SouthPaw.

I lost an American SPAD VII pilot on takeoff on his very first mission - didn't even get my wheels more than a foot off the ground. Apparently either I was veering right or my wingman was veering left and our planes collided on the airfield.

Because the HAT views suck and not everyone has TrackIR.

Yes indeed. I'm not in this for the "total" immersion, but I LOVE that OFF can cater to so many different styles of play to suit every person and every mood.

No BE2 has ever fired at me. The FE2b finally did on the next mission, but I only got pinged a couple times. Then on the third mission I dove in on a flight of Sopwith Strutters, which also had previously not fired upon me, and that was the end of that pilot. 4 tailgunners simultaneously ripped me a new one. 3 missions, 25 claims, and now he's dead. Woopsie. I'm trying to decide what to fly next. The Bristol Scout or DH2 sounds like a good challenge.

So after my SE5a pilot was captured because his plane fell apart coming out of warp at 300 MPH (yeah... I won't get into that right here) I decided to try a German career in Jasta 2 starting in Albatros D.IIs. My first mission resulted in 11 claims. It's amazing how many planes that don't shoot back you can kill with 2 machine guns. I nabbed 7 BE2s, 2 FE2s, and 2 DH2s (3, really, but my wingmen emptied their guns into one I had set on fire already and I didn't get to claim it). But the last 4 BE2s were the funniest. I was almost home and had 98 rounds of ammo left. Just as I was approaching my field, there they were. 4 helpless, unarmed 2-seaters flying just to the North of me. I had to try to get at least 1 or 2 with my remaining ammo. Knowing they won't shoot back helps, as I was able to fly right along side, kick the rudder to aim for their engines, and set them ablaze with a quick burst. I did this for the first 3, then saw my ammo counter: 6 rounds, 1 plane left. Why not? I pulled up as close as I could, aimed for the engine, and hit home with all 6. A second later a small flame emerged from the engine. Soon after the plane was engulfed in flames and my wife wanted to know what I was laughing at. I know - enjoy it while I can until armed 2-seaters and Nieuports start showing up.

Ah ha! I did not know that! I shall have to try SHIFT+W next time. Thanks for your advice everyone. I didn't play CFS3 so I wasn't sure if this was a quirk of OFF itself, the underlying CFS3 engine, or my own stupidity. Good to know I'm not alone.

I survived one! Flying an SE5a for No. 74 Squadron, I got the call to attack ground forces on the very next mission after learning that enough of my claims had been accepted to make me an ace. "Great," I thought, "the AI decided it's time for THIS pilot to die." Since we were in SE5a's, I was able to load out with bombs and chose to do so. Much to my amazement, my idiot wingmen DID in fact attack the troops and trucks with their own bombs. After my flight made its attack, scoring several successful hits, I gathered them back up and headed for home. Now, another problem with these ground attack missions is that the "warp" feature doesn't ever take you home - only back to the scene of the crime. So I settled in for the long journey home which was thankfully over friendly territory. About halfway home my 3rd wingman suddenly fell out of formation, losing altitude rapidly. I suspect damage he took on the attack finally caught up - perhaps a slow fuel leak as you mentioned. The remaining two members of my flight shortly there after came upon a sight that I just had to laugh at. 4 Albatros D.Va attacking an aerodrome. Justice! Now the tables are turned! I bagged 3 of them in short order while my wingmen chased 1 all over the deck before knocking him down. I landed safely, and when I did so Lt. Wright - my usual flight leader - was most definitely in the air. I sited him as my witness on the claim form. After I submit the form I'm told he did not return and his whereabouts are unknown. *sigh*

