Parachutes as selectable option in aircraft setup

[Stab/JG1_Klaiber]

Parachutes saw their first successful use by the Germans in June 1918.  This detail perfectly fits into the Flying Circus Vol. 1 timeframe.

 

However, as 1CGS releases more volumes in the coming years, air engagements will be possible from 1916 to the war’s end.  From 1916 to early-1918, parachutes are unhistorical, even for the Central Powers.

 

Please consider making parachutes a selectable feature in the aircraft setup area.

 

This way, mission builders can restrict parachutes in missions where they are not appropriate.  And when they are correct, pilots can select them (and their extra weight), just like different gauges, ordinance, weapon modifications, or even paint schemes.

 

Additionally, since many of the late-war Entente aircraft continued to see service throughout the 1920s, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make parachutes technically possible for them as well.  The mission builder can again restrict parachutes through the mission editor to keep things historical.

[No.23_Triggers]

1 hour ago, Stab/JG1_Klaiber said:

And when they are correct, pilots can select them (and their extra weight), just like different gauges, ordinance, weapon modifications, or even paint schemes.

I think that would be an interesting dynamic for the Centrals. Apparently the Heinecke parachute weighed about 30lbs. 

Some folks have also suggested that the failure rate be modelled for German chutes as well - the figure usually given is a 1 in 3 chance but I think this is a misquote...1/3 of the first 70 pilots to bail out apparently suffered a parachute failure, but I don't think the Heinecke failure rate was quite as bad as 1/3. Personally, I'm not bothered if failure rate was modelled or not, but I do think it would be great as an 'Optional' load out.

A good article on the Heinecke from The Vintage Aviator collection's FB page:
 

Spoiler

The German "Heinecke" parachute

"Except for balloon observers, only German airmen had parachutes in the final 6-7 months of the war; the first were issued to fighter pilots in April/May 1918, and later two-seater crews were issued them as well.

At first, pilots were skeptical of parachutes, and some declined to wear them - not without reason. They were indeed bulky, and the pilot had to wear a large leather "Heinecke" harness as well. It wasn't until several successful jumps had been made that most German pilots began to wear them for all front flights; there might be a limited number of them available in a given unit, as well. There were a number of failures, either due to the harness failing (breaking) under stress, or of the parachute cords getting snagged on some part of the airplane as the pilot jumped, or the canopy simply failing to open.
There were a number of official and unofficial modifications made to the Heinecke harnesses to strengthen them (with thicker leg straps, etc)." Greg van Wyngarden

The first reported successful bailout in combat came on 27 June, 1918, when Vizefeldwebel Weimar of Jasta 46 jumped clear of his blazing Albatros DVa. He landed in the German lines without injury. However of the 70 or so men who followed, about a third were killed. A design fault may have been to blame: the canopy was too small, and the material of the harness was insufficiently strong, causing it to fail if the parachute opened at speeds greater than 80 mph.  

Details of further usage incidents:

Ernst Udet of Jasta 4 on 29 June. Flying his Fokker DVII marked with his famous “Du doch nicht!”, Udet was shot up by the rear gunner of a Breguet and bailed out. His harness became fouled in the tailplane but fortunately he was able to bend the elevator sufficiently to release it. He landed unharmed and flew another sortie later that afternoon. Following this event Udet added a further 27 victories to his score by the war’s end

Fritz Friedrichs, Jasta 10 on 15 July. His Fokker D.VII (309/18) burst into flames when the incendiary bullets he used for attacking balloons self-ignited. As he bailed out of the burning Fokker, his parachute caught and tore on the tailplane. Friedrichs fell to his death, never knowing he'd won the Blue Max.

Josef Raesch of Jasta 43 on 25 July. He was shot down by a Sopwith Camel flown by South African ace Ivan Hind of 40 Squadron. Raesch escaped with only minor burns when he parachuted from the flaming aircraft. Credited with 7 victories by the end of the war

Leutnant der Reserve Paul Vogel, Jasta 23b bailed out successfully on 25 July plus a second time on 30th July

Erich Löwenhardt of Jasta 10 on 10 Aug. Collided with Ltn. Alfred Wentz of Jasta 11 (who also parachuted out and survived). According to an early C&C article Loewenhardt's parachute opened, but the opening force caused the parachute harness to break and he fell to his death.

