I've been having an issue in campaign where, ever since my guy got saddled with an Albatros D.III, the engine persistently gives out mid-flight and I'm lucky if I can break 70 MPH.

I've checked mission review, and have confirmed that I've avoided getting hit by anything, so this is separate from engine damage brought on by combat.

Anyway, it's become so persistent that I'm considering just skipping a few months until my guy can get into an airplane that doesn't suddenly give out.

I'm just curious if this is a known thing, an actual in-game effect?

I think it is an in-game effect. The SE5 also is prone to engine problems, and I have seen them in other planes also. I fly with time acceleration and the flight instructor on, and am constantly watching for the engine damage warning, I have had it happen a few time shortly after take off or mid flight with no enemy around. When it happens I make for the nearest field and am constantly looking for a place to land, quite often the damage will be severe enough to cause the engine to catch fire or shake itself apart. If you watch your wingmen, it is common to see one or more of them return to base for apparently that reason.

I just checked and there is a preference setting in Workshops for Random Craft Failures, I have mine turned on.

I always leave mine turned on as well... adds to the fun when you never know when it's going to give up the ghost!

I always leave mine turned on as well... adds to the fun when you never know when it's going to give up the ghost!

Don't they have lemon laws in your squadron? (closest fruit gif to a lemon we have on this site)

Are you adjusting your fuel mixture? If your mixture is too thin at lower altitudes, your engine will cut out. In real life, the Albatros did not have a manual fuel mixture adjustment so you should set fuel mixture to "auto" in the Workshops settings.

As raine says it sounds like engine mixture isn't applied. Otherwise it could be a random failure (we modelled them in WOFF and there are some aircraft engines more prone than others) but they are not that common in the Alb DIII? If you are getting lots then all can think is you are very very unlucky or somerthibng very weird is going on (controller config with some button or axis changing throttle or something).

Auto Fuel Mixture "ON."

Unfortunately...Random Craft Failure also "ON."

I guess what seems weird to me is that it doesn't seem so random - it seems like the D.III is especially prone. Guess it's a good time for my guy to go on leave!

I'm thinking it was just bad luck - I had my engine give out 3 times in like 4 or 5 missions, but I've flown a couple more now without any issues despite heavier combat.

Gambler's fallacy and whatnot, sometimes random engine failures mean you'll get a random streak of bad luck etc etc.

You are supposed to slip the crew chief some Schnapps,

Exactly, random means that you could have the worst streak of luck in history and have lots in a row, or never ever see it, or hopefully anywhere in between, but weird things will happen.

There's nothing special about the DIII in that regard, it uses the standard failure rules. Other aircraft have custom rules if they were particularly prone to failures.

Engine failure? Oy! I'll give you engine failure. Early Hispanos on the S.E.5 and S.E.5a very temperamental. This from my DID character when he was with 56, flying 1-2 sorties per day, August- thru October, 1917.

7/31 - Engine Fire
8/12 - Engine sys failure
8/13 - Cooling failure
8/19 - Cooling failure
8/24 - Engine sys failure
9/12 - Cooling sys failure
9/24 - Oil line exploded on TO
9/27 - Engine sys failure
10/29 - Engine failure
10/30 - Cooling sys failure

I used Revell's, High in the Empty Blue as my narrative guide and that rate of failure tracks pretty closely with RL.

Sounds like a deathtrap that epower - perfect for the world of WOFF.

Great to see it tie up with experience of a real WW1 pilot.

Everything's all right. That's how it was then.
This great flight simulator only captures the atmosphere of those years. And the fortitude of his pilots.
For example, SPAD XIII ...Read - this model does.

The SPAD was renowned for its speed and strength in a dive, although the maneuverability of the type was relatively poor and the aircraft was difficult to control at low speeds: needing to be landed with power on, unlike contemporary fighters like the SE 5 which could be landed with power off.
While giving the Spad XIII outstanding performance, the geared engines proved to be unreliable, suffering from vibration and poor lubrication. This significantly and severely affected serviceability, with it being stated in November 1917 that the Spad S.XIII was "incapable of giving dependable service". Even in April 1918, an official report stated that t w o - t h i r d s of the 200 hp SPADs were out of use at any one time due to engine problems. At least one American observer believed at the time that the French were giving the US SPAD XIII squadrons lower-quality engines from their least favored manufacturers while keeping the best for themselves.
Allegedly, the reliability issues encountered with the engine were considered an acceptable price to pay for the improved performance, however, as time went by, a combination of improved build quality and changes to the engine design led to increased levels of serviceability.
Wikipedia

Two thirds of aircraft out of action is a tremendous penalty to a front line force. Is that the US force or the French who commented on that?

@Taal, from what I remember from my various WW1 readings, the early SPAD XIII, with 200 hp Hissos, were notoriously unreliable, even more so than the 220 hp Hisso variant that emerged later (the rare 235 hp variant, by the late war, was noticeably more reliable). Speaking of the SPAD XIII 200 hp, it also has a lower top speed than the SPAD VII 180 hp or rarer, engined-up VII mounts. Top speed on the 200 hp XIII is somewhere around 204-205 kph near SL - give or take a few kph (stats. of course vary across different WW1 sources). I do however like the rounded wing tips on the early SPAD XIII - very pleasing aesthetics and perhaps the best looking of the SPAD XIII editions.

Cheers all,
Von S