I've gotten this SYSTEM FAILURE warning a couple of times while flying aircraft with inline engines... and mostly it meant that the engine went dead and I would have to dead-stick my way back to base.

this evening I got a 'system failure' that was a bit more spectacular.... on April 8th, 1917 my Sopwith Pup had a problem as soon as I crossed over German lines so I decided to turn back. then, when I was a couple of miles behind friendly territory it burst into flames at 8000 ft. I put my nose down and flew as fast as I safely could. I could hear all sorts of creaking, groaning, and tearing. by the time I landed my health was at 25% and I could barely see. my wingtips were tattered and my wings looked awful. but, the important thing is that I landed and didn't die.

curiously, the game decided that 16 days in the hospital was good enough. I advanced the time manually so that my pilot wouldn't fly again until August 18th, 1917. 132 days feels a bit more plausible... and even that feels kinda generous. haven't flown missions with this fellow yet... because part of me was thinking I should just have him 'retire' and advance things to the end of the war.

he was my most aggressive and luckiest pilot yet. he flew 17 missions for a total of 14.32 hours. won a Military Cross and a Distinguished Service Order for shooting down 10 enemy aircraft in seven missions during his first week at the front. his wingman did pretty well too - shooting down 7. on March 29th his lucky wingman got killed by a DFW CV. he avenged that death by flaming the pair of Hun two-seaters that killed him. but he got injured in the process. when he recovered he would make seven more claims before he had his unlucky engine fire.

he's made a total of 21 claims but only 14 of them have been confirmed.

what do you guys think? should I try to press my luck further with this guy and fly him until he dies? or does the 14 victory British ace go on a press tour, write a book, and retire because his injuries were too severe for him to see combat again?