RAF_Louvert

Outstanding! Keep 'em coming Sir. Cheers! Lou

THE STRUTTER ROCKS!

And still he survives! As I mentioned to Siggi in the e-mail I sent him to update Commander Albertson's DiD file, I am getting very nervous everytime this bloke has to cross the mud. Will today be "The Day" ? Cheers! Lou

Morning All, I just returned from a business trip and have a lot of catching up to do I see. Another very interesting thread right here on the realism capacities of BHaH. Interlocutor, I have another twist you can add to your DiD campaigns if you like as well. In a previous post some time back I outlined the "engine trouble emulator" I use, and here is the bulk of that post: Also, about the flak. I have found that if you stay up above 8,000' when crossing the mud or when flying over enemy installations, and if you practice a good "dodge-dip-climb" routine when the flak appears, it is very unlikely you will suffer any significant damage. Watch as the flak starts to find your range, and then turn off to either side and climb or dive a bit to throw off their aim. Fly along your new heading for a short time and then turn back on course. If you do this, you will not only minimze the flak risk, you will also be following the same procedure used by our WWI counterparts. Cheers! Lou

In keeping with Dej's post about creating and using antique and vintage documents, here is a file I built some time ago and one that dovetails very nicely into the historically immersive side of BHaH. It is a cleaned-up jpg version of the original WW1 British "Combats in the Air" report form W.3348. You can use this in conjunction with your image editor of choice, and if you utilize one of the many old typewriter fonts that can be downloaded for free, you can fill out your own claim reports such as this one that I did for Nels Albertson's last mission, (he was recently promoted to Squadron Commander so it fell upon his Adjutant to fill out and sign the form). Here is the link to the full-size blank document which you can download and use as you wish: Original British Combat Air Report Form Once you have typed up your reports you could also use some of the tricks Dej has outlined and "antique" your documents as well if you like. Also, I would imagine some of our Boche and French cohorts could lay hands on the proper historic documents for their flying services as well and share them with those who might like to use them. Cheers! Lou

Good Morning All, I will agree that the work being done on the IL2 engine by folks like Deutchsmark and Python and others will help bring a new WWI sim to the multi-player arena, (and it's high time for it), but that is primarily it's one advantage at this point. In terms of the single player/campaign side, BHaH is at the far top of the spectrum, and will be for quite some time I imagine. While I do love a good MMP battle, until server security programs can truly be tightened up enough so that the age old "cheat/hack/griefer" issues are put to rest, I myself find it much less stressful and therefore more enjoyable to spend my virtual air time in a top notch SP campaign. I can't stand the bickering that seems all-too-often to creep into a big MMP event when a few pilots who are getting their collective backsides handed to them start accusing others of flying hacked planes. Zaps the fun right out of the whole affair. But to each their own. I applaud the efforts of the IL2 and RoF teams, and am keeping close watch on these projects to see how they turn out, and I am sure I will give them a go when they are completed. And I agree, it should not be a "mine sim is better than your sim" contest. As I said before; its all good. Cheers! Lou

