RAF_Louvert

. Dankeschön, Herr Dej ! And you might be right about the obs balloon in that screenshot, it does have a certain Death Star-ish quality to it. "Luke...join me Luke." "Why? You comin' apart?" Ich danke Ihnen Olham, as well. Yes, that whole class system needs to be torn down. Oh wait...it was. BTW, I've just added Paul's latest letter home, and I've reformatted all the pages so that the text width now stays at 800 pixels no matter how wide your monitor might be. Makes it quite a bit nicer for reading I think. Cheers! Lou .

. Greetings All, This morning I at last had an opportunity to fly a mission and get back to Paul's adventure. The next installment has been posted for you all: Paul Blum's Story Hope you enjoy it. Cheers! Lou .

. A full parade dress salute, Frank Buckles. The guns of August have at last gone silent for you, rest in peace Sir. .

. Greetings All, I imagine there are some aviation artists and art history folks here who are familiar with Hans Lietzmann's depiction of MvR preparing for his last flight. Quite some time ago I ran across a scan from a very old magazine showing a two-page printing of this lithograph, and I have used said scan as a screensaver at various times in the past. The problem was that the original printing was in less-than-ideal condition, with a large seam running vertically through the middle, some staining here and there, and a lot of print bleed through from the back side. It was a pity too, as I have only ever run across one other image online of this work, (done by Lietzmann back in May of 1918), and that was of even lower quality. So, early this morning I decided it was high time to repair, restore, and generally spruce up this outstanding old bit of classic aviation art. After a couple pots of coffee and several hours time I am, I believe, done with this little project, and I'm posting it here for anyone who might like to save a copy for themselves. I hope I've done justice to Herr Lietzmann's evocative depiction. Cheers! Lou .

. Good Morning All, Just checking to see if the new medals have been working out for you folks. I notice they've been downloaded 38 times so far, and that is nice to see. For those who may have missed it, here is the download link again: All New Medals For OFF P3 And as I mentioned earlier, if there is a particular award you would like to have added, just let me know and I can put that together for you. Cheers! Lou .

. Thanks for checking in Smilingmonkey and no worries, our von Blum is fine. I've just not had an opportunity to fly any missions and so there's been nothing to write. Between my recent OFF Medals project and the companion awards tables I put together for them, and traveling for work, I've had no time to sit down and enjoy a flight in the OFF skies. I am hoping to correct that this weekend. Cheers! Lou .

. hee, hee...Wayfarer, I generally don't fly the scrambles when serving in a B/R squadron as they would never have been sent out on such a mission. Truth be told, it was very rare for a fighter squadron to be given such as task as well. Just one of those little things we hope will be tended to in P4. But they are exciting, and a great way to get a bit of time off, as you've now discoverd. .

. MY GOD! They're using a mechanic for a tail skid! Just goes to show you what regard the Other Ranks were held in. .

. What a great discussion. .

. Greetings All, For those who might remember it, and for those who don't, "The Great War in the Air" video series is back up on You Tube as of this morning. I was not aware that this was the work of Rainbase, (aka Jan Goldstein), a long-time contributing member over at The Aerodrome. If you've never watched this video you owe it to yourselves to set some time aside and do so. It is very, very informative. The Great War in the Air Cheers! Lou .

. I feel your pain Soppy. I've suffered with sinus problems for decades. If you've not tried it before, you should really give the neti pot a go. It works wonders. Barring that, take really hot showers and breath handfuls of warm water up through your nose and sinuses and spit it out through your mouth. Sound disgusting but it works wonders. .

. Spooky! Makes me go all wobbles just thinking about trying to land it. B-r-r-r-r-r-r! .

. Safe travels my friend. I hope all goes well for you and yours. .

. Bullethead, I've had the same bloodlust coursing through my veins in the situation you've described with the Fee. Fight for an eternity and finally have the upper hand, only to have the bastige run away. Kill him...KILL HIM! .

. Hasse Wind, clearly you have never taught to a roomfull of smartass, know-it-all teenagers who are convinced they have everything figured out already, or you would not ask that question. .

