RAF_Louvert

Actually Hasse Wind, we do know how many were built and which Jastas flew them. Here are the DVIII production numbers and aircraft accepted, (table courtesy of Windsock Data File #25): Cheers! Lou

. Aaaaah, roger that OvS. Yes, I believe the DVIII saw more service than some give it credit. Jasta 6 was the first to receive the plane in either late July or early August, with Jastas 1, 19, 24 and 36 being given the craft shortly thereafter. Estimates vary, but about 85 saw war service, with a total of nearly 300 being built during and after the war. It was a beauty of a plane. Cheers! Lou

. hee hee hee...guess you'll find out if you fly one of the first ones, won't you Hellshade. .

. Funny how circumstances and necessity change what we view as sane and insane, isn't it? A man on the fourth floor of a burning building likely does not see leaping out the window as an insane thing to do, yet put that same fellow in a perfectly safe building and that jumping option looks pretty damned crazy. As good old Albert said, "It's all relative." .

. Yuppers, I've read this excerpt before OvS and there is a similar article in another contemporary work to this one that makes the same points, (though at the moment I can't put my finger on it). I also read somewhere a while back that there exists a copy of the official order to change the dimensions of the rear wing spar, which adds support to the first theory on the failures. Cheers! Lou

. OvS, after flying around a bit in ultralights and working on building my own you find out how amazingly strong the structure actually is, despite its flimsy apperance. But I agree, insanity would have been a plus when flying these kites into battle. Cheers! Lou

. SWEET! Very well done OvS, good mashing. .

Greetings All, I'm likely going to regret this due to the OFF jinx of even mentioning how long a campaign has gone, but after my last mission with 29 RFC flying the DH2's in which I was presented my fourth DFC I just had to tempt the fates. It has been four months to the day for Cedric and still he lives, even after numerous crashes, forced landings, destroyed planes, and stays in the hospital. Based on the averages I fear time may be running out for the brave yet cautious Major. He and his squad mates will be partying this evening while the opportunity to do so still exists. Tomorrow may see the end of Cedric Nelson...or he may live to see the bloody war's end...who knows. Cheers! Lou

. No need for apologies Dej, I feel the same way. I have studied the Great War in general, and it's aerial aspects in particular, for a good number of years, and I've never felt closer to what it must have been like for our WWI counterparts than I do now. That is directly related to the quality of this sim. When I prepare for a mission, ready the maps, check the route and assignments, and take to the air, I get a small insight into that same sense of exhilaration and foreboding that those brave men must have felt. Flying my kite up and over the lines; using only what few instruments I have in the cockpit; trying not to get lost; doing my best to avoid Archie; and always, always, always, craning my neck in an effort to see the enemy before they see me; it's no wonder pilots landed totally exhausted, with nerves frayed to the breaking point. Then you throw in the dogfights and it's a miracle any Great War flyer managed to survive at all. But survive they did, and kept a sense of humour about the whole affair as well. They were all cut from stronger cloth. I don't know that I would have fared as well in the real thing, but I am glad for the opportunity to at least try to emulate their brave and thrilling actions in this scenario and see how I measure up, at least in the virtual skies. I join Dej and again give a salute to the devs of this amazing sim, and to the brave airmen of WWI who inspire us all. Cheers! Lou

. Gott im Himmel! Ryan you must have flown day and night non-stop in order to accrue that tally in your short time in the OFF skies. How did you manage to keep young Ferdinand alive that long and in that kind of action? He must have been one of the blessed. The Vaterland will most certainly mourn his loss. And that is the first time I've seen the two highest German/Prussian honours in this sim. They look so nice in the pilot's log. .

Rooster, that looks outstanding, first effort or not, good on you Sir for tackling the Gmax program. Bullethead, kudos to you as well for the same effort and for getting this topic started here. I do intend to take on the Gmax learning curve myself, and am hoping for a quiet winter that will allow me to do so. I would love to build an early-war kite or two. Cheers! Lou

. Waldemar Kurtz wrote: WK, those very points are touched on in this little vignette: Blackadder Explains How The War Started (yes I know I've posted this before, but it seems apropos yet again) . (Above link repaired Oct 21, 09)

. Dej, it seemed fitting somehow to use his photo for this my first DH2 campaign. And I was thinking of going on leave in about 3 1/2 months, as history does have a nasty habit of repeating itself. .