So, do these missions serve any purpose other than to put you down on the deck over enemy territory where if the machine gun fire doesn't get you the inevitable horde of enemy aircraft that jumps you will? I have lost many pilots to this type of mission already - including my 14 confirmed kill/15 hour Camel ace. Some examples: Flying Albatros D.IIIs for Jasta 18, we were to attack ground forces marching at a location. Despite this being just my third mission with this pilot and my rank being set as low as I could when I created him, I was selected to lead this attack (you ALWAYS lead in these missions, it seems). We get there, I find troops and vehicles on the move at the assigned area. I target them and order my wingmen to attack. They do nothing but fly circles on the deck while I strafe trucks and troops. Then we get bounced by the Storks. That ended as one might expect, although I did blast Guynemer out of the sky before Dorme returned the favor. Flying in a Camel equipped squadron this time we were once again assigned to strafe troops. I make a few passes while my flight picks their collective nose, and sure enough, here they come! Pfalz to the left of me, Albatros to the right. Here I am, stuck in the middle with fools! We engage the enemy aircraft in a lopsided 7-3 contest. I just keep spinning my Sopwith around and around, putting bullets in whomever is unlucky enough to enter my crosshairs at a given moment. Then 4 more Camels come charging in and we have ourselves a FURBALL! After avoiding several FRIENDLY near-collisions, I find the fight has spread over a wider area. Now I have 2 Pfalz around me while the Albatros are engaged by the other Camels. I don't know what's become of the 3rd Pfalz nor my two wingmen at this point, but I can handle 2 Pfalz on my own. One goes down with a good burst to the cockpit (gotta love that Wilhelm scream), the other is Bolle, and I'm following him in a right chandelle easily... drawing lead... ready to fire... aaand my engine shuts off for no good reason. Down I go, crash-landing behind enemy lines. 14 hours and as many kills stopped short. At least he lived. Then, in the last 2 careers I attempted before this post, I decided to try my hand as an American SPAD pilot on the 95th. First mission? Attack a railyard. I shot anything that would respond to bullets (machine gunners and a truck) and soon enough... Fokker D.VIIs. The machine gunners had already crippled my wing and I was barely staying airborne as it was. A D.VII dove on me, I evaded his shot, and spiraled into the ground. So I deleted that dossier and made it again - same name, same squad and date. This time the first mission was recon. I had to keep a wingman alive after loitering over an area for 18 minutes. Sure enough, we get there and what do dumb and dumber do? They dive for the deck. Well, being the sort with an eye for patterns I decide to keep my altitude. Ah ha! Here they come. 4 Albatros D.V and 2 Pfalz. I get their attention and drag them away from the other 2 planes from my flight who are at this point going back and forth over the front low enough that the trenches are firing at them. My SPAD far outclasses my adversaries and I have them well below me, so I toy with them. At some point I lose 2 of the Albatros and am left with 2 Pfalz and 1 Alb well below me, and 1 Alb. about 500 feet below and behind. I decide to start rope-a-doping these boys. I pick off the top Albatross with ease. A Pfalz falls victim next as I work the fight in a downward spirial. We get near the deck before I get a clean shot at the second Alb, and the son of a gun pitches up sharply and to the right after I kill the pilot. My wingtip brushes his. I make a break for it, leaving the remaining Pfalz to fight another day. I find the nearest airfield, put the crippled SPAD down... and roll over & die. I have survived ONE mission where my objective was to attack a ground target - and that was because I returned to base alone after my wingmen were killed in two separate encounters before we even reached the target area and I was out of ammo from killing 8 D.Vs. These missions are the kiss of death! I may start feigning engine trouble whenever they come up. At the very least, I'm not going down to the deck and waiting for the enemy planes to attack anymore. So my question is this - am I right? Are the actual stated objectives of these missions impossible and it's really just a trap? Do wingmen ever actually shoot ground targets? Am I paranoid or are they REALLY out to get me?

I seem to recall reading about at least one SE5a with 2 Vickers in addition to the Lewis gun, making a total of 3. I just can't remember or find the source again... And I'm sure someone somewhere at least experimented with modifying their plane to have 3 guns. All kinds of crazy experiments were undertaken all over the front - like putting a cannon in a plane made of wood and canvas.