. Widowmaker wrote: If MvR had survived the War: "Good Morning class, I am Professor Richthofen, and I will be...YOU IN THE BACK, PAY ATTENTION! I have not come to this university to collect cheese and eggs, but for another pur...err...ummm...as I was saying...I am your Professor..." .

. You are more than welcome Duke. I'm glad to know folks are making use of those downloads. I am planning on getting another one posted when I have a few more volumes collected together. Also, I know what you mean about reading books on the computer. It's OK, but it can't hold a candle, (or a Kindle), to the real thing. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm told that Kindle and Nook and the like are very nice for reading eBooks. They sure seem to be very popular these days. .

. Wayfarer, I have always been a champion of the WWI recce crews, and have flown many 2-seater missions over the years, both in OFF and before that in RB3D. Theirs were the thankless yet most critical tasks in the air war. Also, having to fly striaght and true for relatively long distances during photo recon and bombing runs lasted throughout the entire four years of fighting. The thing that changed more than any was how deadly the scouts had become by 1918. .

. Yes Sir, enlightened and observant minds have noted such for centuries. I find Ascham's entire passage which this quote is from to be as true today as it was nearly 500 years ago. "English writers, by diversity of time, have taken diverse matters in hand. In our fathers' time nothing was read but books of feigned chivalry, wherein a man by reading should be led to none other end but only to manslaughter and bawdry. If any man suppose they were good enough to pass the time withal, he is deceived. For surely vain words do work no small thing thereunto of their own nature. These books, as I have heard say, were made the most part in abbeys and monasteries, a very likely and fit fruit of such an idle and blind kind of living. In our time now, when every man is given to know much rather than to live well, very many do write, but after such a fashion as very many do shoot. Some shooters take in hand stronger bows than they be able to maintain. This thing maketh them sometime to outshoot the mark, sometime to shoot far wide, and perchance hurt some that look on. Other that never learned to shoot, nor yet knoweth good shaft nor bow, will be as busy as the best, but such one commonly plucketh down a side, and crafty archers which be against him will be both glad of him, and also ever ready to lay and bet with him; it were better for such one to sit down than shoot. Other there be which have very good bow and shafts and good knowledge in shooting, but they have been brought up in such evil-favored shooting that they can neither shoot fair nor yet near. If any man will apply these things together, he shall not see the one far differ from the other. And I also, among all other, in writing this little treatise, have followed some young shooters, which both will begin to shoot for a little money, and also will use to shoot once or twice about the mark for nought afore they begin a-good. And therefore did I take this little matter in hand to assay myself, and hereafter, by the grace of God, if the judgment of wise men that look on think that I can do any good, I may perhaps cast my shaft among other for better game." .

. "In our fathers' time nothing was read but books of feigned chivalry, wherein a man by reading should be led to none other end, but only to manslaughter and bawdry." (Roger Ascham 1515-1568) .

. Yes my fair Olham, I'm afraid you are quie right. Necessities of war made it so. Countless brave airmen died never knowing their attackers. And the recce flights had no option if they were in the middle of a photo run but to fly straight on. Otherwise, if they did break off, they would simply have to come back and start all over. Nothing terribly heroic at all about shooting a sitting duck. But then, c'est la guerre. .

. hee, hee...OK then RC. If it's summer I like iced tea, if it's winter I prefer good coffee with a touch of half-and-half. Also, there will be yet another volume on the shelf in the next few days: I have seen this book referred to often when I've been searching for info on the Russian Air Service, so when I ran across a near perfect copy of the Flying Machines Press 1996 printing of this work on eBay last night for $39 I snapped it up. I posted at The Aerodrome to ask if it was as comprehensive as it appears, (545 pages), and was informed that it is indeed one of the primary go-to sources on the subject. I am looking forward to reading through it at length. Cheers! Lou .

. Hmmmm, the seller has removed this tunic from eBay. I wonder if someone made a very large offer on the side. Or, I wonder if perhaps the person who listed it did not have a legal right to sell it and that's why it was pulled. I'd really like to know what happened with this one. .

. OK, now my head hurts...or is it my Kopf...or my noggin...AAAAAARGH! .

. I wish I could say I'm learning when it comes to your native language, Olham. In this case I most certainly am not hiding my light under a Scheffel stellen. .