CW3SF

Washing planes at Hawthorne Airfield in the general area of SW Los Angeles in the early 50's I got some time in several airplanes. The open cockpit types were the PT-17, PT-19, PT-22, and if you count sliding the window open "Navy Style" the BT-13, and AT-6. Most of the pilots were WW2 folks and at times we tore the sky up ------ FUN FUN FUN !!!! Of all the planes I flew in my heart is still with the SA-16 "Albatross" that we used during search and rescue ops. It had a hatch in the front that you could open and stand up in ( helpfull in coming into shore to look for hazards). Later the helo's were much better at rescue work--- tho when power was lost the had a steep glide angle.

What fun!!! Brings back memories of my son and a few years ago my grandson doing the same thing. Enjoy these precious moments. Don't know if the F22 will be there to do it's "stuff", but if it is, "stare in amazement'.

How fussy is either 4 or 5 to lights behind you when playing the game. I have heard it's a NO NO!! My wife sits at my "6" and reads while I play. She also makes comments on my muttering as I play, but loves the sight of old crates in the air. Accurate input is always apprecited. CW3SF

I have held off from buying Track IR do to the issue of lights behind causing a "poor picture". We live in an RV (39 feet long) and my wife is often reading in a chair behind me. The bulb is not strong and has a shade but would be in full view of the device as she is at my 6. Any Ideas??? Thanks CW3SF

Nov. 1915 in an EIII flying out of Bertincourt ,once on an "eagle' mission and then on a escort mission I ended up way out over the north sea and just made it back to land as the fuel ran out. Any comment?? Have others had this happen ? It took a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG TIME to fly back! My hand and arm is still tired--- did not trust warp to get me back. At 72 I can not do the "non-warp thing" without cramping. Flying "did" with only "mixture" and easy claims makes this a challenging game.

"OLD BUGGER" my rusty red @%&! Your the same age as my second born-- hell kid I have GI socks older than you--- I'll send you some if you like. All kidding aside keeping track of just where it is all at sometimes is a bit much. This is good fun, so long as you keep your airspeed up.

Been busy doing all that we "snow birds" do this time of the year. Flying a camel at 90+ and have a few kills after 12 missions. Question--- How is the update 1.30 and the "hard damage' option working out? Thanks for your thoughts. CW3SF { turned 72 last Saturday }

Charles A Chaboud has left us. My friend and a hero of France. Visits with him and his wife in Gurs France were the highlights during several trips to Europe. At the start of WW11 his father went to fight with the underground. Charles, just a boy of 16, was told to fight for his country. He did just that. During one of the early actions he helped a small young lad carry a heavy machine gun up a hill---- Worst mistake he ever made he said. Carried that damn heavy thing for the rest of the war. Charles was a tall and tough guy, but also very funny. We spent the 50th anv. of D-day in the local bar. Now that was a day to remember except most of those brain cells were washed clean with wine. Not many of the WW11 gang left. CW3SF

While loaded with rockets for a ballon busting mission I ran out of ammo and used my last two pair of rockets to blow a enemy aircraft to bits and pieces. I always load my Camel with rockets now and have several kills with them. Question --- What does the upgrade 1.30 do that is better than 1.28 ??? Thanks again, CW3SF

Easy to get 17 hrs that is. After 9 flights and 10 hrs NO ENEMY. My little Arco DH2 and I await the hun----where are they? Does this lack of Enemy Aircraft happen often ---- OR do I need to restart? I have never seen this before, and playing at 90.

I am flying a Camel at 90 realistic with the 1.28a patch plus the Hard damage option. Here is the deal My wingmen will NOT follow orders to regroup, help or attack. They have yet to hit a rail yard or airfield. In air to air action they can not hit a thing. But let me blast one of the enemy with 200-300 rounds and send him down in flames and they will swoop down and get one shot and the kill---- bummer. One even sent some shots into me as I followed the enemy to the ground "blocking" the wingman from a kill. Any one else having this happen? After 6 missions at 90 I have 6 confirmed kills and 4 more being looked at. I think I'll go to the Luke AFB Air Show tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts. CW3SF

My pilot is flying a Camel with the patch 1.28a , Hard Damage, at 90+ realisum, using an Extreame 3D pro stick. The poor guy does not have one of those IR scan things that "puts you in the cockpit", nor can he work the mixture yet. He does have six kills in six missions, flying and shooting are ok. VERY CAREFULL and clear instructions PLEASE. I do have the tan colored Keyboard Commands from CFS3. I would like to be able to command my wingmen after targets. I tried to work this out but "no joy so far". It would really be great to be able to "plug in" the commands into my stick. As long as your here which of the IR devices work best with this game? Thanks for your input. CW3SF

Thanks for all of the good ideas. I am a sargent and that my be an issue. I always lead, but never use the TAC feature. I'll use the tac feature next time out and see if that helps-- hate to shoot at my own men. Just got back from the air show at Luke AFB here in Arizona. The F22 demo-flight was -- WOW!!!! That was is the most clearcut case of a total air surperiority fighter I have ever seen.

