RAF_Louvert

. Hauksbee, the misplacement of the cities and rivers and such are part of the CFS3 engine so perhaps it is something that the devs simply cannot fix. I think this has been noted a few times over the years by Pol and Winding Man and others from the team. I imagine if they could fix these landscape errors they likely would have done so by now, or at least so I assume. All that being said I should add that just because this particular issue does not reflect upon your youthful debauchery it does not mean you didn't fry one brain cell too many. That possibility is still open to debate. . .

. Aaaaah ... could it be a tip of the hat to his former cavalry unit, the 7th Von Seydlitz Kürassier-Regiment, and their white dress uniforms? .

. OK Olham, did Bolle actually have his D.V painted white or was it because he had been given one of the very early production versions which, if memory serves, where painted with an overall 'aluminum' finish? Keep in mind my memory is not serving as well as it did in years past so I could be way off base here. .

. Well, the obvious answer would seem to be so that he could better hide in the clouds when attacking from above. But I've a hunch it's not that obvious. .

. Hauksbee, since I am currently mapping this area of the WOFF virtual front allow me to assist. Here is a clip of the actual WOFF terrain in that area. Amiens should be to the WNW about 5 miles up by that rail depot, (noted as 'D'). The Somme is out of place as well. The towns in yellow I've noted from Google Earth but they are not seen in the WOFF landscape, (towns that are are noted as 'T'). While the roads and rail lines match up with real world maps not much else does with any consistency which is why I've started building a few accurate maps that we can navigate by. Hope this helps. Cheers, and Happy Navigating! Lou .

. Fly out of Cachy aerodrome and you will be just east of Amiens. Can't miss it. .

. Thanks for the kudos tranquillo and corsaire31, hope the new map serves you both well. Merci Dej, je suis très heureuse que tu l'aimes! BTW, my WOFF Flanders map is now a work in progress. .

. Hauksbee, the location of Cappy will be noted on my WOFF Flanders map which is now in the works. Still a few weeks out but the photo recce is going well. .

. Greetings All, My WOFF Verdun map project is at last completed! Work has kept me away a lot these last few weeks but I was able to sneak in the odd hour here and there so I could wrap this up. I will be taking a short sabbatical from mapping but upon my return I plan to start on the Flanders region simply because so many of you have asked for that one to be next. Happy navigating! Lou .

. Good looking kite Hauksbee, quite historically believable. My only two suggestions would be to turn the contrast down slightly on the yellow, and center the stripes on the elevator and horizontal stab. .

. Very nice Beanie, thanks for sharing. .

. I imagine at some point it will go on sale, but don't count on it being anytime soon. It's only been out for about two months at this point so it's still far too new for a sale. BTW, welcome to the WOFF forums MGT. New lads buy the drinks! Cheers! Lou .

. Thank you for the update Tony. I'll keep on saying a prayer for you Sir and we'll keep your tab open at the pub in anticipation of your return. All the best my friend. Lou .

. Good on you Hauksbee, you are indeed a fine ambassador for all things BWOC-ey and you might just be able to snare a few new recruits over there in the ROF haunts. Also, perhaps one day SimHQ will drag itself into the 21st century and utilize forum software that will allow all the many niceties this place has. Doubt it though. .

. This is still home field for me and I only wish life would let me come back here more often, but they keep sending me out on the long recons! Only reason I'm home today is because we are having yet another winter storm. And to Cornwall, Devon, Dartmoor, and the rest of that beautiful corner of the world, I truly hope I can get back there someday too. It's been nearly 40 years now. Life is going by much too quickly and I can't seem to find the bloody brake pedal! .

. "Where is everybody ?" I don't know about everyone else but I'm currently enjoying the warmth and beauty that is North Dakota in the dead of winter. -10 Fahrenheit with a -32 windchill this AM as I was getting ready to leave Dickinson, and that is actually quite an improvement from where it was a week ago. In Bismarck at this particular moment where it is a balmy +4 now and sunny. Might have to go outside and work on my winter tan. Dave, I'll say nothing to get you started Sir, but I will state that I still prefer these digs by 1000% over what is now the 'official' forum for Over Flanders Fields. Corsaire31, glad you like the Verdun map thus far. If the gods are kind I may have some time this weekend to work on it a bit more. Lou .

. Thanks for the kudos theultimat and rjw. Robert, I intend to push west at least another 10km and east a good 20km, but that will take some time. And likely I won't be 'done' until I've mapped the entire WOFF Western Front. Madness, I know. .

. Thank you Shredward and Olham, glad the map is looking good to you folks. Ted, I agree about the landmarks and it would be great to see more of them in WOFF. Olham, there is an error in the fact that Metz, like most of the large cities in CFS3, is in the wrong spot. It should be about 8 km to the northwest at that major junction of roads and rail lines. But I am making this map to be accurate to the WOFF world, errors and all. .

