RAF_Louvert

. I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. I'd like to buy the world a beer, and keep it comp-a-NEEEEEE! .

. I might add Olham, it is a very, very sad poem Sir. .

. Olham, this may be a bit closer to what the author actually intended: Midnight We are forever disowned, and three times more, For all our actions, all our gathered hopes and dreams, And for those that were our fathers' and mothers'. We stand by our beers, And drink in death, to better understand our own dying. For this is our purpose. We are children of a race that does not hesitate; Of children who are against their own race. Souless. Our eyes turn inward, searching our own minds, taking in the pain there. We are forever disowned, and three times more. And denouce the very Gods themselves. For us there is no blessed return, and for our crying no “Amen” from loving lips, once so full of sweetness. Our mothers failed us, who mourned about us. We doubt those, those who claim to be our mothers. And this will never leave us. Perhaps, when we finally know that we are the Children of Error, and therefore lost to time; Maybe then…perhaps…we will surrender. To a land of white and far away, where many have gone, and we too are longing for it’s comfort. (Ludwig Baeumer) .

. That's true Jim, but hardly the point back in the day. We had to find something to needle with, and that worked well as any to get the Limeys riled up. And we love you too WM. .

. hee, hee...some of this reminds me of my USAF time in England in the mid-1970's. When we were feeling particularly full of piss-n-vinegar, a group of five or six of us would go to an off-limits pub in Stevenage, (off-limits becuase it had a reputation of being quite anti-American), and park ourselves at a table and start drinking. It never took long before one of the regulars would start cast dispersions our way, and after we'd screwed ourselves up with the proper amount of liquid courage one of us would eventually come back with something like, "Yeah, well if it weren't for us 'Bloody Yanks' you'd all be speaking German now." We never once won any of those rows, but we certainly gave it the old college try. Did our bit to improve the image of the 'Ugly American' back then as well. I've mellowed considerably with age, (I can also still feel the spot on my back where that 220-pound footballer landed on me nearly forty years ago). Good times...good times. .

. Absolutely Olham, in a heartbeat I would wish that. All those millions of young men, now forever young and nothing more than a faded photograph at best, if not forgotten completely. So very, very sad. .

. Now we've talked about this before on several ocassions. Perhaps we should review. If WWI were a Bar Fight: Germany, Austria and Italy are stood together in the middle of the bar, when Serbia bumps into Austria, and spills Austria's pint. Austria demands Serbia buy it a complete new suit, because there are splashes on its trouser leg. Germany expresses its support for Austria's point of view Britain recommends that everyone calm down a bit. Serbia points out that it can't afford a whole suit, but offers to pay for cleaning Austria's trousers. Russia and Serbia look at Austria. Austria asks Serbia who it's looking at. Russia suggests that Austria should leave its little brother alone. Austria inquires as to whose army will assist Russia in compelling it to do so. Germany appeals to Britain that France has been looking at it, and that this is sufficiently out of order that Britain should not intervene. Britain replies that France can look at who it wants to, that Britain is looking at Germany too, and what is Germany going to do about it? Germany tells Russia to stop looking at Austria, or Germany will render Russia incapable of such action. Britain and France ask Germany whether it's looking at Belgium. Turkey and Germany go off into a corner and whisper. When they come back, Turkey makes a show of not looking at anyone. Germany rolls up its sleeves, looks at France, and punches Belgium. France and Britain punch Germany. Austria punches Russia. Germany punches Britain and France with one hand and Russia with the other. Russia throws a punch at Germany, but misses and nearly falls over. Japan calls over from the other side of the room that it's on Britain's side, but stays there. Italy surprises everyone by punching Austria. Australia punches Turkey, and gets punched back. There are no hard feelings, because Britain made Australia do it. France gets thrown through a plate glass window, but gets back up and carries on fighting. Russia gets thrown through another one, gets knocked out, suffers brain damage, and wakes up with a complete personality change. Italy throws a punch at Austria and misses, but Austria falls over anyway. Italy raises both fists in the air and runs round the room chanting. America waits till Germany is about to fall over from sustained punching from Britain and France, then walks over and smashes it with a barstool, then pretends it won the fight all by itself. By now all the chairs are broken, and the big mirror over the bar is shattered. Britain, France and America agree that Germany threw the first punch, so the whole thing is Germany's fault . While Germany is still unconscious, they go through its pockets, steal its wallet, and buy drinks for all their friends. .

. I also have TIR4 running with the latest TIR5 software, and it works very, very well. .

