Real WWII guys who play

[VonMessa]

Not all Vets flew planes.     




Some manned tankers (slow moving targets) and we left to fend for themselves a lot (hence the 10 battle stars).



He has never played AH2, but has watched me play many times.  He also wants to know why I don't fly Hogs...

pfft.....  Navy guys

 

[Westy]

"I'd be interested in what one of these veterans thinks of AH's simulation."

 You asked Delerium but I'll add my .02.   I've never heard any vet who flew aircombat
or fighter/bomber planes ever say that any of these games/sims (AW, WB or AH) felt
like they were anything more than a computer program (aka a game).

[Delirium]

There is a lot of board talk about the flight models etc, all of course from folks that never flew these plane.

Like I said before, I will maintain their privacy and I'm not comfortable getting into a discussion in regards to the FM with 70 year old memories no matter how much I respect them.

I've had contact with quite a few veterans but one of them stands out above all the others. He was an end stage cancer patient who was a test pilot and later a combat pilot for the 'B17 Series' as he called them and was decorated beyond belief. He made it clear he was disappointed that Airwarrior (AH at the time didn't exist) was mocking what he and his boys went through. He changed his mind later when I discussed scenarios with him but never got a chance to fly in one prior to his death.

Since then, I've been firmly convinced this game should encourage exposure to history and not to get entwined within in it. My biggest exposure to what these guys went through was during the DGS scenario when the 474th P38 group had to escort bombers to a tertiary target and all the way back home again (the longest escort in AH history AFAIK). No game can ever simulate what they went through when the fear of death was ever present, I'd be a fool to believe it could recreate more than 0.5% of their emotions.

[Guppy35]

Do you happen to remember what cpid he flew under in AW?

He flew as "Earl"

[Guppy35]

"Fencer was kind enough to skin Earl's 39 for AH so we can fly it now ourselves"


Was just going to ask.  Thanks!

How is he btw?  I hope well.

I talked to him last Spring.  He doesn't visit Bigweek anymore.  Mrs. Earl passed a while back and he's moved to a smaller place.  He sounded good though.

[33Vortex]

Unfortunately a real WW2 pilot would not be able to give AH a fair evaluation, I think. Perhaps after spending some time with it, say 50 or so hours of flying. Simply because it takes time to get used to the computer interface. Think about it, the computer technology we take for granted and grasp easily is something very new for these guys. Anyone who have not used computers much would have a hard time to get used to the interface, regardless of whether it's World of Warcraft or Aces High, the interface is a obstacle to overcome.

So a WW2 vet would not be likely to even be able to fully weigh the simulated performance vs the real deal. Which brings us to the bottom line, AH is a game and WW2 was for real so the truth is there is no fair comparison to be made. AH is and remain a computer game. If you want to talk about specific data and performance figures I believe there is charts for that.

No disrespect intended, it's a valid question but I think you'd be disappointed to hear what a WW2 pilot had to say about AH if you think his opinion is worth so much. Fighter pilots tend to fall in love with their planes, so the things you hear from these guys are seldom objective asessments but biased opinions.

[trigger2]

Is he the one who won't give his real name?  Or someone else?
Make me look like the horses a...  we all know I am and give us some background.
I've seen too many "My dad owns a B-17" or "I received the Medal of Honor"'s to believe anything anyone says on the intardnet at first glance.
So, while you're flaming me, also offer some proof other than them saying "I was...." because I am truly interested and would be proud to actually know that they are who they claim to be.
You may commence firing.
wrongway

Hmm, seems I screwed up when editing in the 2nd part... so, here I go again...
It's a legit point you bring up, and one I took, but take this with a grain of salt. I flew with a guy back in the H2H arenas, a guy in my squad (17th Air Warriors) who went simply by "Tex." Didn't sign on much, but when he did, you had to look out. Then one day the both of us got talking, and he claimed to be David Lee "Tex" Hill. Heh, yeah right, right? A legendary fighter pilot from the 1st AVG, a member of my Aces High squad? Pshht. Well, ended up being true. As the justice system says... "It is better to let 100 guilty men walk free than from 1 innocent man to be incarcerated."

Fighter pilots tend to fall in love with their planes, so the things you hear from these guys are seldom objective asessments but biased opinions.

Which brings me to point #2... Just because they flew xxx plane IRL doesn't mean they're gonna fly xxx plane in here. Tex flew the P-40, and flew it pretty well, but he much preferred the la-5.

[Stryker]

the vet in jg11.. is he american, german or what? just curious, i think its very cool someone like that would be playin


-Gambit 

[VonMessa]

He's Canadian, eh..........   

[Reaper90]

the vet in jg11.. [snip].... i think its very cool someone like that would be playin

I'll second that, and raise a pint to it.

ANY opportunity to meet and interact with these guys, the precious few that are still with us, should be among the highest of honours of all for any of us. They may choose to downplay their past contributions for whatever reason, but the fact remains they deserve our greatest respect.

I may be a fool for it, but as far as questioning the legitimacy of someone's statements about their past..... I'll err on the side of respecting their story. I'd rather be wrong in believing, than to be wrong by doubting and denouncing. Like has been said... I'd rather a guilty man go free than an innocent be wrongly accused.

  to all veterans. 

[Megalodon]

I talked to him last Spring.  He doesn't visit Bigweek anymore.  Mrs. Earl passed a while back and he's moved to a smaller place.  He sounded good though.

 I have wondered alot if he was still with us, maybe you might check in on him again? I miss Earl and his logbook.

[BnZs]

"I'd be interested in what one of these veterans thinks of AH's simulation."

 You asked Delerium but I'll add my .02.   I've never heard any vet who flew aircombat
or fighter/bomber planes ever say that any of these games/sims (AW, WB or AH) felt
like they were anything more than a computer program (aka a game).

I've heard of vets saying that flying some simulator was harder than flying the real thing before. Don't think that was referring to AHII, the HTC team, to their immense and everlasting credit, has ironed out most of the things that make other sims that way. Only to have ingrates throw it back in their face because they think if you can actually LOOK AROUND and FLY without enormous difficulty, it ain't realistic.... but blah, I'm digressing here.

[Shuffler]

They may be refering to the lack of feel flying on computer as opposed to feeling the negative and positive Gs, vibrations and such.

[BnZs]

They may be refering to the lack of feel flying on computer as opposed to feeling the negative and positive Gs, vibrations and such.

Feeling things is an insurmountable, at least until we all REALLY great sim pits. At least AHII lets you have your sense of sight though. 

[Guppy35]

Earl told me once back in Airwarrior that RR compensated somewhat for that lack of feel.  It still was nothing close to the real deal but it was fun for him.  The FR crowd probably would have died from that comment back then