Evening All, MK2's recent post in which he shared his collection of WWI ace's signatures, sanka cards, and letters got me to wondering what the rest of us might collect in terms of the First World War. So, in that vein, I would like to share one of my passions; old books, (and 1st editions in particular). Here is what is currently in my Great War library: Personal Narratives, Biographies: "A Flying Fighter", E.M. Roberts, (1918 1st Edition) "Airmen O' War", Boyd Cable, (1918 1st Edition) "An Airman Marches", Harold Balfour, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition) "An Aviator's Field-Book", Oswald Bolcke, (1917 1st English Edition) "Cavalry of the Clouds", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1918 1st Edition) "Cloud Country", Jimmie Mattern, (1936 Pure Oil 1st Edition) 3-volume set "Death in the Air", William Heinemann, (1933 Edition) (famous faked aerial photos) "Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck, English Translation, (1931 1st Edition) "En L'air!", Bert Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Fighting the Flying Circus", Edward Rickenbacker, (1919 1st Edition, ex-library copy) "Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden, (1918 1st Edition) "Flying for France", James McConnell, (1917 1st Edition) "Go Get 'Em!", William Wellman, (1918 1st Edition) "Guynemer, Knight of the Air", Henry Bordeaux, English Translation, (1918 1st Edition) "Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald, (1935 Signed 1st Edition) "High Adventure", James Norman Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Kitchener's Mob", James Norman Hall, (1916 1st Edition) "Letters From a Flying Officer", Rothsay Stuart Wortlrey, (1928 1st Edition) "Memories of World War 1", William Mitchell, (1960 Edition) "Night Bombing with the Bedouins", Robert Reece, (Battery Press Edition) "Nocturne Militaire", Elliot White Springs, (1934 Edition) "Rovers of the Night Sky", W.J. 'Night-Hawk' Harvey, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition) "Sagittarius Rising", Cecil Lewis, (1936 Edition, 1st US printing) "The Flying Poilu", Marcel Nadaud, English Translation (1918 1st Edition) "The Red Knight of Germany", Floyd Gibbons, (1927 1st Edition) "The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle, (1919 1st Edition) "True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set "Up And At 'Em", Harold Hartney, (1940 1st Edition) "War Birds; Diary of an Unknown Aviator", Elliot White Springs, (1926 1st Edition) "Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1968 Edition, ex-library copy) "Winged Warfare", William Bishop, (1918 1st Edition) "Winged Peace", William Bishop, (1940 1st Edition) "With the Earth Beneath", A.R. Kingsford, (1936 1st Edition) History, Reference, and General Interest Books: "Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War", Bruce Rpbertson, (1964 Edition) "Aircraft of Today", Charles Turner, (1917 1st Edition) "Aviation in Canada 1917-18", Alan Sullivan, (1919 1st Edition) "Colliers New Photographic History of the World War", (1917 Edition) "Decisive Air Battles of the First World War", Arch Whitehouse, (1963 1st Edition) "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1964 Edition) "Fragments From France", Bruce Bairnsfather, (1917 1st Edition) (Great War cartoons by the master of the genre) "Heros of Aviation", Laurence La Tourette Driggs, (1919 1st Edition) "Historic Airships", Rupert Holland, (1928 1st Edition) "History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion", L.C. McCollum, (1929 Edition) "History of the World War", Francis March, (1918 1st Edition) "History of the Great World War", Rolt-Wheeler and Drinker, (1919 1st Edition) "Land and Water" Magazine, (entire April through September 1917 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "National Geographic" Magazine, (entire 1918 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1962 Edition) "Source Records of the Great War", (1923 1st Edition) 7-volume set "The First War Planes", William Barrett, (1960 Edition) (the one that started it all for me) "The Great Air War", Aaron Norman, (1968 Edition) "The Great War", George H. Allen, (1919 1st Edition) 5-volume set "The Great War in the Air", Edgar Middleton, (1920 1st Edition) 4-volume set "The Lafayette Flying Corps", by James Hall and Charles Nordhoff, (1964 Kennikat Press limited edition) "The United States in the Great War", Willis Abbot, (1919 1st Edition) "The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer, (1978 1st Edition) 4-volume set "True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set "U.S. Official Pictures of the World War", Moore and Russell, (1924 1st Edition) 4-volume set 1920 World Book Encyclopedia, (entire set with addendums, great for cross-referencing in an historical context) "The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (1922-35 1st Edition) 9-volume set including map cases (originally in the military library at Whitehall; my personal Jewel of the Crown) Instructional Books: "Aeroplane Construction and Operation", John Rathbun, (1918 1st Edition) "English-French War Guide for Americans in France", Eugene Maloubier, (1918 Edition) "Learning to Fly in the U.S. Army", E.N. Fales, (1917 1st Edition) "Lewis Machine Gun 'Airplane Type' Service and Operation Manual", (1918 Edition) "Practical Flying", W.G. Minnies, (1918 1st Edition) "The Art of Reconnaissance", David Henderson, (1916 1st Edition) "Science of Pre-Flight Aeronautics", (1942 Edition) "Self-Help for the Citizen Soldier", Moss and Stewart, (1915 1st Edition) There is something very special about holding an old volume of text and just soaking it all in. The look and feel, the writing style and illustrations, even the smell of a vintage book, add to the whole reading experience. I fully enjoy sitting in the evenings and delving deep into a Great War adventure, and some of them are so good I have read them over and over. And I am always on the lookout for others that I might be able to add to my shelves. So, what are some of the things you have gathered up over the course of time that reflects your personal interests? Inquiring minds want to know. Cheers! Lou

