RAF_Louvert

. vonOben, in the situation you describe I have found my best chances lie in turning quickly into the oncoming enemy. If you are diving you can try an Immelmann or a half loop with a roll out at the apex, just pick some maneuver that will bring you back on them as quickly as possible. Throw a few shots their way on the merge then blow through them and immediately dive to the deck. Hug the terrain like it was your long lost dog all the way to the nearest friendly base. Cut in and out of the trees and any other cover you can find if the enemy ends up catching you again, though it has been my experience with this trick that by the time your attackers have recovered from your head-on pass you will have enough distance to make it to safety, provided you aren't miles behind enemy lines. If you can't make it to a friendly base you can land next to one of your own obs balloon or troop concentrations and let them pop away at your chasers. Good Luck. Lou .

. Ever look down into your OFF cockpit and wonder what all those switches, levers, gauges, and doo-dads are for? I wonder about that sort of thing far too often and as I am currently flying the Albatros D.II, that has been my recent focus of such wonderments. So, for those of you who are of the same inquisitive mind as I, here you go: And here is what these items do, starting from lower left and working round clockwise. Magneto switch: turns on and off the magneto. Quadrant: controls throttle, spark advance, and fuel-to-air mixture, (though from what I've read the Albs only used this to control spark advance and had separate levers located elsewhere for the other two functions). Mangeto: provides spark to start the engine by giving it a few robust cranks then flipping the mag switch. Tachometer: used to tell you your engine RPM's. Water Pump Greaser: you push in on the plunger every now on then during flight to make sure the water pump stays lubed so as not to sieze up. Fuel Pressure Gauge Switch: used to pick which of the two tanks to read pressure in, (however, the OFF Alb D.II is not fitted with a fuel pressure gauge so this switch is superfluous). Fuel Tank Pressure Valve: controls the amount of pressure in the chosen tank. Air Pump Selector Switch: used to pick which of the two tanks to pressurize. Fuel Tank Selector Switch: used to pick which of the two tanks to run off of, (like most WWI aircraft, the Alb D.II has a main tank and a smaller auxiliary tank). Fuel Amount Gauge: tells you how much benzine you have left and how far behind enemy lines you will be landing because you've entirely misjudged your flight range. Air Pump: used to pressurize the fuel tank of choice, (once your tanks had been punctured by a stray bullet or bit of shrapnal your right arm will be engaged in pumping this as if your life depends on it, becasue it does). Compass: used to get lost because you actually trusted the unreliable little bastard. Gun Triggers: used to fire the left and right guns either separately or together and generaly annoy the enemy to the point that when you crash land in their territory they will be highly inclined to give you a bunch of fives before hauling you off to a lovely POW camp for the duration. And there you have it. Now you can sleep nights. Cheers! Lou .

. I've had this page bookmarked for quite some time, and it is VERY useful. Thanks for posting it here again Pips for those who aren't aware of this excellent resource. And thanks to you as well Olham for your link too. More good info. .

. Many, many years ago I had a Model T Ford as one of my projects. It was fitted with the same type of spark advance/retard lever as the one we are discussing in the Alb D.II. With very little practice I was able to positively feel and hear when I had it set at the right spot for any given speed or driving conditions, in much the same way that NS13Jarhead described. So I say "Yes" to both Olham. WWI flyers could both feel and hear when they had everything dialed in properly. .

. Thanks for the warning Olham. BTW, for those who might not understand the basic principle behind the spark adjustment allow me to elaborate. A lean mixture, (such as that found at idle, cruising speed, and/or at lower altitudes), will take longer to burn than a rich mixture. This means the lean mixture needs to be ignited earlier in the compression cycle in order to have a greater burn time to achieve peak cylinder pressure a split second after top dead center of the piston stroke. This is done be advancing the spark timing. Conversely, a rich mixture, (such as that found during acceleration and/or at higher altitudes), will burn faster so it needs to be ignited later in the compression cycle to achieve maximum cylinder pressure at the same point after top dead center as with the lean mixture. This is done by retarding the spark timing. What this meant for the WWI pilot was that he had to fiddle with that lever fairly often as he was flying in order to maintain peak engine performance as air density, engine speed, and altitude changed. .

. Yuppers, that is definitely spark advance. .

. Si, I've used that same tactic myself when encountering the enemy in my wonderfully stable BE2. And, whilest sitting it out on the runway I sing the following: Brave, brave Sir Louvert, Brave Sir Louvert ran away. Bravely ran away, away, Brave, brave Sir Louvert! When danger reared its ugly head, He bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Sir Louvert wheeled about And gallantly he chickened out. Bravely bringing his plane around He bravely landed on the ground, Bravest of the brave, Sir Louvert! .

. Many thanks Olham, glad you are still enjoying the read. As to your question on the difference in the ammo, from what I remember the incendiary rounds had very little "punch" when they hit an object so I can imagine it would be hard to damage an aircraft in a dogfight with them. I believe they had a much more limited range than regular ammo as well. .

. I'd be willing to lend a hand with this, provided folks understand it make take a few days for me to get to a skin as I would have to do it when I have a spare moment. Anything for the cause. Well...within reason of course. .

. Olham, more great screenshots there Sir, as always. Had a superb mission early this AM. Ritter von Blum finally had a sunny day in December of 1916 and got into a go-round with some Nieups from ESC 49. I am truly amazed at how well the D.II can keep up with the N17. BTW, those bits and pieces are all flying off of the Frenchman's plane as Paul had just raked his guns across it from stem to stern. Cheers! Lou .

