J5_Hotlead

Your In-Game Name: JGr2/J5_Hotlead FIF Discord Name: JGr2/J5_Hotlead, Fw. [if applicable] Squadron affiliation: Jagdgruppe 2 / Jasta 5 Your time zone: US Central Dry Run Test (Saturday, 12 October 2024): Uncertain (may be out of town or not) Week A1 (Saturday, 19 October 2024): Uncertain (may be out of town or not) Week A2 (Saturday, 26 October 2024): Yes Week A3 (Saturday, 2 November 2024): No (out of town) Week A4 (Saturday, 9 November 2024): Yes

Don't usually listen to Dua Lipa, but Chad Smith's drumming made this song: And another bonus one: He's a hoot to watch and an absolutely amazing drummer.

Now you know what plays in my head while doing hunting flights at 2k+ above no man's land.

I get a kick out of Sabaton, and with yesterday being May 5th, I thought this song fit. Not only is May 5th Cinco de Mayo, but it's also the anniversary of a lesser-known (but fascinating) battle near the end of WW2:

Vongrube... you wouldn't have been in the same group as @Vonrd at one time, would you? I've seen you around on Flugpark before mate. Always a pleasure flying with/against you! And JG1 is a great organization! You picked a good squad to apply to.

Been listening to a lot of Jason Dunn recently. Used to be the frontman for Hawk Nelson until he left the group in 2012. Really digging his early 2000s pop/punk vibe!

Hey guys! I just finished my latest book review this morning. This time around, we're exploring Johan Ryheul's KEKs and Fokkerstaffels. I loved the early-war focus and how he organized the chapters! https://climbinghigher.wixsite.com/climbinghigher/post/keks-and-fokkerstaffels-book-review

That looks freaking amazing! Bet it was a ton of fun to put together!

I won't be able to make the 24th, but I'll try to make the other dates. This looks like it could be really cool!

Merry Christmas to my friends in JG1! Hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas Day and a blessed year ahead in 2024.

I think I saw yours once. Technically, we were assigned to high cover with another flight lower. But once it became clear that all the action was on the deck, we came down and stayed there for the rest of the mission. It was great flying with you again too! I’ll definitely keep you guys informed when similar opportunities come around.

Hey @Etzel! Sorry for the late post, but better late than never. Here is the link to the campaign parser you asked for: http://stats.jasta5.org:8002/en/missions/?tour=5 You fought well; we were glad to have you even if only for a short time. Didn't take you much time to shoot one of those biscuit-eaters down, I see. And @Jaus, thank you for coming and fitting into the picket role in the DFW! Not a glamorous job I know, but someone had to do it, and you did your part really well. I know Daedallus really appreciated having you along.

Yep! Briefing begins in less then 15 minutes on Flugpark Discord. Daedallus is the team leader. Report to him for tasking.

Hey Etzel! A pilot just withdrew from my flight due to RL, so Daedallus (and I) would love to have you in my Pfalz D.XII flight, if you're ok with that. Just join whenever you can. I’ll be in Kette 1, in the Flugpark discord. I’ll also message you the password in Discord once I know it.

Hey guys! We have another week of Black September coming up, and Blue Team needs Pfalz D.XII and DFW pilots. I told Daedallus I know where I might be able to find some of those. If anyone wants to help us win glory for der Kaiser this Saturday, just let me know! No need to worry about sign up sheets; if you're interested, just reply here and I will add you to the appropriate sheet. Mission starts at 1pm Central US time / 1800 GMT. Briefing begins 30 minutes before that on the Flugpark Discord. I'll be leading a flight of D.XIIs if anyone wants to wing with me.

That is so cool you actually met him! And I haven't seen Aces High yet... probably need to do that at some point! I can definitely see where "Bodie" was the inspiration for that character.

It's been some time since my last blog post, but today I finally finished work on a book review of "Sagittarius Rising". To anyone who hasn't yet read this literary masterwork (probably in the minority here lol), hopefully this review convinces you why you need to add this one to your bookshelf: https://climbinghigher.wixsite.com/climbinghigher/post/sagittarius-rising-book-review

Nice! The BS test run didn’t happen as planned last Saturday because the server never came up. I think Baeumer and Matthias were away that day. So, we gave the Knights of the Sky server a shot. It was fun! The campaign is scheduled to go live this Saturday at 1700 GMT (briefing 30 minutes prior). Daedallus does have a sign up sheet in the blue team command Discord: https://discord.com/channels/1033138099024302180/1048826596376707173 If any JG1 pilots have issues accessing the sign up sheet (like I did at first) just let me know you’re coming and I can sign you up.

Honestly, things have been really busy for me lately. Until just now, work has been crazy as everyone is ordering school supplies for the start of the school year. I've been flying when I can, but it's been a bit sporadic. Hey Etzel! Great to hear from you! I haven't flown Knights of Skies too much yet, but it looks like a really promising server. Have you guys flown there? And if so, what do you think?

Salute guys! J5 is starting this year's Black September campaign soon, so I thought I'd extend an invite to join the fun. We'll be running some unique planesets, including the new early-war birds from FC3. If anyone's interested, you can find out more here: https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/85434-black-september-viii-campaign-–-september-during-the-great-war/ On another note, how have you guys been? Haven't touched base in a bit and wanted to say hi.

Sorry to hear about your back issues, man! Those can be unrelenting. Praying you get some relief!

Salute guys! J5’s Spring Offensive campaign is kicking off soon! If you want to fly, vote in the poll here: https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/83852-2023-bloody-april-xiii-edition-spring-offensives-1918-kaiserschlacht-campaign/ Also, J5’s signature event is now returning to a dead-is-dead format, which might make it eligible for JG1 pilots to earn awards in.

Great work Von! Well earned indeed.

Yeah, the rest of the key aircraft are coming in a later pack: An additional pack of aircraft will be released next year, bringing all land-based aircraft (except the S-16 and Ilya Muromets) from ROF to FC. I suspect they withheld the ever-popular Pup, Roland, and Alb D.III for the later pack to increase demand. It’s tougher finding a market for early war stuff (sadly).

The wife and I saw Toto and Journey in concert last Friday. It was AWESOME!! While I knew all the Journey songs, the hidden gem for me was Toto, as prior to this I only knew "Africa" from them. Now I've got all sorts of their songs living in my head. I didn't take this video, but it's from only a month ago and basically what it was like to see them perform live: