Wayfarer

The quality of the landscape and clouds in OFF, already, is definitely a factor in being able to stay absorbed, even on long reconnaissance flights. In my last mission the weather was all towering subtlely coloured clouds, but no actual rain, and the landscape colours muted by the haze. Made an absolute picture, especially with the sudden startling orange-red flash of the AA opening up in front of me! And if our current computer specs aren't up to it, well we're always saying we could do with another computer ...

I particularly like the 'Handy Page'!

I've just got to May 1916, in Flanders, flying from Hesdigneul , and it was a pretty grey spring for me too. Last few days have been quite pleasant, though.

That's a pity. The last time I looked in at the The Aerodrome, things had seemed a little hopeful. Condolences to his family, of course.

Just to pick one thing out of some very impressive shots, the sky on that last London shot looks particularly fine.

"The Rolands are an entirely different prospect - and if you haven't done so already, might I suggest you look closely at switching at least rear guns (affects player and AI) to 'less accurate'; and 'AI gun range' to easy. These are both SIA-RSS recommended settings, so it's in the interests of historical accuracy (ie not seen as 'cheating')."

TaillyHo, coincidentally I had just done that before my first mission that encountered the Rolands, as I got fed up of my engine regularly being peppered by Eindeckers from hundreds of yards away. Once in a while, perhaps, but the frequency seemed too high. I would have been in even more trouble if I hadn't!

"Yes the Rolands are a bit dangerous, I'd even suggest they are a bit 'ubered'. My pilot in Spring of '16 flying for RFC 29, flying the DH2, was in a flight that was 'jumped' by a squadron of Rolands passing overhead. The amount of unlimited aerobatics they engaged in while handing that flight it's hinder was a bit over the top, climbing barrel rolls and energetic loops with the observer shooting incredibly accurate shots while the attacking plane was cavorting about"

Thanks Lewie, that eases the pain!

"Mmuahahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!"

Olham, that sounds remarkably similar to the sound of a Roland crew passing a stricken BE2!

Having reached April 1916 in my sequence of British campaigns, I have just begun to encounter a feindish new German weapon.

The first time I encountered them I payed little attention to the flight of biplanes passing in the opposite direction. After all, I only needed to worry about monoplanes. Then a phantom gunner chewed up one of my wings. I searched for those Eindeckers everywhere - and slowly a suspicion formed!

On my next mission I was on the lookout for them, so at least they didn't take me by surprise. What I wasn't really prepared for, however, was the wide area of sky the gunners can cover when there is a flight of them. Having a certain amount of experience now, I didn't waste time but went straight to panicking - dragging the old BE around in pointless circles whilst making faint whimpering noises. Finally I remembered something about blind spots! By this time, however, the cylinders had begun their all too frequent death rattle, and I had to try to put down at the nearest allied airfield.

But would they leave me alone!? Twice, as I lined up for a final approach, I glimpsed one of them hanging away off to one side where the gunner was quite capable of sighting on me. Twice, I pulled up and tried to shake him off just above the treetops. My tirade at the injustice of it all got so bad that my wife was even forced to pause Hawaii Five 0 until I calmed down.

In that moment of lucidity, and much to my chagrin, I took a longer look and realised it was one of my wingmen! (In my defence I would like to say that none of them have ever followed me down during a forced landing before - honest).

A chap knew where he was with a monoplane configuration and straightforward interrupter gear, rather than this unpredictable swivel mounting. I want the Eindeckers back!

Lord Wallace Eggs Benedict Wentworth

So we have huge piles of wood everywhere over the countryside, which get set afire in the evening - the Easter fires.

Well I am a terrible heathen, although I appreciate Creaghorn's point about Easter (my wife is a churchgoing person), but I like the sound of the Easter fires lighting up across the countryside.

Thanks Bletchley. That makes sense now. I was beginning to worry that I had sabotaged something. I am going to have to start beating earlier retreats, I think, before that nasty clanking sound starts that signifies bullets in the engine!

1916(1) will have the same flak files as 1915, but the missions are changed to bring back flight-strength patrols (particularly for the Allies, as in January 1916 Trenchard ordered that all recon. flights across the lines should be escorted by scouts or other machines of the same type).

 

Bletchley, I am running this mod for a British 'bomber' pilot in 2 RFC, in Flanders. I am in early March and have it on 'Quiet Sector'. All the missions are still 'Lone Wolf' missions, even when running through optional flights, although many have escorts from other squadrons.

Does that sound right, or have I mucked up the mod somehow?

I only fly about one mission a week, in game time. I don't know if that has any effect?

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It must be awfully slow these days in the old OFF skies. I was sure more folks would chime in on this topic. Ah well, c'est la guerre.

 

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I also don't feel any of my three pilots have really come up to the mark. My first pilot lasted 60 odd missions (can' t get to check his log at the moment) but the next two only lasted 7 between them!

An Aviatik! But I was going to go on to an Eindecker after my British two seater campaign ... now I don't know which ... I'm all confused ... I mean it's the time ... Wait a minute, my wife finishes her course in August. if she could get a job shortly after ... then I could hand in my notice and just play OFF all day long. Phew, problem solved!

Commiserations Creaghorn. My first pilot lasted a year in real time, but only flew one eighth the number of missions of Oberleutnant Cvjetanovic. That must have been an epic campaign!

My last two pilots died after forced landings due to engine damage. Both of them had touched the ground nicely and were gently slowing down. One, however, was between the lines, and the other was just too near a wood at the end of a field. I even managed to steer between two of the trees in the wood, but both were 'tripped up' in the end.

On airfields, I seem more prone to collapse the gear!