. We were just being fashionably late at the first two parties, (and thanks for inviting us BTW). As to the others since? Well, we had to be first, seeing as how we were throwing those shindigs. .

. You're probably not squinting enough Dej. .

. And so another young flyer comes to the fold. It only gets better from here Adger. And not to worry, we'll start a chit for you while we await your triumphant return. THREE CHEERS FOR THE MAN WITH THE OPEN BAR TAB! .

. Javito, 14 kills in 85 sorties is something I personally find quite impressive, especially if you are flying with the realism settings cranked up and are not using much in the way of in-sim aids. Our RL counterparts could fly hundreds of missions and only have a handful of kills to their credit, and I would rather try and emulate their records. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the odd QC shoot-em-up from time to time. But it's those long, ongoing 'DiD' or 'Die Roll' campaigns that truly separate the men from the boys in the OFF skies. .

. hee hee...mine too Dej, mine too. .

. Just ran across another book on eBay that could be a bargain for someone: The John Hamilton Press 1934 edition of Willy Coppens' memoirs, "Days On The Wing" "Days On The Wing" by Willy Coppens For those who may not know it, Willy Omer François Jean Coppens de Houthulst, (how's that for a moniker), was Belgium's leading WWI ace and balloon buster extraordinaire. Out of his 37 confirmed kills all but three were observation balloons. The book that is being offered in the above link has a low starting bid and appears to be in good, sound condition. I have a 1931 1st English edition of this work, (and in it's original dust jacket...very nice), have read it several times, and can recommend it as one of the classic firsthand accounts depicting what it was really like for the brave aviateurs of the Great War, and from the Belgian perspective to boot. A final caveat: I wouldn't pay more than $20 for this particular book as similar quality early prinitngs can be found for that price from other sources. Good luck to whoever might go after this one. I hope you can nab it for the starting price. Lou .

. Dej, you might find that it helps if you stick your tounge out just a bit from the corner of your mouth; and squint. Really steps up the whole process. .

. It might well be somewhere in the threads that Uncleal likes to refer the new flyers to. But then again, it might not be. There are so many little things about this sim that we've all learned going along that we forget sometimes what it was like coming into it for the first time. .

. Oh that is nice Sandbagger! Right down to the sawtooth overlap of the canvas onto the underside of the floorboard. Makes me want to start another new DH2 campaign. .

. Quite right, Uncleal, quite right. However Lewie, as noted here by Dej and Hasse Wind and Olham and Slarti, getting to know your virtual squadmates and keeping track of their names and who's in which flight and such really is part and parcel of the immersion that is OFF. If you allow yourself to do this you will will become far more invested in not only your own pilot, but in the rest of the lads flying with you as well. .

. Good for you Javito, you will enjoy the read. Lewie, as you can see from Olham and DonL's postings, there are other copies to be had, though not quite as cheaply priced. $10 is the lowest I have seen that book go for in a long time. .

. Yes. Complaints such as, "I want more planes!"; and, "I want more setting choices in the workshop!"; and, "I don't think the color of the British clear doped linen is quite right, it needs to be a shade darker!"; and, "This is too hard, I keep getting killed after only 30 minutes of stick time in a new plane!"; and... But seriously, the devs are always listening to our input and seem to take nearly everything we suggest into consideration. They have the patience of Job. I know I would have told me to p*** off long ago. .

. Greetings All, About three weeks ago I purchased a near-perfect copy of the Flying Machines Press 1996 printing of the following work on eBay, for $39 ! I brought it along on my last several road trips for reading material in the evenings and I've discovered just why this 545-page large format book shows up so often in regards to the subject. It is an amazing resource and a wealth of information and photos. I have been told that the other related work to look to is the recently published two-volume set, "The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I", done by the late August Blume. However, my copy of Durkota's work will more than suffice for my studies. Cheers! Lou .

. Just pure dumb luck on my part, Javito. What I found very odd was that both HITEB and the Russian Air Service book sat for seven days with ridiculously low starting prices, and I was the only one who put in a bid. Go figure. .

. Sweet. Just don't take all the wrinkles out of the old bus Sandbagger, they give her character. .

. Yes Pol, it was indeed a bargain at $39. Couldn't believe the luck when I was the only one who bid on it. .

. Oh yes Shiloh, and quite well too. Which is a good thing as the WWI kites respond quickly to rudder, and it is an integral input for many of the maneuvers you will need to perform to stay alive in a dogfight. .