RAF_Louvert

. "He went to Jared!" .

. I'm guessing that Flyby PC is a Forumla 1 racing fan. .

. Aaah yes, 20 Squadron during Bloody April. Many a good fight in the trusty Fee with that lot. Sgt. Thomas Mottershead no doubt says "Hi" as well, (only NCO to be presented the VC in the entire War). Tell them Lou says "Hello" too. .

. Once a B/R pilot, always a B/R pilot. .

. Typhoon, very nice Sir. I'm a fan of the home brew approach, and am mulling over a chair idea for my own current flying room set-up. Ruggbutt...YIKES! I want to go to there. .

. I have a hunch it has to do with your install to D drive. Something is likely still pointing at your default C drive. .

. Absolutely, Jim. The best hunter kills his prey before it even knows it's being stalked, and the best fighter pilots did exactly the same. Olham, no disrespect meant towards Udet as concerns my earlier Camel comment, there were of course many instances where the later Camels were shot down by DR1's and DVII's. Lewie has explained well what I was considering. We shouldn't assume anything when it comes to WWI aerial combat encounters and their outcomes. Just too many variables. .

. Lately I'm lucky to fly one mission a week. Oh, for more hours in the day and days in the week. .

. Very good Olham. As 77Scout noted, a lot of info in a small format. Lewie, I would also like to know which Camels those were, and I've a hunch you are likely correct about them being the older, under-powered units pushed into service for ground attack work. .

. Greetings All, Just thought I'd post a quick note to let you know I have not fallen off the face of the earth or gone west, only that RL is crazy at the moment. I drop in here about once a day when I have internet access and even got a chance to share a screenshot earlier this AM. My work schedule will settle down a bit in a few more weeks, (I hope), so I should be able to start enjoying you folks and OFF again by then. Right now I'm lucky to fly one mission a week. Also, for those who might frequent The Aerodrome, I no longer visit there since they banned Alex Revell for life when he attempted to defend another member of the forum who had been permanently banned for no good reason what so ever. If you don't know, Alex is the author of "High in the Empty Blue" and other outstanding WWI aviation books, and over the years has been a major contributor to the study of Great War aviation history. The only other forum I now visit is the Great War Forums, but of course I have little time to be there either. Here's hoping to be in the mess with you all far more often again, and soon. Fly with honour, and stay thirsty my friends. Cheers! Lou .

. Shredward and Jim, being a relative newcomer to The Aerodrome forums I don't really know what Bristol Scout has done to deserve such a ban, and as I've already mentioned he's been nothing but a gentleman to me. I've already sent a personal message to the admins on Alex's behalf. We will have to see if it gets me banned as well. I understand that is what Andrew Smith got for the private message he sent requesting they reconsider Mr. Revell's ban. It seems that even questioning an admin's decision is grounds for a lifetime ban. Dej, you are a funny bloke. .

. Outstanding Dej, simply outstanding. I will be using this one as a screensaver as well. .

. Ah man Dej, sorry about that. Just as Jim, I will watch for another bargain-priced copy for you Sir. Also, I'd be glad to send the copy I have to you for a while if you'd like to read through it. It's a truly amazing history of 56 Squadron. And, when Mr. Revell learned I had purchased it, he sent along a personalized autographed label for me to place on the inside cover. Olham, glad to learn you are reading "No Parachute", it is a classic. You won't be disappointed. .

. I've been mulling this over for the last few days while I was on the road. Sorry Olham...can't do it. I haven't even been able to narrow it down to my top ten. Too many songs, too many genres, too many eras. Many great songs noted here already, my hat's off to those who've managed to pick just one. .

. Dej, I am definitely still around Sir. And that copy of HITEB you mention? I hope it wasn't about two weeks ago and for $50, because that's the one I just received. Jim, the gentleman that Alex spoke up for was Dave Lee, (aka: bristol scout), who seems a very decent sort and has been nothing but polite and cordial to me, as has Alex. That being said, I do not assume that Alex is "lily white", as in fact none of us are. I did not walk away lightly, and I will indeed miss the greats you mentioned who have resided there for years. But I don't really wish to be part of a forum that turns a blind eye to such blatantly unfair and heavy-handed behaviour on the part of the forum admins. The innocuous post made by Dave was not deserving of a ban, lifetime or otherwise. And why Alex was also banned forever, simply because he asked for consideration of a more democratic method on Dave's behalf, well that one is beyond me. Lou .

. Thanks Olham, I do what I can. And yes, I was able to save my young charge, but he did end up with a variety of French-provided ventings in his wings and tail feathers. Let's hope he learned from his inattentiveness. .

. Wonderful shots Everyone! Here is a recent one I snapped that I like for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is it's depiction of how many a brave airmen met their untimely demise. Cheers! Lou .

