Hauksbee

Does Stephen Spielberg know about this?

Back in the day [which, technically, is where we are] it was AA, but current usage has morphed into 'Anti-Aircraft Artillery", or, AAA.

Next, we'll hear him crowing about shooting down an Albatros! The Kaiser will want all his medals back.

If you're thinking about taking this up, [1] get a computer RC sim. It's the easiest way to get over the shock of how difficult RC really is. [2] If you decide to take the plunge and buy a plane, buy the cheapest, simplest, and ugliest airplane you can find. 'Cheap', because your expenses are just starting; 'Simple', because you're going to be spending a lot of time repairing it; 'Ugly', to minimize the heartbreak-on-impact. In fact, you should probably buy two, so you have one to fly while the first heals. Last summer, I watched over a buddy's shoulder as he took up the sport. He flew every weekend, and spent his weekdays repairing...and he was a real-life pilot!

Nothing odd about it! From years of doing 3D modeling, I find I'm usually more facinated by the 3D world I'm in than the actual gameplay. With OFF, both come together beautifully. After a QC session, [especially if there's good clouds about] I'll just fly around and look at things. If I'm in a Sopwith Pup, or a Dr.I, I like to pick a field and do touch-and-go landings.

Sounds like an exciting mission! One that should have been caught on FRAPS. I hope there was a cold beer at the end of it.

What about us poor Bobmer pilots?

Anyone know what happened?

Jaysus! Talk about "a Rock and a Hard Place"!

It's been some years now, but I recall reading that France has a still active official department, staffed by a few dozen WWI bomb disposal experts. Every springtime, a new crop emerges from the mud and farmers hit them with plows. The bomb disposal guys give the explosives a lot of respect, but it's the gas-filled munitions they worry about most. In many cases, shells are corroded to a point where the walls are paper thin, but the gas [especially chlorine gas] is still potent. And like all hazardous professions [Alaskan crab fishing, or Formula Racing] they have their casualties.

Thanks, Creaghorn.

As I understand it, membership was mandatory, or, so strongly 'reccomended' that it amounted to the same thing.

I'd like to see it!

Yes, it's Season #2, tho' the "Rickenbacker vs. 5 D.VII's and 2 Two-seaters' is in the Bonus Section of Season #1. I keep wondering why, since they show re-runs constantly, there aren't more episodes being made? ps: For all who missed the thread on Albert Brooks, don't believe a word about his shooting down 4 D.VII's out of a cloud of 8. He shot down one, and shared a kill with a wingman. [Who was shot down, in turn.] This shattered my faith in The History Channel, but I still love to watch these programs.

The dollars are squirming in my hand....

Opened my copy of "PC Aviator" the other day, and what do I find on the inside front cover? Somebody is putting advertising dollars into ROF. And they're now offering a Fokker D.VII, Albatros D.V, DFW C.5, Brequet 14, Neiuports 17 and 28, SPAD XIII and a SE-5. The exposure can only be good for all us WWI buffs.

Here's where we need a multi-player forum: questions of this sort could be settled at 15,000 ft. Only problem would be where to put the bleachers so we all can watch.

Looks like all the 'heavy' subjects are on the middle shelf...

Wait til' you get in close enough to hear the pilot scream as you hose his plane.

Yeah, we had a thread on this a few weeks back. Turns out that the sight wasn't as bad as it seems to us, and pilots actually liked it. Turns out, you have to lean into it and put your eye to the tube. Something that we can't do.

YES! Thank you for the mention. I've been trying to re-find that book for years. Always thought it was in "Enemy At The Gates"...but not so. This is why I love history: the weird events that send it hobbling off in new directions. When the Germans deployed at Stalingrad, they held back two Panzer divisions as a reserve, camped out on the Russian steppe. As time passed, and the winter began to set in, the local mice left the cold grass for the warm tanks. To build nests, they nibbled the cloth insulation off all the electrical wires. Later when those units were ordered forward (when they were really needed) vehicles would not start, or started and shorted out, or blew up from engine fires. And all from mice. Thanks again, Flyboy!

Could not agree more! Since '94, when I got computer literate, I've loved doing 3D character design and animation. With every machine I've ever owned, I quickly outstripped its ability to keep up. So I called my computer techs one day last December and asked them what it would take to build a machine from parts. They went to NewEgg.com and assembled a wish-list of the fastest components available. The cost was about $1600, plus 2 hours of their time for assembly and set-up @ $65/hr. This is well within what you'd pay going to Best Buy or a Circuit City and buying a top-of-the-line computer right off the shelf. I got, among other things, a 750 W power supply (takes two fans to cool it), a 150 Gb C:/ Drive, and two 500 Gb drives, (J:/ and K:/). Plus, running 64-bit Vista Professional, I get 8 Gb RAM. OFF loves it and the price is right. Go this route, and you'll not have to upgrade for years.

It's hard to fathom what would lure a groundhog out among so many people, but his interest in the planes reminded me of a warning received while flying gliders in the 60's: if your thermals give out, and you're too far from the runway, never land in a field with cows. They find the taste of the doped fabric irresistable, and will eat all the skin off your plane. It's also poisonous to cows and the farmer will undoubtedly sue you to boot. I wonder if the smell of so much model airplane dope might have enticed him out?

Once again, I am boggled at how much research, detail-jockey-ing and historical hair-splitting you guys must go through. The Smithsonian Air Museum should declare the lot of you National Living Treasures and put you on payroll.

Me neither...and no sound. Edit: OK, it's working now, and looks really good. I am looking forward to flying this one!