RAF_Louvert

. We're all happy to help out when we can, RP. As to OFF for me, I came from Red Baron 3D, so this sim is worlds ahead of that classic WWI air war sim. RoF is not an option for me, not only because my system is unable to run it at anything above the most basic settings, but also because my IP out here in the boonies is stone age and I get booted constantly. As far as OFF using the CFS3 engine, while it does do that I find it pretty damned amazing what the devs have been able to squeeze out of that old beasty. But then, as Albert pointed out all those years ago, it's all relative. .

. Very cool! Thanks for the update Olham. .

. Absolutely Hasse Wind. However, WWI Camel pilots would often work at higher altitudes in their attempts to intercept enemy B/R planes, or to try and be above enemy fighters when they ran across them. .

. Very good, Herr Olham. And I'll bet that on your 1st grade report card under 'Comments', it said "Always pleasant. Offers to help other children when they need it. Follows rules." On mine it simply said "Smartass". .

. Robert, if memory serves, (and it is serving less reliably than it used to), the 140hp Clerget Camel could climb to 10,000' in about 10 minutes and 15,000' in about 20 minutes. After that it was a slow crawl to its service ceiling of 19,000'. I seem to recall reading in one of the contemporary pilot diaries of how it took 45 to 60 minutes to reach the absolute height his machine could go, in this case around 20,000'. So, I would say the OFF Camel is fairly close in its climb performance to that of the real kite. .

. Matt, your new musical score for OFF2 is one of things I am really looking forward to. Not that I'm also not looking forward to everything else about it, but the music honestly sets the mood for the whole affair. .

. Robert and Shiloh, I believe the max ceiling setting is only for your campaigns and missions. It will not affect your ability to climb above those settings but only keeps the AI at or below them. Robert, to you question about getting the Camel to it's max ceiling, it is honestly all about finessing the beast. The Camel abhors a ham-fisted pilot and will slap him down in short order. Her traits only get worse at high altitudes. If you fly with manual throttle control, at take-off click back slowly until you hear your RPMs just start to drop, then come back up 2 or 3 clicks. Adjust again at around 6,000', again at around 9,000', and once more at around 13,000'. The rate of climb up to 10,000' is quite good, after that it becomes tedious, and at 16,000' it is downright unbearable. Figure about 40 minutes and 20% of your fuel to hit 18,500'. And, if you have lots of time you can eke out about 19,700'. But you will need the patience of Job to do it. Best of luck, Sir. Lou .

. You are in for a treat Eric. A wonderful, exciting, scary, white-knuckle treat. Oh, and new lads buy the drinks! Cheers, soon-to-be OFF flyer! Lou .

. It is fantastic. My first flight was as a child, and in an open cockpit aeroplane. As an adult I have flown open cockpit, parasol wing ultralights. Nothing like it in the world. .

. LIMA, I saw that one coming from three threads over. .

. Well, yes, but those bits would look much newer. .

. Why do you say that, Sir? .

. Perhaps a different OFF oddity will help, LIMA. Anyone else seen this in OFF? I was on a mission above the lakes NE of Nancy when I spied it myself. Talk about your Easter Egg. .

. Olham, I'm afraid we're suffering from a bout of MP'sFC flu. ... know what I mean know what I mean ... . Oh, I see LIMA's got a touch of it as well. .

. Ooo yeah, gotcha Herr Prop-Wasche. So, your FM, she's a real goer then, eh? Know what I mean know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more say no more ... .

. Are you describing where your house is WM, or where the pain is in your upper thigh? But seriously, if I lived where you do I'd be tempted to print a copy of the map, borrow a metal detector, and go on an archeological dig for bits of WWI German aerial bomb casings. .

. Please take note Flyby, that I said "how a WWI Zep might have burned". I have only ever read one firsthand account of a Zep 'bursting' into flames, and that concerned the Warneford incident. More often what I have seen written in contemporary accounts described how Zeps were damaged and then crashed due to loss of gas. There were one or two I seem to recall that stated how an air ship had been set alight and burned for quite some time as it decended. Another thing to keep in mind is that the wartime Zeps had a less flammable finish applied to the outer covering than the Graf Hindenburg did, and this would certainly change the burn characteristics, as would the altitude and wind factors you have alluded to. I would hazard a guess that humidity levels would change things as well. .

. Flyby, to see how a WWI Zep might have burned you need only look at the archival footage of the Hindenburg disaster. The fire swept from end-to-end in scant seconds. Horrific way to go indeed. Hasse Wind, you are correct about the amount of damage inflicted by the WWI raids when compared to WWII bombing techniques. But remember, in 1914-15 Britain still though of herself as an island fortress, and the Zep raids shattered that illusion in the minds of the public in a very stark way. The minor amount of actual damage was far overshadowed by the sudden realization that the country was now vunerable in a whole new way. .

. Satan, get behind me! (way, waaaaaaay behind me) Do your best Tranquillo, but I'd probably enjoy the living bejeebers out of Venice and pick up where I left off upon my return. .

. Wish I could help you RP, but I have never seen anything even approaching those error messages. .

. Yes Flyby, it did all change as the War progressed, which brought about the switch to heavy bombers like the Gothas. But early on the Zeppelins' only real threat came from the weather. .

. I had a hunch this one was right up in your area WM, which was why I exampled it. So where is your family manse on that map? .

. There were many Zeppelin raids on England during the War, and the terror they caused amongst the British population was the prime reason the brass hats called several frontline squadrons back home, (squadrons that were desperately needed in France). It was a Herculean task that fell upon the RNAS and RFC, attempting to not only intercept a Zeppelin as it glided high above its targets but also to try and shoot it down, and they did a stellar job at it given how little they had to work with and the vast area they were expected to 'protect'. However, the public didn't see it that way, and HQ didn't do much to inform them otherwise. Raleigh and Jones' epic research work "The War in the Air" devotes a good portion of one of it's seven volumes to the air raids on Britain, and one of the map cases is nearly all charts of the different attacks. Here is one such example describing one of the raids on the Tyne, along with the accompanying map: Notice the length of the route for the 15 June, 1915 raid, and the amount of time the L10 was over enemy territory. Yet only two aeroplanes of the RNAS were despatched, neither of which ever found the airship. You can bet that civilians back on the ground had plenty to say about those aircrews not shooting down the Hun attacker. Totally unfair, but likely said none-the-less. .

. Truth be told, my hearing has been shot since my stint in the USAF, so my opinion may not be the most accurate in this case. I tend to hear a faint drone akin to aircraft engines 24/7 as it is. .

. OY ... again! .