Folks,

Dux:

She is a lovely bird of prey and, under the right hand, proved to be deadly against the previously almost invincible Albatross. The SPAD VII of 1916 became the fighter airplane of choice for most of the great French aces, including the beloved Georges Guynemer. I have his biography and it is impressive. I believe that this version had but one machine gun.

Strong and very fast at 135 mph, (well it was considered fast back then) the SPAD XIII airplane carried two Vickers machine guns, but was not without its faults. It had "the gliding angle of a brick" without engine power, and the engines were notoriously unreliable.

The XIII airplane became the favorite mount of no less a person than the American Ace of Aces, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, who scored many of his 26 victories in "Old #1".

When I wind up my ancient FCG sim I prefer the dangerous and notoriously difficult to fly Camel or the SPAD VIII. Some readers may not know that SPAD is an acronym for the French company that produced it.