RAF_Louvert

Very neat Widowmaker! BTW, is there any wrap distortion with the scout models you have done skins for so far? As I mentioned in another thread the Strutter took a lot of tweaking to the skin in order to have it fit properly. Cheers! Lou

Excellent video Jammer, and your running commentary throughout was great. But of all the bad luck with that flak! Fritz had you dialed in and then some Sir. Cheers! Lou

Nice pics Wels, thanks for sharing. Also, I will add that the Alb is one of the few reasons I would sneak across the mud to fly with the Huns. That, and their beer...and Heidi Klum. Cheers! Lou

The Camel is my favorite plane as well, always has been. And I love the BHaH offering. And just like the real thing, it does NOT respond well to ham-fisted pilots. Treat it gingerly and it will outfly anything you come across. Cheers! Lou

LOL! It's good to know I am in such fine company with this. I have often caught myself on a road trip to drop off an ambulance out in the rural Dakotas imagining I am on the "long recon". Scanning the horizon for any specks and checking the map to see if I am still on course. And on more than one ocassion I've rolled up behind the lone car on the highway and thought, "I'm on his six and he hasn't a clue...aim carefully now Lou...don't rush the shot." Cheers! Lou

Neat Camel Red-Dog, and those little red and white checks should throw off the Hun's aim, especially if it's a nice sunny day. Cheers! Lou

Flying into the big fluffies is bad...very, very bad. I ducked my 1 1/2 into one of those to throw off a brace of Einies a while back and nearly went west because of it. I now make it a habit to go under, over, or around the clouds. Cheers! Lou

Thanks Widowmaker. I'm considering a Harry Tate for the Aussies over in Egypt for my next 2-seater project. Nels has a distant cousin serving over there. Cheers! Lou

Thanks Olham, very nice of you to say that Sir. I have to tell you this one was a real learning experience for me in terms of sorting out how to distort the design in order to have it look correct when it wrapped the 3-D model. I don't know about the other OFF planes, but the Strutter is not at all symmetrical in terms of how the skin wraps around it. It took a LOT of tweaking to get it all to line up nice and true. Cheers! Lou

Olham, you are spot on Sir, correct French for "The Flying Elephant" would indeed be L'elephant volant. However, this name goes back to a discussion had around the #5 RNAS Officer's Club one evening in which someone mentioned an article he had been reading on the element of flight. Commander Albertson then joked that in the case of the large, cumbersome 2-seaters it was more an elephant of flight, at which point his comrades christened the CO's plane "The Flying Elephant". However, Nels thought it would be funnier to have the moniker actually painted on in the French vernacular and in the literal translation of "The Elephant of Flight" in reference to his original joke. And Riketycrate, thank you Sir. I tried to give it a very authentic feel to the point of beginning with a vintage image from a French cigarette package for the elephant, which I then altered to my liking. I also took various graphic design ideas from actual Great War aircraft to help maintain that "genuine" feel. The real work was sorting out how I had to distort the design in order to have it look correct when it wrapped the 3-D model. The Strutter is not at all symmetrical in terms of how the skin wraps around it. Cheers! Lou

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter. I know I did. I even had some time this evening to work a bit on my latest paint skin for the Strutter 1 1/2. Here are a few screen shots of "L'Elephant de vol". Cheers! Lou

