RAF_Louvert

. Flyby, I agree with your entire synopsis and have been mentioning the same thoughts for some time now when conversations such as this arise. I will add: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Doesn't matter which group has it, the end result has always been the same throughout history. All that being said, it is up to us as individuals to make this the best world it can be in our own little ways and in our own little lives, and honour the rules and truths we believe to be honest, right, and just. God will sort us all out in the end and there won't be any room for negotiation, bribery, or coercion when that time comes. Just keep fighting the good fight my friends and follow your hearts. .

. Yes, that is all quite true, however the lowest rank in the German Air Service during the Great War was called "Flieger" whether he was a pilot or not; the rank was the equivalent of a private. In the link I posted for the Kagohl/Bogohl III page the roster of pilots is listed by rank, so in that instance you can be sure that "Flieger" was the pilot's rank, and not simply a generic term for a flyer. I have done a bit more looking into this and there were many pilots in the German Air Service in WWI with the rank of "Flieger". .

. Welcome back Pappy. Stop by the pub for a glass or two of Christmas cheer, your treat! Lou .

. Many thanks John, I appreciate your comments Sir, in particular as concerns the fleshing out of the characters. I keep striving to not only accurately chronicle Paul's missions in OFF but also draw the reader further into the young flyer's "life", as it were. And Merry Christmas to you and yours as well.! Lou .

. Merry Christmas Smilingmonkey. May you wake up Christmas morning to find OFF and Track IR waiting for you 'neath the tree. .

. AAAN-TI-CIPATION, AAAN-TI-CIPAAAAAA-YAAAAA-TION. They're makin us wait. They're gettin us craaa-yaa-yaa-a-zeeey. . (apologies in advance to Carly SImon fans) Pol, thanks for the new screenines. P4 is so gonna be so SWEET! .

. Many thanks Slarti, glad you are enjoying the read too. As to the "wrong" side; I've written a great deal from the British, French, and American viewpoints and I really wanted to dig into the German side of it from a more personal perspective. I've read much over the years about how Germany and it's people felt as if they were being forced into a War due to the actions and reactions of France, Russia, Britain, Serbia, Prussia, etc. I decided the best way to try and get into the mindset of Germany at the time was to simply write from the experience of a young German pilot. Since I do a lot of research when I write I've discovered just how deeply that nation felt it had no choice but to defend itself by striking the first blow before it's enemies were in a military position to overwhelm them. It can be argued from here until doomsday that it was Germany's leaders who pushed the country into war and sold the people a bill of goods to make it happen, but that does not change the personal belief most common folks had that their country's existence and their way of life was being threatened by outside forces. It's made me realize yet again how willing people are to rally to a cause if they believe it to be true and just. And they will fight to the death for that cause, firmly convinced God is on their side. .

. Thank you very much for the high compliment Ras, it is much appreciated Sir. I pen these entries primarily because I truly enjoy writing, but it is always a boon to the spirit to hear from readers that they are enjoying my work as well. Makes it just that much more fulfilling. Cheers! Lou .

. Gepard wrote: And not just Gefreiter but Flieger too, as you can see in the link I posted earlier. Also HW, quite right Sir. Pilots really were just lowly drivers when the war first began and it was the higher-ranking observers who were the important element in those two-seaters. That all began to change when the armed scout ships made their appearance, though even by war's end it was still not uncommon to see low-ranking pilots serving their superior gunner/obs, especially in the French and German air services. .

. Welcome to the OFF fourms and to the virtual skies of HiTR, Kiteman. It is an outstanding WWI combat flight sim. BTW, new guys buy the drinks, and in honour of the season I'll have an eggnog. Cheers! Lou .

. . Joyeux Noël Everyone! Lou .

. Greetings All, Ritter von Blum's latest letter home has just been added to the saga, and his new wingman is working out quite well: Paul Blum's Story Merry Christmas! Lou .

. Greetings All, I've just finished uploading all current sets I've put together of a few public domain WWI aviation books I have run across in the course of my studies and research. They are all in PDF format and have been sorted into two classes: BIO for biographies, diaries, narratives; and REF for reference works. You will find the downloads in the OFF Scenery and Ground Objects section of the Downloads, (as this is where Rabu placed his poster downloads it seem to be the most logical place for these). Here is a direct link for your convenience: WWI Aviation Books Downloads I will be adding future sets as I complete them. Enjoy your winter's read folks! Lou .

. ....psssst...Dej...Slarti's the one with the smudgy face and wearing pajamas under his flying coat...how much champagne have you had already mate... .

. Everyone, let's drink a toast to our own Slarti! Despite being with us now for over a year he's still having some issues with the mixture control on his Strutter, as well as with his laundry. But what a fine chap he is regardless of these shortcomings. Three cheers for the stout fellow! .

. I have already found numerous entries for Flieger and Gefreiter pilots in various places, here is one such source that is rich with them: The Kagohl/Bogohl III Story This group's records show many such "soldier" pilots serving, (and dying), in their ranks. Hope this is helpful. Cheers! Lou .

