Klaiber

Hi Corbinnator. You're assigned to the Red Team. Check the Red Discussion area for the JG1 TeamSpeak info. Welcome!

Hi Joker, sorry I missed this until now. The Blue Team TS information should be within the Blue Discussion forum. I'll PM it to you, so you'll be all set for Saturday. Sorry again.

Very cool!

Great pic Lee! Is that the Tiger Moth?

You don't have to get into specific politics to call it what it is - the A-10 is going to be a casualty of a rampant military industrial complex. Two sides of the trinity (the USAF and the defense industry) want the A-10 retired. And they're attempting to aggressively influence the third side (the legislators) to kill it. Thankfully, the legislators of both political parties are actively trying to save the A-10. However, it's only a matter of time before it's removed from service. The tragedy will then be that there is nothing viable to replace it, outside of the "patchwork" of CAS that Trev mentioned.

Hi Hotlead, Let me know when you're going to be online, and I can walk you through a quick tutorial of Photoshop. The big thing that makes Photoshop really powerful is the layer and masking abilities. The pilot photo inside the signature is just a layer (let's call it Layer A), placed on top of another layer (Layer B ). That way you can adjust, change and work with Layer A without screwing with Layer B. And vice versa. It's kind of like a digital version of a collage. Expect that you can always change things. Additionally, I'd look for some tutorials online. There are a few nice ones on Youtube (if you like people talking to you). And there are definitely some websites / books that can help. Hope to talk more soon about this!

The pusher is making a comeback with the Sikorsky S-97 Raider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-97_Raider

I want to preemptively make sure this topic stays very far away from political stuff. Seriously. I think that this is a very interesting topic, however. So, if we stay focused on the aircraft and the doctrines, we should be okay. There are two articles at the Foxtrot Alpha blog which go into some good details about the A-10, and the push to retire it "at all costs": The Air Force's Rationale For Retiring The A-10 Warthog Is Bulls**t: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-usafs-rationale-for-retiring-the-a-10-warthog-is-bu-1562789528 At What Point Does The USAF's War Against The A-10 Become Sabotage?: http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/at-what-point-does-the-usafs-war-against-the-a-10-becom-1685239179 Personally, I think two things are going on here. Firstly, the USAF has been stuck in the "fly high, fly fast, bomb from altitude" mentality that it's held since WW2. Add to this stealth, and you land up with the B-2, the F-22 and the F-35. Never mind that stealth aircraft aren't invisible, and can actually be seen on low wavelengths like VHF and UHF. And that modern air forces of first rate powers can actually track them. But that's off topic. In this mix, the A-10 has always been the red headed step child. I almost think that the USAF doesn't want the CAS role, but aren't willing to give it up to the US Army either. Secondly, I think that the USAF has invested so much money into the F-35 that it's become "two big to fail". In other words, it doesn't matter if it doesn't work at the moment, because they're already down the rabbit hole, and are willing to spend as much as it takes in order to make it work right. Additionally, because it costs so much, they're trying to justify the expense by forcing it into as many roles as possible. This is regardless of whether it's actually qualified to replace the older aircraft currently filling those roles. So in the end, it doesn't matter that the A-10 saves lives, is cheap, is extremely good at it's job, and is both versatile and reliable. It's destined to get retired ASAP because it's standing in the way of what the USAF is calling "progress". However, their progress doesn't actually do anything to provide effective CAS. I think you hit it on the head, Trev, when you said that they're "conceptually going back to Vietnam-era CAS patchwork". Something additionally to consider: NASA, in it's entire existence (1958 to the present), as only spent 790 Billion dollars. This is adjusted for inflation, and includes everything they've ever done. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo missions to the moon, the Space Shuttle, etc. Compare that to estimated total cost of the F-35 program, which is going to go past $1.5 Trillion. That's 1500 billion.

S! All, The following JG I pilots are being recognized for their actions during Session 1A of Flanders In Flames XXIIa (which took place on the 12 September 2015). Congratulations! . . . Iron Cross 1st Class Lt. Thomas Lahm, Jasta 6 (mission #1a, 12 September 2015), for the destruction of 5 enemy aircraft within one streak. Iron Cross 2nd Class Uffz. Noel (Hotlead) Kappel, Jasta 10 (mission #1a, 12 September 2015), for the destruction of 4 enemy aircraft within one streak.

Hi Wingover, you're all set for the Red Team.

FIF XXIIa Session 1A Results (Saturday, 12 September 2015): Red (Central) Objectives Completed: 10 Artillery Spotting Completed Espionage Mission Completed Entente Aerodrome Destroyed Reconnaissance Objective Completed Entente Factory Destroyed Entente Bridge Destroyed Entente Ship Destroyed Reconnaissance Secondary Objective Completed Reserve Unit Destroyed Entente Front-line Unit killed Blue (Entente) Objectives Completed: 8 German Factory Destroyed Artillery Spotting Completed Trench Mapping Completed Reconnaissance Objective Completed German Bridge Destroyed German Aerodrome Destroyed Reserve Unit Destroyed German Front-line Unit killed Total Objectives Completed (to date): Red (Central) = 10 Blue (Entente) = 8 . . . Server Stat Information: http://46.4.81.81/mission/10868/ (data is not complete due to server error) . . . Server Screenshots:

Thanks for the heads up!

Nice read, Hardy!

Hi Max, you're assigned to the Blue Team with Jasta 5. They're flying Entente first, but will eventually switch to Central.

Hi Bluntman, you're all good for the Red Team.

Hi Joker_BR, sorry for not seeing this until now. Registration is still open. You've been assigned to the Blue Team. Welcome.

Hi Vonrd, Shot is on the Red Team.

I'll definitely be getting it. Really looking forward to it.

Really interesting video, Trev. I still can't understand why the U.S. Air Force want's to retire the A-10, and replace it with the F-35.

Hi Kacper, you're all set for the Red Team.

Hi Marwitz, you're on the Red team. So you'll be Central for the first phase.

Btw, if you're interested in float planes, have you ever given the Felixstowe and Brandenburg a spin in RoF? http://riseofflight.com/store/aircraft/felixstowe-f2a/ http://riseofflight.com/store/aircraft/brandenburg-w12/

Oh yeah, you're right! I never realized that the aircraft from the opening credits was a Widgeon.

The Grumman Widgeon is a great looking aircraft. Can definitely see why you'd want one.

Wow, that's amazing.