Holy Hell...

LegendaryLoewenhardt · 21 September 2007, 09:49 PM

Five minutes ago, I was in campaign mode of the DE version of Red Baron 3D (the one I posted here a short while back).

Anyway, I was flying a campaign at a little over 4,000 feet in a Pfalz X.III (painted mine all black). Anywho, I found an observer and engaged him. Unfortunately, he hit my engine, and I burst into flames. I knew I could either jump, burn, or try to extuniguish the flames in a dive.

No luck, hence, I jumped out from 3,850 FEET, apparently clipping the plane in my fall, thus maiming me. However, I fell and hit the ground AND LIVED. My mission details just wrote me down as maimed, but that sent me home ("But Herr Oberst! It is but a leg!").

Better that I escaped with my life and one leg than without anything. Damn I feel lucky! That's NEVER happened to me before.

Kirk · 25 September 2007, 10:17 AM

I've had things like that happen on occasion. Not too many occasions, but every once in a great while. Conversely though, every once in a while I'll have a seemingly "safe" forced landing and figure I'll be alright only to be told I've died.

LegendaryLoewenhardt · 25 September 2007, 06:37 PM

Yeah, that's always crappy. The crashes aren't too realistic, either. I took a nosedive, straight down, from 12,000 feet the other day in my Fokker D.VII, and crashed right into the ground with no injuries whilst going at top speed (went so fast that my wings broke off and I was just a fuselage). I should have died from that, or at least of been maimed.

I would have been crushed like a bug in reality.

Reinout · 28 September 2007, 01:44 AM

I have the same experiences.

-I jumped from a burning plane and lived to be invalided out of the war.
-I jumped from a taxiing plane and died!

-I jumped from a crashing plane from low height and actually survived (don't think I was even wounded)!

-I suffered a mild crash with the Nieuport 17. It came apart and the fuselage skidded along the ground for a few feet. For some reason that was enough to wound, then maim and then kill my unfortunate pilot.

My best crash was when my lone Albatros D.III caught up with a flight of enemy bombers high over German territory, around 2600-2800 meters, perhaps even 3000. I selected a target and started firing while continuing to ascend. He was chanceless but I got cocky and toyed with him. In the end I got so close for the killing shot that I flew into him! The collision was mild enough for me -the enemy went down soon after- but my prop was splintered and my engine had oil all over it so I immediately cut the ignition. There were control difficulties as well but having a half-detached landing gear seemed to be the biggest problem. I put my D.III in a soft glide. Luckily I was in safe territory but how to crash land this stricken bird? I eventually settled on crashing it in a river which I had spotted from high upwards. The crash was so mild that nothing except perhaps the landing gear came off. The pilot emerged unscathed.

Ever since, I tend to put down badly damaged planes in the water... It usually, though not always, ends well. Rivers are your best friends anyway: if you are ever in the position where you need to escape from the enemy's lines while the enemy is circling around you, just hit the deck and follow a river. The planes will probably not be able to shoot you down (unless they are Spads or SE5a's which are fast enough to do the trick) and enemy ground gunners probably cannot reach you over the river.

Kind regards,

Reinout