Probably one of the biggest dogfights I've been in. There was six of us, at least five Halberstadts and later on, some Eindeckers showed up. It was also a long enough battle that I missed recording the first Halberstadt I shot down:
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Wow Rick, that was some nice flying. You handle your DH2 like a pro. No spins, no stalls and steady on the stick to bring your targets right in line. Then you have a calm hand on the gun. Not over-excitable trying to shoot up the entire sky. Only fired when you had a firing solution with a reasonable chance of success. Just stellar flying sir and a true joy to watch. /salute
Thanks, man! That is high praise from a master pilot himself! I have to say that I feel like all of us, friend and foe alike, spent as much time wrestling our somewhat sluggish machines as we did trying to shoot each other down. I can't wait for a Nieuport!
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Joined: May 2012 Posts: 4,879RAF_Louvert
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
RAF_Louvert
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
Senior Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,879
L'Etoile du Nord
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Rick, you most certainly know how to handle the DH2. Pushing it right up to the edge but never past, well done Sir. But my God man, check your six! Also, as one who has on too many occasions found himself too low over enemy lines after an extended dogfight in a DH2 ... don't.
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Three RFC Brass Hats were strolling down a street in London. Two walked into a bar, the third one ducked. _________________________________________________________________________
Former Cold War Warrior, USAF Security Service 1974-1978, E-4, Morse Systems Intercept, England, Europe, and points above. "pippy-pahpah-pippy pah-pip-pah"
Rick Nice flying I agree, just don't dally too long at low altitude over the enemy airfield. That's how I often get hit. Stay out over the perimeter and wait for your chance to move in.
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Rick, you most certainly know how to handle the DH2. Pushing it right up to the edge but never past, well done Sir. But my God man, check your six! Also, as one who has on too many occasions found himself too low over enemy lines after an extended dogfight in a DH2 ... don't.
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Lou, every time I check my six in WOFF, there is someone there... so I've just decided to stop doing it
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Rick, you most certainly know how to handle the DH2. Pushing it right up to the edge but never past, well done Sir. But my God man, check your six! Also, as one who has on too many occasions found himself too low over enemy lines after an extended dogfight in a DH2 ... don't.
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Lou, every time I check my six in WOFF, there is someone there... so I've just decided to stop doing it
I hate to say it, but there's a certain elegance to his logic.
Joined: May 2012 Posts: 4,879RAF_Louvert
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
RAF_Louvert
BOC President; Pilot Extraordinaire; Humble Man
Senior Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 4,879
L'Etoile du Nord
.
Kind'a like the first rule when driving in Italy: What is behind you is not important.
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Three RFC Brass Hats were strolling down a street in London. Two walked into a bar, the third one ducked. _________________________________________________________________________
Former Cold War Warrior, USAF Security Service 1974-1978, E-4, Morse Systems Intercept, England, Europe, and points above. "pippy-pahpah-pippy pah-pip-pah"
Unlike America where the first rule is: what is in front of you isn't important...once it STOPS DRIVING SO SLOW IN THE FAST LANE!!!! I MEAN, SERIOUSLY, BUDDY, DID YOU LEARN TO DRIVE AT THE EINDECKER SCHOOL OF GOING SLOW AND NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN!?!? AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Here's an interesting fight: Rick Rawlings escort mission on Hawker's wing.
Only saw that video now (with a freshly brewed coffee - hmmm), and I found it very entertaining, Rick! Also very interesting to see your handling of the DH.2, and your ways of keeping overview, and how you checked your six (which is always a bit tricky in that kite).
The vid shows well, how underpowered these early kites still were, compared to the craft of 1917 and 1918, and how you need a different way of flying them - they needed more feeling from the pilot.
I don't often view videos, but this one was a pleasure for me to follow.
Vice-President of the BOC (Barmy OFFers Club) Member of the 'Albatros Aviators Club' - "We know how to die with Style!"
Yeah, it's a kind of floaty, drifty style of fighting, very different from the later war. All of us, Eindeckers and Halberstadts alike, spent as much time trying to say aloft as actually fighting...
So, what do you do when you are surrounded by a pack of suicidal Eindeckers? Try not to collide with them and call in a couple of favors that the ground owes you...
