Olham

To get this - slightly - back to topic, now for something completely different!

A nice difference to the usual combat reports, Siggi - keep them coming.

Hi Lt. Marlowe, my name if Frank, Luke Frank from Arizona. I appreciatte your howdy. It will be my treat tonight. Don't you find these here uniforms to be damn scratchy? Saddle up on that barstool compadre! Right, let's open the collar and have a few. Arizona, eyh? Been there once, cause my sweetheart's dad moved down there, to Flagstaff. Me, I'm a "snowman" from Minnesota. German ancestors. And now I fight them. It's a weird world, somehow. But hey - let's start the competition. Who drops off his seat first, must buy the drinks next time - alright?

JimAttrill dives away full speed in his SPAD XIII after his remark, and feels certain, he'll escape, but from the Albatros diving after him, he receives a terrible burst from the twin Spandaus, making his left wings come off and sending him down in an unrecoverable spin. He is just lucky to fall out the cockpit, and into a giant haystack. He cannot hear the bone-freezing "Mmuahahahahahaaaa!!!!!" nor the sudden "Vozz zatt?" the Bordeauxred Baron mutters, when his lower wings come off, and he is heading for the same haystack with the rest of his crate.

2nd Lieutenant Dennis Marlowe comes out of the Major's office and bumps into a familiar face. "Hey, Jim - you have entered the same squadron as I'm in? Wonderful! We will make the 27th Aero known to everybody! Come over to the mess! Hope you know the rules? New guy buys the drinks!"

Must be the same with me and the later Albatros. She is surely not the obvious German fighter to pick for a classic turn-dogfighting, she is heavy, but also rugged and stabile - and because she isn't the obvious one everybody liked to dance with, I gave her second looks, until I loved her.

Yes, sometimes I imagine them sitting behind their screens like Gremlins, reading our questions, asked out of serious curiosity, and thinking of a really nasty answer just for fun, when they are in that mood. They must have laughed bucketsful about my questions about how to fill in the claim reports.

Hahaha! There's another lesson for yer: never get specific in your answers - best is just "hm-mm"; can mean anything!

You never get too old to learn - thank you, guys! Didn't know the singular.

Found them, Lou. with a red "1" it's Hans von Freden, with a red "6" Josef Kister. Without any numbers (like in Rickitycrate's shots) it's the default skin of Jasta 1, 1918.

We all know YOUR idea of humanitarian aid, Bullethead! Be careful it doesn't turn into "aids"!

To even increase the confusion: shouldn't it be "dice roll" - I can't find "die roll" in my vocabulary??? Anyway - I like the idea of mixing the two.

A merry Christmas to you, Widowmaker, to Mrs. "Jester12" Widowmaker and "Silly" Widowmaker from (the icecold) Berlin! Have some relaxed, gemütliche Weihnachten, all!

Had some pre-Christmas "Glühwein"*, Pol? Rarely ever saw you so talkative! * hot spiced wine punch

Great pics, Rickitycrate, and some fine action! Whose was the striped Albatros? Do you know?

Yes, it can. And in spring, you could still go back to "historical wheather". This 'Workshop' is a phantastic item for such a sim - everybody should find a way to be pleased by "his" OFF.

Ah, then Creaghorn isn't the only "5-year-old" - I also understood it wrong then. Thanks for clearing, Pol.

Today I attacked a flight of 5 or 6 Strutter A1. They behaved pretty defensive; I got fired at from several craft. Now I usually pick the last flying crate. I fly right under the craft, and then I pull up steep, so I can fire into the engine, tank and pilot area. I drop the nose, before I come out level behind the craft, and into the range of the gunner. Diving, I gain speed for the next very steep upward attack. Usually two such attacks are enough to destroy the craft. Often they explode or catch fire - today it happened again; see "Krauts vs Crumpets". This time, the more aggressive gunners destroyed my engine; I had to land dead stick. They could have even killed me. Fighting together instead of every man for himself, they made it much tougher.

Makes sense to me, British_eh, thanks for your contribution. I see, that I should also read more books about the whole field. I have just got one today - a second hand book by K. F. Kurt Jentsch: "Beim Jagdflug tödlich verunglückt" He was in FA 66, FA 234, Jasta 1, 2, 5, 61 and had 7 victories.

From some pictures I've seen it looks very much, like the MG mount could be moved along the ring around the gunner. If so, they could move the mount left or right, and lower the MG from that position. That would give you a big increase of your field of fire rear downwards.

Wonderfully explained, Lou - as always. I was wondering, why some people seem to get almost angry about this question. Nobody must experiment with it, but I'm almost certain, at least the German pilots did so. For the British and French, who had to cross the line, it is a very different matter. I would possibly not have dared to fill my tank only half, flying Entente. But in a German Jasta, close to the front, mostly flying over "own" terrain, I would.

Not yet, tone12 - it happened accidently. But they are investigating the problem. Let's hope, they find it.

Thank you for the warning, Bullethead - it may save my life.

Okay, Creaghorn mailed it to me - so I'll experiment over Christmas.

Duke, when the mixing of both AIs starts late 1916, you should get a 50/50 mix mid 1917. But still it is random. That's only what I understood.