RAF_Louvert

. No, not the Exposition or Paris, Olham. Quite some distance southwest of there actually, and somewhere often mentioned in the writings of WWI French, British, and US pilots, (and even a few Italian and German WWI pilots as well). .

. Tranquillo, sorry to read of your temporary setback, but you're on track again despite that, so good for you Sir! Olham, good for you as well Sir! Looks like your diet is working too. I am still right in the groove and was at 213.8 pounds as of this Monday morning: We're all going to be so damned svelte when we're done. .

. Well ... in a way ... though not quite like that movie. But definitely early aviation / early war period. .

. Well, I'll jump onboard here and throw in a big "THANKS!" to our CA hosts too. Great digs, nice atmosphere, and a well-stocked bar. Who could ask for more? .

. Wonderful research work here Olham. Very well done, Sir! .

. Olham, I have seen hedges from time to time in OFF, but only when scenery is on 4 or 5, (as noted by Pol). Also, I've never seen that many in one spot before. Where is that, just out of curiosity? .

. Greetings All, In between my many travels these last few weeks I've been plunking away at a little project that I will be sharing with you all once I have it to such a point, (possibly this Sunday). It involves a relatively obscure CFS3 plane add-on that fits perfectly with our beloved sim, and a locale that is ideally suited to us as would-be WWI pilots. Here are a few visual clues to help you cypher it out. Who amongst you learned lot knows where I am working, on what, and which aircraft this project is taking advantage of? Also, I will add that after numerous hours of flitting about in this kite around this area, it is not only enlightening but also a pure hoot! Lou .

. Lucky you, Widowmaker! And you as well, Mikeymead. Such sharing of stories from WWII veterans gets rarer with each passing year. I also had the good fortune of 'discovering' an aging veteran and his stories shorlty after I moved to Lester Prairie back in 1987. This little old fellow, Les Baumann, worked part-time at the town hardware store. One day I came in to pick up some supplies and he noticed the 8th Air Force pin on my jacket and asked if I had been in the service. I said I had and a moment later he just opened up and began to tell me about his time in the Army Air Corps in WWII. He was a B-24 navigator and had flown 30 missions in Europe, many of which were night drops of supplies to resistance forces behind enemy lines. He told of how they would come in about 400 feet off the ground in their all-black Liberator, being guided to the drop zone by flashlights on the ground. He also talked about various times when his group flew with British squadrons during joint operations. In particular, he told of one of the '1,000 Plane' bombing missions over Germany where he was in the number 2 plane. As they were nearing their primary target the lead plane was blown out of the sky by flak and it suddenly fell upon him to take over and guide the entire group to their destination. He was 21 years old at that point, and ended up surviving three full years of war service. Utterly amazing to consider the things these kids went through and did over and over until the war was over or until they were disabled, or dead. .

. I purchased HITR for the splashscreen of the N28 being piloted by the tiny little madman. Sorry ... couldn't resist. I love OFF and all its add-ons dearly, but that particular piece of artwork is gawd-aweful. .

. As you wish. .

. Thanks Olham, glad you like it. Now to those clouds, it might simply be a card difference. I have the cloud slider at '5' and in-cloud fog turned on. I also have all the cloud and fog effects enabled in the CFS3 config file. .

. Nothing terribly special here folks, just one of those classic OFF shots. Sergent Langdon Alberts in his N11 engaged with an EIII above the Alsace, May 1916: Still the best WWI combat flight sim ever. .

. Hasse Wind, I can't remember exactly anymore myself how things worked with this in RB3D, though I seem to recall that you were transferred to the US Air Service automatically sometime in early 1918. Olham, a fair number of the French escadrilles early in the war did not paint the "ox eyes" on the fuselage or on the tops of the wings, but only on the undersides. Here is a famous shot of some of the Esc 124 planes showing this lack of markings: .

. Thanks for the kudos Hasse Wind, Olham, and Carrick. It is nice to look out across the field and see the historical markings of the various pilots. And Hasse Wind, I've wondered the same thing about how such things will be handled in the new sim as concerns this rather unique squadron. I keep holding off getting too deep into detailing all the Esc 124 planes as I would prefer to do that work in OFF 2. However, I have spent a fair amount of painting time on the N11 and am hoping that I will be able to use some of the bits and pieces in OFF 2. BTW, here is my current mount in the Escadrille Americaine: It has the pale bluish cream outline on the wings and elevator as well as the pale blue underside. Sergent Langdon Alberts looks mighty fine flying about in this spiffy little kite. .

