Hasse Wind

Reading the posts in the thread at The Aerodrome, it seems he was really seriously ill, so this didn't come as a surprise. Such infections can be deadly even for younger and healthier people. He was one of the biggest gurus of WW1 aviation history and his loss is a blow to everybody interested in that history. But he will live on in his writings.

I'd go back to the year 1054 and observe the bright supernova that the Chinese and Arab astronomers observed for almost two years, starting in July of that year. It was said to be so bright that it was visible in broad daylight. I'd take my telescope and a good camera with me, of course. That event has fascinated me ever since I became interested in astronomy, and no human being has witnessed anything like it for centuries. The Medieval sources from Europe are completely useless, because we were living through the dark ages back then, science was practically dead and superstition and useless philosophy dominated the educated circles. Even the best scientists of the era, those living in the Arab world and China, had really no idea what they were observing, so the descriptions of the phenomenon are infuriatingly vague. So no battles for me, thank you.

Maybe you should try to enjoy the quiet months before the storm, elephant? As you know, the rest of the year will be quite busy and dangerous for the German air force. I'm now flying a British career in 1916 and the balance between lone wolf missions and others seems to be quite good. But then I expect the majority of missions to be of the lone wolf type in that year.

Good to hear you're not in trouble, Bullethead. That's some very interesting information you posted there, and the photos are great. I had no idea about the changes happening to the Mississippi (too many s's in that name!). When a river as massive as the Mississippi decides to change its course, there's very little humans can do except try to adapt to the new situation. We're all pretty insignificant inhabitants of this planet when compared to the mighty forces of nature, and our impact on many things is very superficial.

Like Olham said, that's how they mostly flew in the early part of the war - alone. Bigger formations became common only from 1916 onwards. The large formations of Quirks, Bristol Scouts and Eindeckers you meet in the OFF default careers in 1915 are completely ahistorical, and this mod changes it. Of course if you are flying in 1917 and 1918 and still get mostly lone wolf missions, then something is indeed wrong.

All the best and good luck to Bullethead and all the other people in that area.

Comic photos? Were they making a cartoon from such photos?

I see damage all the time when somebody gets behind me and shoots my crate to pieces.

I think it would be great if you had an extra man building the aircraft models. Lewie seems to be particularly good with the early aircraft, and since OFF doesn't have too many of those, maybe he could indeed help you with something? Flight model discussions are the bread and butter of sim communities. It's really hard to make FM's that are satisfying to everybody. But that's why it's so great that OFF can be modded. It's a great sim without any mods, but for me it's even better with them, thanks to the hard work of our talented modders here.

That nicely sums up the whole idea behind scientific research. People can talk and debate all they want, but having actual proof of something is what decides the way of things in the end. Or at least it should.

While we're at the business of demanding more from the poor devs, how about a few extra Quirk variants? The BE saw service for such a long time and went through some changes (not terribly dramatic ones though) that it would be great to see more than one model representing them.

Absolutely marvelous work! I really like the improved rivers and weather effects, clouds etc.

There are so many things we don't know well about WW1, so what Lou posted is absolutely correct. It's so easy to think that one knows everything about a subject when he or she spends years studying it. It would be interesting to know how well preserved the archives of the Fokker company are and do they have any documentation about such early Dreideckers and the paints used on them. And then there are (or were) all the documents of the various Staffeln and the HQ's, many of which have been lost during the chaotic decades following WW1. It's always possible that a writer remember things wrong, either knowingly or accidentally, but if he was known to be a trustworthy fellow, then maybe there is no reason to doubt his words.

Amen to that.

I didn't want to overburden him with requests.

Yet another improvement in P4. Wonderful!

Sounds good, HPW. The D.II should be an excellent fighter, but currently it's actually better than the D.III and D.V, which shouldn't be the case. I like your modified Nupe 28 a lot and use it all the time in my Yankee campaigns, so I'm looking forward to the modified Albs.

Often such conversations contain the greatest of drama when people become mightily angry over completely insignificant things.

It's no secret that OFF P3 is at its weakest when you play early war careers. The best experience is with the 1917-1918 careers. Those years have the best selection of aircraft and squadrons and the AI behaviour suits the late war period much better than the earlier, more restricted air war. It's a huge sim and the devs don't have the budget of a mega corporation, so we all need some patience. P4, P4...

I also have Win 7 64 bit and it plays OFF without problems. In fact my TrackIR works better now than it did on XP.

I always thought the two most important pigments of PC 10 were gastrointestinal in origin. I guess I was wrong.

As I mentioned, I'm currently flying a Fee career in early 1916. The Eindeckers are certainly no Albs, but they can still be dangerous to a Fee. So if you worry about the early campaigns being too easy and boring for the British, I can assure you there's no need to worry. There are still many ways you can lose a pilot in those months! I agree with Olham about the Albatros in 1916 and early 1917. It really feels like a monster fighter, and is more than a match for any Entente fighter of the period. Only when the more dangerous late war Entente fighters, the SPAD's, the Brisfits, the SE.5's and the Camels come into service in large numbers does life become very challenging for a German pilot. Even though the Pup and the N.17 are both great fighters, I don't fear them much when I'm piloting a D.II.

Unlike in so many other sims, the missions in OFF are not scripted. Depending on the year and sector, the front is full of other squadrons flying their own missions completely independently from your squadron. If you fly in 1918 or during the big offensives, there's more traffic in the air than in earlier years or more quiet sectors. Early war careers can be quite peaceful and enemy encounters are rare in them. And if you fly without any lables and the TAC screen, you will see even less aircraft. But they are there, trying to complete their missions, no matter if you see them or not. Oh, and welcome!

Okay, I'll help you guys a little. The answer is 26 palms.

Actually I've been wondering the same thing. Do we even know of them all? But anybody who lives for over one hundred years, through two devastating world wars, deserves a salute. Soon that generation will be no more, and all we have left is history.