Morning All, Cmdr. Albertson is presently missing and presumed captured, and will be writing no letters home for a while. So, another campaign has begun. A Letter From 2nd Lt. William Lewis October 19, 1917 Hello from France Robert, I have finally made it to the War! As well you know there were times I thought I would never get here. My God, the administrative wheels of the military turn slower than anything I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. If the army is this tedious about getting things done out on the battlefield this fight will last a century. But enough of that. After five long months at Uphaven I was presented my "wings" and posted to a combat unit in Flanders, and in this one regard my prayers were answered. I am flying the Camel, and what a mount it is too! She climbs like a squirrel up an oak tree in April and turns on a dime while giving you five cents change. These Brits know how to build an airplane, I'll tell you that. I wish I could be as enthused about my squadron however. They assigned me to number 3 RFC, and it pains me to say that this is one sorry lot. I know these boys have been fighting Fritzie for three years now, but that still can't excuse the lack of support or gumption in this outfit. Everyone here walks around in a funk all day long, from the CO right down to the second-class mechanic. It is awful! When I arrived, (via a tender that must have been the first one sent over in 1914), there was no one to give me even the time of day, let alone show me about the place. I eventually located the day officer who told me to find an empty cot wherever and stow my kit, and after a prolonged and determined request on my part, he deigned to show me where I could grab a bite to eat. Robby, you remember those meals of stale bread and tack on that fishing tug we worked in Lake Huron? Well, this was far more abysmal than those. At least we were in fine company on the deck of that old scow. No such fortune here. After several failed attempts at conversation with the three other flyers who were sitting about the mess, I finally gave up the ghost and just sat and ate my cold meat stew in silence. It was the most dispassionate and uninvolved room I have ever dined in. I left, stating that I looked forward to flying with them, to which one lifted his head from the book he was reading and let out a nasally, "Umm hmm". Quite the welcome don't you think? After nearly a week of repeated requests to be assigned a plane I was eventually given my Camel. Commander Reynolds, (that's my CO), made the comment that he had never seen anyone in such a hurry to die as I was, to which I told him I had no intention of expiring anytime too soon. He gave a toothy smirk and quipped that the lad I'd replaced had no such intention either, but his first mission was none-the-less his last. On that note I was dismissed, so I made my way to the hangers to get acquainted with my mount. While not the newest bird in the shed, she is still a fine one. And I must commend my mechanic and riggers. They may have no more enthusiasm than anyone else about the place, but they are very serious about their work and did a fine job of trimming up my plane, and for that I am most grateful. I spent the next several days flying over our area of operations so as to get familiar with the lay of the land. I wasn't about to go out on my first mission and end up lost and landing in Fritzie's yard. By the way, I had to make these little jaunts on my own accord, as nary a soul offered to give me a tour of the front. It seems to be every man for himself at Baizieuk, but I was to learn this was not entirely the case, at least not in the thick of it. My first mission was with Commander Reynolds and Flight Lt. Baxter, and we flew as escort for a gaggle of RE8's on a recce. The morning was bright and clear with white puffy clouds high above. We were to head east towards Cambrai, and we met up with our charges near Albert at about 12,000'. After a sort delay we all began across the mud, and I was introduced to Archie. Startled me when the first one popped, and I veered away from it. But I noticed the remainder of my flight was not taking anywhere near as evasive a course, so I got back in line and followed their example. I soon discovered that the AA was more bark than bite. I also soon discovered the exact opposite was true of the Hun flyers in our sector. I am not exaggerating when I say I had no clue what hit me, or from where, when the first bullets ripped through my plane. I had seen Commander Reynolds suddenly jinx off to the south and a split second later I was under attack. I pulled up hard, putting the Camel onto its back, then rolled out just as a blue-and-red Hun scout zipped past. I kicked the rudder hard and snapped my plane back around and was suddenly behind my assailant. I was leading him just about right so I let loose with a short burst of my guns and saw the tracers converge on the bright red nose of his ship. In another instance he was puffing smoke and falling in a vrille. But just as quickly another Hun was on my tail and lacing my plane from stem to stern. I fell into a vrille as well to try and shake him, but he followed my down. I could tell he had gotten a piece of my controls as the stick was very heavy. I came out of the dive heading west about fifty feet above the ground and was looking for somewhere to set down since it was all I could do to keep my Camel from plowing dirt. In short order the Hun was back again on my six and was planning on making quick work of what was left of my mount. Thought I was done for when all at once he gave up the chase, and I saw why. Commander Reynolds was returning the favors the Boche scout had sent me! As my savior sent the Hun packing I managed to put my plane down in an open field near an Allied balloon position outside of Albert. After I stopped shaking, I climbed from my plane to assess the damage and was immediately set upon by the ground crew from the balloon emplacement. They gave a hand rolling the Camel into the cover of a nearby copse of trees, to make it less of a target to Fritzie's guns. They were then kind enough to send word of my whereabouts and by late afternoon I had been given a ride back to Baizieuk. That evening, in the same disenchanting mess where I'd had my first squadron meal, I approached Commander Reynolds to thank him for giving me another day on God's Green Earth. He looked up slowly from him plate of cold lamb and vegetables, and studied me for a moment with his tired gray eyes, then gave a toothy smirk and said, "No trouble. You'll do alright I suppose." I intend to exceed his expectations. Best Regards, Bill

Well that sucks Olham, and I can feel your pain a bit Sir. My DiD pilot Nels Albertson had to make an emergency landing on what he thought was his side of the lines, but such was not the case. I was informed that he had been taken prisioner as well. However, I was then told that after five months he escaped. So, I will re-activate him after an appropriate amount of RL time has elapsed. So, who is Wolf Mahlo's replacement going to be Olham? Cheers! Lou

Griphos, perhaps flight extenders are in order. They not only address that issue but are comfy to boot. Or so I've heard. Cheers! Lou

That's OK Polovski, I'v gone a tad fuzzy myself. Cheers! Lou

The French and British air services both rejected the N28 as they felt it was not an improvement over earlier models and it had the tendency to shed its upper wing fabric in a hard sustained dive. It was heavy in the controls and not as agile as its predecessors. So, it was given to the Americans to use as it was still far better than anything the US had in 1918. Cheers! Lou

Oh, forgot to mention. Bletchley, outstanding bit of information Sir. Thanks for sharing. Cheers! Lou

I've noticed in nearly every account I've read from WW1 pilots that AA was not considered to be much of a threat at all in terms of actually knocking you down. More of an annoyance than anything, and in some ways a help. When it stopped you knew you had some very unfriendly types nearby. Cheers! Lou

It is a wonderful piece of music Matt, and I did not realize it had been written specifically for BHaH. Outstanding work Sir. I wish you all the best in your career and will watch for you name in the credits of the next great WW1 aerial combat blockbuster. BTW, any relation to A.A. Milne? Cheers! Lou

Those are some sweet looking Camels Widowmaker. Makes me hungry for a bowl of borscht. Cheers! Lou

Luiz Carlos, I flew with 3 Esc during that time as well and it was VERY quiet for me too. Gives you lots of nice, peaceful stick time. Cheers! Lou

Very nice skins! I need to get a little time to spend on a few I have in mind. Cheers! Lou

What a fine idea Rickitycrate. Well done Sir. And I know what you mean about books. There is just something about being able to take volume in hand and simply sit and read. Cheers! Lou

1. Strutter 1 1/2 2. #5 RNAS 3. 12 confirmed kills 4. 62 hours 5. DiD/W 6. 120 realism setting

I was hoping you'd be starting another journal Dej. Great read again Sir. Cheers! Lou