Yay, I got a clock from a Fokker DVII!

Engine management has by far the greatest impact on mission difficulty and subsequent rewards. Give it a go; get out in a fly now mission to get the hang of controlling the engine, fuel and radiator. Engine management is actually very easy in this sim, ensure you do not fly too hot or too cold, remember to throttle back in a dive to avoid over revving and reduce fuel flow slightly as you increase altitude to avoid flooding. Get used to using the engine sound to tell you what is going on, even without temperature gauges, it is easy to hear the health of the engine with a little practice, letting you know when to reduce/increase the radiator/fuel.

It is not impossible to get awards without enabling engine management options if you really cannot manage yourself, but it is significantly harder, however, I have a few pointers on getting medals and awards to help:

First, ensure you are flying in career mode or mp, these are the only way you will get medals and trophies, you get nothing for flying the "offline" modes and single missions.

Second, always try to hit a secondary or even multiple secondary targets once the primary objective is out of the way. Examine the map at mission start, even though you may only expect enemy aircraft at your objective given the briefing, if there are any arty, aa or transport close to the primary it is worthwhile taking a couple of bombs just to get a couple of extras in. Also, are there any additional air targets on ingress or egress, these too will boost medal chances dramatically, while recon are a pita to take down, if you can do so safely they give a substantial boost. It is these additional targets that improve your chances of being granted medals, as you are going above and beyond the mission objectives.

Third, your side's losses also have an impact, try to protect your own if you are facing superior numbers, also, if you are wounded or damaged and manage a kill and go onto land that scores heavily in your favour too.

Finally, always land your crate manually, even if you use instant distance to mission as I do (this seems to have no affect). Taking the time to fly back and land has an impact on the outcome; very often if wounded or damaged, ending the mission while still in flight can result in death or capture ending your career, while it would have been easy to get down yourself.

Hope this helps some on the way to riches and glory, well ok, no riches or glory, but a sense of satisfaction and a boost to our fragile egos...

I've got two careers running simultaneously right now...one in the Fokker DVIIF and another in the SE-5a. I'm just now starting to get the hang of the Camel and might try that career next.

Thanks Bolt. Right after my posting I decided to just do it as it IS painfully simple. I'm pretty lazy but apparently not THAT lazy!

Hmm.. been following that advice, but so far it seems impossible for me to get the Pour le Merite... 41 A2A-kills and a dozen ground-vehicles in 8 missions, always did the secondary-target-thing, settings are pretty much full real except for some icons and warmed up engine. House of Hohenzollern seems to be the highest award that the brass deem me worthy of ...

S.

Hate to say it but it'll require a bunch more kills than that. I'm guessing that they modeled the kill requirement to make it alittle more difficult. I've received a few Blue Max's and it's always been at scores quite a bit higher than that.

I did get one once at a fairly low level but I shot down 7 aircraft-the last three with a damaged bird.

Had to update because I love flying this little toad and she lands like a dream!