RAF_Louvert

. Gepard, my understanding of the rank of Offiziersstellvertreter during WWI was that it equated more to the rank of Warrant Officer rather than Chief Master Sergeant in that it was no longer an NCO rank nor was it an Officer rank, but hovered between the two. .

. Forette's...AAAAAAAAAAAH HAAA HAAA HAAAAAAA! I don't care who ya are. That right there, that's funny. .

. Greetings All, This morning my lovely wife and I were sitting around talking about Christmas and what we should give each other this year when she noted once again, (and rightly so), how hard I am to shop for as she can never find something I might like, and when I do give her ideas it's always for things like old out-of-print books and other items impossible to find. I said that it was really fine and that she did not need to find me anything, but if she really did wish to give me a gift I might want, (not "need" mind you, just "want"), all she had to do was look at my saved items list at Abebooks or eBay or the like and pick some little thing from one of those. So, she told me to open up my laptop and show her one of the lists. I thought that was funny, but I obliged and brought up my eBay watching page. She looked at it briefly, then smacked her finger down onto one of the listings and said, "That one. It has a 'Buy It Now', so buy it now and that will be your gift from me this year." Then she smiled and announced she had her Christmas shopping done and could relax. I thought she was kidding, but she was not. Here is what that marvelous lady is giving me this season: It is a reportedly original RFC flying cap that came from a family in England who claimed to have had it in their possession since WWI as it belonged to one of their relatives who was an RFC flyer, (though they offered no more information than that). Along with the cap is a nearly brand new looking set of Triplex goggles they said were kept with the cap but they were not sure if the goggles were used by the same relative who wore the cap. Here are a few more photos of this outstanding set: Here is the interior of the cap showing the blanket lining: Here's a close-up of one of the button snaps on the cap: These look to be in as fine a condition as one could hope for, and it honestly doesn't matter to me if they really are as old as WWI or not, (though from the design, details, and construction they appear to be very close and I am already starting to research them). What a wonderful gift from a wonderful woman. But now my problem is, what on God's Green Earth am I going to give her?! Lou .

. Over 400 books on the subject! Well done Wodin, another OFF'er with an extensive personal Great War library. Do you issue cards perchance? .

. hee, hee...no Herr Olham, it won't be a PLM, though she certainly deserves a medal for putting up with me. .

. (hope you folks don't mind if I share this little story of mine again this year) . "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 .

. Thanks Gents. The anticipation of waiting for these to arrive in the post is making me feel like a kid at Christmas...which I guess I am at heart...and it is. Also, I am narrowing in on my wife's gift, and it involves precious metals and gemstones. .

. Welcome to the OFF forums Hermann, and to the virtual BHaH skies. This topic has been discussed before and if I recall it is something that may be addressed in P4, (devs will chime in on this I imagine). I believe the correct rank order in the German Air Service during WWI went as follows: Flieger Gefreiter Unteroffizier Vizefeldwebel Feldwebel Offizierstellvertreter, (or Fähnrich: not sure which one is the earlier term used, but I believe it was the former). Leutnant Oberleutnant Hauptmann Ranks above Hauptmann did not tend to serve in the combat units and were back at HQ, if I remember correctly. Olham and other native Germans can likely shed more light on this subject for you Andi. BTW, new guys buy the drinks! Cheers! Lou .

. Also HW, if you want to more accurately use throttle on the rotaries use the 10% - 50% - 100% keys, (1 -5 -0), rather than the slider. Most rotaries could cut out a portion of their cylinders to attain coarse "throttle" adjustments. And you're a poet, and don't know it. .

. For sure uncleal, that is one way to do it. Another way, (and the method I use when flying the rotaries), is to map a pair of switches on the top of your JS to "SHIFT + M" and "CTRL + M". Click one and it shuts off the mags, click the other and it turns them back on. Works very well and you get much quicker response than with the throttle adjustments. Cheers! Lou .

. Wonderful post Olham. I will simply add these wishes from my family and myself to all of you and yours: "A most merry Christmas and a joyous New Year." Lou .

. I just ran across the following goggles on eBay: Old Goggles on eBay Apart from the little brass vent grommets on the ones in Olham's original post I'd say these are the same type, vintage, and manufacturer, right down to the storage case. Only real difference is the price, and the claim of where each came from. Buyer beware! .

. Olham, if you are not using a cache and registry cleaner that is likely the problem. Get CCleaner download here: CCleaner Free Download Install and run both the cache cleaner and registry cleaner, and repeat them both until they come up with zero entries for stuff. Then reboot and try your reinstall of OFF. Good luck. .

. Greetings All, Here is something you all might be interested in following along with as it concerns an Orden Pour le Merite that was just offered on eBay and "purchased" by yours truly, (I use the parentheses as I have not sent dime one on this). I found the listing a couple of days ago and thought it sounded fishy so I began tracking it. Here is the closed listing: Blue Max Listing Today She supposedly could not send along additional pictures as her child dropped her cell phone, plus she was more than willing to lower her "Buy It Now" price very fast. I thought the only picture she posted looked familiar so I did a quick search and found it in the following old eBay listing: Original OPLM listing from January 2009 I have sent an email to the lady asking for the cost of postal insurance, (the lack of same on an expensive item like this being another red flag in her listing), as well as a request for additional photos of the item, (under the guise of wanting to show them to my friends I am meeting with on Friday so they could see what I bought). She has not gotten back to me on either request, which again indicates this is more than likely a scam as anyone selling a pricy item this time of year would want payment sent along ASAP. Also, her ratings for past transactions as a seller on eBay show she has misrepresented items before. Should be interesting to see how this one unfolds, and I will be reporting this person to eBay if it all goes the way I imagine it will, (unfortunately, as I would love to really have such a medal in my collection). However, I can see no other explanation in this case other than the woman went online and found the image from the old listing and offered it as the a photo of the medal she is selling, and I'm betting there is either no medal at all and she will claim it was lost in the mail, or she has a cheesy $20 knock-off that she plans on sending. I detest dishonest people, and doubly so around Christmas time. Lou .

. As I said Hasse Wind, this is the first time I ever ran across such an issue. With this exception, all the many, many items I have sold and bought on eBay have resulted in excellent transactions. .

. Cptroyce, glad you have it sorted out Sir. I once had to install and reinstall OFF and all related upgrades four times before it final took. It can be quirky. .

. Hgbn, even though it would fall under the FBI's jurisdiction I've a hunch they have bigger fish to fry. What surprises me is eBay's apparent lack of interest in taking care of this repeat offender. .