. Good Morning All, It has been crazy here the last couple of weeks between work and the weather but I did manage to find the odd moments to continue with my WOFF Verdun Map project. It is now a relatively complete rectangle with the NE corner going to Metz and far, far beyond, (just for you Olham). I've added in still more towns and forest names for reference and made numerous little corrections to various stretches of roadways and rail lines. I have the entire procedure nicely dialed in at this point and while it is still very time consuming the final results are now far more accurate with corrections becoming almost non-existent, (almost). As always, any and all feedback will be much appreciated as will any corrections that anyone happens to note during their flights navigating from this map. Enjoy! Lou .

. Thanks Dej, I appreciate the input. And a Médaille militaire you say? You honneur me mon Capitaine ! To 'Ligny-en-Barrois', I was questioning that one myself but I had taken 'Ligny de en Barrois' directly from a 1915 survey map. However, it was an English-made map so therein lies the rub. And I can certainly spell out Saint and Sainte in full if you feel it would make things clearer. .

. Good Morning All, As promised, here is the next update of my WOFF Verdun Map project. I've filled in the SE corner and gone east past Luneville. I have created more detailed footprints for the large cities and have taken out the dotted line indicating the front, (as it changes and our RL counterparts had to pencil in this bit of info themselves on their cockpit maps). There are also more towns and forest names added, primarily to serve as an aid when filling out your AAR and claim forms. Over the next week or two I will push to the north towards Luxemburg and work on completing the NE corner of the map. Again, any and all feedback will be much appreciated as will any corrections that anyone happens to note during their flights navigating from this map. Enjoy! Lou .

. Shiloh, all the map that is completed at this point is being shown. However, I will be releasing another update that will fill in everything in that 'notch' across the bottom and push to the east past Nancy as well. I am hoping to have that done sometime this coming weekend. .

. "A Story for the Season" 1916: Christmas Eve at the Front. The War has dragged itself along on its steely, mud-caked claws for over two years, and the end seems no closer now than when it all began. At an RFC aerodrome not ten miles from the first line trenches, a group of airmen sit through the morning’s briefing, and prepare themselves for the day’s work. They are nearly all young men, at least in years. But with war comes age beyond a calendar’s mark, and one would find that each man is far older than first appearance would tell if a moment were taken to look into his eyes. As the meeting breaks the jovial banter can be heard amongst the group: the good-natured ribbing and warnings, the verbal jousting, the camaraderie and the closeness that bonds souls together in such tenuous and temporary times. Across the mud at a German aerodrome, a similar scene is being played out. The Jagdstaffel pilots there are also preparing themselves for the task at hand. To look at them, you might imagine they were schoolmates of their British counterparts, rather than enemies soon to be locked in mortal combat. For they too laugh and joke, and share that same bond. And they too are of the "old young". The hour is at hand. On each side the signal is given and the small, fast scout planes skim along the cold, icy ground, and one by one lift into a winter sky as grey as the earth below. They form up, and after climbing to their prescribed altitudes, they head towards No Man’s Land and on to do their best; for King and Country; für Kaiser und Vaterland. They meet, and there is the initial gun pass as each sizes up the other. A few moments later and the aerial battle begins in earnest. To those in the fight it is a mind-numbing blur of action that runs in both accelerated and slow motion simultaneously. A split second given to pull the trigger as a plane zips across the sights: an eternity spent to try and twist out of the path of the bullets. An entire lifetime won or lost in less than an eye blink. To those on the ground it appears as a graceful ballet of the sky, the canvas-feathered birds turning and rolling and climbing and diving. But it is a dance to the death more often than not, and it will end when one or more has fallen. And one has fallen. The long, slow, spiraling pirouette as the finale comes to the dance. The others have now tired and as if by mutual agreement or unseen signal the partners separate and turn away. The audience below does not understand how it can be over so quickly. They cannot see the fatigue and exhaustion of those in the air; cannot see their battered ships, or their bruised and aching bodies; or their tired, aging eyes. No, they can see none of these things, any more than the men in the air can see the pain or the agony endured by those who must fight on the ground. Each sees the other from afar, as through a glass darkly. It is an irony of war that in each case, either in the Sky or on the Earth, a man better understands and is more akin to the enemy he fights in his realm than to his own countrymen above or below. Christmas Eve at the Front. Night has fallen and the pilots sit about the dinner table at their respective aerodromes, and talk of flying and fighting, and of family and friends. Wishes of the Season are shared, letters from home are read. Songs of hope are sung and toasts are made to fellow flyers, and to mothers and sweethearts. At one of the tables an empty chair stands in remembrance of the comrade lost that day, and to whom the final toast is made. He will be missed, and to a loved one back home he will forever be a young man with bright, happy eyes; forever a photograph, a memory of a life that could have been. It matters not which side he fought for. He was a man, a part of human kind, and with his passing we are all the lesser for it. . May you have safe and blessed holidays wherever you are, and may we each remember the true message of this season: Peace on earth, good will toward men. Lou .

. Gotta love the generosity of this community. Well done Hauksbee. .

. Yes Duke, 'simple' being a relative term of course. .