Shiloh

RIP Claude Choules - your sacrifices will always be remembered and appreciated.

I may give some of these a shot but as I'm new to OFF and to WWI aviation, I don't know how competitive I'll be.

I used to have a fantastic collection of books on many subjects but it was a very expensive hobby and I rarely read books twice. So I sold almost all my books and get mine mostly through the library now. It has saved me so much money and I don't have the clutter as my wife has a lot of books as well and our place was getting out of hand.

They didn't have this at my library Olham but they were able to order it from another one and I should have it in a week. You plugged it a handful of times so I thought it must be good. I just finished "They Fought For the Sky" by Quentin Reynolds and it was a decent enough book. It provides more of an overview than anything else and doesn't stay on any subject (pilot) for long at all. Looking forward to the new book.

Finally the victims of 9-11 and their families may find some peace.

These are fantastic Olham - thanks for posting. What a challenge to make artistically beautiful photos from places that were "hell on earth" not so long ago. It's amazing how well nature adapts and recovers from such devastation. Kinda' reminds us of why guys wanted to be up in the sky out of the mud and toil those poor foot soldiers endured.

It's tough to explain to my kids (who are terrified of him) that he's just playing. My kids give him a real wide berth when walking around him and I've been trying to explain to them that sometimes he wants to be pet, and other times he doesn't. My 4- year-old is learning to read his body language and always asks if it's OK to pet him. I evaluate his posture then say yes or no based on what I see. If he's flicking that tail up and down quick or if he is laying on his side with paws up you might get hurt when approaching him. It's a bit unfortunate that when he plays he can hurt someone as I'm the only one who will risk injury to give him some good attention. I do love the little guy so I'll take him at face value despite his aggressive side.

I've always had domestic cats myself over my entire life and as much as I've been around them, I can say I don't fully understand what goes through their heads. My cat Charlie is a strong, healthy cat in his prime (6 years old) and is very affectionate, yet has a "frisky" side where he may scratch or bite at any time. Sometimes he gets so frisky (especially when I'm barefoot) and he tries to come after my exposed skin. I'm not a timid guy at all and it can be a bit scary as he has real sharp claws and a few times he latched on to my ankle and jacked me up pretty good. There is no doubt that he loves me and sees me as his master and I love him too and he knows it but he has a touch of wild instinct, and it is just that - natural instinct. That's why I respect it and don't hold it against him. I don't know anything about his parents but I do know his litter was found in the back of an old abandoned pickup truck so my guess would be his parents (or at least one of them) lived outside and used to hunt for survival. I've seen him take squirrels and birds as quick as lightning and I'm amazed by his athleticism. But as mentioned above, there are few differences between him to a lion/tiger other than size. One thing about any cat is you can read their body language as that is how they communicate and I know when and when not to approach my cat. When I was driving through northern California one night while on vacation with my sister, I saw a dark figure of an animal crouching in the road as my headlights shone off its eyes. It then leapt seemingly without any effort up a roughly 8 foot embankment and we couldn't believe what we just saw. I couldn't ID the cat but no doubt it was a big cat as there is nothing else I can think of with that power and grace. I gained a new respect for those big cats and will never underestimate their athleticism or prowess. They are wild animals after all and should be appreciated and respected.

I see you guys are even putting the time of day in. How do I access that while flying?

Thanks gents. I just filed another claim with more detail and hopefully I get some confirmations as my first 3 aerial claims are all pending.

This thread came at just the right time as I logged some questionable claims which might end up being rejected. I do have three questions: 1) How do you know where you are on the map when you enter a fight? Hitting (m) leaves you with a pretty crude map. Does the info. help get a claim accepted? 2) You can put more than one witness? It says to only put one when you fill out the claim form. 3) What is the absolute vital information that needs to be on every claim? Thanks!

