Olham

My god, Test Pilot and Bullet - I was in a sombre mood earlier on, but you two made me laugh really loud. Thanks for that, mates!

Jasta 9, Vauxcerre, July 20th 1918 Oberleutnant Juergen Mahlo Leutnant Stemmler, Leutnant Gottschling and I are sitting together with our youngsters, Leutnant von Heisenberg and Feldwebel Knapp. We are drinking French beer from bottles. It makes me homesick; this beer is not like any beer at home. And it's too warm, too. The new pilots are deeply impressed by their 'old leader' - half an hour ago they witnessed, how I shot down two SPAD XIII from Esc.83, within 4 minutes. They are hanging at my lips, but I don't want to talk much. I looked right into the cockpit of the second SPADfrom above, from less than 50 meters. From my angle, I could see his legs in sand trousers, his arms, his hands in brown gloves, desperately pulling the stick - in vain. I saw the impact of my burst, violently ripping holes into the sand trousers, the leather jacket and the brown gloves, the pilot's cap - and I saw him looking up, right at me, a pale face, perhaps 19 years old, and then the impacts in it... If my pilots could see the chicken skin on my arms, if they could feel the cold shudder down my back spine... But they don't notice it, and I don't show... Stemmler makes a joke, that isn't funny really, and no one finds it funny, but we all laugh a sandpaper kind of laughter, and then we wash the joke and the laughter down with lukewarm French beer. Looking into the golden afternoon sun, I cannot feel any warmth from her. She doesn't care, if she bathed even slaughter in her golden light. "Excuse me now, gentlemen, I have some paperwork to do!" My voice sounds like through a tin can; I'm standing up; hope, it didn't sound weak; I see their disappointed looks, but all I want is to get to my room and close the door behind me. Only to lie on my bed, smoking, and wondering, what I am doing here in the Marne valley; what I have become...

I have recently lost 5 or 6 Albatros DVa to breaking up in mid air. But Pol says, they should be rather more stabile than in Phase 2 (were I never broke one). I just don't know what this is. I even fly with Hardcore DM, so the plane should be even more solid. I'll give her more tries though, as she is my favourite plane - I'll be more careful now. The last one broke up, when I followed a Nupe 17 in a soft 15-20° dive, and then followed her, when she pulled up again. That annoied me so much, that I switched the "aircraft stress" yesterday. But I don't feel good with that either...

You may change to the gunner's position yourself then, Bullet (F8, I think) ?

Well said, UncleAl!

Hah!!! Pol, Winder - I said, that the wings break too easily!

Hoghead - there was never only a nine-view system in Phase 2. You could also use glide view or panning view; don't know how it's called. Seeing, you got TrackIR on your list, we'll speak again, when you have it. I'm certain, you will talk different with that device.

In German Amazon, I had done the same thing - a customer's review about CFS3, with the obvious hint for BHaH. I had read from OvS, that he had seen such (BirdDog's) review, and found it a great idea. So did I, and placed this. http://www.amazon.de/rondomedia-Combat-Fli...9971&sr=1-1 But it may really take some time, until many people realise, how good this sim is.

Not believing in destiny, I think a lot depends on just luck. MvR was hit by a bullet, that didn't go into his head. Lanoe Hawker got hit right into the head. A difference of an inch sometimes. The same about the many holes, MvR found in his uniform and boots - he must have been ALMOST shot several times. But with plenty of "lucky inches", you can carry on growing your kill tally. And then, on one April morning, he didn't know, that the last "lucky inch" had been used up in a previous fight...

I only flew SPAD XIII in QC, but I found, you can do a great combination of diving attacks and pulling out up after that. You need to be patient, cause you won't always place svere hits. But you need to keep up that tactics. Go away, up, until you can do another dive attack. With that tactic, only D VIIs are dangerous to you, as they can do pretty much the same. PS: when climbing out of an attack, you got to check your six of course still, as some opponent may have just gained speed/energy, and then he can follow you a bit.

Great shot, Rickity. Do I understand right - these tracers are now already coming with 1.30c?

Do you guys ever care for your families? Great job done, despite all the drinking (Lol!!)

Had an incredible fight yesterday; our 4 Albatros DIII against 5 brandnew S.E.5a. I managed not only, to stay alive (with a few holes in my plane), but downed 3 of them. My wings killed the other two, but got all killed in action. Now, I came home, but didn't get a claim report - of course not; I had no witnesses... That' life, Siggi. (But I KNOW, I'm a heroe - Lol!!!)

Hardcore Damage Model is meant to make ALL aircraft more stable. You cannot destroy them so easily anymore; but enemy can't destroy your plane so easy either.

