OLD NAVY

Flyboy PC: You're riight. I would have asked him whether he ever got seasick waiting for the lighter to pick him up at the bouy. I have a photo of my Stearman on floats. I have a scanner for my computer, so tomorrow I'll try to see if I can get it ready to attach to a message. I should be able to figure it out. Olham brings up an interesting thought. How many pilots were killed in WW I & II? I remember one of my flight instructors talking about the US Navy's battle of Midway. It turns out that the majority of the aircrews in that pivotal battle were either killed or wounded. I imagine the losses on the Japanese side were even greater. My best friend in high scool joined the US Army Air Corp and was killed in a training accident even before I got into the air. OFF does a good job of stressing the point that the average WW I pilot survived only 17.5 hours in combat. I think OFF pilots learn very quickly the realities of combat aviation. A lot to think about.

Flyby PC: I was in the US Navy Air Corp from 1943-1947. I checked my flight log and found I had 108 hours in the Stearman Biplane. I love biplanes and have always had a thing about World War I pilots. I think I got the flying bug reading those pulp mags about Spads and Fokkers while growing.up. I actually got to meet some of Colonel Biddle's grandsons. You can look him up in the OFF rosters. He was born in Philadelphia and survived the war. The Biddles are prominent Philadelphia business men. Anyway, I decided to go Navy because I didn't want to sleep in the mud. Instead, I learned to fly seaplanes and got wet and seasick. Incidently, this sim is fantastic. The way it handles the historical aspects of WWI aviation is noteworthy. I was a Red Baron addict and then discovered OFF Phase I and II. I'm a diehard fan.

Interesting discusions about recovering from spins. Took me back to navy flight school in 1944. Flight training included recovering from spins in the first couple of hours. After the solo the student practiced recovery on his solo practice. One lined up on a road and tryed to recover in two or three rotations still lined up on the road. I have practiced this manuveur in OFF several times ,especially when flying a new aircraft. I am really pleased with the OFF flight model. It feels like the real thing. What has been said about spin recovery in this discussion is valid and well presented. In OFF spins usually occur while climbing. In real life flying really dangerous spins occur following high speed stalls. World war biplanes weren't fast enough to create many high speed stall spins but the laws of air dynamics apply regardless of the speed. Thus, in a turn one must maintain a certain speed. One problem in a spin is determining the direction of rotation. Sometimes the pilot is confused and disorientated, especially in a high speed stall which may occut unexpectedly. My solution to that is practice. When you deliberatelly put yourself into a spin you use full rudder. The rotation follows the direction you pushed the rudder so recovering simply involves reversing the rudder. Having said all this, the most dangerous spin of all is the inverted spin. When you spin from an upside down position , the recovery movements are opposite what you would have done flying right side up. This manuveur is so dangerous that students are only allowed to practice it once or twice with an instructor . Talk about being confused. This is an odd feeling when your upside down. Again, you knew which rudder position put you into the spin so you should know how to get out. Come to think about it I never tried an inverted spin in OFF. I'll try it and report back. Maybe some of you OFF pilots should try it.. Get plenty of altitude.

Unfortuately preordered the SH5 at Gamestop and paid for it and took it home before I read the stuff on the disc. Does anyone think Gamestop would refund my money? Enjoyed SH3 and thought SH5 would be great on my new super computer. I should have been satisfied with BHAH. The developers seem to care about the people who buy their stuff. I signed and the number was approaching 10,000.

Polovski: You're right. The patch corrected my problem. Now I got a chance to see the Frenchman in his fur coat. Is that your work? The artwork in OFF is awsome. It gives OFF an advantage over other sims. I learned to fly in a Stearman biplane in WWII and have fond memories. I love the chance to fly all these old airplanes. The flight models in OFF are extremely realistic. The only thing missing is bumpy air and the cold air in your face.

Added expansion pack HiR and finished one mission. Game now freezes during WWI World iniialising phase. Error message: An invalid character was found in text content. Error on line 321, position 45 in files:??users/owner/appdata/roaming/microsoft/cfsww1%20over%20flanders%20fields/unlimitedPilott.xml". What is the proper way to report these occurrences to the OFF team? I know they don't want these issues reported in the known issues thread above. The only solution available to me is to reinstall which I am about to do using HiR from the tempory files I already have. I don't feel like using one of the two downloads I have from avangate.

Von Paulus: I like the reviews for Thrustmaster T.1600M but haven't seen anything about the stick's compatibility with Win 7. Has anyone?

Count me in on the joy stick discussion. My new computer has windows 7 and won't accept my old Microsoft sidewinder software. Von Paulsen has already kindly told me how to download a pack to get around the problem. Unfortunately, I gave the sidewinder to my no.2 son and he may not wan't to give it back. Meanwhile I'm using a logitech ATK3 stopgap. Its inexpensive but all the buttons work oK for OFF. I m having trouble setting up the null zone and sensitivity to get smooth control. Maybe, I'm asking too much. IT doesn't have a twisty stick. I can fly well enough but its a bit jumpy in combat. What I really need is a median price range and smooth performance. Phase III is awsome and I wish I had a stick that performed like my old.

Von Paulus: Thanks for the reply. I don't mind loss of FF. Its already expired. Procedure sounds complicated but I'll get my son to help. Question: Is the driver I need on the Sidewinder discs or does the "pack" mean simply the procedures and steps described.

I bought a beautiful new powerful computer with Windows 7 and installed OFF up to V1.32G. Windows 7 wouln't load the software for my old Microsoft FF Sidewinder which made me very sad because I've been using that stick for ages. My son bought me a logitech ATK 3 as a birthday present. It works but I'm having trouble setting the sensitivity and null zones to suit me. The old sidewinder was just right. Anybody using this joystick? Its inexpensive and I'm sure a lot of simmers are using it. I spent my retirement check on the computer and don't want to break the bank on a new stick. Incidently, windows 7 is handling OFF very well.

Two brothers from Germany settled in Lancaster, PA. before the American Revolutionary War. They fought in the revolution and each received a square mile of land near the Ohio border as payment for their service. One of them kept a diary. My father was born on one of the farms near Butler, PA. which is now under water (a flood control lake). My father's cousin fought in the great war in the Argonne and such but contracted the flu and died in an Army camp while being processed for discharge. This soldier's father had the old diary. My mother's family migrated from Wurtemberg, Germany early in the 19th century. I guess I have a lot of German blood in me and I am glad the Navy Air Corp concentrated on the Pacific theather. Its amazing when you stop to think about it. This forum has men and women from all over the world who are fascinated with these primitive airplanes and the men who flew them. Its also good that someone pointed out that we're all related. Flying does get in your blood - doesn't it.