RAF_Louvert

77Scout, I've been flying with TR5 for just about a week now, and I love it. Not a single issue, and as I noted initially, much smoother. I also noticed when I am running FRAPS video capture that my FPS are better too, so I have a hunch TR5 uses less memory. NaturalPoint_Vince, thanks for posting here Sir, and thanks for the offer of sending a BHaH video along to the TrackIR team. Now we just need to get one of the OFF devs to forward a nice one along to you. BTW, please give my kudos to your team on an outstanding product. I went to TrackIR at the start of this year and I've never looked back. Well, that's not true. TIR allows me to look back whenever I want...and up, down, side-to-side, pretty much wherever I want to look. Cheers! Lou

I wish I could go, but it is not to be this year. I have been to the USAF museum though, and it is a must see. Dave, I see you are AFR...GO AIR FORCE! Former USAF myself from way back when. Cheers! Lou

Olham, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Halb also responds well to rudder input, (as do most of these planes). I seem to recall I could take it up into a relatively steep climb, give it a lot of starboard rudder, and it would just about tip over on itself coming back down. It's been a while since I fought the Halb, but I believe this is one of the tricks the AI uses in it as well. Cheers! Lou

Olham wrote: I pull up the map often, (via a hot button on my JS), not only for navigation but also to take note of the nearest aerodrome or town to where I crashed an enemy plane, or crashed myself for that matter. While the map coordinates of your exact location are constantly being displayed in the upper right corner of the map, I never use them in my claim form as this type of info was not available to our WW1 counterparts. I do however use those coordinates when building missions as they offer the perfect way to exactly place an item on the map. And speaking of maps, I've also tried my hand at flying in the sim by using large-scale copies of vintage paper maps of my AO with a clear plastic overlay that I can draw my mission route on with a grease pencil. While this is another way to immerse yourself even more deeply into the BHaH experience it is tricky as the landscape in the sim does not match up precisely with an accurate paper map of the same area. However, just like those real pilots did back in the day, I have jotted down my own notes and corrections on my flying map as I go along, and after a few flights over the same AO you start to get familiar with the terrain to the point where you don't actually need the in-game map at all to fly your mission. However, it's best to have the large economy-size bottle of patience handy when giving this method a go, it can get a tad tedious at first. Cheers! Lou

Well Olham, over the years I have collected together a few WW1 aviation books and references of my own in addition to a rather extensive list of online resources. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I will be posting a list of links to the websites I used during the course of this contest, so you will have that at your disposal too. Cheers! Lou

Welcome to the virtual OFF skies, iti. You will be tested...oh yes, you will be tested. BHaH is a great sim, with a lot of great folks supporting it, so jump in with both feet and hang on. And be ready to have some fun. And I'll have a black and tan with a bag of salt and vinegar crisps, thank you very much. Cheers! Lou

. Yuppers, Olham definitely grabbed this one, WTG Sir. It is ineed a höhenschreiber installed in one of the Kaiser's Zeps. Here is a pic showing the inner workings of the device: This particular unit was calibrated all the way up to 8,000 meters. How you would like to be cruising that high for hours on end with the drafty cockpits and cabins, flight gear, and oxygen systems available in 1918? Here are the contest standings as of right now: Olham, 22 points Dej, 19 points Red-Dog, 14 points Rickitycrate, 14 points Bullethead, 5 points Duce Lewis, 5 points Luftace, 5 points Burning Beard, 4 points Check Six, 2 points rhythalion, 2 points JohnGresham, 1 point Shrikehawk, 1 point TonyO, 1 point zoomzoom, 1 point Cheers! Lou .

The origins of the "Muttley" charachter go back a long way in the HB offerings. I remember Huckleberry Hound playing against a Muttley-esque adversary in at least two different episodes: One in which he was a TV repairman, and another where he was a dog catcher, (even as a kid the irony of that one was not lost). Cheers! Lou

DING DING DING !!! WILD CARD PHOTO ! The first to correctly identify the object highlighted by the arrow in the photo, how it functioned, and what aircraft it is fitted to will be awarded 2 bonus points. You must be spot on with all answers to win. Good Luck! .