. Actually Gepard, I must disagree with you there, at least on the point of Gefreiter. There are numerous entries for Gefreiter pilots in various WWI sources. By WWII this was different and I believe you would then be correct. As to the Flieger pilot, I recall seeing reference made to that rank in the German flight schools in WWI. Perhaps by the time they were breveted they were then promoted to the rank of Gefreiter. I will see if I can find any mention of a Flieger pilot actually assigned to a combat unit. .

. Out of eggnog the week of Christmas! GASP! Prior planning prevents poor performance. Best hop on a snowmobile and make a nog run before you are completely snowed in Javito. .

. Uncleal, I have a Logitech Extreme Pro 3D stick, and I have the mags on/off functions programmed to the two lower buttons on the top of the stick, while the mixture controls are programmed to the two bottom buttons on the base to the left of the stick, (once I have mixture set I don't tend to fiddle with it too much in combat which is why I located those controls on the JS base rather than on the stick itself). I set up "SHIFT + M" and "CTRL + M" as commands in the profiler and then assigned them to the aforementioned buttons. When I hold down the button assigned to "SHIFT + M" for about half-a-second it kills the engine, and holding down the other button assigned to "CTRL + M" for the same amount of time restarts it. This works because, (and I am assuming here), the Logitech software reads the holding down of the button as repeated requests for the same command. It dosen't seem to work the same way if you try to set it up as a keystroke assignment, but only as a command assignment. Hope this helps. Cheers! Lou .

. More great info Bletchley, as always. And you kindly credit me in your post with that blip switch set-up I mentioned earlier on, but I am sure I adopted it from your numerous notes on the subject when I was first sorting out my OFF settings way back when. Give credit where credit is due, and in this case that would be to you good Sir. .

. ...wha...no...no Merry Christmas for the rest of us Paarma...just good ol' Olham? ...sniff, sniff...th-th-that's OK...we don't mind...sniff, sniff... Just kidding Paarma! Merry Christmas to you and yours! .

. Si, you really should write for a living Sir. Your reports from the front and letters home are top hole stuff. I can easily see you building them into a novel. You get it published and I'll be one of the first to buy a copy, (autographed by the author of course). .