I threw my votes in for any of the heavy bombers as well as the Zep. But honestly, I am good with whatever you fine folks decide. I am just so friggin' happy with this sim...truly. I could fly it as is for a long time to come. :yes: Cheers! Lou

There was actually a time period during the War were British pilots had to carry a signed paper stating they were on a balloon busting mission and thus were "allowed" to have incindiary rounds loaded in their guns. If they were downed behind the lines and captured and it was discoverd they had said rounds loaded but did NOT have this paper, they could be, (and on ocassion were), shot. The "rules" of war can be very strange. Cheers! Lou

Greetings sqha, Glad you have BHaH up and running, it is a GREAT combat flight sim. To your blip switch question: What I have done is set up one of the buttons on my joystick with a toggle function between '1' and '0'. This allows me to "blip" between idle and full throttle. Works very well. Cheers! Lou

Cameljockey wrote: I know you didn't Sir. I was just taking the opportunity to be ridiculous, as I am inclined to do on a not-so-infrequent basis. I have a habit of finding a whole lot of things funny that perhaps aren't actually meant to be. Apologies if I've stepped on any toes with my big clown shoes. Cheers! Lou

A good observation Creaghorn, and I know for sure that in all the old black-and-white WWI flying movies I've ever seen, the tracer trails are ALWAYS greyish. And JohnGresham, another Flight of the Conchords fan I see. And, as one of the travel posters in Murray's office says, "New Zealand: Don't expect too much — you'll love it". Cheers! Lou

That is an excellent read Siggi, and you've snagged it for a super price. Enjoy. Cheers! Lou

DITTO! It's an exciting change to have AI that can actually fight. :yes: Cheers! Lou

"Look chaps...you see...right here. They've set up shop and are attempting to create new and better flight sims as we speak!" "And we...we don't want that...right?" It's all good, and with several groups competing to build bigger and better WWI aerial combat sims, we are the lot who ultimately wins. Also, remember that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Cheers! Lou

I came into RB3D online play relatively late in it's run. I started flying with the RAF 209 in 2004, but I have had a blast over the last 4-plus years winging with this crew. Though I've not been terribly active with them for several months, it has all-in-all been great fun and I gained a wonderful group of online friends. And, not to pat myself on the back, but they do have a very nice website with RB3D history going all the way back to 1998, (I inherited the job of web master shortly after joining and have been running and improving the site since, until I recently turned over the task to our new WM, Trent). RB3D was and still is a great old sim, and for MMP it is going to be hard to beat until a new WWI creation can offer game servers capable of handling 60+ players at one time. Projects such as OOF and RoF look promising, but those are both some time away yet I believe. However, I have to say, I still prefer SP for the campaign aspect and the immersion levels of the Great War aerial combat experience, and in that regards there is nothing at this point to rival BHaH. Cheers! Lou

Thanks folks, I have spent a fair number of years gathering these old books together by rummaging through the stacks at second-hand stores, estate sales, library book sales, and most recently online spots like Abe Books. There are many other folks in the flight sim community with much, much larger WWI libraries; Bob Pearson, (aka AB1 Colslaw), and Willie von Luft who flys with my RAF 209 RB3D squadron, to name just a couple. However, my little collection may have one of the higher numbers of vintage and period-written works. I enjoy each and every one of these books, but as I mentioned the one that is my prize is THE WAR IN THE AIR. Being the Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air, by Raleigh and Jones. Here is just one of the many, many maps that is part of this set: The wealth of information in this one set alone is unbelievable, and it was collected together at a time when events were still quite fresh in everyone's minds. Cheers! Lou

