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MFair, that was a nail-biter for Jericho, glad he made it through in one piece. Also, he should work on learning at least a little French, I'm sure Camille would help him with that.

Carrick, don't you hate it when the gun jams. It's always at the worst possible time.

Hasse, Julius needs to keep hanging in there. He'll get the E.IV eventually, let's just hope it's not after everyone else has moved on to the Halb.

Fullofit, Gaston just keeps tearing up the air Huns. I'm surprised they aren't all running away as soon as they see even a hint of the color violet. More super videos too.

Wulfe, I can empathize when it comes to your writer's block. I'm a bit dry these days myself. Plus, RL is not allowing me much time at all to actually fly, though Swany did at last manage a flight in the Strutter this morning.

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29 April, 1916
Farnborough, Hampshire, England
70 Squadron, R.F.C.
Lt. Randolph Arvid Swanson, MC & Bar, CdG
12 confirmed victories

The rain and wind stopped today long enough for Swany to take the new Sopwith Strutter up and see what it could do. He was amazed. After months of fighting in and with the Parasol this new bus was a honest-to-god treat to fly. It handled beautifully, no more having to constantly watch the controls to keep things going steady and true. In fact, when it was trimmed out properly you could actually let go of the stick and it would fly on precisely where you had it pointed. Yet, it was not stodgy when it came time to stunt with it. It was agile and powerful, and after a slight dive you could pull it through a full loop with no real effort at all. And the cockpit was outfitted with every gauge and control a pilot could ever want or need in his kite. It even had an adjustable tailplane, and air brakes which could be used to reduce speed in a dive when bombing or for landing in shorter distances. But best of all, it had a forward-facing Vickers synchronised to fire through the arc of the propeller! Swany could at last shoot at the enemy without having to always rely on his G/O to do it. Simply fantastic. He couldn't wait to get it into battle. But wait he would, as there was currently a shortage of the new machines due to the fact that the R.N.A.S. was getting everything coming off the line. Swany's squadron had but two to practice with, (marked 'A' and 'B' respectively), and no indication from HQ as to when they might receive their full complement. Typical, more hurry up and wait.


Taking the new bus out for a get acquainted.
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Now this is a real cockpit.
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The first lap of the morning around Farnborough.
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