. I love to fly with this group from it's beginnings and I am hopeful that the many personal paint schemes of the various flyers will be included in OFF2. I've painted most of the Nieups myself for P3 and some will show up on the field when several of the aces are flying. But it would be great to have them all there from the get-go. Two weeks can't come fast enough. .

. Nicely done, Olham. When will you be releasing the album? . . Oh wait, I can answer my own question. Two weeks! .

. hel·i·cop·ter /ˈheliˌkäptər/ - 10,000 moving parts surrounding a hydraulic leak, all trying to get away from each other. .

. Buddy, I missed your post about getting your flying system dialed in and running with sliders way up at the top end. That is a great feeling indeed Sir. Enjoy! .

. Oooo, very handy! Thanks for sharing, Olham. .

. Umm, Carrick, it's "23 Skidoo. Oh, you kid!" and "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." Now back to our regularly scheduled Skin Club. .

. Just remember RP, loaded questions, like loaded guns, have been known to backfire on occasion. But to your issue, it seems odd, and I have not had the same problem. Each kite in OFF tends to react differently to different types of damage. I've gotten hit by the magic bullet many times of course, but more often than not if I do get hit it does nothing more than show a few bullet holes in the wing cloth or tail feathers. Roll rate is not diminished in these instances. Over the many missions flown I've experienced engine failure, loss of fuel and/or oil, damage to any and all controls to varying degrees, and total airframe collapse. I've actually been rather impressed by the diversity of damage modelled into this sim. So I am puzzled by what you are encountering. .

. Redpiano and Buddy, and any others new to OFF, I'd like to mention that while the various patches and modified DM's each offer something different, you still need to fly very, very smart in this sim if you wish to survive. If you are taking hits from the enemy, be they scout or B/R, then you are attacking them incorrectly. This may sound trite but it is the honest truth. If you rush in and start blasting away at your opponent without considering his counterattack and your means of escape, you are going to take damage and lose agility. You need only read the letters and diaries of the Great War pilots to know that the successful ones carefully stalked their prey and attacked only when the moment was right. In OFF you must do the same thing, or you will become just another statistic. Two-seaters should be attacked from directly underneath when they are flying in formation, and this will necessitate you taking your time to slip up below them undetected. Once within about 40 yards of the underbelly of the trailing bus, bring your nose up quickly and lace the target from front to back, then dive away to avoid gun fire from the rear. If they stay in formation repeat the attack. If they break formation pull away and assess the situation and pick a wise target to chase. If the odds are against you DO NOT attack, but fly off and try again when the tables have turned back to favor you. With the scouts you should try and get above them before initiating an attack. You can do this by choosing to lead your flight. Do not use warp but instead fly real time and climb to the full operational ceiling your kite allows. This will often provide you the luxury of being above your opponent when and if you run across him. If you are attacked from above, (and you best be watchful and know the attack is coming), turn towards your opponent to jamb him up and jinx around so he can't get a line on you. The AI will often make the mistake of giving up their alt in the initial attack at which point you can get above them. Alt is life, so do your best to keep it and initiate your attacks with this advantage. If you can keep above your enemy and fly smart, taking time to hit him when it's to your advantage, you will normally win the day. But if you end up low and slow, the AI in OFF will pounce on you so fast you'll wish your mother never had you. Really Gents, it all goes back to the basics here. OFF is modelled to give you quite a realistic WWI air combat experience, which means it is deadly. Welcome to the 20 Minuters. .

. Well Creaghorn, you are WAAAAAY out of my league Sir. That's more than I paid for my entire system. I am sure the high tech gurus here will be able to steer you in the proper direction. .

. Si, where do you suppose all the dark matter in the universe comes from? Thanks for the kudos SIr. Tranquillo, glad to see you're still doing well. Keep up the fine effort Sir! And since you asked, here is my chart showing my progress to date: You will note that you have competition for that book certificate, my friend. .

. "Over Flanders Fields II: Weekend at Manfred's" hee, hee ... I crack myself up .