OK, sounds to me like Bullethead has the best war stories to swap in this little group, at least from what I've read so far. The best I've got is the time we were on a SIGINT flight near a certain country's border that preferred we not be there, so just for fun they had one of their MIG's paint us from their side of the imaginary line in the sky. One of those moments in life when an extra set of undies would have come in handy. A sincere soldier's salute to all you military folk, past, present, and future. Lou

Good on you Duce. Yet another treasure awaits you in the sweet by-and-by Sir. Cheers! Lou

I am continually amazed at the ongoing time and effort put into this fantastic sim by the devs. It is appreciated more than can be imagined. But I have to tell you all, I have been flying BHaH now for six months and have gotten a feel for maybe 25% of the planes we have available to us right now. Even if a new kite doesn't come along for another year I'd still be learning the ins and outs of the ones already here, so I for one won't need any new sparkle to hold my interest for a long, long time. Cheers! Lou

Olham, I haven't had that happen in my current campaign, but it has happened to me in others. I had one a while back that had a pending claim for five months that was never decided on before my brave flyer went west. Could be a glitch, or it could be figured right into the coding to simulate "lost" claims sitting behind a file cabinet somewhere at Headquarters. Cheers! Lou

Olham wrote in another thread: I thought I would start a new topic for this Olham. Here are some items and links to help with your research of the Norderney Seeflugstation. "The only NAVAL giant plane ever stationed on the North Sea was the earlier Dornier RS III, which was stationed at Norderney from February to June 1918 (the major part of that being actually factory tests), then also going to Warnemuende, but returning to Norderney again in October. This aircraft was also used post war for mine spotting duties." (Quoted from the following post at The Aerodrome: Marine Riesenflugzeug ) Here are a couple of clips from “German and Austrian Aviation of World War One” by Hugh W. Cowin Here is a link to a German site with a brief military history of Norderney and the Seeflugstation: http://seefliegerhor...kaiserzeit.html And a link to a Bundesarchive source; page six has a list of documents on the Seeflugstation Norderney that you may be able to request or access, (not sure how, but I imagine it can be done). http://www.ostfriesi...undesarchiv.pdf I found this of interest. A postcard from 10.9.16 with the postmark: "Kommando der Marine-Flugstation, II. Seefliegerabteilung Seeflugstation Norderney". And this envelope from 04.12.15 also bearing the name "II.Seefliegerabteilung, Seeflugstation Norderney". What exactly does "II.Seefliegerabteilung" translate to in English anyway? Hope this helps you out Olham. Have fun Sir. Cheers! Lou