Siggi: I was around five years old when my mother built and painted the old Airfix Dogfight-Double kit, Dr1 & Brisfit, and hung them from the bedroom ceiling. Boy - some people can have great parents... A choice of aircraft is difficult, cause I haven't been flying all, even as a simmer only. But from the ones I know: Albatros DIII (in it's time, when it was brand new) Supermarine Spitfire Mk2 (for it's beauty) Focke Wulf 190 D9 (for a great, but late fighter)

Now, that's what I call a funny report. Excellent addition to my breakfast, Bullet; great! Test Pilot, I just checked for the climb of the SPAD, and it should be almost as good as the Fokker DVII F Höhenjäger (in other words: excellent!) So, you have a great dive (you should be able to dive almost vertically) and a great climb - use them, and you should have a great boom- and-zoom fighter.

Really good already, RedDog. But wouldn't they have made the wings in polygon camo as well? I know, you were searching for sources of info about that; and I did a little too, but haven't found anything. But to me a polygon test skin would only make sense, when it was overall.

The range of the TAC is like a ball around your plane as the center. When your TAC range is set on less than 8 miles, high flying two-seaters will not appear, or only, when they enter the very pole of that ball, only to leave it soon again. So, unless you fly very high yourself, you may not even spot them per TAC.

Maybe they already had something similar to Dicta Boelke. - Attacked right out of the sun - Had advantage of height - Only shot when the enemy was close enough

Hey, that's a good pic for Bullethead. Typical Texan style - riding the biggest of all bombs into the biggest of all explosions (Lol!) That film was great!

No, I think, against the Mexicans that was. Or do I mix up things? I always read the name Fort Alamo - what was that fight then. Bullet?

In another thread, I posted an excerpt from the book "The Red Baron", were he reported, how he almost got burnt in his brand new first Albatros DIII. Had the plane caught fire, he would have been an ace with just 28 victories, hardly known by many today. And 52 more planes would not have been downed by the hunter, who called his victims "his friends". May he rest - together with "his friends" - in peace now.

Here's some excerpt from the book "The Red Baron", that may show, how close the shave sometimes is. Had he burnt that day, he would have been an ace with 28 victories - most people wouldn't know his name now, and 52 planes wouldn't have been shot down by him.. March 19th, 1917, Manfred von Richthofen received a brand new aircraft, the Albatros DIII; which he wanted to try out immediately. His flight encountered 9 F.E.8s of No.40 Squadron, patrolling over Oppy, west of Douai. "Now I am 50 metres away, a few good shots and then success is inevitable. So I thought. But all of a sudden, there is a big bang; I have barely got off ten shots when again there is a smack on my machine. It is clear I have been hit. At least my machine has been, [although] I personally have not. At the same moment it stinks something terrible of gasoline, also the engine slows down. The Englishman notices it, for now he shoots even more. I must break off immediately. I go straight down. Instinctively, I have switched off the engine. Just in time. If the fuel tank is punctured and the stuff squirts around the legs, the danger of fire is indeed great. Up front there is an internal combustion engine over 150 "horses" strong; glowing hot. One drop of fuel (on it), and the whole machine will burn. I am leaving behind me a trail of white mist. I know it very well from opponents. It happens just before an explosion." Richthofen was lucky. His engine quit altogether, minimizing the risk of fire, and his opponent withdrew. But he was still vulnerable, and checked constantly to be sure he was not followed. [...] Richthofen set down in a small meadow along the road to Hénin-Liétard. On this day, April 21st, 1918; 11h50, the was hit by the bullet with his name on.

Manfred flew more than one craft or type; here in BHaH, he is seen in: Halberstadt, Albatros (several versions), and the Fokker Dr.1. He might have even scored much higher, had he flown the DVII. The carreers of Allied pilots couldn't only get shortened by death, but also by emergency landing on German terrain. If it's true, that German fighter pilots didn't have to go far into enemy terrain, they had an advantage there. But the man von Richthofen was so much a hunter (much more than a good pilot), that, given a Sopwith Pup, an S.E.5a or a Camel, I'm pretty certain, he would have scored similarly high with them. But he had forced landings (at least one), and that would have taken him out and a POW, on enemy terrain.

Thank you for the info, Winder. As for the sales numbers, I have often thought about what could be done, but most actions cost money. It may also be a too long way for many, that they must also purchase CFS3. So I thought, if you could make it a "joint venture" with the Microsoft people (and CFS3 already in the same package) - they surely have impressive distribution ways. And even, if they let you have a third or fourth of the whole sales price only, it might be a lot more money, seeing larger sales numbers. This Sim would really deserve to be noticed more - I'm sure, everyone, who experienced it, would be excited!