This is one hell of a flight sim with only a few imperfections, so I thought it might of interest to see who we name our pilot after and why. Mine is John Bergman. John joined the Army Air Corps right after Pearl Harbour at only 16 ( he pulled a fast one some how). Ended up as a tailgunner in a B17 in England where is first task was to "hose out" the remains of the previous tailgunner and then help repair it for upcoming missions. The story about is first mission tended to grow with the number of beers we shared but the issue was the extra ammo he had packed in the tail made it quite a task for the pilot during takeoff. The pilot issued John is ammo there after. He said the worst part was not the flying combat, but the comming out of a sound sleep and wondering if your buddy was ready for chow-- then looking at an empty bunk and rembering that he was shot down yesterday. He was wounded a few times but was back up asap. He had taken some flying lessons earlier and that would become a life saver later on. On a mission over Germany several of the crew were shot up and circumstances came about that John took over the controls, completed the mission and landed back in England, all with help from those who could. For this he was put in for the CM of H. When his true age was found it was downgraded to DSC. As General Eisenhour pinned it on him John said " just trying to save my own ass sir" to which the general replied " that's the best motivation I know of son". John was sent back to the states and at 17 was back with his unit. Later he got the Purple Heart that grounded him. I crossed paths with John later in life as my CO in a MI unit. He was and still is one of few members of "THE GREATEST GENERATION" who gave their all in combat and lived with it forever.

The last time I did this was at Sim Hq in the LOCKON site and the responces were more like what I had as my opening statement. I was surprised at the brief superficial statements,which left me wondering if in the past there was no one that came to mind as worthy of a pilot's name in this game. A few did mention relitives but without the naritive that turns a "thread" from short staccto turse answers into a rich understandable fabric with a historical perspective. Was I expecting to much? I guess when you get pass 70 what few thought process's that still exists are 'out of tune with the times". Thanks for your input, CW3SF

Just finished 10 missions after 1.28 ( flying at 10 in a Soph. Camel) and it really looks GOOD. All is mostly very nice and makes for a great WW1 Flight Sim. Some improvements would include (in order of need--- in MHO) 1. Better AI at low altitude--- it lacked satisfaction to flame BvRicht. as he hung there in a "hammer head stall" ( a rookie mistake). 2. Wingmen that actually carry out the mission be it attacking an airfield or air-combat ( most are bad shots). 3. This whole claim thing. At lease the members of my flight should be already knowen at automatically listed and therefore questioned after they return. Spending moretime filling out a claim without knowing what is "really needed" is frustrating. And a my age that I dont need. A maptrack,somewhat like a gps track with events listed would bring back memmories and have a record to look at as we make our statments on the claim. For me I have to "PAUSE" during a furball and record all of the information and that detracts from the flow of the game. 4. Give us "old guys" (I,ll be 72 next mo.) a "fly straight and level autopilot" when trying to get back but our navigation system still wants us to go back and attack the railyard where we got hit and a flight of enemy bounced us. Now all I need is to fly accross the lines to safety but my "real world arthritic" wrist will not hold the twisting motion on my stick ( peddels will fit in my realtime space inside my RV) to keep straight and level. As an after thought I wonder how many of you use "cross controling--- crabbing" to reduce airspeed during ACM? Thans for your input, CW3SF

I have posted a few notes on the "sub sims" web sites about the good aspects of OFF and now BH&H with mostly good results. I play both Flight sims { BH&H, LOCKON,& Il2} and the two Sub sims SH3-GWX3 & SH4 along with CIV4 for a change of pace. All are good fun but certinaly not perfect. None of them should be "blasted" !!!! Suggestions or general gripes on specific issues ---sure the developers should here about those. CW3SF aka "SNAKE1937" on other sites

I give up on this "claim" report writing. This is not what I wish to spend my time on. What took place has no real influence on the outcome of the claim. I shot down two FokEIII which crashed dead center of our new field and reported that ---- no credit. That is BULL!!! Has this become a Flight sim on GD english class??????

The developers said to try a 2x or 4x warp to stop the "violent pitch" issue coming out of warp ( using a Sopwith Camel ). I have no idea how to set 2X or 4X warp. One more question please---- is this site the "official OFF BH&H" one??? THANKS, CW3SF

I just installed both 1.26 & the hot fix and "LOVE the GAME"!!!! Two issues: 1. just after 'X" warp my plane pitches up or down so fast will spin out if I am not right there on the stick. 2. after landing "my claims are filed the easy way" ( hate typing), and soon as the game progreses I get error messages about the claim and some other notations. Is any one else having these issues??? On the positive side the total experience is great. THANKS for your input, CW3SF

I us AUTO mix.