Olham, (and whoever else might be interested), here is the claims form for my current pilot: Major Cedric Nelson of 29 RFC, flying the DH2 out of Abeele in the spring of 1916. After nearly 40 hours of flying, numerous crashes, and one near-death spin I have 15 claims submitted so far, and of those there are 10 confirmed and 5 rejected. ************ 25/;3/;1916 ;8h;18 ;Flanders ;St-Omer ;Balloon Busting ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;2 ;Observation Balloon. ;Flying at altitude of 6,500' we came upon two enemy OBS balloons along the lines 5 miles south of Courtai. Dove down to 1,200' and destroyed both with gunfire. No EA seen anywhere in the area. Due to engine damage was forced to crash land just behind our second line trenches. Witnessed by: Lt. Frank Winfrey Status : Rejected ;20 16/;4/;1916 ;16h;49 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Balloon Busting ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Observation Balloon. ;Assigned to attack enemy OBS balloon located 3 miles south of Douai. Proceeded to target at 8,000' and finding the AO quiet we dove onto Hun sausage and roasted it nicely. Returned to Abeele with minor starboard wing damage. Witnessed by: Sgt. Ryan Hall Status : Confirmed ; 20/;4/;1916 ;7h;14 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII . ;Climbed to 9,500' on the way to assigned rendezvous and met up with the recce flight who were ready and waiting. Flew SE towards Arras, and approximately 12 miles NW of city we came upon two enemy two-seaters 500' below our flight. I engaged the rearmost and affected numerous hits on the pilot, gunner and engine. EA began smoking and shortly thereafter was seen to go down burning, and crashed on enemy side of lines south of Arras at 6:37. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness Ryan Hall Status : Confirmed ; 20/;4/;1916 ;15h;8 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Patrol Friendly Front Lines ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII . ;During afternoon patrol of our sector my flight and I encountered two enemy two-seaters heading north at 9,500'. Turned and followed for approximately 5 minutes and engaged them as they dove to attack Baillieu Town aerodrome. Shot one down which was seen to crash onto field at 15:05. Landed at same field due to engine trouble and received confirmation of kill from Sqd Cmdr. Witnessed by: Ground Witness Maj. Archibald Blevins Status : Rejected ;20 21/;4/;1916 ;7h;53 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Lone Wolf Mission ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII. ;During morning patrol at 8,200’ I encountered three enemy two-seaters over Beaumont heading NNW. Turned and followed for approximately 10 minutes and engaged them over Clairmarais aerodrome. Shot one down which was seen to crash north of field at 7:49. Landed at field due to punctured fuel line and received confirmation of kill from Flt Cmdr. Witnessed by: Ground Witness Flt. Cmdr. William Reynolds Status : Confirmed ; 23/;4/;1916 ;15h;29 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;2 ;Fokker EIII . ;On the way to recce point our flight encountered three enemy scouts co-alt at 7,500'. EA turned and engaged us. After a prolonged fight I managed to send two down smoking and out of control, both of which were seen to crash 3 miles south of Savy aerodrome at approximately 15:25. Crash-landed at Savy myself due to engine and control damage from fight, resulting in a total write-off of my kite. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness 2Lt. Colin Reed Status : Confirmed ; 4/;5/;1916 ;7h;50 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Lone Wolf Mission ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Fokker EIII. ;Flying morning patrol of our lines to the SE at 6,500’ I came upon a single enemy scout well below me. I dove down and sent about 75 shots into the cockpit and engine and EA was seen to smoke and crash 2 miles southeast of Champien at 7:42. Due to damage to my controls I was forced to land in a small pasture near our own OBS balloon at Vault de Lugny. Witnessed by: Ground Witness Lt. Phillip Smyth : Rejected ;20 4/;5/;1916 ;13h;50 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Balloon Busting ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Observation Balloon. ;Led my flight at 6,000’ to our assigned target SE of Champien. Located enemy OBS balloon and dove down to 1,000’ and destroyed gasbag with gunfire at 13:07. No EA seen anywhere in our entire AO. Returned and landed without incident. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness 2Lt. Colin Reed Status : Confirmed ; 16/;5/;1916 ;7h;12 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Close Air Support ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII . ;Shortly after take-off we encountered three enemy B/R planes near front line infantry positions due east of aerodrome at 3,200’. Sent one down in flames, which was seen to crash in mud directly in front of our own MG positions at about 7:10. My engine suddenly quite and I was forced to land in an open field two miles back of our lines. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness Sgt. Ricky Burns Status : Confirmed ; 17/;5/;1916 ;13h;27 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Airfield Defense ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII . ;During afternoon defense of Allied fields in our AO we encountered and gave chase to three enemy two-seaters at 8,000’ 5 miles south of Lens. Caught the trailing bird and sent it down near front line trenches in flames and was seen to crash at 12:41. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness Sgt. Ricky Burns Status : Confirmed ; 18/;5/;1916 ;8h;0 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Patrol Friendly Front Lines ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;2 ;Roland CII . ;During morning patrol of our lines at 9,500’ we found and engaged four enemy B/R’s as they were crossing back over the mud SE of Ypres near Zillebeke. After putting about 120 shots into the trailing plane it began to smoke and went down in flames, crashing just on the Hun side of NML at 7:43. Attacked the next closest EA and put about 60 shots into the cockpit and engine and watched it fall into a vrille and crash about a mile east of the first, at 7:57. I was then forced to land my own bus in NML due to a punctured petrol line. Made a dash for our front line trenches and got away clean before the shells started falling. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness Sgt. Ricky Burns Status : Confirmed ; 29/;5/;1916 ;7h;31 ;Flanders ;Abeele ;Balloon Busting ; Flying: Airco DH2. On this day claims: ;1 ;Roland CII . ;As we were proceeding to target we met three enemy B/R's at 6,000’ 4 miles north of Boiry St. Martin. I attacked the trailing plane and after about 90 shots sent it down out of control into NML at 7:20. Had to land my kite at Loiryville due to mechanical trouble. Witnessed by: Squadron Witness Sgt. Ricky Burns Status : Rejected ;20 ************ Perhaps Baldric and the other newer pilots to BHaH will find this info useful. Cheers! Lou

