Death Race in the Skies - Adlershof, June 1918
The Mission:
Teams of two Fokker DVIIs gather at Adlershof in June of 1918 to compete in an air race.
Each plane must take off from Adlershof Aerodrome, fly once around the course by turning around the outside of each of the two balloons, then return to the Aerodrome and land.
First plane back wins, but points are amassed by the TEAM, not the individual.
Leaving your Wingman to be shot down is permissible, but the combined scores of both members of a rival team can eclipse your score and rob you of victory!
Shooting is only permitted if the firer is at level 2 or above (no strafing ground targets, or planes on the ground).
Obstacles (trees, buildings, hills, mountains) are marked with the altitude they obstruct - planes must fly HIGHER to clear them. Trees and buildings may be flown through at their designated altitude, but pilots draw a 'C' card for possible collision if they do!
Hills and mountains auto-kill any pilot daft enough to take them on!
Clouds can disorient a pilot if a three-card turn begins with the aircraft in a cloud.
The Racers.........
Dan in Jasta 18 Red and White, with black/white tail
Mike in Jasta 18 Red and White, with green/white tail
Reg in Jasta 15 Blue, with white fuselage band
Doug in Jasta15 Blue, with white snake
Paul in Jasta 7 Black, with green/white fuselage band
Andrzej in Jasta 7 Black, with red/white/yellow demon on fuselage sides
Right, enough of this..............let's see how it played out!
The course - around the two balloons and back; direction to be determined by card draw, after 'Grid' allocation.
The sleepy village of Adlershof, which has no idea what is about to hit it!
The 'Grid', and the possible 4 teams which can participate in the race - aircraft placement is determined by random card draw; each plane starts on top of it's matching playing card.
Overview..............
Under Starter's Orders................
And They're Off!
6 players signed up, so only three teams are in play.
Everyone plays a stall, as the first part of the take-off sequence, except for Reg, who turns left and almost "total"s Mike before they even get airbourne!
Most players accelerate with a straight, except for Reg and Andrzej, who each play a stall to start their take-off sequence
Four up, with Reg following and Andrzej slipping off the Aerodrome boundary (fortunately, there's no fence or hedge!).
Everyone airbourne, and turning left (random card draw designated Clockwise racing).
As the leading pack climb again, they reach Level 2, and shooting becomes permissible!
Andrzej and Paul are at different altitudes, so do not collide. Mike hammers away at Doug's blue bird ahead of him.
Dan turns hard right to escape the pack; stung by Mike's firing, Doug Immelmanns to face him down!
First Blood! Doug's battered plane is hacked out of the sky by an onrushing Paul. Dan frantically climbs as a mountain looms before him, and Reg takes the lead around the longer (but lower) route.
Dare-devil Dan bounces his wheels off the mountain side in the narrowest of narrow avoidances! Honourary "Lucky Pilot" skill to be awarded, I think!
Having climbed again, Mike turns to follow his Wingman, letting Reg go (since he is too low to be a viable target). The two Jasta 7 machines bring up the rear (though I'm told that was their plan all along......).
Dan swerves left to avoid the first balloon, while Mike climbs hard to avoid the trees! Paul and Andrzej climb as well, but Reg puts his foot down and continues at a lower altitude.
Dan climbs again, while Paul and Andy pursue Mike across the "shortcut".
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