BALLOONATICS

[Todt_Von_Oben]

Happy to see balloons as a target.  Amazing graphic detail.   And I actually laughed out loud when the guy did a "gainer" off the gondola, fell in a reasonable hard arch position, and got several seconds of freefall before deployment.  Far packing out!  BLUE SKY!!!  

 

It'll be a little better when the Devs get around to issuing the observers parachute packs (instead of having the canopy spring from the jumper's flight suit) and I figure they'll get around to that eventually.   Meanwhile, the balloons are really cool and I think you did a fine job of it.  Thanks,  Devs!  :-)

Edited November 20, 2019 by Todt_Von_Oben

[No.23_Triggers]

Have you seen the fella jump before the balloon flames? I've only seen 'em jump once it's already on fire! 

Edited November 20, 2019 by US93_Larner

[Todt_Von_Oben]

No, it was burning before they jumped.  That's where the light above them is coming from: flames.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Todt_Von_Oben

[No.23_Triggers]

Always thought it would be cool if they jumped once the first few bullets hit the balloon, rather than waiting for it to pop

Edited November 20, 2019 by US93_Larner

[WWBiker_]

9 minutes ago, US93_Larner said:

Always thought it would be cool if they jumped once the first few bullets hit the balloon, rather than waiting for it to pop

or if they had a gun mounted in the basket 

[Zooropa_Fly]

51 minutes ago, DirtyBiker said:

or if they had a gun mounted in the basket 

 

Nooooooooooooo

[US63_SpadLivesMatter]

So...we got any balloon aces yet?

[BMA_West]

We Belgians had a renown balloon buster, Willy Coppens:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Coppens

Did the damage in a Hanriot HD.

Hearsay even mentioned wagering over landing on a balloon, imagine.

Boshes tried to ambush him by rigging balloons with explosives.

Edited November 21, 2019 by West

[HiIIBiIIy]

18 hours ago, DirtyBiker said:

or if they had a gun mounted in the basket 

That would be in violation of the Hague Convention of 1899. 

[No.23_Triggers]

17 hours ago, J28w-Broccoli said:

So...we got any balloon aces yet?

One of the 213th's guys has 2 to his credit...never showed up in the parser though, bizarrely...
 

 

[TAAC_Blue]

Indeed. My last sortie on Flugpark I went after two balloons. Neither showed up in the parser, though the killing of the observer's did.

[Todt_Von_Oben]

Actually, we had been wondering how that would be counted.  Got two kills for the jumpers but nothing for the balloon, eh?  okay, next time; just for drill.  Easy pickins in a triplane.  

 

"It's a cruel world, Stachel."    

 

EDIT

 

Okay, I just flew J5F in a Dr.1.  When shot, the balloon disappears momentarily and then reappears so I had to avoid colliding with it.  I flew around and shot it four times and it did the same thing.  Then I broke my engine but had good relative altitude and speed so I shot it three more times with no guns; just pointing the plane at it and pressing the trigger makes it disappear for a second.  And at that point, I could see the observers standing in space momentarily.  Then I descended below them and bailed out.  Never saw one of them jump this time; no flaming balloon or black smoke; nada.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Todt_Von_Oben

[BMA_West]

Just so you know Hellbender is interested in taking up the Willy Coppens nick;

Will make our next Belgian Kiekenfretter FC balloon buster!

[US63_SpadLivesMatter]

Friedrich von Roth got a pour le merite for his balloons.  I propose that the award for busting 25+ balloons be called "The Fat Max".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ritter_von_Röth

 

I haven't tried busting any yet.  How much AA is around them at the flugpark?  I shot down a dude that was going after ours, and I'm thinking probably not enough.

Edited November 21, 2019 by J28w-Broccoli

[BMA_Hellbender]

3 hours ago, West said:

Just so you know Hellbender is interested in taking up the Willy Coppens nick;

Will make our next Belgian Kiekenfretter FC balloon buster!

 

You'll have to wait at least until we get the HD.1 and the Belgian front, but I'm hopeful!

 

?

 

23 minutes ago, J28w-Broccoli said:

Friedrich von Roth got a pour le merite for his balloons.  I propose that the award for busting 25+ balloons be called "The Fat Max".

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ritter_von_Röth

 

I haven't tried busting any yet.  How much AA is around them at the flugpark?  I shot down a dude that was going after ours, and I'm thinking probably not enough.

It seems that balloons are currently not being counted as air or ground objects, either during the mission or on the parser.

 

Maybe some kind of bug?

[US63_SpadLivesMatter]

Machine gun emplacements aren't counted either. 

[No.23_Triggers]

I had a Drachen credited as a ground kill via parser...

[Zooropa_Fly]

Somebody was popping balloons on my server the other day and they were getting credited as air kills.

[J2_Trupobaw]

They are credited as air kills, and Aerostats (separate cathegory), on J5 parser page.

[71st_AH_Rob_XR-R]

The one I shot down last night is listed as an Aerostat and credited as a ground kill.

[TAAC_Blue]

Perhaps it was a bug in the mission in my case. I have a track file of my sortie, but looking at the J5 server updates it seems the Dusk Arras mission is  no longer in rotation.

[US63_SpadLivesMatter]

I think it counts the balloons as ground targets, because they're attached to the ground?

[eisnerven]

Hi, I don´t see balloons listed as targets. Flying quick missions using Arras map should bring them up? I have already updated to 4.002 but he Drachen sill not here. Any hint welcome!

[Zooropa_Fly]

They haven't currently been assigned icons which may well have something to do with it.

[eisnerven]

Thanks, I have jut seen they are counted as planes in the outcome of the mission, still, I don't see any. Are they deployed near cities? To the other side of no mans land? 

[Todt_Von_Oben]

Oh, and my parting thought about DIRIGIBLES: An FC blimp we could either pilot or attack would be nice but I don't see how that could ever be a two-way street since, to the best of my knowledge, the only Zeppelin England ever sent to Germany was Led.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Todt_Von_Oben