TaillyHo

Good for you, Javito - similar deal for me too! I'm looking forward to the initial dizziness and stiff neck already!!

G'day smilingmonkey - welcome to OFF! Ha, these Europeans and North Americans with their gluhwein and laced coffees ... strewth! don't they know it's summer! I'll have a thirst-quenching lager - make it a Boag's Premium thanks, Mate. Can't comment on vista64, but I've come across no quirky 'regional' problems with a clean out-of-the-box OFF BHaH install - it's all good. Mine took about 2 weeks from order to delivery, but you may have to allow a few extra days for the Christmas rush now.

Merry Christmas, Sopwith old bean! Hope you enjoy your break (sounds like you will) and best wishes for 2011.

Sweeeeet!

Ah, how you suffer for your 'art', Slarti! btw, any pearls of wisdom you'd care to pass on to a tyre-kicking would-be Strutter pilot? I like the look of RNAS-3 in terms of sustaining morale and having the 'Pup as a next-in-line. By comparison RNAS-4 seem to spend quite a while in the single-seat Strutter (which seems a poor-realtion by having no rear-gunner, nor the speed or agility of the Pup!?!). Also, I presume these 'fighter' squads give more variety than signing on with a 'bomber' squadron (Brit or French). Any tips would be great, cheers!

G'day Wallaroo - was just reading down this post thinking I should find a pic of Ned Kelly to add! Bonza job, Mate!

Well done, that man! Congrats, CJ

Wow! indeed, Olham. You play those google maps like a harp!!! Very impressive work!

Hey Elephant, are you up and running with OFF:BHaH yet?

I agree, and your pics add to Moritz's view about the lighter coloured plane being an earlier Rumpler as the sides of the pilot's cockpit are curved lower than the flat top of the Aviatik and DFW cockpits. Also in your pics you can see a quite different tail style on the Aviatik - with the 'comma-shaped' rudder more like an Einie - whereas the other two feature a more progressive sweep up from the fuselage.

Thanks Sopwith, old chap! Interesting footage - although there seem to be two different craft involved: the dark one at the start with the skull and crossbones; and the wing-strut mounted footage of a light coloured plane in flight. Anyone get a bead on what the attacking aircraft was (S.E5 perhaps?) Also, I'm a bit confused as to when it's a 'DFW', as opposed to a 'Rumpler' (as this clip is titled), and when its an 'Aviatik'?? I thought the latter was simply a co-manufacturer of the DFW-designed aircraft. But Rumpler is a separate type altogether, or so I thought (?)

Didn't Frodo have one of those?

Never mind walking, Olham - the guy can sit at a computer and type out an error-free and coherent message! Respect! Nice-sounding recipe, BTW.

I think you'll find the incidence of E.IIIs will increase almost literally from 1 June 1915, as that's when OFF maps their introduction (with FA 62 based at Douai) - so if you're flying anywhere in that vicinity, expect trouble. Yes, the BE2 has a straight (through the prop arc) shooting MG mounted to the front left of the cockpit. Try toggling through F6 when you are in the cockpit view and you should get an along-the-barrel view that might help with aiming (but will probably throw your perspective for actually flying the plane!) Suggest you experiment zooming in and out a bit to see whether you can find a 'sweet spot' that allows you to do both! Also, in the situation you described, try pressing H rather than R if you want to get your flight-mates back alongside - it seems to get a more immediate response. Good luck.

Very good , Lou - I enjoyed reading about the introduction of Paul's new wingman.

Cheers from another grateful recipient ... to Lou!

I believe so, Cameljockey! I've greatly enjoyed its virtual replications in both modern era F1 sims, and classic 60s sportscars on the old Nordschleife layout. <BR><BR>No. 11: Windsor perhaps?

Hey Creaghorn, Di Simo looks like a nice spot to Latte sip and swap old dog-fighting tales. Believe there is a rather famous race track nearby too!

Well I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto! [great band BTW] Nice of you to drop by my home town, Olham - hope we got to share a good German beer (bier?) or two at the pub just left of centre (square 3 storey sandstone with what looks like a chimney).

How many of you use the campaign 'Mission Review' (or 'last mission summary' or whatever it's called)? I've seen one attached as a screenshot from Bullethead, but I wonder how many others use this - and what for? Seems a bit frustrating that you can only access this 'play-by-play' review after you've put in your claim form - it's almost a lie-detector test to see where you erred in whatever detail you just put in your claim. Seeing a record of how many bursts you fired, and how many of those hit the EA is helpful - more so, seeing the actual distance you were from the EA you hit is excellent feedback if you're working on positioning yourself nice and close when attacking. Also, in bigger battles, it helps make sense of what happened in terms of who hit who (and who downed who). Although the identification numbers assigned to individual aircrafts is a bit quirky in that it's used to log hits, but not used to identify the individual aircraft when it gets destroyed. So you can only assume the identity because that number doesn't appear again in the following logged action! Of course, this summary also states which EA were destroyed by you - but it seems this immediate 'confirmation' doesn't necessarily tally with the claims you eventaully get officially confirmed (!?) Be interested to hear from anyone who's made more sense - or use - of this feature. Cheerio!

Modest ... and loving it! (in my best Agent 86 voice)

Ah, that would be the Ross Smith book, yes? Interesting thing I noticed after a quick check of that publication was that they captioned the photos on the title facing page incorrectly! The gentleman on the left (in the cap) is actually Keith Smith, and the one in the flying outfit is his younger brother, Ross. I'm very much looking forward to reading this 'book', as this was one of the all-time great pioneering flights in world aviation history (IMHO). Thanks for your further observations on the Sony e-reader (and e-reading generally), Ratatat.

Tuff way to go, Ratatat. What setting do you have your ground gunnery on? After reading a lot of views here, I've got mine on 'easy' as the consensus seems to be this would most accurately reflect the reality for 1915-16 (when I'm currently flying) ... but, as uncleal suggests above, this should probably be cranked-up for 1917-18.

Ah, splendid news Ratatat - just the advice I was looking for (much to be said for agreeable wives too, eh!). I shall buy you (and Lou) a drink when you return from your next mission.

Tally-Ho James, Welcome aboard - think it was Tom Petty: "the waiting is the hardest part"! But as the friendly crew have pointed out already - there's a wealth of wisdom to be had from trawling around this forum while you're waiting for your first posting. Oh, and make mine a Laphroaig - cheers!