DeFreest Larner

For what it's worth, I had a couple ideas... First, you could replace the majority of the white with red, and keep perhaps a white tail...something like this (roughly): Second, as Luft suggested, you could drop the white in favour of the default camo, and keep some variation of Black / white tail, like this: I quite like the look of No. 2 as it was quite historical for J4, J10 and J11's Alb D.Va pilots to have a 'unique' tail to identify themselves (one pilot had a white tail, one had a blue tail, etc)

Morning, all! Thought I'd share with you all some of our highlights from yesterday's fly-in. As it turns out, the 93rd and the 213th were patrolling the same parts of the lines as JG1 for most of the event - but we only ever seemed to spot each-other's fights from a distance! We also had the Legendary Furlow flying with us - always a pleasure to watch a master at work! P.S - I hope you don't mind a little cursing...we SPAD jockeys are a little "Sweary"

I've been meaning to make a new video to promote the Thursday fly-in in Flying Circus....and it wouldn't be a Thursday Fly-In Trailer without some good JG1 clips! So, if anyone has any good tracks it would be great if you could PM them to me! Here's the old RoF fly-in trailer, to get a sense of what kind of footage works well:

Good work, and nice target switching! I bet the S.E. boys learned a thing or two in that fight LOL, the 2nd guy must have dropped out of the sky with all that lead weighing him down!

Track is Barber's Adagio for Strings, famously from this scene of Platoon: I was laughing my head off picturing that scene while putting the track to the video of the dogfight, haha! Thank you for the kind words, sir! I assure you, it took much practice before I could chuck a SPAD around like that without killing myself! The rudder deflection can be both a blessing and a curse. She bleeds energy very fast once you start turning hard, and you have to consciously work to keep your energy up if you're forced into a fight like that otherwise you'll stall out fairly rapidly. I think I'd rather have been in the D.VII F in this example Unfortunately for my score, this took place right on the doorstep of a German field, so all the Jasta boys landed out safe and sound, with no credit given. I did pick up 3 confirmed in the mega-dogfight before getting caught though, so not a total loss! I believe the pilots were: Initial D.VII F - J30_Hangman Alb: GenMarkof Second D.VII F - J99*Sizzlorr (He's the one that put me out of my misery) Dr.I - Butzzell Pfalz, looming ominously in the background - Hotlead As for the ram-dodging, I abhor collisions, even when they're the only sure way to get a kill in a hopeless situation! Deliberately ramming an opponent isn't really my style S!

Seeing that red-nosed Alb pop up behind me was definitely an "Oh, I think I'm screwed here" moment haha! That fight was great fun!

In which I dive into a 20+ plane furball and immediately regret my decision: On a side note, watching back Hotlead's stream after the night, was very happy to see Gen mention a "93rd SPAD"! Would hate to be lumped in with that US103 lot, ya'know? Was also really cool that Gen noticed the number. I actually officially fly No. 0, but 24 is my "other other SPAD"

If you can see the undersides, you didn’t climb high enough

Greetings, all! I'm very happy to announce that the 3rd Pursuit Group USAS' Squadron Skin-Pack is now complete! As we are a historical unit, our skin-pack contains both our personal 'fictional' designs, as well as 33 Historical SPAD 13.C1s of the 28th, 93rd, 103rd and 213th Aero Squadrons! Our historical Skins are named in the following style: (SQUADRON, Pilot Name) Our fictional Skins are named in the following style: (z 3PG Pilot Name) Here is the download for the full pack (49 Skins): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAKMzynXb9haTXaIO7KxUNfdmDxlyHXi/view?usp=sharing ABOUT THE 3rd PURSUIT GROUP SKIN PACK: As we are a unit that likes to emulate the history of the AEF as closely as possible, meticulous research went into the creation of the 3rd P.G. Skin-Pack! Everything from historical images, to original USAS records, to historical references was used to try and re-create the SPADs of the 3rd Pursuit Group USAS as authentically as possible! We determined the historical Factory Finishes, Camouflage Colours and Roundel Colours by using Cross & Cockade's fantastic study of French Camo Schemes, a three-part study named the 'Butterfly Project'. This went into extensive detail about the colours of the paints, camouflage variants of each manufacturer, and even the materials used to create the finish! We used this study alongside historical images to land at (what we believe is) the most accurate historical representation of the SPAD XIII's colour scheme. This is done to the smallest detail - not only including the different factory patterns for each SPAD, but also the individual manufacturer's markings for each Serial Batch. For example, a SPAD with the serial number 7550 may have different markings on the rudder to a SPAD marked 7650, despite both being built by the Kellner Factory! UNIT MARKINGS & INSIGNIA: Each unit's insignia was painstakingly recreated from historical examples, and brought to 4K standard. In the case of the 103rd, our original Squadron, SPADs will even bear uniquely-painted Sioux insignia, as no two Squadron insignia were ever painted exactly the same - a fact we've sought to recreate with our own pack! Using resources such as Gorrell's History of the A.E.F, we have been able to match up serial numbers and fuselage numbers to the correct historical pilots. Through further research, we have been able to determine the correct factory camouflage patterns for these planes. ADDITIONAL DETAILS: We have designed our skin-pack to be as authentic as possible, right down to the smallest detail. As the SPAD manufacturers hand-painted their Roundels, we have done the same! A closer look at the roundels will reveal some uneven edges. Some of our machines also display patched-up bullet holes, marked with small Iron Crosses - a historical practice of the USAS' pilots. As well as the roundels, many of our SPADs' numbers have also been "Hand-Painted" to add to the authentic look. FICTIONAL SKINS: In addition to the historical skins, we have included some of our own Fictional designs. Keeping with our historical approach, our Skins are all subject to historical standards, and so will fit right in with their historical counterparts! Every design seen on a fictional aircraft of the 3rd Pursuit Group is based on historical research and reference.