Corsair makes a nice PSU and here's one that's only $89. just to give you an idea of cost. You could grow into a 650W and it should serve you well for quite some time. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020&cm_re=corsair_650w_psu-_-17-139-020-_-Product

I'm very new to this also stefnuts so I can relate to where you're coming from. What I do when learning something new is I engross myself in it fully and learn as much as I can, wherever I can. I've been online reading about different squadrons, individuals and planes and have learned a great deal. My father always instilled in me the value of having an insatiable quest for knowledge and to me learning about new periods of history is about as good as it gets. When I pick a plane I want to fly I find out information about that squadron online (wiki is great for this), then pick a person who actually flew in that squadron, and I name my pilot in honor of that person. My first 2 campaign pilots WC Heathcote and Karl Bolle were actual people. I've read the plane characteristics guides from a thread right here on these forums. I did however start by doing quick combat missions and learned a bunch after flying many different planes, and fighting against others. I'm also reading a book on the subject "They Fought For the Sky" by Quentin Reynolds and I'm learning a great deal from that as well. It talks about the great Oswald Boelcke and his philosophies and I'm learning from Richtofen's experiences as well (haven't finished the book yet). And what else can I say about these forums other than these are a great bunch of people who just love this subject. They are more than willing to take some time out of their day to teach you a thing or two if you show an interest in learning. Awww you guys are the best...the next round is on me! But most valuable of all, you just need to fly and gain some experience. I'm trying to fly one mission per day so it doesn't chew into my day too much and so I get my fill as well. And then I read, research all throughout the day as I firmly believer that an understanding of WWI aerial tactics will serve you well in your experience. Good luck to you stefnuts.

Congratulations to you on a fine achievement and an excellent opportunity CaptSopwith. Sometimes the personal stuff doesn't work well, sometimes its the work stuff but that's what life is about I suppose - the ups and the downs. Keep your chin up and please honor me with a virtual drink.

Very much indeed ReDDoT. A little imagination and some spare lumber will do the trick every time. I must get a map - that is very cool indeed. I would like to have a nice one though and I'd probably get it framed as my rig is in my living room. It's a common known fact there Olham (in my best Cliff Clavin voice) that the Germans landed their planes in a field in Sweden, invaded a IKEA store, and proceeded to loot all the cushioned chairs as Fokker refused to make comfortable seats in his planes.

Lord Phillip Snuffy Alta.

Don't forget about the oil and smoke...ugghhh.

Alright guys...done with the project. I took an IKEA chair I had sitting around and an industrial wood shelf and put them together to make a nice simpit. The shelf was modified a bit to fit snug around the arms of the chair and it slides forward/backward if I want, but fits snug side-to-side. I just remove the shelf when not using as its not attached. It's just wide enough to fit my keyboard and joystick. I know you guys usually use a second computer for a map but I usually fly with the New York Yankees for those long runs without any action. All your photos and ideas helped me make my simpit so I appreciate it fellas.

I've been thinking on this for about a week and I finally have the solution - I'll be in my workshop executing a very simple design utilizing existing materials - photos to come later.

Fraps is worth every penny in my humble opinion and it's a one-time fee. I've had a version on my computer for over a year and just updated to the newest version recently for free. Soon, I'll start recording some dogfights and will post them to my YouTube page with some commentary. In games like Total War you can save your replays and play them back but as far as I know you can't do that on OFF. But if you had Fraps...

Try the Library of Congress website tranquillo...I get photos from there for my Battle of Gettysburg website. http://www.loc.gov/index.html Good luck!

Nice screenies and a fine new skin there Olham.

My first screenie. I'm still learning how to fly, let alone turning off all the bling and getting a decent screenie so these will improve as I get battle-hardened. I'm cruising low and enjoying the french countryside a minute before getting jumped from above. I crash-landed her 5 minutes later but she looks good here.

Do you call that thing the Thrustmaster? You guys make my rig look like a red-headed stepchild. This doesn't show my new CPU which isn't all that cool-looking.

We haven't had the pleasure of meeting Mike but I wish you a Happy Birthday all the same! I didn't get you a present but may I buy you a cold one instead?