TaillyHo

Many happy returns, WM!

Friend Olham is clearly in need of a holiday - just as well Christmas is only a few weeks away!

Word of warning for any half-hearted joy-flights over Switzerland. I took one of my early German campaign pilots, based at Sierentz, for just such a flight. Flew down at low level having a nice look around, unchallenged by EA and feeling ever safer as I was away from the red line of the OFF battlefront. After a while I decided I'd seen enough and couldn't be bothered flying all the way back to Sierentz, so just pressed Esc and ended the mission . . . Captured (in neutral territory) and POW for the remainder of the war. Pilot inactive - campaign over. So by all means fly (illegally) over neutral Switzerland - but do not attempt to land (or exit your flight) until you are safely back over your own territory!

Just purchased off the shelf 5 minutes after the store opened! Only problem now is I have to put in a day's work before I can get home to install it.

Just ordered another copy as a Christmas gift for my brother-in-law! Very happy to help keep the creative wheels turning (and hopefully bring the P4 release date a little closer!)

Reminds me of this allegedly Qantas-sourced material from way back (Widow, if you've not already seen these - well, you may appreciate . . . Qantas Airlines: Repair Division After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a 'Gripe Sheet' which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems; document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the Gripe Sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement. S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre. P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough. S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft. P: Something loose in cockpit. S: Something tightened in cockpit. P: Dead bugs on windshield. S: Live bugs on back-order. P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent. S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground. P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear. S: Evidence removed. P: DME volume unbelievably loud. S: DME volume set to more believable level. P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick. S: That's what friction locks are for. P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode. S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode. P: Suspected crack in windshield. S: Suspect you're right. P: Number 3 engine missing. S: Engine found on right wing after brief search. P: Aircraft handles funny........... (I love this one!) S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious. P: Target radar hums. S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics. P: Mouse in cockpit. S: Cat installed. P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer. S: Took hammer away from midget.

Good show, Olham. My encounters with N.17s are sometimes like that too - tho it has more to do with my rather average piloting of the Albatros than their being ace Escadrilles.

Nice work, sir - and still nice scenery by the looks of it.

I'm not sure I've had the 'pleasure' of Esc 88's company, Olham - certainly they are not regular visitors to our area. Perhaps they become so in the coming months (?) Jasta 19 seem more often to cross swords with Esc 81, 49, 75 and 29.

Ah, so you are looking to fly with Julius then. No, Jasta 19 is still at Buhl-Lorraine a little further east than Metz, but I am flying at exactly that time. In fact my last mission with Lt. Salzer was on 13 Feb 1917 - but we patrolled south over Colmar. I will look out for Jasta 17 when we are next in the Nancy area!

All looks very familiar to me, Sir. Would you perchance be flying for Jasta 19 there?

May the road rise with you, brother Lou.

Well I'm not a 'badge-carrying' Barmy member - but I reckon you managed to miss on that ocassion, Hellshade.

They did, but not in OFF (P3). However, in P4 much has changed in this regard ... I think there are parameters around what an AI gunner does in a human piloted craft (that is what Bullethead goes into some detail on) as opposed to observable behaviour by AI flown 2-seaters with respect to how and where their gunners shoot. To use the Fee as an example - when I am flying it, my obs/gunner rarely fires the rear-facing Lewis and when he does, fires very sparingly and rarely hits anything! However, flying my Albatros, I have attacked Fees from directly behind (same level) and been fired upon from my target craft! (Quite unrealistic, of course, because not only does the rear gun not fire at that angle - but if it did, it would have to by-pass the pilot (as it's mounted forward of the pilot's cockpit) engine housing, and would have to fire through the propeller arc of the 'pusher' engine!!). Similarly I concur with your views on the handiness of the rear gunner in AI-flown Strutters, but having campaigned one myself for quite some time, I found my rear-gunner far less imaginative in terms of his range. On ocassions when I'd used up all my bullets, I had to be quite specific about where I placed my craft if I wanted him to fire a burst at an opponent. If I wanted him to fire at an EA below, I'd have to put our kite in a sufficiently banked turn and then he'd fire 'sideways' (as it were) at it.

Duke, just know that the Fee is a rather unique flying (and fighting) experience compared with anything else in OFF. My only word of caution about you being raring to go, would be to suggest you enlist your first Fee pilot a whole year earlier - so you are only going up against EIIIs (not a particularly fearsome opponent). Once you've got the hang of Fee-specific skills - like following a more nimble opponent in such a way as to optimise the rather limited ammo supply your gunner has to work with (and remembering in the Fee, you don't actually get to do any shooting - unless you swap seats and let the AI steer the ship!!) - then you could take your chances in 1917 (knowing you'll have Albatri, Rolands and DFWs to 'play' with).