. Greetings All, About four years ago my youngest daughter, (who was a junior in high school then), and I were out in the backyard around this same time of year, looking at the stars. It was just before 11:00 pm and it was a clear moonless night and we were watching for meteors, when we each saw the same thing. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that we each "sensed" the same thing, as the object we each thought we saw was only a shade or two darker than the sky it moved against. As best we could make out, (using the stars behind it as a gauge), it was a large boomerang-shaped craft with the faintest dark amber glow at each tip. It slipped dead silent overhead, traveling from east to west. It was impossible to judge how large it was or how high it was, there was simply no point of reference. We both doubted what we had just seen, but we had each seen exactly the same thing. We still talk about it, and both assume it is some secret government project no one is supposed to know about. A week ago, I saw it again, at about the same time but coming from the southeast and heading northwest. It moved just as silently and eerily as it had the last time I'd seen it. I created the following image to give you all a better idea of what this thing looks like. I know there have been reports of similar sightings from around the country over the last several years, and from what I know during my top secret time in the USAF our government has a whole lot of things that are ultra hush-hush. I am relatively sure this is one of those. Anyone else here ever seen such phenomenon in the skies above them? And if so, any theories on what they might be? Cheers! Lou .

. FC, I agree entirely about the probabilities, and until I saw it next I was relatively certain it was one of the two aircraft mentioned. But when I saw it the second time and it again appeared to be "sans tail" I began to think it may be something else. Also, as I mentioned, the lights at the tips were so faint as to be almost invisible, (the image I posted actually shows them brighter than they really appeared, which I did in order for them to be seen at all in the picture). I was wondering if they weren't just that way so as not to be noticed from the ground, but were more visible to other craft in the flight, (though I saw no other such craft). It is a puzzler. .

. FC, I live west of the Twin Cities about an hour, in McLeod County. Our area has been used as a training fly-over by the USAF for a good number of years on and off, and I've seen numerous different military aircraft coming over, alone and in formation. I know what my daughter and I saw wasn't: It wasn't an F-117, and it wasn't a B2. I would very much like to know what it was. BTW, it did not appear to move at a speed fast enough to keep it in the air, in terms of "normal" aerodynamics. But as I noted earlier, it was impossible to sort out how large it was or how high up it was, so it's true speed could well have been much faster than it appeared from our perspective. As to the black helos...well...I can't talk about those. JFM, your two cents seem very noteworthy Sir. I will add, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." .

. I'm betting it's too much kaffee mit schnapps just before take-off. You only thought you saw that many tripehounds in the air, Olham. Fill my eyes with that double vision. No disguise for that double vision. Ooh, when it gets through to me, it's always new to me. My double vision always seems to get the best of me...the best of me, yeah-ah! .

. I KNEW IT! The Aussies are planning a sneak attack on the US! I thought I smelled shrimp on the barbie. .

. I'm tired. I'm tired of winter; of the snow, and the cold, and the ice, and the wind. I'm tired of politics; of the lying and deceit, and the self-serving, self-aggrandizing bastards who seem to dominate the system. I'm tired of the economy; of it being ruled by the elite few of the world who serve no interests but their own. I'm tired of the health care system; of its corruption by the insurance companies and investors, who would let us all die slow painful deaths if it would increase their profits by so much as a dime. I'm tired of Wall Street; it can sink into Hell tomorrow. I'm tired of clever, crooked lawyers; they can all join Wall Street as it descends. I'm tired of reality television; of Big Brothers and Real Housewives and Bad Girls and Surviviors, and every other moronic, insipid, disgusting incarnation of the genre. I'm tired of tele-evangelists; of their hypocritical judgements and warnings that it is we who need to repent and do with less, while they live in mansions and travel around the world in private jets. I'm tired: of the injustice, the indifference, the intolerence, the hatred, the cruelty, the stupidity, the waste, the evil that is this world. Then my five-year-old granddaughter comes to visit, and I am no longer tired. Winter is a magic wonderland in which to build castles and find adventure. Politics are no more important than the trash sitting in the bin next to the garage; nor is the economy, the health care system, Wall Street, the clever crooked lawyers, reality television, the tele-evangelists: It is all garbage and has taken it's rightful place. Gone is the injustice, the indifference, the intolerence, the hatred, the cruelty, the stupidity, the waste, the evil. My granddaughter and I are going to make snow angels; the universe makes perfect sense. Cheers! Lou .

. There are not enough hours in the day as it is, I do not need yet another modern marvel requiring my time and energies. “Our life is frittered away by detail ... simplify, simplify.” Oh how correct ol' Hank Davy Thoreau was. .

. Olham, Bullethead's first quote is the remainder of the line you quoted: Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future. His second quote is from some several hundred year old poem or song, (not a clue which one), and translate to the following, (more or less): Death comes quickly, respecting no one. Death destroys everything, taking pity on no one. And I agree with the above comments about the power of Mother Nature and our own true heplessness against her. When she decides we are through as a species, we are through. Pray for the folks in Japan and indeed for us all. Life is short, make hay while the sun shines. Lou .