Fair enoughOriginally Posted by Flying Helmut
Fair enough
See the link in my card post for Equipment Cards for the rear-firing gun. I followed the idea of the 'Higher Machinegun' card Ares released for planes with the upper wing Foster Mounting.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
I don't know if there is a convention for that, but I denoted it with a blue-tinged arc on the FE2b cards I did:
Nice innovation Daryl.
Rob.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Change the edge of arc lines from Red to Blue and I think you've got it!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Ooh, I like that idea....I'll get on it.
Fantastic!
That's a great idea
The front arc is too restricted - the gun could be moved to positions on the left or right of the nacelle as well as to the nose, so should be able to fire right round to the wingtip. The rear arc is too small also, should be at least as big as a standard tandem, if not bigger.
See cockpit pic post#136
Last edited by flash; 11-05-2022 at 08:37.
Sapiens qui vigilat... "He is wise who watches"
I have always wondered how liberal we should get with firing arcs on the card. Take an R.E.8 card, for instance. Front arcs for front-firing fixed gun, which has no real arc at all, represent that the pilot would naturally adjust the plane's position to get a shot. So we give them the "benefit of a doubt" and adjust the arc to cover 60° or so to reflect the pilot's ability to adjust to his target. Plus, we're covering the fact that the turn represents several seconds of time and there may have been a shot during that interval, even if there isn't one right at the end of the movement. (A quantization allowance.)
On the same R.E.8 card, the rear arc isn't even 180°, it's closer to 140°. That rear gun is on a Scarff ring, with wide flexibility of movement, and it should benefit from the same fudging for plane position that the front gun gets. So you could argue that the rear arc should not only cover 180° or beyond, right up to the wings. In fact, if you want to allow for the pilot adjust to give the observer a shot and for quantization, you might overlap the wings a little... more like 200°. Yet the card only shows 140°.
So it seems like -- for the R.E.8 -- that the front gun arc is generously wide and the rear gun arc is stingily narrow.
I think trying to introduce greater realism into the arcs would be a nightmare.
First off, each manoeuvre card has been worked out to represent only two seconds of real time; not nearly enough time to accurately track a fast-moving target with a continuous bullet stream from a flexible gun mount in a moving aircraft.
Secondly, with virtually no complex communication at all between pilot and observer, it would be nearly impossible for a pilot to manoeuvre his plane to assist a gunner in getting an improved shot at a small, fast-moving continuously-manoeuvring target all within a two second window (turning his plane to provide a "normal" game snap shot, yes, that should be possible, but this is adequately represented in the existing arcs.)
In fact any change in speed, direction, climb or dive by the pilot would be far more likely to prevent a shot by the gunner, who would not be expecting any such move, and would be thrown off his aim.
Beyond this, Daryl's own superb rear gunner figures clearly (and accurately) demonstrate the ability of an observer to lean over the side a little, and point his gun downwards to either side of the fuselage, and yet the rules as written disallow any shot at all engaging a target at a lower altitude...
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Updated the above cards to reflect the wider arc allowed by the Observer's multi-position MG mount.
Mike
"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
"Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59
FE2b - 2Lts VH Huston and GN Blennerhasset - 18 Sqn RFC April 1917
Original model Shapeways RAF FE2b
Upper wings, nacelle and tail - Vallejo US Olive Drab 70.807
Lower wings - Foundry Raw Linen 30c
Tail boom and struts - Foundry Chestnut 53b
Engine, machine gun and undercarriage - GW Leadbelcher.
Propeller - Vallejo Flat Brown 70.984
Pilots - Vallejo Leather Brown 70.871 and Foundry Flesh 5b
Tyres and fuel tank - Vallejo Black Grey 70.862
Nacelle diamond and wheel covers - Foundry Ochre 4b/c
Rudder - Vallejo Flat Blue 70.962, White 70.951 and Scarlet 70.817
Decals - Miscmini
A great way to end the year Gary! Liked the yellow touches on the nose and wheels.
Well done, Gary. Neat and clean.
Another corker, Gary!
I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!
Great job Gary! Very well done!
nice work gary!
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