. Wodin, I envy you your inheritance Sir, I've had to purchase nearly all the volumes on my WWI shelves. And since we are on the subject, here's my current library inventory, (and yes I know I've mentioned this numerous times over in the past, but I just can't help myself). Personal Narratives and Biographies: "A Flying Fighter", E.M. Roberts, (1918 1st Edition) "Airmen O' War", Boyd Cable, (1918 1st Edition) "An Airman Marches", Harold Balfour, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition) "An Aviator’s Field-Book", Oswald Bolcke, English Translation, (1917 1st Edition) "A Rattle Of Pebbles: The First World War Diaries Of Two Canadian Airmen", Brereton Greenhous, (1987 1st Edition) “Beyond the Tumult”, Barry Winchester, (1971 1st Edition) "Cavalry of the Clouds", Alan ‘Contact’ Bott, (1918 1st Edition) "Cloud Country", Jimmie Mattern, (1936 Pure Oil 1st Edition) 3-volume set "Days on the Wing", Willy Coppens, English Translation, (1931 1st Edition) "Death in the Air", William Heinemann, (1933 Edition) (famous faked aerial photos) "Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck, English Translation, (1931 1st Edition) "En L’air!", Bert Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Fighting the Flying Circus", Edward Rickenbacker, (1919 1st Edition) "Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden, (1918 1st Edition) "Flying for France", James McConnell, (1917 1st Edition) "Go Get 'Em!", William Wellman, (1918 1st Edition) "Guynemer, Knight of the Air", Henry Bordeaux, English Translation, (1918 1st Edition) "Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald, (1935 Signed 1st Edition) "High Adventure", James Norman Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille", Franz Immelmann, English Translation, (1930 1st Edition) "In The Clouds Above Bagdad", J.E. Tennant, (1920 1st Edition) "Kitchener's Mob", James Norman Hall, (1916 1st Edition) "Letters From a Flying Officer", Rothsay Stuart Wortlrey, (1928 1st Edition) "Memories of World War 1", William Mitchell, (1960 Edition) "Night Bombing with the Bedouins", Robert Reece, (Battery Press Edition) "Nocturne Militaire", Elliot White Springs, (1934 Edition) “No Parachute”, Arthur Gould Lee, (1970 1st US printing) "Rovers of the Night Sky", W.J. ‘Night-Hawk’ Harvey, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition) "Sagittarius Rising", Cecil Lewis, (1936 Edition, 1st US printing) "Stepchild Pilot", Joseph Doerflinger, (1959 1st Edition) "The Flying Poilu", Marcel Nadaud, English Translation (1918 1st Edition) "The Red Knight of Germany", Floyd Gibbons, (1927 1st Edition) "The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle, (1919 1st Edition) "True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set "Up And At 'Em", Harold Hartney, (1940 1st Edition) "War Birds; Diary of an Unknown Aviator", Elliot White Springs, (1926 1st Edition) "Whom The Gods Love", Lewis C. Merrill, (1953 1st Edition) "Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1918 1st Edition) "Winged Warfare", William Bishop, (1918 1st Edition) "Winged Peace", William Bishop, (1940 1st Edition) "With the Earth Beneath", A.R. Kingsford, (1936 1st Edition) History, Reference, and General Interest Books: "Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War", Bruce Robertson, (1964 Edition) "Aircraft of Today", Charles Turner, (1917 1st Edition) "Aviation in Canada 1917-18", Alan Sullivan, (1919 1st Edition) "Colliers New Photographic History of the World War", (1917 Edition) "Decisive Air Battles of the First World War", Arch Whitehouse, (1963 1st Edition) "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1964 Edition) "Flying The Old Planes", Frank Tallman, (1973 Edition) "Fragments From France", Bruce Bairnsfather, (1917 1st Edition) (Great War cartoons by the master of the genre) "Heros of Aviation", Laurence La Tourette Driggs, (1919 1st Edition) "Historic Airships", Rupert Holland, (1928 1st Edition) "History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion", L.C. McCollum, (1929 Edition) "History of the World War", Francis March, (1918 1st Edition) "History of the Great World War", Rolt-Wheeler and Drinker, (1919 1st Edition) "Land and Water" Magazine, (entire April through September 1917 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "National Geographic" Magazine, (entire 1918 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1962 Edition) "Source Records of the Great War", (1923 1st Edition) 7-volume set "The First War Planes", William Barrett, (1960 Edition) (the one that started it all for me) "The Great Air War", Aaron Norman, (1968 Edition) "The Great War", George H. Allen, (1919 1st Edition) 5-volume set "The Great War in the Air", Edgar Middleton, (1920 1st Edition) 4-volume set "The Lafayette Flying Corps", by James Hall and Charles Nordhoff, (1964 Kennikat Press limited edition two-volume set) "The United States in the Great War", Willis Abbot, (1919 1st Edition) "The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer, (1978 1st Edition) 4-volume set "True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set "U.S. Official Pictures of the World War", Moore and Russell, (1924 1st Edition) 4-volume set 1920 World Book Encyclopedia, (entire set with addendums, great for cross-referencing in an historical context) "Time-Life Epic of Flight", 23-volume set, (not old and not strictly WWI but still a lot of good info and photos) "The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (1st Edition) 9-volume set including map cases, (originally in the military library at Whitehall; my personal Jewel of the Crown) Instructional Books: "Aeroplane Construction and Operation", John Rathbun, (1918 1st Edition) "English-French War Guide for Americans in France", Eugene Maloubier, (1918 Edition) "Learning to Fly in the U.S. Army", E.N. Fales, (1917 1st Edition) "Lewis Machine Gun ‘Airplane Type’ Service and Operation Manual", (1918 Edition) "Manual Of Rigging Notes Technical Data", (1918, possible reprint) "Practical Flying", W.G. Minnies, (1918 1st Edition) "The Art of Reconnaissance", David Henderson, (1916 1st Edition) "Science of Pre-Flight Aeronautics", (1942 Edition) "Self-Help for the Citizen Soldier", Moss and Stewart, (1915 1st Edition) I do dearly love old books. Cheers! Lou .

. OK, now I'm more confused than usual. So, does Offiziersstellvertreter equate to Warrant Officer as I noted, or is it a non-rank status as noted by Olham? And Vizefeldwebel is higher in rank than Feldwebel? .

. You are quite right BB, and Bletchley offered an excellent outline of this some time back in the thread "A Question About Rotary Control". Here is his very informative entry: "With the exception of the early Gnome rotaries (few of which were still in use by mid 1915), the blip-switch was supposed to be used only when the engine was already throttled back to idle - either on the ground, when taxiing, or in the air when throttled back for landing. The blip-switch was retained on all rotary engines because of the high idle speed of the rotary - most rotaries could not be throttled back much below 600 rpm on the ground or 800 rpm in the air. I have seen some evidence that the blip-switch was sometimes used in combat, but officially the use of the blip-switch at high engine speed was frowned upon because of the damage that it caused to the engine. Blipping the engine could also lead to flooding of the engine with excess fuel, which could lead to the engine cutting out for several seconds or even a fire under the cowling - not something modelled in OFF, but a powerful deterrent to use in combat. I model late rotary management in OFF by using the number keys across the top of the keyboard, using 6, 8 and 0 only (most WWI pilots had 'preset' positions of the throttle/fine adjustment for idle, cruise, and full power, and stuck to these), and only use the blip when throttled down to the '6' position. The mixture control can then be used for fine control of the engine speed, as well as altitude changes. Bletchley" IMHO, this is the best bit of info I've seen on the subject, and it offers a very historically accurate way of handling the throttle on the OFF rotaries. Lou .