Olham

Wow! So many pics here - I'm just out the house for one day, and find all this! Rickitycrate, your pics are very entertaining; Bullet's DFW looks good in it's Naval colours; and the Gotha - does it have a "corridor" from one seat to the other? Funny craft! Burning Beard, you must have made Rickitycrate very happy - he loves the post war SPAD designs by the Americans and would love to have them all.

Don't worry, Dej - I WANT the Blue Max! But I'm really out the house all day, cause my friend's house is still not ready. We got to plaster the walls (not us!).

As far as I know, the clouds can hide you now, even for AI craft. Also should it be possible to attack out of the sun without them noticing you. Well done, Bullethead - THE classic attack form.

Bleech! Ze crumpetz make fun of us! Zeir craft should bee ridiculous enough vizzout ziss scrawl on zee undersurfacess! Butt zey twit der Kaiser, no less!!! (Schnorch!! Steam!!!) Oh, you vaitt! When one off zeese come into my gunsights, I vill make confetti of zem, for ze Victory Parade on ze Champs Elysées!!! Grmbl!!!

That looks very good! Uncle Al will load up some rockets again soon. And the greedy OFF Vampire in me comes out now to ask/beg: Will it be possible some day, to present some of the well documented airfields as they really looked? For example Roucourt field, with the triangular wood and the castle?

I am somehow related to Hans Jeschonnek, who seems to have flown a Fokker DVII with Jasta 40 (as I found a downloadable skin here in our download section - maybe we even have him in OFF already? I don't know right now). I have never researched, what relative he exactly was. He commited suicide as a high Luftwaffe officer in the "Third Reich", when Peenemünde was bombed hard the first time (don't know exactly why - seems he was responsible for the realisation of Luftwaffe programs, and the bombing must have been a bad set-back, about which Hitler was certainly extremely upset.) My grandfather (father's side), had been an infantry soldier in the Somme area. In an assault, he got shot through both upper arms by machine gun fire, and that was it for him - he survived half crippled though and so he was lucky somehow - I'd say, after lots of horrible pics I have seen about trench warfare meanwhile.

Forgot to say: mine vary between 68 - 89 From others, who got lots of confirms I read, they where usually over 80.

Good news, Pol! Lou, if you are in a non-elite unit, A-Flight is good to have with you (have only German side exp.); often they would be a bit ahead, and get attacked first. I find it easier then to come in right on the fighting and be better prepared. Also not noticed so much. But elite squads often kill everything around you. Still though, I have shot down two Nupe 11 in front of MvR - the big ace had no kills that flight. (Perhaps he left them for me?)

Don't give up, Dej - I'll be out tomorrow from 08:00 AM until maybe 20:00 PM. Perhaps you get the last plane right then, or there's a new set? Good luck!

If you mean the number after the word "pending" - as far as I know, the higher that number, the safer that you get that claim confirmed; but that's info/guesses from other threads. And I wouldn't mess around in there as you don't know what it does.

Wow, that's British sportsmanship! I would have found it okay and right for you to try another, cause we where really posting at the same time; AND most important, your answer was right. Lou said the same. I hope for you then, that no one comes up with the right answer for the V-strut until 36 hours are over - but that's a long time. Congratulation, Rickity! I didn't know that one, honestly.

Well, you CAN dive in it - to me that is quite something, cause from my Albatros DIII and DV, I'm not even used to do steep dives AT ALL. They would break up in mid air. That fight against the Nupes showed me, that, flown right, she was a much better craft in her time, than the Pfalz was in it's (later) time.

Bullethead, you must have hit something there. Since the minipatches came in rapidly, I think I never had a flight with A-flight together, even when we both where on the board for that mission. I was wondering recently, when I would have a flight together again, but always, on half way, they disappeared.

Yes, Mark Miller's 3D stuff is great - also about Albatros.

Oh no! Sorry, Dej, really! I would have thought you'd go for the V-Strut. Come on - second try! Is it allowed? Lou - can a poster, who came after another's right answer shortly, post again on another pic ?

