RAF_Louvert

. That is very cool Mike. I can't offer anything more than you've already sorted out, and I believe you are likely correct on your suppositions thus far. .

. Lou: "Play it Slarti,you know what I want to hear." Slarti: "No, I don't." Lou: "You played it for her, you can play it for me!" Slarti: "Well, I don't think I can remember..." Lou: "If she can stand it, I can! Play it!" You must remember this, A bis is just a bis, A tri is just a tri. The fundamental things apply, When OFF you fly. And when sorties ensue Up in the lofty blue, For victory we vie. No matter what the campaign brings, It’s OFF we fly. Cordite and castor, never out of date. Making adjustments to get the best climb rate. Man needs his plane to journey to his fate On that you can rely. It’s still the same old story A fight for fame and glory A case of do or die This world will always have brave pilots, As OFF we fly. (...hee, hee, hee... I crack myself up.) .

. Oh yes RC, like all Hollywood movies about WWI flyers have done in the past. All about the facts. .

. ...hee, hee, hee... .

. British_eh wrote: About the only thing they got right in "Flyboys". NS13Jarhead, several good books on Frank Luke. IIRC the earliest is "The Ballon Buster, Frank Luke of Arizona" by Norman Hall, (1928). Luke had no fear when it came to his balloon attacks. .

. VP wrote: And a hopeless one to boot. Just ask my beautiful wife who is far too good for me but for some reason finds me irresistible. Ain't love grand. .

. This might be getting just a taaaaaaaaaad too personal. .

. Greetings All, Many times in this forum folks have wondered about the Great War and raised thoughts and questions concerning how it started, how it was that the Central Powers "lost" while the Entente "won", etc. As a student of WWI history I have read numerous works on the subject, slogged through multi-volume accounts riddled with facts and dates, sifted through the personal writings of generals, soldiers, statesmen and the like. But in all my studies over the years I have never come across a single source book that has been as singularly informative, entertaining, and enlightening as G.J. Meyer's recent work, "A World Undone". It hit the bookshelves almost four years ago and I wish now I would have read it when it came out. If you want what is, IMHO, the best outline of the events that shaped the War as well as an overview of the War itself, you will find none better. Meyer's style is easy to read and will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next, even though you know the ultimate outcome. I found myself at times laughing, at other times on the verge of tears, and all the while being drawn into the events that literally shaped world histroy for the last century. The book is historically accurate and gives outstanding insight into the major players in the game. If you read only one book about the Great War, I strongly urge you to make it this one. Cheers! Lou .

. Greetings All, It has been little more than a year since I hosted the "What's My Plane" contest here in the OFF forums, (in which our own Herr Olham was the grand prize winner), and I believe it might be time for another such event. I am toying with a few ideas as to the nature of the new contest, but I would like thoughts from you folks. Remember that I've already done planes and their related bits and pieces in the last event, and aces in the one before that way back on the old RB3D "Wings of Valor" forums. Now for the prize, I am going to put up my 1968 hardbound copy of Duncan Grinnell-Milne's classic, "Wind in the Wires". This is a very clean, ex-library copy that will show well on your WWI aviation book shelf, and if you've never read this wonderfully written account of a young man's WWI experiences in the RFC and RAF, (as well as in a German POW camp for two years), you will be in for a treat. Grinnell-Milne is one of my favorite contemporary authors of the genre and this work along with his "An Escaper's Log" are two of the best Great War personal accounts around. So, voice your ideas and thoughts for the new contest and I will give consideration to any and all. Cheers! Lou .

. This is one of the core problems of forum conversations: No way of knowing for sure the other person's intended meaning, or their feelings at the time of posting. Let me assure everyone that I am not upset, offended, or otherwise slighted by any lack of posting and/or interest in my idea. It takes a whole lot to get me even a little miffed, and nearly impossible to do so with a post or lack of same. My idea of another contest was simply that, and idea, and I put it out there to see if there was interest in it as the last one seemed to be very well enjoyed by those who participated. I agree completely that just before the holidays is not the time to initiate said contest, I was looking more for input right now to see which direction to take the proposed event. As to your idea Olham of a poster and/or annoucement, I was planning something along those lines once the details had been sorted out. Please, do not think I am offended here by lack of input. My previous comments were nothing more than a verbal shoulder shrug to be interpreted as "Eah, maybe later than." Maybe I need to use more emoticons. Any-hoooooo, no worries Gents. Time for me to get back on the road. I've miles to go before I sleep. Cheers! Lou . .

. I'll revisit the contest idea sometime after the first of the year. Who knows, maybe a TrackIR will makes it way to the prize list by then. .

. No worries Olham, I have plenty to keep me busy as well mein freund. As I said in my previous post, perhaps another time. .

. Understood Dej. And your book wish list length sounds like mine, though mine tends to be almost exclusively WWI as I did the WWII studies about 20 years back. Thank you again for your kind offer of assistance Sir, but it would appear there is no interest in another trivia contest, what with 80+ views and only you and I trading comments. Ah well, c'est la vie, c'est le guerre. Peut-être une autre fois. .

. How about a Snipe? .

. Slarti wrote: ...hee, hee... Made the coffee extra strong yesterday, and by the time I'd written that had the neurons running about in the ol' grey matter like a women's church auxiliary in a bingo parlour on doubles Tuesday. .

. A great analogy Olham, and you've used one of my favorite films of all time to make it. Another apropos quote you could use in this instance from the iconic Rick Blaine would be, "If you don't get in that plane you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life." .

. Elephant, as others have already noted it will be well worth the wait Sir. And you've already found a bit of reading to get you in the mood with Javito's recent run of wonderful reports. Other currently active sagas in "Reports From the Front" you will enjoy are those of Olham, themightysrc, and carrick58. And you might like Paul Blum's adventures too, which you can find here: Paul Blum's Story You will also want to read the excellent OFF outings documented in the "Krauts vs Crumpets" forum too. By the time you've caught up on all these your copy of OFF will have arrived and your own adventures will begin. Cheers! Lou .

. Yuppers, pretty darned amazing I'd say. This sim never ceases to impress me. .

. Dej, that is one of the very ideas on my short list, right down to the title! And I appreciate the offer of assistance, but why would you not compete Sir? .

. Very nice work Elephant, very nice indeed. And yes, OFF allows you to paint and fly in your own personal plane skins. There are many, many custom skins for download and viewing in the OFF Downloads section of these forums. Enjoy! .

. Welcome to the OFF forums Elephant, you'll find us a friendly lot and relatively sane. To your question, I couldn't recommend buying OFF enough Sir. If you enjoy the campaign side of WWI combat flight along with a fully immersive sim environment you will find nothing to compare to this, I guarantee it. And be sure to get the Hat in the Ring update at the same time, you will then have it all. Cheers! Lou .

. Consider it yours Ratatat, with my compliments. .

. You are in for a treat Stratos. Wish I could remember off the top of my head how to fix the glitch you have, but I am sure someone here will steer you in the right direction soon enough. Or, just fly with a paper map. .

. Rugbyfan, I'd start flying in Flanders or the Marne if I were you. Earnest is a much tougher front so you might want to put that one off until you've a bit more experience. But seriously, glad you have the problem sorted out Sir. .

. Me too. It was a shock the first time it happened, climbing out of my kite as I yell to the approaching ground crew, "Put her in the shed PDQ lads, there's a storm coming in." And I hear back, "Jawohl, unt velcome to our little slice of Hell, Herr Dummkopf." .