US93_Larner

Sorry for the delay - had some computer issues this week!

Just remember to tell your Observers to buckle up... In all seriousness, it's very, very cool to see a dedicated two-seater unit forming on the front! Even if they are Bosches. We'll see you in the skies!

We may still be flying older skins, but only rarely. I've tried to replace all US103 skins in use with the ones in the new pack - so feel free to clear out the old ones. File size is 671mb according to Google Drive! It all depends! Typically our members with fictional skins will fly those planes, but it's not necessarily a hard rule. As Talbot mentioned before, our fictional skins are grounded in historical basis to be historically plausible. In other words, no gaudy designs or insignia, and nothing that wouldn't have been approved by the real USAS. Sem-Historical might actually be a better-fitting term! As an example of how the fictional ones 'fit in' with the historical birds, here's a historical SPAD (No.14) from our old pack next to a Fictional one (No.29): That being said, Talbot tends to fly the historical 213th birds as well as his own. Furlow flies historical planes, and I like to alternate between my fictional Number '0' and the historical birds. Hall's SPAD does have ahistorical markings, but has the correct historical number and serial number of a real-life 213th aero SPAD. Some of our members such as Cauffman, Bridgman, Bellows, etc, are 'assigned' historical skins, so you'll be sure to see some of the real-life birds in the sky! The other alternative is to drag all of the Z_3PG files out and have just the historical skins - but you may start seeing some default French SPADs in the formation

We've been remiss in officially welcoming some of our new recruits. Allow me to introduce: Sgt. Bridgman, 93rd Aero Squadron. Cpl. Giroux, Unassigned. Cpl. Cauffman, 103rd Aero Squadron. Cpl. Bellows, 213th Aero Squadron. Cpl. Frost, Unassigned. Cpl. Baker, Unassigned. Welcome to the 3rd P.G, boys! Now go bag some Huns! A word on our current recruitment status: With six brand new recruits to the 3rd P.G, we have our hands full with training at the moment. As a result, we are considering temporarily pausing recruitment while we get the new pilots trained and ready for the front. Pilots are still welcome to apply, but it may take a little while for the application to be approved!

Greetings, all! I'm very happy to announce that the 3rd Pursuit Group USAS' Squadron Skin-Pack is now complete! As we are a historical unit, our skin-pack contains both our personal 'fictional' designs, as well as 33 Historical SPAD 13.C1s of the 28th, 93rd, 103rd and 213th Aero Squadrons! Our historical Skins are named in the following style: (SQUADRON, Pilot Name) Our fictional Skins are named in the following style: (z 3PG Pilot Name) Here is the download for the full pack (49 Skins): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAKMzynXb9haTXaIO7KxUNfdmDxlyHXi/view?usp=sharing ABOUT THE 3rd PURSUIT GROUP SKIN PACK: As we are a unit that likes to emulate the history of the AEF as closely as possible, meticulous research went into the creation of the 3rd P.G. Skin-Pack! Everything from historical images, to original USAS records, to historical references was used to try and re-create the SPADs of the 3rd Pursuit Group USAS as authentically as possible! We determined the historical Factory Finishes, Camouflage Colours and Roundel Colours by using Cross & Cockade's fantastic study of French Camo Schemes, a three-part study named the 'Butterfly Project'. This went into extensive detail about the colours of the paints, camouflage variants of each manufacturer, and even the materials used to create the finish! We used this study alongside historical images to land at (what we believe is) the most accurate historical representation of the SPAD XIII's colour scheme. This is done to the smallest detail - not only including the different factory patterns for each SPAD, but also the individual manufacturer's markings for each Serial Batch. For example, a SPAD with the serial number 7550 may have different markings on the rudder to a SPAD marked 7650, despite both being built by the Kellner Factory! UNIT MARKINGS & INSIGNIA: Each unit's insignia was painstakingly recreated from historical examples, and brought to 4K standard. In the case of the 103rd, our original Squadron, SPADs will even bear uniquely-painted Sioux insignia, as no two Squadron insignia were ever painted exactly the same - a fact we've sought to recreate with our own pack! Using resources such as Gorrell's History of the A.E.F, we have been able to match up serial numbers and fuselage numbers to the correct historical pilots. Through further research, we have been able to determine the correct factory camouflage patterns for these planes. ADDITIONAL DETAILS: We have designed our skin-pack to be as authentic as possible, right down to the smallest detail. As the SPAD manufacturers hand-painted their Roundels, we have done the same! A closer look at the roundels will reveal some uneven edges. Some of our machines also display patched-up bullet holes, marked with small Iron Crosses - a historical practice of the USAS' pilots. As well as the roundels, many of our SPADs' numbers have also been "Hand-Painted" to add to the authentic look. FICTIONAL SKINS: In addition to the historical skins, we have included some of our own Fictional designs. Keeping with our historical approach, our Skins are all subject to historical standards, and so will fit right in with their historical counterparts! Every design seen on a fictional aircraft of the 3rd Pursuit Group is based on historical research and reference. A full list of the Skins included can be found in the Spoiler below: Enjoy!

AWESOME historical example of this! I knew that the Germans 'painted over' the old crosses with the newer style, but I'd never seen an example of one mid-paint until now!

Have another look at the red noses as well - AFAIK the red wouldn't have extended as far back as the pilot seat (meaning the rear upward panel which the guns sits over would have been left unpainted) depending on which sources / colour plates you look at, and the shade of red itself has come out quite pink. If it's any help, I used the following HTML colours for skins I've worked on: Jasta 11 nose - 7d2020 USAS 1st Flight Nose - 821616 I've also seen examples which show Vollbracht's 'zigzag' having more 'peaks' or 'points' (6), but can't speak on how accurate that is.

Excellent work, guys. Flew on Sunday and had a blast. A couple 'unconfirmed' with no parser was a very small price to pay to have the Flugpark back!

Always liked J5's D.VIis. Great detail with historical factory markings - love that kind of stuff!

Yessir! We'll get a SPAD rigged up for you! It may or may not come with a conscription notice

Will do, chief! 😆 Yeah, hopefully it all goes smoother. We're keen to see some No. 56 S.E.5as tearing up the Hun!

Off to a bumpy start, but we still had a good turnout for the thursday fly-in at the end of it! We also got some great pics of the 3rd P.G's line-up...

Last minute update: We're flying on JG1 FC server starting now. Sorry for the confusion, all!

Yeah, noticed a recent update sniped about half of my recorded track files...including all the ones I was going to make some videos out of. Great stuff! 😑 Thanks for your continued efforts, Matthias