Nr. 40: FMV/Phönixwerke Phönix 122 D.III The type entered service with the army in 1919, was retired from the air force, where it was designated J 1, in 1932. A total of twelve served with the Swedish armed forces. Photo shows a plane built in 1919, military serial 947. The Phönix D.I was an Austro-Hungarian First World War biplane fighter built by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke and based on the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I. Development The Phönix D.I was the second design developed by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke based on Hansa-Brandenburg designs which it has produced under licence.[1] The D.I was a single-seat biplane fighter with improvements over the original Hansa-Brandenburg design which included more efficient wings, a more powerful engine and structural improvements.[1] A prototype was first flown in 1917 and proved to be fast but difficult to handle but because of the urgent need for fighters the D.I entered production. To improve the problems a modified variant, the D.II was introduced with balanced elevators and balanced ailerons on the upper wings. A further development was the D.III which had balanced ailerons on both wings and a more powerful 230hp (172kW) Hiero in-line engine. The last of 158 aircraft of all three types was delivered on 4 November 1918. Variants D.I - Initial production variant with a 200hp (149kW) Hiero inline engine.[1] D.II - Improved variant with balanced elevators and balanced ailerons on the upper wings.[1] D.III - Improved variant with balanced ailerons on both wings and powered by a 230hp (172kW) Hiero in-line engine.[1] Operators Austria-Hungary * KuKLFT * Austro-Hungarian Navy Sweden * Swedish Air Force

Update 09/18/09 22:51 Berlin time (GMT +2) peterjh, England, added. the maps are in post 1 of this thread

I have a pause button at the stick, but still it was too intense, as I wasn't used to the Halberstadt enough, and fighting Nupe 11s was very tough. The rudder works great cause the Halberstadt has not tail fin, but only a turning rudder, like the Dr.1.

If you have a good scenery and lighting, perhaps you can make some screenshots? The Alsace is an area, I haven't really explored yet. Good to know, you're still an Albatros pilot - we aren't many.

Dej, "Sailor" Malan - gee, that struck a memory bell - was the first character I flew in a very early flight sim, where you didn't have 3D models, but only pixelated views of the craft from various angles. How far it all got from then (1995?) The big advantage here for all of us: we can die a thousand times, and learn from it. And you're better prepared: You will!

Vott?!? A Crumpet Wunderwaffe we hav not heard of?!?!?

Don't give up, chaps! I was lucky enough to get earlier training in the much softer Phase 2, and then, when BHaH came out, it still wasn't as tough, as it is now. So you come into it the hard way - or you put the settings some steps easier. But remember: Udet perhaps shot down 1 craft every 15 sorties! Manfred von Richthofen ONLY attacked, when he was sure to win the fight - all other occasions, he would have left. The rest is: training! You just have to stand up more often than you are knocked down.

I choose my Jastas/craft after the season - I hate the bad wheather from November - April, and so I picked Jasta 1; they get the Halberstadt DII in August 1916. The only time I'd fly an Albatros DII would be September 1916, with Jasta 2. (If I lasted long enough, I would go through the winter season, of course). Jasta 17 is one I haven't been flying with yet. Are they always at Verdun?

Yes, thanks from me too - now I can be a Rittmeister - great!

Hi, Ryan First of all: read and memorise the "Dicta Boelke" (it's in the sticky "Tips and Tricks"); and follow it. It took me some time to get really good with some craft - you can't expect to be an "instant ace". The time you picked was alright, and the fighter too. You may just need to learn to handle it better. The earliest Albatros DII is I think in Jasta 2, Bertincourt, September 1916. Now, make sure to achieve some good altitude, before you cross the lines - 5.000 feet or more. When the enemy always comes in higher, go higher too next time. When you fly over dense enemy Flak (airfields, front line, towns, army camps, balloon bases etc.), don't fly straight! Fly zigzag course. In combat, don't go down too low over the lines. Flying without TAC is hard, but may also avoid many enemies, simply because you don't see them. I have flight density on medium. If you fly in an elite Jasta, like Jasta 2 or Jasta 11 for example, the other pilots may care much better for enemy fighters - but also they won't leave you any to shoot down. The problem to catch up with your AI pilots was described by several others too. I always fly as leader, so I don't have that problem. You could warp; that should bring you up to them.