RAF_Louvert

. Duke, I use Paint.NET for all my skinning projects and it is excellent, and free! Here is the link: Paint.NET Free Download Drop me a PM if you need any help with this program, though it is a breeze to sort out and use. Cheers! Lou .

. I must disagree that they were for adults. My generation grew up watching those cartoons and I don't recall any of us thinking we could take an axe to our little brother and chop him up, only to have him fine again a second later. Big difference between cartoon violence and graphic, "real" violence as seen so often these days in nearly every media. I was far more impacted by the nightly news showing war images from Viet Nam than I ever was by Wile E. Coyote falling off that cliff every week. .

. Man oh man Bullethead, that's a lot a' water. I will be cheering for the levees to win. Glad to know you are on high ground where you're at. We have flooding here too, but nothing compared to what you've got going on in your neck of the woods. "How high's the water, Mama? Five feet high and risin." .

. This is beginning to remind me of a 1950's TV commercial... Wife: "Look Honey, it's Billy Bishop the war hero." Husband: "No Dear, that's Billy Bishop the jackass." Wife: "War hero." Husband: "Jackass." Wife: "War hero!" Husband: "Jackass!" Mr. Announcer: "Stop! You're both right. He's a war hero AND a jackass. It's Billy Bishop - TWIT N' SHINE!" .

. Olham, you are correct about the plane number, it is Ni 2140: However, the pilot sitting on the edge of the cockpit is not Ernesto Cabruna. It would appear from your photo that Ernesto, (if that is in fact Ernesto as it is possible the pilot has been mis-identified), during his short time with Squadriglia 80a, was snapped in Ni 2140 in July of 1917, while it's true owner was recovering in the hospital from a shrapnel wound. The ace we are looking for wrote this, in a letter home, about the emblem on his aeroplane: "The son of Fortunello who laughs is painted on my aircraft. I hope that it will bring me good luck". A 1/2 point to you Herr Olham, and now you will have to wait the 36 hours before giving another answer on this entry. Can anyone out there identify this pilot? Give it a go Gents. . .

. Flyby, you are talking about the episode "Triplet Trouble" and it is a hoot! Here it is for you Sir: Tom and Jerry "Triplet Trouble" And speaking of T&J and aeroplanes, don't forget the very first one, where Jerry flys around in an egg box bombing Tom with lightbulbs, which is the one I believe you are referring to Creaghorn: Classic stuff, and my brothers and I grew up watching these, and Bugs and Daffy and the entrie WB lot, along with Woody Woodpecker and all the Hanna Barbera toons as well. Good times...good times. .

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. Oh Dej, you are SOOOOOOO close. You have the plane type dead on, right down to it being a Maachi-built Nieuport 11, and you're correct as well on Squadriglia 80a and the time of service. You are also spot on with 'Happy Hooligan', even giving me the character's Italian name. However, you are incorrect about the pilot himself, (and the plane number). None-the-less, I am awarding you four points: 1 1/2 points for your more-than-complete answer on the Nieup; another 1 1/2 points for both names of the comic character; and 1 point for the Squadriglia and time. Well done, Sir! Now remember, you will have to wait 36 hours from your last answer to post another answer on this entry, providing someone else doesn't beat you to it. So c'mon folks, there is still another point out there to claim for the correct pilot, plus a 1/2 point for the correct plane number, (even though I did not ask for that initially). Next! .

. OK Gents, I am going to be away from my computer until this evening. Feel free to give any and all answers to the latest Wild Card posting, and I will get to them when I return. Cheers! Lou .

. Is that a question VP, or your answer to #4? .

. WILD CARD! Answer the following questions concerning this photo: 1. What is the plane type and model? 2. Who is the ace seated on the top edge of the cockpit? 3. Which squadron did he fly for in this aeroplane and in what year? 3. What popular cartoon character of the time was the basis for this pilot’s emblem? BTW, I have removed the serial number from the plane’s fuselage so that you can’t simply Google it and narrow your search. And, as far as I know, this is the only known photograph of this particular ace in his plane, (and I am not telling you where I found it). I warned you I was going to make these harder. Good Luck! Lou .

. "Toodles chaps, safe flying. Watch out for the Hun in the sun! I’ll whip up a batch of scones whilest your away, and have them AND fresh tea ready and waiting upon your return." By the way Si, you clean up quite nicely. You know, we are looking for someone to play Yum-Yum in this season's squadron performance of "The Mikado". Interested? .

. "You know what I don’t get? I don’t get how we can belittle a hero 90 years after-the-fact. I mean; William Bishop WAS a hero...by all definitions of the word...no matter how you slice it, and he was a heck of a nice guy too, despite what anybody says. I once saw him rescue a baby muskrat from a tree, and if that's not nice I don't know what is…" (done in my best Andy Rooney impression) .

