Chaps,

JRT, McG,

Thanks for the tip JRT, but our heavy Waterford crystal flower vase that usually takes two hands to lift will not be travelling in a graceful parabola towards my noble brow. Thanks to my thoughtfulness, a similar and appropriate 15th anniversary gift has been ribbon-wrapped for presentation in due course!

Folks,

Dux:

Hmmmmm. A similarly hefty gift you say? This seems to indicate high confidence that your memory will never lapse again my friend. IMHO it might be wiser not to provide SWMNBN with such lethal ammunition. Sunday will be the occasion of our 39th wedding anniversary and wishing to surviv... I mean celebrate many more; I have long since limited my gifts to much softer and far less pointy giftables.

May I join what surely must be a multitude of others who delight in congratulating you and the Lady "J" on this auspicious occasion.

Gents,

JRT,

Can this be real? I've monitored 136085 hits in the eight days from the 19th to 27th July! I wonder what SNAFU would have said about that?

I expect to attend (weather permitting) a large flying model aircraft event at the weekend at Hucknall Aerodrome, Nottingham, accompanied be Monsewer Nikon of course. My last visit was in 1961 to an air display including a Hurricane which is still airworthy today.

Folks,

Dux:

Ask MG who knows the inner secrets and behind the scenes goings on far better than you or I. Not since your last posting of an authentic Olga Saga has there been so many hits. To what indeed then may we attribute this higher than expected interest and in such a short time span?

Hmmmm. Does this mean the model aircraft will be large or the crowd? I certainly envy your ability to attend these interesting events my friend. Please get some snaps to share.

I wonder if it is a bot trawler, fishing for information as to where to send spam to, those extra, unaccounted views?

Taking this to the lab with me and asking some tuff questions of the keepers of the gate.

Folks,

MG:

Could be. If so it is wasting its digital time as no one here would post a valid e-mail address unless it were a throw away. I have done mighty battles with SPAM-R-US in the past and take more care today.

Even if it is trawling it's not all bad, the extra hits may help you sell ads?

Hmmmm. I notice by the counter that I am in grave danger of attaining 3,000 posts in the next few weeks. I must slow down and let Dux catch up.

So be it then. We will all sit back now and read reams of interesting stuff for the next few days written entirely by our pal and the notorious creator of the anti-heroine Olga....

Take it away Dux.... Dux?..... DUX...DUX!

OK gents...settle down, I am here and all present and correct although there are several people hereabouts who would give me an argument on that.

I am rather looking forward to the Hucknall visit on Sunday although the weather is quite mixed right now. I think the show will go ahead providing the wind is not too strong. It would be a shame to go to all that trouble of erecting the beer tent only to see cancellation.

Folks,

Dux:

Often present old boy but seldom correct.... Me too. We look forward to some fascinating reading before you toddle off to that happy tent and they draw your first pint.

Have more fun than the law allows or modesty permits but return to us with many incriminating photos primarily of sights beyond that of the four walls of the libations tent. 'Steady on' will be your motto and fuzzy, out of focus pics like I produce will not be acceptable.

Think on it a bit and you may recall that poorly put together movie of mine titled "Mustangs Over Berlin". In that I was surprisingly successful flying a BF 109 F2. Well, I tried it from the other fellow's cockpit last evening and I must shamefully admit that I was not so successful against those 109s and FW190s. The Mustang was harder to fight with for some reason. I found it harder to keep the energy up and eventually found myself low and slow with a hive load of angry bees buzzing about above me. I did get 2 109s but one was sheer luck and the other seemed to have a death wish. We lost one of 4 B-17Gs.

Tonight I plan to get up in a Spitfire and see if I have better luck in BoB2 against some 109s and He-111s. C51 wrote that he flew an Instant Action mission Monday night and bagged a Dornier. I have been neglecting my duty and not flying much of late so it is high time I got my finger out and got back up there.

JRT,

I have also experienced the low and slow combat situation, particularly with the Polikarpov I-15. With this aircraft, the performance seems painfully slow compared with what it would have actually been like. In a dog-fight it should turn on a sixpence but it was like flying a housebrick when beaten down to ground level.

I went up to the long grass meadow the other day to test launch the repaired Fokker but found that the rotter had mown the field. Perhaps another month should see it grow again to the required height - about two and a half feet.

Folks:

Dux:

On paper at least the I-153 / I-153 P "Tchayka", Polikarpov biplane should have an advantage of turn time against the 109s at 1000 m (sec.)(13.49 against 20.56 for the 109F). Power to weight and range were supposed to be in the Russian's favor. I have flown against them in a 109 and to me they seemed to be turning on a dime and leaving five cents change. It was a rude surprise. Of course the AI always has some uncanny advantage anyway. Thanks for that Oleg.

Hmmmm. Tall grass you say? This indicates to me that either there is no longer an under carriage on the Fokker or you are being inordinately careful considering your piloting skills and the robustness of your construction. Have you considered attaching some stout bedsprings and a parachute?

No one mentioned it as far as I know but yesterday I believe marked the anniversary of the beginning of the "Great War". And no I do not refer to the time SWMNBN found that centerfold cutie hanging in Dux's semi-restored three holer.

Trivia Maxima-
Did anyone notice that a set of Churchill's false teeth went for nearly $25,000 at auction? They were specially made to maintain the 65 year-old PM's famous lisp. He broke his partial plates often sometimes by flinging them across the room with a flick of his thumb when he was upset. It is said that the dentist who crafted them was prevented from entering military service by Churchill. The teeth that were sold were worn during the war years.