Olham

That twin engine destroyer in the start image of YOUTUBE here is the "German Mosquito" - the Focke-Wulf Ta 154. The craft was built mostly of wood - even parts which were metal in the original DeHavilland "Mosquito" - and was said to have been fast enough to become a "Mosquito-hunter". It was also meant to be a bomber interceptor and a night fighter. But when the British unknowingly bombed the factory in Wuppertal, which produced the special resin to bind and stabilise the wooden construction, the Ta 154 project came to naught. Jim, you have been working on interesting aircraft! Which ones did you serve on?

Thanks, Widowmaker!

Ooops! On my latest, narrow keyboard, the keys are lying too close to each other, and the 0 can easily become a 9, when I'm not watching it! Corrected that; thx Widow!

Great info, Jim; thx for sharing. The Bf109 did have a trim with which the whole tailplane could be altered, up and down, from the cockpit. Not sure if that did replace an elevator trim though. But with this "tailplane trim" the Messerschmidt could even be flown AND landed with the elevator completely shot away. Here is a very interesting video on the Bf109 technology - watch from 20:00 minutes on. There will be two different pilots explaining everything, and they cleared up several wrong infos for me. So for example it was often said by British pilots who tested the Bf109, that it must have been difficult to come free from the narrow cockpit, and that your parachute package might get stuck under the rear part of the canopy glass. But this pilot here explains: the WHOLE canopy, rear bit included, was ejected when they pulled the bail-out handle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rmmh2Jd9uM

Maybe Winder sent them, after your complaints that there was nothing going on? Mmuahahahahaaa!!!

"...a bullethole or two in it didn't really do anything other than ruin the decoration." Brilliant! Good one on the "workhorse" of the RAF, Hauksbee; thank you for sharing. I recommend to everyone to keep watching - the first 15 minutes are a lot of talking, but when the pilot explains the airplane, it is amazing to hear all those positive details about this fighter. After hearing this it seems, that the "Hurricane" has always been described from the view of Spitfire fans . like the ugly sister, a "Cinderella" so to say. Seems she was a lot better than that (or "Cinderella" even fits - she WAS the good girl after all). For the first time I realised how high the "Hurricane" pilot was actually sitting! What a great allround vision and overview he must have had, compared to the Spitfire or the Bf109, where the pilot sat lower. And the wide nose cowling of the Spitfire was actually hiding a lot from the pilot's forward vision. (The Bf109 had a hanging V-engine; this allowed to keep the nose a lot narrower.) The Hawker "Hurricane" was the uglier sister - but maybe I would have prefered her over the Spit.

Good one! And here is a touching one...

Didn't you say you never met any opponents, and you found it boring?

Hmm, strange - now it doesn't work anymore for me either... Some days ago it sure did. I'll post my smaller badge here now - guess you can save it and throw it into a gallery of yours. From there, you can then copy the "graphic address" and insert that into your "Signature" image frame. ...or request a transfer to Verdun, or at least the Marne sector. There will be more action. If you want a LOT of adventure, transfer to Flanders.

Hmmm - could have something to do with that link line? Just try and place the text one line further below the badge?

Jim, you can easily get the badge attached this way: right-click on Hauksbee's or my badge and select "save graphic address". Then go to your "Settings" (top right corner of forum), select "Signature" there, and click on the small image icon and insert the copied address. Save it - and done.

You are not a member yet, Jim? Well, as the vice-president of the "Barmy Officers Club" I hereby declare you a new member of our lot - aerh, club. The qualifications are more than fullfilled - who, if not barmy, would voluntarily spend time in this madh... in this club's forum? And now let's come to the point Hauksbee made so well - about the drinkies... Oh, and here is your badge, by the way. I hope you know how to attach it - I am yet too barmy for that. Maybe you can tell me, if it worked for you.

Haha, love that little beagle!

Yeah, reading literature from other 'cultures' can widen our horizon quite a bit. But Kafka is hard to understand (if at all), even for Germans. I read "Das Schloß" (The Castle) some time ago, and it was like one of my stranger dreams. Not a nightmare, but also without much sense I could realise - but beautifully drawn and painted pictures, so to say. Definitely worth reading, even if only just for the images he could creat with words. I read about his works then, that without any understanding of the Jewish culture and beliefs, Kafka could not be understood. That might explain it. ...or Cruikshank, which originates from "Krugschenk" (both spelled the same). That was a man who was allowed to serve (einschenken) beer or wine from a jar (Krug), but had no concession for running a pub (Wirtshaus, Gasthof). There actually are more signs of German culture in America - see here: ...but Americans often think all Germany is like Bavaria. Instead, the Bavarians have a different culture and German, than my native East Friesland's, which is almost closer to being Dutch or Danish. Heidi vs Fishermen, so to say... We could exchange PMs in German. if you like.

Didn't mean to be corrective like an annoying teacher - hope you see it more like helping you further. As I said - German is tricky in the detail. "Der Genitiv ist dem Dativ sein Tod" is of course not correct German - he purposely used the dative formally wrong here, as a funny, catchy title. But I guess you knew that anyway. I guess that book is already for advanced German language training. Never read it myself though. Haha, yeah, nowadays there may be fewer Germans, even in the film industry, where you found quite a few Germans during and after WW2.

I don't even know, if the CFS3 engine is so bad for their purposes, Hellshade. Maybe this engine allows things which more modern ones wouldn't - like having dozens of planes in the air; not spawned, but actually being there. A more modern engine MIGHT (I know nothing) consume so much performance, that it wouldn't be the best for WOFF? Just my thoughts...

Thank you for the tip, Hauksbee!

Gee, yeah, THAT's a real American Diner! Thanks for sharing, Jim!

"Tabs" in the meaning of "beer tabs"? Are you trying to say - in a complicated BOC way - that you are going to buy the next rounds? Well, then let me think - I'll have virtual "PIKE's Genuine Stout" and a Jack Daniels, if you don't mind!

I guess the dog was half starved, and lost down there anyway. When the man gave him some food and talked to him, the dog decided to trust him and let him do whatever he would do next. This trust is harder to find with us human beings, at least beyond a certain age, when we have experienced the dark side of human character. This may be one reason why so many people have dogs or cats - this absolute faith, this unconditional love...

Gee, L.A. ! Pls send a photo of your favourite diner, Javito (presumed you eat in a diner occasionally). Would be one of the first things I would try out in America, I guess. German must be very hard to learn, compared to English - die Grammatik ist besonders schwer - and to learn "der, die, das" is surely hard, when you only needed "the" so far. You can either say "Ich habe Deutsch gelernt im letzten Jahr", or "Ich habe Deutsch gelernt in dem letzten Jahr". "In dem" is often reduced to "im". Yeah, i know - it's hard and doesn't always seem to make sense... I wish you all the best of luck and good success for your writing carreer, Javito - one of my favourite thriller authors, Raymond Chandler, lived in L.A. and wrote great stories about the city.

Kermie Cam - Albatros D.II Kermit Weeks (Owner of the FANTASY OF FLIGHT-Museum, Florida) got replicas of the Albatros D.II and the D.Va, built by THE VINTAGE AVIATOR, New Zealand. Weeks does in-cockpit videos with his "Kermie Cam", so we can share his joyrides on many great combat aircraft. For all who missed it yet - enjoy! Kermie Cam - Albatros D.Va