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Originally Posted by Stealth Hunter
Granted, but they become infected with some weired monkey virus and kill you, like Joseph Smith the Mormon...
I wish that I could live the life of a WWI pilot.
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Granted. You obtain a commission in the fledgling Royal Flying Corps. It is August, 1915. You are given one of the new observation aircraft, A Bristol Biplane. You take off from your aerodrome the afternoon of the 19th and head for the front lines. As you start your turn over the trenches and your observer begins taking photos, a shadow falls across you out of the sun. It's a new type of German machine with only one wing. As the observer puts the camera away and brings his machine gun to bear, the staccato chatter of a single Spandau on an interrupter cam echoes in your ears as a line of holes stitch across the fabric of your fuselage, setting your fuel on fire, and running up your observer's frame as he slumps over. With no parachute, you jump from the diving, flaming wreck that was once your machine and the last thing you see is Oswald Boelcke saluting you from his Fokker E-III as you fall the first victim of the Fokker Scourge and Boelcke's Dicta.
Dicta Boelcke1.Always try to secure an advantageous position before attacking. Climb before and during the approach in order to surprise the enemy from above, and dive on him swiftly from the rear when the moment to attack is at hand.2.Try to place yourself between the sun and the enemy. This puts the glare of the sun in the enemy's eyes and makes it difficult to see you and impossible for him to shoot with any accuracy.3.Do not fire the machine guns until the enemy is within range and you have him squarely within your sights.4.Attack when the enemy least expects it or when he is preoccupied with other duties such as observation, photography or bombing.5.Never turn your back and try to run away from an enemy fighter. If you are surprised by an attack on your tail, turn and face the enemy with your guns.6.Keep your eye on the enemy and do not let him deceive you with tricks. If your opponent appears damaged, follow him down until he crashes to be sure he is not faking.7.Foolish acts of bravery only bring death. The Jasta must fight as a unit with close teamwork between all pilots. The signal of its leaders must be obeyed.
I wish I had some toast.