WOW! Thanks for sharing this one Creaghorn. Looks like I'll be cranking up my online translator again. Cheers! Lou

Jammer28, the story of Henry Tandey is indeed one of those amazing quirks of fate. I have read numerous accounts of this over the years and they all seem to indicate that the event did happen. Definitely a very large WHAT IF ? BTW, you have linked to one of my top sources for online WWI research. It is a fantastic site. Cheers! Lou

Outstanding HomeBoy! Thanks for putting this together for us Sir. I have my copy. Cheers! Lou

We shall see OvS. You will have some serious competition, you can count on that. And while I am not much of a threat, I think I'll be giving this a go too. Imagine all the great new skins we are going to end up with. SWEET! Cheers! Lou

LUKE, FRANK, JR. Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 27th Aero Squadron, 1st Pursuit Group, Air Service. Place and date: Near Murvaux, France, 29 September 1918. Entered service at: Phoenix, Ariz. Born: 19 May 1897, Phoenix, Ariz. G.O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919. Citation: After having previously destroyed a number of enemy aircraft within 17 days he voluntarily started on a patrol after German observation balloons. Though pursued by 8 German planes which were protecting the enemy balloon line, he unhesitatingly attacked and shot down in flames 3 German balloons, being himself under heavy fire from ground batteries and the hostile planes. Severely wounded, he descended to within 50 meters of the ground, and flying at this low altitude near the town of Murvaux opened fire upon enemy troops, killing 6 and wounding as many more. Forced to make a landing and surrounded on all sides by the enemy, who called upon him to surrender, he drew his automatic pistol and defended himself gallantly until he fell dead from a wound in the chest. Also: BLECKLEY, ERWIN R. Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 130th Field Artillery, observer 50th Aero Squadron, Air Service. Place and date. Near Binarville, France, 6 October 1918. Entered service at: Wichita, Kans. Birth: Wichita, Kans. G.O. No.: 56, W.D., 1922. Citation: 2d Lt. Bleckley, with his pilot, 1st Lt. Harold E. Goettler, Air Service, left the airdrome late in the afternoon on their second trip to drop supplies to a battalion of the 77th Division, which had been cut off by the enemy in the Argonne Forest. Having been subjected on the first trip to violent fire from the enemy, they attempted on the second trip to come still lower in order to get the packages even more precisely on the designated spot. In the course of his mission the plane was brought down by enemy rifle and machinegun fire from the ground, resulting in fatal wounds to 2d Lt. Bleckley, who died before he could be taken to a hospital. In attempting and performing this mission 2d Lt. Bleckley showed the highest possible contempt of personal danger, devotion to duty, courage, and valor. GOETTLER, HAROLD ERNEST Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, pilot, U.S. Army Air Corps, 50th Aero Squadron, Air Service. Place and date: Near Binarville, France, 6 October 1918. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Born: 21 July 1890, Chicago, Ill. G.O. No.: 56, W.D., 1922. Citation: 1st. Lt. Goettler, with his observer, 2d Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley, 130th Field Artillery, left the airdrome late in the afternoon on their second trip to drop supplies to a battalion of the 77th Division which had been cut off by the enemy in the Argonne Forest. Having been subjected on the first trip to violent fire from the enemy, they attempted on the second trip to come still lower in order to get the packages even more precisely on the designated spot. In the course of this mission the plane was brought down by enemy rifle and machinegun fire from the ground, resulting in the instant death of 1st. Lt. Goettler. In attempting and performing this mission 1st. Lt. Goettler showed the highest possible contempt of personal danger, devotion to duty, courage and valor. Salute! Lou

Sopwith Camel (Bentley) is my all-time favorite plane, so I would have to sign up with the No. 9. But then the SE5a is a fine mount as well. The beauty here is you can do both! :yes: Cheers! Lou

My condolences to the Rhys family. "Three cheers for the next man to die!" Lou