Folks,

Dux:

Precisely. In fact I shall devote all my conscious moments and most of the remainder to that very end. I will not rest until you are free from harm and these despicable evil doers are brought to a deliciously painful justice. Unfortunately for our story, our heroine Olga seems a bit worse for wear at the moment... where oh where is that great British righter of wrongs Danger Mouse when we need him? I'd even settle for his sidekick Penfold.

I say chum, I don't suppose you'd even consider just going through with the "date" until I can locate a super hero who needs work? OK,OK just calm down. In the meantime, while I have someone who can stand the stench and also run fast administer smelling salts to revive Olga, just hang on mate; you know I'll eventually think of something.

Why have you started screaming again?

JRT,

I noticed that you were perambulating at 9MPH when photographing the airfield shot. At a steady trot towards your waiting Spitfire perhaps, or a post-sortie dash for the Prince and Polecat to relate your latest tales of derring-do?

Those vigilant lads on the Bofors gun seem capable of covering your ass either way!

Folks,

Dux:

As I strolled by at 9 mph those 'vigilant' lads promised to cover my ass with several well placed rounds if I didn't get the hell back up there and shoot a few more down. Cheeky rascals I'd say.

I've a good mind to drop a JU 87 right in their laps.

To their great discomfort, just before tea-time; Charlie, Bert and Max discover JRT is as good as his word.

JRT,




Quite right too. You made a right mess of that Stuka.

Still, Wofgang and Heinrich will not be around to complain.

Folks,

Dux:

It is fun to shoot things and make them go BOOM, BANG and Crash! That old Stork is a very good example. Note the wide-eyed sudden realization by cheeky Charlie, Bert and Max that something is about to happen.

Now that I seem to have all my addressable game and joystick problems sorted I find I'm really enjoying all five of my elderly sims. I cannot for the life of me realistically see it happening, however, I would truly love to see the BDG or someone drag FCG and MiG Alley into the 21st century. Of course if that miracle happened the result might not be compatible with my old XP system. With the lack of the source code availability in some cases and the urge to reinvent the wheel so strong, most contemporary software developers would rather build sims from scratch. I'm told that the FCG source code has been "lost". No doubt at least some of it is hiding in MA and BoB.

So, with newer, better sims of the same genre already published or in the pipeline (excepting for MA) the need for resurrecting old titles exists mainly in the hearts and aging minds of a few of us who for one reason or another cling to these ancient titles. There are loads of mods and a thriving gaming community supporting some aging sims. BoB, EAW and IL2 are just a few examples of this. But others like MA, JWW2F, and JFA seem to have lost most of their dedicated followers.

Since there may be no likelihood that MA will be resurrected and there seems to be no discernible profit motive in doing so, it is but a forlorn hope that anyone with the skill might take the source code and just tweak it a bit. Even that might take a great deal of time and treasure. There are bugs and the graphics are blocky. In wide angle view you see black triangles on either side of the cockpit right at the horizon. This is an acknowledged bug with no known cause. It is a glitch which no patch has remedied.

Yes a few tweaks are needed by MA and they would be nice. But PCs are finicky and the coding and testing on every known iteration of possible configurations is both tedious and costly. Who among us could or would even consider such a task? Not I. Unfortunately for me I have the powerful desire for improvement yet I do not possess the patience or the skill to affect it myself.

Folks,

Dux:

A brief communication has just been received from a member of the Canadian squadron. It consists of birding news from the Igloo Country and the 'Not Yet Frozen North'.

C51 wrote:
"Migration is in full swing. When I was at M's the other day she said she was looking at a Mourning Dove, but it was almost white. I dropped what I was doing and ran to the window - it was a Eurasian Collared Dove, the first I had even seen."

Gents,

JRT,

Our Collared Dove is a beautiful buffish-pink and was virtually unknown in the early fifties. Now, they seem to be on every rooftop and telegraph pole. We will be off shortly for Western Bonelli's Warbler near Scarborough but the weather is erratic with showers and bright periods. Not yet recorded this morning at 07.39.

Folks,

Dux:

Surely no self-respecting British bird; none in fact but the foulest of fowl would rise from their comfy nests before the crack of noon on a Sunday? This seems so unfair to the average birder who needs a few good hours to sobe...recoup...sleep after a long and rather incapacitating Saturday night socializing down at the local pub. How do you chaps account for the extra ticks caused by double vision?

JRT,

We saw the Western Bonelli's Warbler but it took some time because it had moved its expected viewing area about 300 yards in a northerly direction. The usual fleeting, exasperating, inconsiderate performances finally gave way to good views from about 15 yards, to the great relief of the 60 or so birders present. Massive concentration of Gannets off Bempton Cliffs - about 1,500 I would say.