The sacrifices we make for realisam

W

Wildfowler

Guest
Tonight I fired up OFF P2 and enjoyed free flight and some dogfights.

My good lady noticed I had a large glass of whiskey on the computer table

"That is not going to help your flying skills" She pointed out

"Possibly not " I replied "But I am sacrificing sobriety and my liver to experience what many WW1 airman did, drink whiskey to keep out the cold and fear! You told me your Grandad drank whiskey before he flew in WW1"

(My Wifes Grandfather flew Sopwith Camels and later SE5A's)

My Wife then pointed out "He told me he drank the whiskey as the castor oil in the engine had an effect on the stomach and the drink calmed things down a bit"

"Well" I said raising my glass " You I have just eaten the dinner you cooked so you could say i am doing the same thing!"

Doesnt Whiskey sting when it gets chucked in your eyes!!!
 
You do like playing with fire old boy! :applause:

Just on the subject of realism I sometimes (I say sometimes as it's painfully cold) make the room as frigid as possible during winter. I close the computer room door, turn off any heating and open the windows wide open. Leave it for an hour or so and then fly one (very occassionally two) missions in just t-shirt and shorts on real time. Brother are you cold, arching and miserable by the end of it. Especially feet and hands. :isadizzy:

And this one is for the motorbike riders. Another way to gain some insight into just how rough conditions were in the cockpit of a WWI aeroplane is to take the bike for a ride in the cool evening. I have a Harley Fat Boy. I wind it up to around 160k (nice strainght, open road nearby) wearing an open face helmet, no bike screen. The old Fat Boy really vibrates at that speed; and combined with the roaring wind it does give some clue as to conditions in an open cockpit.

No wonder pilots were so bushed at the end of a mission. Easy to understand all the landing accidents as a result of fatigue, or being caught napping near your airfield simpy because you are too tied to keep a goof lookout.
 
I remember when B-17 II first came out, and there were many requests for how to make the sim more realistic, and what tweaks to use in the game files to accomplish this.

One of the older gentlemen who was a bomber vet from WWII said this,

1 Set your computer up in a big deepfreezer. And set it to -40 C.

2 Mount a harness to your seat, and make sure the cushioning is very thin, to simulate the pilot and co-pilot seats.

3 As you fly and gain altitude above 10k, start sipping on a 5th of bourbon whiskey to simulate the effects anoxia, as the oxygen systems would act up at high altitudes almost daily.

4 If the game crashes anytime during the mission, well it just simulated what the real planes did. They had breakdowns in mid mission.
 
Pips, I love your sig. I picked that up as soon as it came out on DVD.
 
Great discription of a touch of reality, PIPS. When you're frozen to the bone, many aspects change dramaticly. I had a car accident in Norway back in 1979, and we rolled sideways into a lake. It was snowing, and water temperature was slightly above freeze. We swam back to land, and only stood there for 5 - 8 minutes, until mine workers picked us up in a Landrover. After a 20 minute ride, we were in their camp and safe back in a warm room. But my theeth were slamming so hard, I couldn't get a word out.
A landing with stiff dead fingers, arms, neck, must have been horror sometimes...

But now at last, tell a German: what's that about "sig" - what DVD / film do you mean?

Cheers; Olham
 
One of the best movies of all time: "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines" (A little before WW1, but to see the old a/c flying is wonderful) As an aside, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome founder Cole Palen (divergent warning: "Palen" when re-arranged is "plane") was enlisted to promote the film when it was released. He was somewhat disappointed afterwards when he was given the Passet Ornithopter as he had hoped for one of the flying replicas (Antoinette, AVRO, etc).
 
Ah, I see. And absolutely right that is! I've ordered it at AMAZON for Christmas (unfortunately, it hasn't arrived yet). Wonderful movie!!!

Rrrrabouff-ta-bouf-tatta-boum-tattattaaa!!! (Gert Fröbe - what an act!)
 
Ahhhh Gert, yes a superb performance. The serious Germans, the rascally French, the mad-hatter Italian, the sooo casual American and the frightfully upper-class English. What a hoot! :)

It is THE flying classic of all time IMHO. The characters are marvellous, the story fascinating and (as mentioned by Baywing) watching those aircraft flying around is a joy to behold.

I never, never get tired of watching it. :friday:
 
Back in Phase 1, someone who is no longer a virtual WWI pilot craved realism in every breath, he claimed that because my beloved Rockets didn't belong in WWI, they should be abolished it Phase 2

To which I suggested he sit on a block of Dry Ice, to simulate those long winter patrols, in an open cockpit

The Rockets are still here, but he ain't . . . . Life's a Beach :wavey:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top