. Sorry to read that Nathaniel Larson has gone west to join his companions Ras. A budding aviator's career cut short...yet again. Drink up boys, and ask not for whom the bell tolls. Hurrah for the next man to die! .

. apologies to "Man Of La Mancha" fans everywhere .

. To dream the great OFF-able dream, To fight all the virtual foe, To see ammo belts really moving, To yell "Chock's Away" and to have it be so. To have the prop pulled by the crew, To adjust the shutters on your SE, To look out and see personal paint schemes, That belong but to you and to me. This is my quest, to follow that sim. No matter how hopeless, no matter how dim. To fight for the right, without question or pause. To be willing to fly Between Heaven and Hell for the cause! And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm, when I'm laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this: That one man, scorned and covered with scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach ... the great OFF-able ... STAR ! .

WM wrote: Widowmaker, I feel your pain. A couple weeks ago I was looking forward to an entire weekend with nothing to do but fly a few missions and work on a plane skin or two. Then my dear old mum called with other plans... "Oh sweet eldest of my boys, you'll come and help the one who bore you with her end-of-summer gardening chores, won't you? My poor old bent back just can't lift all those 5-gallon clay pots 'nor dig down the thirty-and-seven rose bushes anymore." How could I say no to such a plea, I ask you now. I will say that when I got back home MY poor old bent back wasn't in any shape to be lifting said pots or digging down the aforementioned rose bushes either! Aaaaaah mothers...gotta love 'em. .

. Ryan, I think your best bet is to use this quiet time to hone your flying, gunning, and stalking skills. There will be plenty of leave time coming up when you get the Blighty one...or the neverending leave when you go west. Cheers! Lou

. Bad luck Olham. Be sure to let us know which camp they drop you in and we'll see to it that you get a little something extra in your Red Cross packages. Cheers! Lou

Hey, thanks for the anti-jinx Olham, I'll take all the help I can get. And thank you itifonhom for the advice. Be alert! The world needs more lerts. I think if you spend enough time getting to know the DH2's little "tells" it can be a real fighter in the early war. That being said, my flight and I will soon be finding ourselves going up against the Alb DII's, and that will be a whole new challenge. Cheers! Lou

Yuppers Rickitycrate, woke up this AM to a white prairie. Brrrrr! Too early! I just signed into the poll here and will say that I have also died about every way there is to die in the OFF skies, but EA gunfire is the most common for me. I have gotten into countless death spins since beginning this sim, mainly with the DH2 and a bit with the Camel early on. AA has knocked me from the sky on several outings, but enemy MG fire has never killed me, (though it has forced me to land on a few occasions due to engine damage). All-in-all I think BHaH really does get us as close as any of us would care to be to the real life-and-death experience that was WWI aerial combat. I love it! Cheers! Lou

. Here's one for those who might mistake the harmonica for a lowly instrument: While Buddy Greene may not be quite in the same class as Sonny Boy Williamson, Mark Feltham, or Junior Wells, (IMHO), he is definitely way up near the top. Watching that vid has inspired me to go dig out my old Hohner. Cheers! Lou .

. SPAM horrible?!! Vulcanized pork?!! Food of the gods it is, manna from heaven. horrible...feh...you know not of what you speak Sirs. Now, good day...I SAID GOOD DAY! .

. mmmmmmm...Spammmm. Fried egg and SPAM between two slices of hot french toast, one of the best breakfast meals ever, and so healthy too. And Austin, Minnesota, home of Hormel, the makers of that infamous Shoulder of Pork And haM product, and location of the SPAM Museum. ...now I'm hungry... Cheers! Lou

. "A poor aviator lay dying At the end of a bright summer's day His comrades had gathered about him To carry his fragments away The airplane was piled on his wishbone His Hotchkiss was wrapped round his head He wore a spark-plug on each elbow 'Twas plain he would shortly be dead He spit out a valve and a gasket And stirred in the sump where he lay And then to his wondering comrades These brave parting words he did say "Take the magneto out of my stomach, And the butterfly valve off my neck, Extract from my liver the crankshaft, There are lots of good parts in this wreck" "Take the manifold out of my larynx, And the cylinders out of my brain, Take the piston rods out of my kidneys, And assemble the engine again." Hurrah for the next man to die! .