As background for this flight, we were tasked with escorting 3 Strutters over the lines (who could probably take care of themselves better than we could...) One of the three escorts turned back at the front with "engine trouble", leaving the two of us to carry on. When we got to the end of the patrol zone, we saw a couple of planes coming in from the distance and a flight of about five more further off to the NE. Following my flight lead, we cut a lazy circle while the Strutters made a bee line for the front. We came back on the first two scouts, which proved to be Eindeckers. I was able to quickly get behind the second one and drop him in the first turn only to look around and see...not my Wingman, he had kept on trucking. I decided to try to catch up to him and the Strutters (that wasn't going to happen) as I still had another pack of fighters coming in. Evading the lead Eindecker, I took a minor shoulder wound as I tried to catch up with my flight leader. Off in the distance I saw him go down to some enemies apparently chasing the Strutters. Somehow, this enemy Eindecker was keeping up with me, so I had to turn around and fight him, which fortunately didn't take too long. I then made a dash for the front when I got piled on by the scouts that had given up on chasing the now vanished Strutters. Behind enemy lines, wounded and slightly damaged, I tried to extend, and then turn and fight when they got too close before breaking off again, all the time getting closer to the front. That's where the video picks up. I only have Shadowplay set up to capture 9 minutes, which is usually enough, but I waited until I was good and clear of them before hitting the save key which is why we come in so late.
So, I got away from those guys with the help of my good friend Gravity and I was just trying to get back home when what do I see?
Jeez, I hate to say this, but I could really go for a contact free mission or two...
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Hmm, so I keep telling myself I am going to stop pestering you all with my stupid videos but then I keep having interesting missions... Overall, I would say that this has been my most exciting WOFF career so far.
This mission was a more "by the book" escort mission, meaning that we sort of stayed with our recon craft and helped each other out, instead of me getting bailed on like in the last mission, which is good, 'cause these guys were in Halberstadts instead of Eindeckers. Interestingly, they came at us from the north and from our side of the lines as we were approaching the patrol zone. In fact, I thought they were a flight of two seaters at first, there were so many of them over the lines.
As usual, my recording was too short to capture the whole fight (remembering to lengthen the record time now) but it started out with a very "Red Baron" feel, the enemy scouts swooped in on our recon birds and we had to shoot them down fast. I got behind one and finished him off surprisingly quickly and stayed with the Be2c while the others chased off most of the pursuers.
My favorite point in the video is where I look up at Hawker and I'm like "Um, are we gonna turn and get these guys, or...what?" I mean, I don't want to argue with Lanoe Hawker but they were getting really close!
Some good footage of the Major serving it up to his adversary there at the end... Also, the front mounted Lewis gun is pretty accurate if you just scoot down a hair in the cockpit, and with no forward wing, it is easy to track the enemy's path. Of course the downside is that the Airo is a sluggish and underpowered plane. You can just keep up with the Halberstadts, should be fun when those Abatatri start showing up in the coming weeks...
edit: oh yeah, I was wearing contacts for this flight too, so my head tracking is much more stable without the glare of my glasses!
Last edited by Rick_Rawlings; 07/19/1403:04 PM.
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
Nice videos, Rick ! Good flying and shooting.( With the DH2 I usually fly in gunsight view to have the sight centered.) "Fun" is not really the first word that comes to my mind when I'm flying a DH2 and see an Albatros coming after me !
Gigabyte Z87P-D3 - CPU I5 4670 Haswell @ 3.6Ghz - 8 Go Ram - GPU HD 7850 2Go OC - SSD Samsung 128Go - HD 2 x WD Black 1 To - 27" Iiyama Pro Lite - Logitech Extreme 3D Pro - Saitek Pro Flight Yoke - Rudder Pedals - Quadrant - Cessna Trim Wheel - Track IR 5 - Logitech G35 headset ... and a big coffee maker ! Flying in FSX/Air Hauler, Wings over Flanders Fields, Rise of Flight, IL2 1946 Hsfx, Condor soaring.
Hmm, so I keep telling myself I am going to stop pestering you all with my stupid videos but then I keep having interesting missions...
Oh I've had that thought plenty of times myself, Rick.
Excellent flying skills again. You keep it within the limits of the machine and always maintain full control of your craft. Not all excitable on the stick and gun. Calm, competent stick and rudder use with judicious applications of firepower when called for. No easy feat in the earlier crates. Congrats on another well flown mission Rick. I enjoy your videos sir. Don't stop on my account.
Thanks man, I actually just lost him to an unrecoverable spin. Anybody know how to get out of those in a DH2? It's happened three times now, I managed to get out of it once, but have no idea what actually worked. The other two times led to dead pilots. I can't even get into them in purpose in QC to practice. It was like I was spinning around on the tip of the planes' nose at an exceptionally fast rate. I wish I had recorded it, but I was pretty peeved... I had about 8000 feet to get out, but I centered all controls, ruddered into the spin, ruddered against it, tried a variety of different control input, nada. Any help for when I start him again?
RR
The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...