. hee hee...every now on then the remaining neurons in me ol' grey matter work together in perfect harmony to retrive various bits of learned wisdom when I need it. Unfortunately, and more often than not, attempting to have them interact is akin to the task of herding cats. .

. Fair enough Jim. I was attempting to be a bit kind as I'd already called the man an SOB. .

. Duke, you might try excessive amounts of caffine and catching the odd 30-second nap in your chair. That frees up another 8 hours every day. NOTE: it can cause some hallucinations, paranoia, and involuntary twitching, but hey, extra time is extra time. Now then, will someone please chase that purple rhinoceros from the room? He keeps spying on me and trying to steal my work. .

. Duke, it is only the cabane (center) struts that are fabric-wrapped on the SE5a and it is because they are are of composite construction: i.e. a steel tube through the middle with a formed wood leading and trailing profile, then wrapped with fabric, doped and painted. The steel tube was there to allow routing of the lines to the fuel and water tanks in the upper wing. Alex Revell and I had a rather lengthy discussion about this some time back over at the Great War Forum. Not sure though about other WWI aeroplanes with fabric-wrapped struts. .

. YIKES! Seven minutes Olham, you sorted that out in seven minutes. Clearly I will have to make these much tougher for you. The standings after round 6 are: Olham................ 9 1/2 points Dej..................... 6 points Lewie................. 2 1/2 points Hasse Wind....... 1 point Cheers! Lou .

. Duke, I would say it was a combination of factors. He was a very gifted pilot with excellent marksmanship, and he developed a true killer instinct in the skies in very short order. He had friends in high places, the first being Lady St. Helier who helped him get into flight school in the first place. He was lucky, drawing his first posting as a pilot to the premier 60 Squadron. After winning his MC he went on leave to London on May 7, 1917, the day Ball was killed, thus making Bishop England's top ace and thrusting him immediately into the limelight, (which he dearly loved and which clearly, at the time, dearly loved him). Kismet, Duke...kismet. .

. Let's get back to it. Everyone ready? Here we go! 1. Who was the pilot that flew this paint scheme, and what is the plane type and model? 2. While sporting this paint scheme which squadron did this pilot fly for, and during what year of the Great War? 3. Who was the famous German ace this pilot shot down to become an ace himself? 4. This pilot scored none of his victories while flying the aeroplane shown above; so what aeroplane type was he flying when he sent down his opponents? Good Luck! Lou .

. When I first began flying OFF it was in P3, and I had just come over from RB3D, so I have nothing close to compare the planes to other than all the accounts and reports I've read over the years concerning the real kites. That, and some stick time in actual ultralight aircraft, which I figure is as close as I will ever come to flying an honest-to-god WWI aeroplane. .

. Those are both excellent sites to look to, not only for information, but simply to drool over those beautiful models. Thanks for sharing, Carrick and Olham. .

. Tony,as I mentioned above, Billy Bishop remains one of WWI's, (and Canada's), greatest aces, despite any issues that may cloud his VC. He was indeed highly decorated and went on to become an Air Marshal of the RAF. You don't have to like the guy to show him respect for what he accomplished, no matter how arrogant or self-serving he might have been. I repeat, he deserves his props. .

. I'm afraid I must also agree that Bishop's supposed exploits that won him his VC are, from all indications, very much exaggerated, (if not in fact outright falsehoods). As has been pointed out, even his squad mates wouldn't back him up. Also, taking into account his opportunistic nature, it does seem he did not do what he claimed he did in that raid. Still, he was one of the great WWI aces, (despite being an SOB), so he deserves his props for that. .

. Wow Creaghorn, that really is quite the rare trick. Well done Sir! And all these sports tales here remind me of the one from the Woody Allen movie, "Radio Days", (those of you who remember this film and/or the radio sportscaster's style being parodied will appreciate this). "Hello, sports fans and welcome to today's edition of Bill Kern's 'Favorite Sports Legends'. Today's story is about a baseball player. His name was Kirby Kyle, a lean southpaw from Tennessee. He played for the old St. Louis Cardinals. He threw fast, and he had a good curve ball and all the hitters knew it. He was a kid with a great future. But one day, he went hunting. He loved to hunt, just like his father and his father's father. Chasing a rabbit, he stumbled, and his rifle went off. The bullet entered his leg. Two days later, it was amputated. They said he would never pitch again. But the next season, he was back. He had one leg but he had something more important. He had heart. The following winter, another accident cost Kirby Kyle an arm. Fortunately, not his pitching arm. He had one leg and one arm, but more than that, he had heart. The next winter, going after duck, his gun misfired. He was blind but he had instinct as to where to throw the baseball. Instinct...and heart. The following year, Kirby Kyle was run over by a truck and killed. The following season, he won 18 games in the Big League in the Sky. This has been Bill Kern with another 'Favorite Sports Legends'." .