Before I die...

[Vo2]

Name things that you would like to do before you die one day?

Here's some of mine:

• Be at the Italian Grand Prix when Schumi takes the victory (and be at the after party!)
• Ride a sub-3 Argus (or similar race)
• See the earth from space
• Get to drive in an F1 car
• Spend a holiday at the Great Barrier Reef (could just do that in a few years time!)
• Snow ski
• Climb some high mountain
• Spend some quality time with Elisabeth from Survivor II sigh... (my wife just rolls her eyes : )

Oh well, it's nice to dream...

 

[Guest]

If I posted a reply to this i'd have to ban myself from the forum ;D

cheers

 

[Guest]

1) Be stong enough to race in Europe and climb with the best (Ullrich, Armstrong, etc.)

2) Be skilled enough to race in F1 and beat Schumacher, Montoya, Hakkinen

3) Be able to hook up with Caprice Bournet for one night of 'fun'

4) Be able to hook up with Jules Asner for one night of 'fun'

5) Be able to hook up with Lisa Snowdon for 5 nights of 'fun'

6) Own a Ferrari F355 and 360 Modena

7) Go exploring in another planet like Mars, or Venus

8) Fly a fighter jet (SU-37, MiG 29, or F15) and shoot down some hotshot aces

9) Go back in time and help fight in WW2, particularly in the Battle of Midway

10) Spend 1 week with several FHM, MAXIM models doing nothing but bad deeds in a hotel room.

Damn, I think I am going to die a SAD man.

 

[Vo2]

Altwegg buddy, seems to me you and I both are gonna die SAD men ;D

 

[Guest]

Hahahaha! That's what happens when we reach for the stars.

 

[Guest]

Some not as extravigant as others but. In order of achievable to not

1. Settle down with a house and wife and kids etc. (preferably once that enjoy cycling)
2. Sub 3 hour Argus/94.7
3. Own an exotic Supercar collection
4. Compete in at least on full season of some form of motorsport
5. Drive 10 laps of Imola in a F1
6. Pull some serious G's in a Fighter Jet
7. Spend a weekend alone with Charlize Theron
8. Find a Geenie to make these dreams come true

 

[Guest]

Hey, that genie just might beour ticket to heaven!

 

[Guest]

• Become a factory Yamaha rider with Tim Ferry
• Own a lakeside Cabin in Alaska
• Clear a 130' Triple jump
• Own a 1977 Chevrolet Corvette
• Go on a date with Natalie Portman

 

[Guest]

Go on a date with Natalie Portman

she is damn hot 8)

 

[Guest]

Hey.......I haven't given it much thought!
But I like that line from the film 'Zorba the Greek' :

 Q. Are you married?
 A. Am I not a man? And is not a man stupid? So - I married.  Wife, house, children - the full catastrophe.

In the early phases of the Pacific War, the loss of American pilots, esp. from carrier-based aircraft, was horrendous. I think I'd like to fly a biplane, in WW1, though a pilot's life expectancy then was about one week of action. Have you heard of the German pilot Verner Voss? He was most likely more skilful than the Red Baron. It took 3 aircraft, all aces, to shoot him down. And he could turn his plane through 180 degrees without hardly banking.
A famous Japanese ace of WW 11 wrote a book, the title of which escapes me for now, maybe ' Fighter Ace', anyhow his name was Saburo Sakai, so any search should find it. A good read, from the other side's perspective.
Bike Content: I'm off to the shed to clean my bike. Cheers.

 

[Guest]

Since we're on the topic of WW1 and WW2, here are a few books on the air war that are worth reading:

Aces Over Germany
Aces Over Japan

both by a guy named Himmel. These books contain personal accounts of dogfights, strafing runs, escort missions etc. The account on the Raid on St. Nazaire was very very good.

Also, check out Gavin Lyall's books, they are also personal accounts by British fighters/bombers that tell about life on the base as well as in the air. Very good entries here by Guy Gibson, this popular guy from Bomber command.

Will look for Saburo Sakai's book, if I am correct, this ace is still alive to this day!

 

[Vo2]

I'm addicted to the WWII Fighters PC game.

 

[Guest]

Let's go a bit off topic for a minute here

Wow, I used to play Chuck Yeager's Air Combat on my 33 MHz 386 desktop all day long. What are the system requirements of the game you just posted?

 

[Vo2]

Chuck Yeager! What a classic! ;D
WWII Fighters runs fine on my PII 333 128Mb RAM, but I'm sure that it will do just fine on a high end PI.

 

[Guest]

Great, I'll look for a pirated version here. It should run fine on my office P3. Do you need a 3D card for that?

What other flight sims would you recommend?

You guys should also try Ace Combat 4 for the PS2, it's a good mix of arcade and simulation. The graphics are simply AWESOME, especially in replay mode.

End of non-cycling related response

 

[Vo2]

The pic I posted is not from WWII Fighters, but the graphics look the same. Even the FLAK on the right hand side of the pic looks the same. It'll run smoothly on your PIII. A 3D card will enhance the game even more.

 

[Guest]

Awright, thanks pal ;D

 

[Vo2]

Here's the link to Jane's WWII Fighters. It includes utilities, new missions etc. etc.

Enjoy!

 

[Guest]

Hi Altwegg.  Sakai San was featured in a documentary on our SBS TV channel here, some six or so years ago. So he may still be with us.  
Also I came across a technical book about the Mitsubishi Zero in the early 80's, and the designer was still alive then, but much older.  He relates how he once had his new 'plane taken out to a field for flight testing, but the field was too soggy at the time, so the 'plane had to be partly dismantled again and brought back - by bullock wagon! At the time it was probably the world's most advanced fighter. I wonder what sort of bikes we would have today, if these guys had built top-end bicycles?
And thanks Vo2 for the link to Janes WW11 Fighters.
Cheers.

 

[Guest]

I think Saburo Sakai was also featured a few years ago in the Discovery Channel.

I'd also like to see them interview/feature Adolf Galland, the Luftwaffe ace.

Isn't it interesting that 3 of WW2s greatest aces are still alive today? Yeager, Sakai, and Galland should get together and talk about 'old times' hehehe!

As for teh Zero being the best fighter during WW2, I agree. I read somewhere that the Americans were able to capture a Zero and were totally amazed at its dogfighting characteristics. All other planes, IMO, were inferior to the Zero.

Cycling content: thanks to the engineering talents of our Japanese friends, we have engineering marvels for bikes by Shimano!