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First outing with Stephen1918's latest addition to First Eagles/FE2 Of the three current WW1 airwar sims, one of the areas where First Eagles is ahead (and likely to remain so!) is its planeset. Including variants, I have about two hundred installed! This is not just padding - one of the features which distinguished WW1 in the air was the considerable variety of aircraft which fought it. As FE shipped with a small set of planes which just about covered its intended 1918 era, this particular advantage is entirely owed to Third Wire for making its sims so 'open architecture'...and even more, to the many modders who took full advantage. Amongst the most prolific of late, in the FE field, has been Stephen1918, who has added many a fine machine to the WW1 skies. Recently, a good few of these have been from the eastern or Italian theatres, which both now have planesets about as good as the western front in other sims. But with his latest release Stephen's back on duty on the classic, Western Front - it's the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c. This machine needs little introduction. It was a mainstay of Royal Flying Corps combat operations from the very first days of the war until about mid-1917, when it was finally replaced, at the front anyway, mainly by the same manufacturer's RE8. First Eagles has had the BE2 for some time, of course, available from the A Team skunkworks. But with skid-type landing gear and an uncowled sump/lower nose, these really portrayed the machine as it would have flown in the first year or so of the war, 1914-15. The new model provides FE with a long-needed version that's representative of the BE as it appeared from sometime during 1915 to 1917. In this form, though benefitting from a lower-drag V-type undercarriage and a cowling around the angular engine sump, it's still armed with a Lewis gun on a mount operated by the observer from his seat ahead of the pilot. Along with a comparatively low-powered engine, this arrangement was of course the BE2's main weakness, long after the Germans had switched the observer and his gun to the rear seat, with the introduction of the 'C' type machines. It's often reported that the BE2d version moved the pilot to the front cockpit too, but I think this is an incorrect reading of the introduction of basic duplicated controls for the 2d's front cockpit observer. Basically, the BE2 was a good machine that was retained in service long after it should have been replaced by a better type. Those who flew it sang its praises thus, in imitation of the 23rd Psalm: The BE2c is my bus; therefore shall I want. He maketh me to come down in green pastures. He leadeth me where I wish not to go. He maketh me to be sick; he leadeth me astray on all cross-country flights. Yea, tho I fly o'er No-Man's Land, where mine enemies would compass me about I do fear much evil, for Thou art with me. Thy joystick and Thy prop discomfort me; Thou preparest a crash for me in the presence of mine enemies; Thine RAF annointeth my hair with oil; Thy tank leaketh badly. Surely to goodness Thou shalt not follow me all the days of my life Else I shall dwell in the house of Colney Hatch forever. Having found that two-seater careers in FE can be dangerous and short, and knowing the BE's reputation, I was somewhat dreading my first campaign mission in the 'Quirk', as it was known. Ever the optimist, I created a brand-spanking-new pilot. I named him Harvey-Kelly, in memory of the pioneer RFC aviator who landed first amongst the RFC's first arrivals in France in August 1914 and served with distinction until, flying a SPAD, he was killed during 'Bloody April' by von Richthofen's Jasta 11. As the new BE is not yet included in an existing campaign, rather than just flying some single missions, I hand-edited Ojcar's Flanders 'Armchair Aces' campaigns to feature the new plane. Foolishly, I elected to start my campaign in May 1917. By that time, the Eindekkers were long gone and I was thus unlikely to become 'Fokker fodder' - as critics dubbed RFC machines during the 1915 'Fokker scourge'. Furthermore, 'Bloody April' was over and the RFC was beginnng to receive better aircraft, not least the excellent SE5 from the same Royal Aircraft Factory as the machine I would be flying. But this was still a very dangerous time to be flying a BE...as I was soon to find out! ...to be continued!