RAF_Louvert

. Don't you ever wonder if kings and queens, when in the privacy of their own castles and palaces, occasionally turn to a servant and say, "Go on, pull my finger." .

. "You have evil plans for moose and squirrel, Boris?" Great pic BTW Hauksbee, thanks for sharing Sir. .

. Thanks again everyone for your encouragement and kudos, I'm getting close now. Very close. Tranquiilo, I hope your health and strength are still continuing to improve daily Sir. Let us know how you're doing. Hellshade, good on you Sir for achieving your weight loss goals. And 44 years old, you say? I remember 44 as if it were only 13 years ago. Olham, I had the same concerns about slipping off the bottom of the graph and out of this plane of existence, which is why I amended it before my weigh-in this AM just to be on the safe side: .

. Interesting thread Gents, and interesting wanderings as usual. To the original topic I can add that in the writings of American pilots who served with the French the term éclatement appears fairly often, (e.g. "The éclatements suddenly appeared directly in front of me!"). It translates to 'explosion' or 'starburst' or 'crump', all of which have been used to describe AA over the years. Other terms used in the contemporary writings of American pilots of WWI were 'shell' and 'anti-aircraft fire'. .

. There is currently a listing for a book on eBay that may be of interest to one of our German-speaking OFF flyers. Olham, perhaps? An original 1936 German printing of "Under Steel Helmet and Pilot Cap", by Gustav Praclik. Here's the link: WWI pilot Gustav Praclik's memoirs Can't argue with the starting price. I'd scoop it myself if I could read German at anything above a drunk, dyslexic snail's pace. .

. Rugbyfan, there is an interesting little secret about the VA site that can be very handy when you want to save one of their pictures that you really like. Right-click on any thumbnail in the many galleries and/or pages and then click on the 'Properties' tab. In the 'Properties' window highlight and copy the enitre address for the image and then paste it into your browser addy bar. For instance: "http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/files/images/albatros-dva-in-flight/thumbnail/albatros_in_flight-photo-by-caliaro-luigino-italy_00004.thumbnail.jpg" Now, before you click to go to the image, get rid of both the thumbnail references. So the above example would become this: "http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/files/images/albatros-dva-in-flight/albatros_in_flight-photo-by-caliaro-luigino-italy_00004.jpg" Click on the new addy and you will be very pleased with what you get, (NOTE: you will not have the quote marks as I only inserted those to make the links non-active in this post). You're welcome. .

. I always get sad when I see an honor that once meant so much become nothing more than a commodity, sold off to the highest bidder, and locked away. At least if they can end up in a museum as in Jarhead's example, (and what a phenomenal example it is), they can still be appreciated and seen. Still, in an ideal setting, they would never leave the family. .

. You are a lucky man Simon. Northumberland is beautiful and I visited there on several occasions during my time in England. I saw many familiar places in that video that I hadn't thought about for years. Alnwick Castle, Hadrian's Wall, Coquetdale, the Lighthouse on St Mary's Island, (although I seem to remember that particular bit of beauty was ceded to Tyne and Wear in the mid 1970's, but then I may be wrong about that). I so want to go back to England and tramp around such locales once more. Enjoy your little slice of Heaven my friend. .

. Duke, I tried this myself quite some time back and was not pleased with the AI pilots that flew my plane. They did a rather poor job in a fight and landings were a crap shoot at best. But it was fun to man the back seat of a Brisfit and have a go at the Huns that inevitably ended up on our six. .

. Well done Wayfarer, very well done indeed. I wish to one day make it through the OFF War in some way, shape, or form. I did it twice in RB3D, but I've yet to get even close in the virtual skies of this sim. We live, (and die), in hope. .

. Pips, that charmer should have you fully trained in no time at all. Border Collies are wonderful. Have fun Sir. .

. OOOOOH Mike, that is sweet! A beautiful piece of work, and I'll bet it's a treat to fly with. I think I have another project for this coming winter. .

. HH, you're coming in too level. You want the rudder to touch first, then the top wing. .

. mygrandpajcw, the medal you describe and Olham has illustrated is, I am rather sure, a lodge medal from the Fraternal Patriotic Order of Americans which was founded just before the outbreak of WWI. It was one of many such organizations that popped up at the turn of the last century in the United States. I don't think the FPoA lasted more than a decade or so. Neat-looking medal, and by the way the V's are actually a compass and ruler, which were lifted directly from the Masons, (a common practice of many other clubs and orders). .

. I ran across a wonderful E.C. Stoner illustration that originally graced the cover of 'The Literary Digest' magazine on 20 October, 1917. After a little clean-up work on my part I thought I'd share it here with you folks. I've posted the full-sized image here in case anyone might want to use it for desktop wallpaper. Enjoy! Lou .

. Classic, Wayfarer. You've just made my afternoon. .

. So true, VP. So true. .

. I need only look back at my own country’s recent history to the McCarthy era of the late 1940’s and most of the 1950’s to know how close we were to going down the same path as Nazi Germany. If we had been in poorer economic times, and if Joseph McCarthy had become as powerful a voice as Hitler had become, the United States might have done the same thing to Communists that Nazi Germany did to the Jewish people. I remember being told often in grade school that the only good Commie was a dead Commie. “Better dead than Red!” Sentiments about rounding them all up and shipping them back to Mother Russia were common, as were such statements as “We should nuke ‘em all back to the Stone Age”, and “The world would be a better place without any of ‘em”. The House Un-American Activities Committee hearings that hauled in countless people and ruined their lives because an official government agency publicly accused them of being Communists with no more proof than “your neighbor told us you are” still cause me to shiver with the thought of where it could have gone had not clearer minds of the day ultimately prevailed. Honestly, apart from the sentence of death, the McCarthy Hearings were no different than the Nazi Government’s hearings concerning Jewish sympathizers in Germany during WWII. As food for thought, here is an image of a comic book that was circulated shortly after WWII in the United States, and is only one of many examples of a mindset that was all too common in my country back then. I look at Nazi Germany and sometimes think, “There but for the grace of God…” .

. Thought I'd share this one with you folks as I know you all appreciate such things. While I have run across this particular photo many times over the years, I've never seen an example of it as large as this one or with as much detail. Enjoy! Lou .

. WM wrote: Not at all. Why do you suppose the greatest armies in the world have been built with young men who were given the best weapons of the day, a common uniform to serve in, and a common "ideal" to fight and die for. Rally round the flag boys, God is on our side! .

. Oh this is just cruel! WHY WHY WHY do you taunt us so?! .

. Wowzers! Now that's a high quality photo. Many thanks for sharing it Jim, and for the correction concerning this particular plane. .

. Widowmaker, I also find the Pfalz D.III to be quite a beautiful bird and advanced looking for her time. Hasse Wind and angles1100, even though there is some damage showing in the photo, I imagine the kite as seen had been disassembled for moving. I asked for any info concerning this photo over at the Great War Forum and here is Dolphin's response: From this info I might gather that this plane did in fact fly again as it was not common practice to assign a unit number to a pile of kindling. .

. OUTSTANDING! Glad to learn you continue to improve, Sir. Take care of yourself sandbagger, and I'll say a prayer for you to the Man Upstairs. All the best. Lou .

. Very sad. A heartfelt salute to Trevor Roach. You fly with the angels now, Sir. .