Uncleal, good point about the cable. I didn't even think of it. Lucky I didn't decide to try and go underneath the thing.

Olham, the thing is I really do have some sensible advice printed out about attacking balloons (some of it may even have been from your good self) I just sort of panicked at the thought. I had already skipped a couple of missions like this but I felt I was being feeble to refuse another. And yes, my wife is far more sensible/practical than me!

After downloading Bletchley's 1916 (1) mod, my brand new pilot was assigned a 'Lone Wolf' scout-around mission - with the option to try destroying a balloon. I have never tried a ballon attack before (rarely shot at anything before, in fact ), and my first mistake was to forget the good advice I copied from these forums a year ago, when I first got OFF.

I steadfastly weaved my way through the enemy AA to arrive in the area of the target. Couldn't spot it anywhere. My wife, glancing at the screen, advised that if it was a balloon it would be at a somewhat lower altitude. Oh yeah?! Watched 'Wings' through once and you know all about it do ya ...

She was absolutely right, of course.

Having descended to a decidedly uncomfortable 2500', or so, I finally spotted it. Weaving cunningly, whilst keeping the target in sight, I then managed to drift down to within machine gun range, which was a nasty shock. Naturally, whilst weaving desperately and clawing frantically for height, I lost sight of the damn balloon.

Having finally got realigned, I went to 'Iron Sights' and, firing a few test rounds to judge the best aiming point, I closed in ... and closed in ... and ... oops, bugger! Although I was sure I was hitting the thing, there had been no visible effect. No surprise - particularly on the first run, I thought - but, of course, I had got too close and now had to desperately try and pull up over the thing.

I may have missed it by a couple of feet but, no matter, because when I was directly above it, balloon and aircraft were abruptly engulfed in flame. I was expecting to have lost my third pilot in four missions when the old BE sailed out of the inferno as if nothing had happened to it.

I hurriedly checked her all over, including the fuel levels, but she looked fine and, indeed, brought her new pilot back safely, completing the first mission where I have knowingly destroyed a target.

Thing is, I still don't know whether it blew up because I shot it, or because the aircraft physically hit it. I realise that many of you have much more experience of these attacks than me - what do you reckon?

A rare hit is still a hit.

Absolutely.

Ironically, my first pilot was brought down in flames by AA, but got away with being made POW and escaping.

Has anyone made a successful landing in on the front lines themselves? The aircraft really landed quite nicely and was slowing down when it piled up. I didn't think it hit a tree stump, but I wondered if landing on that terrain type would automatically result in a crash?

And did those feet, in an-c-i-ent time,

Walk upon Winder's moun-tains green...?

 

Maybe not that JC, no, but I bet John Constable's up there, copying those clouds. Reminds me of Suffolk skies.

They look just like the kind of photographs that make me want to get my walking boots on!

Perhaps I shouldn't have downloaded the mod after all! After my first pilot lasting over 50 missions, the reduced effect AA punctured the fuel tank on my new pilot's 2nd mission, despite his zigzagging. The engine cut out at about 9000', behind German lines. He couldn't clear No Man's Land, but actually made a good forced landing, and for several seconds I thought we'd got away with it. The balance of probabilities reasserted itself, however, the old BE folded up and poor Rawtenstall was killed with less than 1 hour 40 minutes flying time. I feel may have been getting a little complacent about AA. This has certainly cured me of it!

May I walk on your hills?

Obviously it is. I always get blown away when I see pics of WW1 in color. Black & White makes everything seem so remote, but seeing it in color makes it all so... alive!

Javito. I know exactly what you mean there. Looking at black and white pictures in books as a kid, I subconsciously set them in some dull, foggy, autumnish 'otherworld', which always seemed appropriate for WW1, somehow. Only when I was a little older did I appreciate that many of these scenes of death and devastation were taken on fine sunny spring/summer days - and it somehow didn't seem right that such things could be on 'real' days like that.

I think there is a part of my brain that still believes that people in 1914-18 could only see things in a slighly grainy, out of focus way! If you've seen the pictures of Vintage Aviator's FE2 flying, it always makes me wonder how it felt in those days, when these were the things that were clear and vital and ... NOW!

Just carried out a photoreconnaissance over the trenchlines. The minute's straight level flying is absolutely nervewracking! Excellent, thanks once again Bletchley.

Yes, possibly. I tweaked the general recon. missions towards airfields and railway sidings. I guess you are flying British? If you were flying German, the recon. would be a 'lone wolf' mission, and you will be advised to fly them as high as you can. The big giveaway is the 'lone wolf' missions - if you see one of these come up, you know the mod is active. Also look at the text briefing - a British photorecon. will give you instructions on the altitude you must fly at, and the use of the inclinometer (but as these are over the trenches, your's must be a general recon. behind the lines), and art.obs. missions will give you some instructions on signalling with flares: but I have not been able to get flares to work with the BE2, so you might have to ignore that bit )

 

Bletchley

I enlisted a German pilot just to test, and there was a 'Lone Wolf' mission so it seems to be activated ok. Thanks for these mods, they've come in very timely as I have just reached 1916. Back to the other side of the lines now to carry on the 2 RFC campaign.

I managed to grab a few minutes and seem to have downloaded both mod manager and mod ok (curiously my previous hiccup was with downloading the mod, I kept losing it somehow, but this time had no problem), and have activated Quiet Sector, which is appropriate at the moment.

This is actually the first mission with a new pilot so I am not re-entering a campaign as such. Is there any obvious way to see that the mod is active. I do have reconnaissance mission over an enemy airfield, which I have never had before - would that originate from the mod?