. Thanks Slarti. And life IS good. Bletchley, thanks for the added info. As to the quadrant, from everything I've come across concerning this in the Albs it only controlled spark advance. As you and JFM have noted, the throttle control lever was on the joystick, and just below the triggers on the left side, IIRC. I believe on the D.II and D.III there may have also been an auxilliary throttle control rod located just below the bottom edge ot the instrument panel to the left side, much the same as on the Alb DVa. .

. To: Major Willy Coppitt, 5th Army Propaganda, 17 Rue d'Remarques, Amiens, Nord, France Dear Sir, As a pilot currently serving in His Majesty’s Royal Flying Corps and, (being doubly blessed), having been assigned to a BE2 squadron at the front, I took time to carefully read through your thesis on the flying of the “Quirk” and its various characteristics in the roles one is likely to be expected to perform in said aircraft. I have come to the conclusion after several weeks of giving it a go that yours is a gift of understatement. Firstly, as to your point on the BE2 being “wonderfully stable”. If by this you mean it can be as hard to prod into a direction change in any of the three flight axes as a cast iron parlor stove, then I heartily agree. I’ve owned doorstops that could take lessons from the Quirk on the art of stability. “Somewhat ponderous of maneuver” would better apply to a 30-stone banker attempting to make his way through Charing Cross Station during the last Monday of August. Secondly, about the BE climbing “gently”. Imperceptibly might have been a better choice of adverb. A domestic grape vine climbs gently. Thirdly, looping? Are you mad or is making such a recommendation indicative of your humorous bent? I did in fact loop the beast once, but when the dirt on the floorboards began falling into my face at the apex of the maneuver it cast serious doubts as to my immediate future. Now, as to bombing, I will agree that the BE2 is likely the best platform one could possibly find for the task, the only drawback being the fact that the very things which make it ideal for this work also make it ideal target practice for Hun gunners who fancy themselves sharp shooters. Rather than attempting to buck this situation I’ve simply had shooting gallery ducks painted on each side of my kite. This brings me to the situation of air-to-air combat in the Quirk. I find it akin to taking a run at a mad bull with a bucket on one’s head whilest attempting to subdue the approaching angered bovine with a pea shooter, (a pea shooter prone to jamb up at the most inopportune time, I might add). That being said, it can be quite thrilling provided one has his will in order and has said his final goodbyes before heading off into such combat, (I’ve used the term “thrilling” here in much the same fashion as you’ve used “wonderfully stable”). All in all, I found your instructions and insights concerning the BE2 to be quite entertaining and in fact I find myself chuckling often as I think upon them in the heat of battle. Enclosed is my contribution of half a crown. Please feel free to use it in the purchase of drinks, which you can raise in toast to my untimely demise. Yours Cordially, Captain (acting) Reginald “Reggie” Wankersmith, 2 Squadron RFC, Somewhere near Ypres, France . But seriously Si, a very good write-up Sir. Well done. Cheers! Lou .

. Thanks for that bit of info JFM. I was not aware that the Albs had no mixture control for the pilot. Those Mercedes engineers must have come up with a much better air-to-fuel regulation system than their Entente counterparts had developed. .

. The next episode of Leutnant Ritter von Blum's tale has been added. His first balloon busting mission. Paul Blum's Story Enjoy! .

. Thanks VP. .

. MMMMMMMMMMM...Weihnachtsstollen and Stollenkonfekt. Set me up with a large cup of kaffee mit creme to go with those and I'm in heaven. And nice to know someone else shares my desire to know such seemingly unimportant things. Glad the post was educational for you Olham. Now, if we ever find ourselves in the cockpits of some real Albs we'll know just how to fly them. .

. I went online to watch this at the BBC website, but it is not available for viewing in the U.S. :no2: .

. I would dearly love to make that trip myself and join up with you lot for the air show there. Wonder how much flights are if we book a year in advance? And I echo Olham's sentiment Rickitycrate, your new post images are very neat. .

. Stratos, if you hold down CTRL-SHIFT-E you can accelerate time when enemy planes are near. When they are not about each time you hit that combination of key strokes you will double time passage; CTRL-SHIFT-R likewise will bring you back down by the same increments. But let me add this caveat: You are depriving yourself of a very large part of the OFF WWI aerial combat experience by not flying missions in real time. The boredom you allude to when having to fly in real time can be eliminated by actually attempting to fly the mission without all the in-sim aids. Print out a paper map and take the time to learn your AO and you will have a much more immersive and exciting experience. I can't desribe the thrill of encountering a flight of enemy planes after you have actually flown for 30 minutes or so, all the while looking about for threats while keeping track of where you and your wingmates are on your route. Now I realize not everyone has the time to fly a 90-minute mission on the regular clock, but if you can it is well worth doing so, IMHO. Cheers! Lou .

. At the risk of repeating myself... SWEET! .

. Love Miller's CGA work, and have used that same pic as my avatar for a long time. Had it as my screensaver on my old computer too and even went so far as to personalize the Camel in the foreground. And I must say jamieandnici, your acrylic rendering of it is outstanding. Well done! Cheers! Lou .

. That's a great site Olham. I've run across it before but had lost the addy, so thanks mucho for sharing it. .

. This is my current desktop, (though it tends to change on a fairly regular basis): Cheers! Lou .

. Olham, your Jasta 6 skin is another beauty, well done as always. And nbryant, that is another outstanding Spad Sir, don't sell your skinning abilities short in any way. First rate job. .

. I'd like a window seat portside just over the leading edge of the wing please, and have that buxom stewardess bring me a red ale as soon as the liquor cart is opened. And I pray to the Good Lord those orange hash marks on the tail aren't a tally of successful landings! But seriously, nice job WM. Cheers! Lou .