"Angry Circus" is a great name for me and Talbot's planned livestream where we complain about D.VII Fs for 6 hours straight...

Greetings, all! I'm very excited to share with our frenemies at J.G.1 some sneak-peeks at the upcoming skin pack for the 3rd Pursuit Group. Meticulous historical research has gone into the 3rd P.G pack in order to give it as much historical grounding as possible, down to the tiniest detail! This includes factory serial numbers, stencilling and camouflage patterns, individually painted Indian heads for the 103rd, and historically correct and unique markings for each squadron. Some of our aircraft even have replacement parts and patched-up bullet holes! Without further ado - here are the markings of our four units! The 103rd Aero Squadron: The unit you all know and love to hate - the 103rd is our 'Heritage Squadron' - the original unit that has now developed to form the first Squadron of the 3rd Pursuit Group. The 103rd's Indian Head is steeped in tradition, dating back to the Lafayette Escadrille of old. Squadron Markings: The 103rd display yellow fuselage and wing numbers with a black outline. Their Squadron Recognition Code is a green band with two red stripes. Unique Markings: Some aircraft of the 103rd have small personal insignia painted underneath the cockpits - but for the most part, they keep it plain and simple! The 93rd Aero Squadron: The second squadron of the 3rd Pursuit Group to be activated, the 93rd have already been causing trouble over the front. Their heritage traces back to the 103rd Aero Squadron's infamous 3rd Flight. Squadron Markings: The 93rd display white fuselage and wing numbers with a red outline. Their Squadron Recognition Code is a green band with three red stripes. Unique Markings: Pilots display one victory marking on the Indian head's necklace for every 10 aerial victories during a single V-Life. The 213th Aero Squadron: The third squadron to be activated with the 3rd Pursuit Group, the 213th is currently the largest Squadron in the group. Their heritage traces back to the 103rd Aero Squadron's 2nd Flight. Squadron Markings: The 213th display black fuselage and wing numbers with a white outline. Their Squadron Recognition Code is a red band with three green stripes. Unique Markings: Each aircraft of the 213th bears a name underneath the cockpit. And last, but not least: The 28th Aero Squadron: As of yet, the 28th Aero Squadron remains inactive. However, we are hoping to gain some new recruits in the near future to fill its ranks! Squadron Markings: The 28th display blue fuselage and wing numbers. The fuselage numbers are against a white backdrop. Their Squadron Recognition Code is a red band with two green stripes. Unique Markings: None as of yet. Other Markings: Squadron C.Os are permitted to display a unique nose cowling, as well as a fuselage stripe (typically tricolour). The numbers '0' and '1' are also typically used by Squadron C.Os for further identification. Pilots, after scoring 3 victories, are allowed to paint a small insignia or legend underneath the cockpit. This was a historical practice by the United States Air Service, and one we replicate within our unit! Each Squadron is divided into three flights, which are signified by the coloured nose cowlings: Red for 1st Flight, White for 2nd Flight and Blue for 3rd Flight.

Yessir, the SPAD is the screenshot, Old No. 13, my US103 bird....of course, she doesn't get much use since the transfer! And that would be me in front - original pic is here:

Super awesome! The 'Cannon Bore' one is outstanding! Inspired me to try one of my own

^ Think that'll be a hotfix, SPAD XIII and apparently Dr.I as well had a problem with pitching up too much when flying hands-off...

Morning, all! I'd like to share a project I've just finished, in the hope that it might come in handy over here at the J.G.1 aerodrome. in the .Zip file below is a set of custom templates for J.G.1, marked with the correct historical Jasta markings for each unit. I've done my best to design each template to be as easy to use as possible, and have included optional 'Alternate' camo schemes / crosses / Jasta markings within each template. The most historically accurate schemes are enabled by default. Hopefully these will serve as a good 'guide' to newer recruits looking to paint up their planes in their Jasta colours, or for older hands who are looking for a new look! The schemes used have been designed to match historical examples and references as closely as possible. Currently included are 16 .PSD files - 4 templates each for the Albatros D.Va, Fokker Dr.I, and the Fokker D.VII & D.VII F. LINK: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vXi4qhX9VkBrWTBr9xUIrKo-8AbYF7TT/view?usp=sharing Alternative options can be found in the Layers tab, in the various folders. Enjoy!