That is very neat Olham! Must be exciting to have grown up so close by, and to know where the remains of this base are. Cheers! Lou

Now THAT'S a nice Christmas gift to get GRUMPYBEAR. You've got a mighty thoughtful son there. Cheers! Lou

I remember seeing your name around numerous places as well PW; Delphi and WoV primarily. And you were at both long before I was, I'm sure of that. Now as to this claims discussion, I have tried both styles. Lots of detailed info, squadron witnesses with names spelled exactly right, locations, times, etc. Or the other way, the barest of entries with just a witness name, type of aircraft shot down, and no description more than "Destroyed EA". I have also listed ground troops, AA crews, MG crews, and the like as witnesses. I have come to the conclusion that your odds of being awarded a claim are about the same regardless, just so long as you have the aircraft type correct and something in the witness line, as has already been noted here by others. For me, its about the immersion when filling out the claim form, so I tend to enter in a fair amount of detail simply becasue I like to. The seemingly arbitrary nature of claims confirmation only adds to the realism and immersion quality. I can really sympathize with my Great War counterparts and better understand their frustration when I throw my all into an aerial combat, come out victorious, and submit a beautiful claim report, only to have it rejected out of hand two weeks later. No wonder there was some animosity towards the Brass Hats back at GHQ. BTW Baldric, here is a link to an origianl RFC claim form I cleaned up and printed out a stack of that I use when jotting down my notes during and after a mission: http://raf209squadro...C_report_01.jpg I know Olham and others have put together some nice ones as well for the Central Powers fliegers. Cheers! Lou

Olham, I just checked my copy of Bob Pearson outstanding work, "AIRCRAFT COLOURS AND MARKINGS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR ERA", (a disc that should be in everyone's WW1 library IMHO), and he had three profiles you might be interested in. Here they are Sir: Cheers! Lou

I am just fine with not posting any new pics from Friday through Monday. That means I get a break too...WOOO HOOO! .

Just got a chance to read through this thread and look at the photo. Great stuff! hood, I marched when I was in the USAF, ironically enough. Marched my friggin' legs off as a matter of fact: From the barracks to the PC field, from the PC field to the air field, from the air field to the mess hall, from the mess hall back to the barracks. And then we got to pull "special duty". But we didn't have to march when we were actually flying, which is one reason why I volunteered for every recce flight I could. Cheers! Lou

Folks, no fears about any of you missing the end of this contest. Sounds like you're all around until Friday, and I will likely get another photo set or two posted before then, along with the odd Wild Card. And then my weekend is quite busy as well so I likely won't be posting the final photo set, or sets, until early next week. And Dej, I have several such fiendishly difficult photos that would keep you all busy for a while and then some. Now, where did I leave the pic of that thing-a-ma-jig that looks like it should be a radio but in reality is a martini shaker and scone toaster? Cheers! Lou

Yes I did Olham, and I had looked through that site earlier. I think it might be the same link as the one I listed in the first post. Lots of Norderney info for you on that website for sure. Cheers! Lou

Lucky or not Red-Dog, the end result is a move up for you in the standings. You and Rickitycrate are now dead even and, as Dej so rightly notes, closing the gap. The contest standings after this last Wild Card photo are: Olham, 20 points Dej, 19 points Red-Dog, 14 points Rickitycrate, 14 points Bullethead, 5 points Duce Lewis, 5 points Luftace, 5 points Burning Beard, 4 points Check Six, 2 points rhythalion, 2 points JohnGresham, 1 point Shrikehawk, 1 point TonyO, 1 point zoomzoom, 1 point Cheers! Lou

WOW! Like leopards that lay in wait for the kill, they strike! Red-Dog, as you were the first at lightening-fast speed with the correct answer the two points for this Wild Card are yours Sir. Very well done Sir. Rickitycrate, I'm afraid you were pipped at the post. And zoomzoom never had a shot at all on this one. Cheers! Lou