interesting: It's one of the original WWI medals in my collection. Can you identify which one it is? Cheers! Lou .

. foreigndevil, that book is an excellent read Sir. It is the reprint of his personal memoirs originally titled, "Days On The Wing". I happen to have a 1931 first English edition of that work and have read it a couple of times. While Willy can be a bit critical now and then in his writings, it is none-the-less one of the top aerial war journals of the time, and the only one written from the Belgian perspective that I am aware of. Enjoy. Cheers! Lou .

. Congratulations sandbagger. All the best wishes to your family from mine. .

. err...umm...well OK then. I best not lose my current pilot as I will be too confused as to which way to start a new career. just kidding Siggi, I agree we should continue to use the Newtonian theory of time for this DiD campaign. As much as I like Einstein and all I really don't want to deviate from the old striaght line time-space continuum in this particular instance. Now, if we could actually fold time and space onto itself so we could all jump back and really give this a go, well that's a whole different matter, (pun definitely intended). .