Hans Pippart of Jasta 19 on 11 Aug. After attacking an enemy balloon, Pippart was forced to jump from his damaged Fokker. He was killed when his parachute failed to open. He had been credited with 22 victories

Robert Schmidt of Jasta 43 on 12 Aug. No other details have been found

On 4th September Kurt Jentsch of Jasta 'Boelcke' was badly wounded in his left leg, but instead of taking to his parachute he chose to make the 20-minute flight back to Emerchicourt, where he landed safely. When his mechanics lifted him out of the cockpit, Jentsch discovered that his parachute had been shredded by bullets

Paul Baümer of Jasta Boelcke, September 1918. On the occasion of his 30th victory Baumer’s aircraft took a burst of fire from a second British two seater so he bailed out, successfully, going on to score a further 13 victories by the war’s end

Otto Fruhner of Jasta 26 on 20 Sept. Fruhner was wounded and forced to parachute from his plane when he collided with a Sopwith Camel from 203 Squadron. Credited with 27 victories and survived the war

Fritz Rumey of Jasta 5 on 27 Sept. Rumey's Fokker D.VII was badly damaged when he collided with an S.E.5a flown by South African ace George Lawson. Rumey jumped from his plane but was killed when his parachute failed to open. He had 45 victories

Theodor Osterkamp, 2. Marine Feld Jasta, attacked by three Spads on 28 Sep 1918 and successfully bailed out. Osterkamp ended the war with 32 confirmed victories.

Herbert Boy of Jasta 14 on 7 Oct. His Fokker D.VII was shot down in flames by an S.E.5a near Staden. His opponent that day was Canadian ace Camille Lagesse of 29 Squadron, who watched Boy bale out of his plane with a burning parachute. Badly wounded, Boy survived the jump but was captured when he reached the ground.

Uffz Rudolf Gustav Praclik, Jasta 5, 25th October. Engaged with SE5as from 60 Sqn; Lt L H Smith, SE5a E1276, shot down a Fokker DVII that went down in flames, the pilot jumping in a parachute, over Berlaimont, landed safely WIA.

Josef Jacobs CO of Jasta 7 “parachutes saved my life on several occasions” one of these occasions may have been from a balloon, testing a new parachute, the second time in action 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by US93_Larner

[ZachariasX]

10 hours ago, US93_Larner said:

Apparently the Heinecke parachute weighed about 30lbs. 

Would you select a paint scheme if that came at the price of actual 5 kg?

 

I suspect female pilots would also suddenly become very popular, as they could/would be a IATA standard weight minus 20 kg. Conversely, If you select the girl, you can have a chute too for the same weight...

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

Personally, i like the idea of random parachute failures.  I also think it would be cool if you could randomly manage to avoid capture if ditching behind enemy lines.  

[Diggun]

16 minutes ago, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

Personally, i like the idea of random parachute failures

You monster!

[Props]

47 minutes ago, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

Personally, i like the idea of random parachute failures.  I also think it would be cool if you could randomly manage to avoid capture if ditching behind enemy lines.  

As long as they don't fail TOO often?! Being able to escape and evade near the front would be nice though. I've had to bail on 2 occasions within about 5 klicks of the frontlines and of course I got captured, even though a crafty, smart pilot would have a good chance of making it back to a friendly position. 

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

58 minutes ago, Diggun said:

You monster!

Heheh..

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Props said:

"smart pilot would have a good chance of making it back to a friendly position. "

Exactly.  Especially over NML

[US41_Low]

You might be able to escape and evade over NML but I doubt many made it back if they set down behind lines. Though that’s just my skepticism, I don’t know any historical data on it

[PaulTheSalty]

8 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Would you select a paint scheme if that came at the price of actual 5 kg?

Without a doubt, assuming it looked dashing enough. 

 

8 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

I suspect female pilots would also suddenly become very popular, as they could/would be a IATA standard weight minus 20 kg. Conversely, If you select the girl, you can have a chute too for the same weight...

I haven’t seen any talk of making female aviators selectable for WW1 aircraft. It almost sounds like you’re against parachutes as a module, unless I’m misunderstanding you.

[ZachariasX]

2 hours ago, PaulTheSalty said:

Without a doubt, assuming it looked dashing enough. 

 

I haven’t seen any talk of making female aviators selectable for WW1 aircraft. It almost sounds like you’re against parachutes as a module, unless I’m misunderstanding you.

I welcome all options. I wouldn't mind Snoopy being selectable as pilot. For those who rearlly want that. Wouldn't ruin my immersion at all. I'd still shoot it. I was more getting at our way of being sensible about weight in MP in a way that was not an issue back then, as nobody right in their mind would seek a situation where they could do "a fair fight with machine guns".

[PaulTheSalty]

Accurately modeling in game historically used equipment is about as sensible as it gets, no?

[[F.Circus]FrangibleCover]

On 10/13/2021 at 8:44 PM, ZachariasX said:

I wouldn't mind Snoopy being selectable as pilot.

I'm up for this. We've had dozens of flight sims where you can be the Red Baron and none where you can be his most famous opponent!

 

I'd settle for Lanoe Hawker's DH2, like.

[No.23_Triggers]

I mean, they have weight "penalties" for the various gunsights - would make sense to add them for a chute mod too

[migmadmarine]

I do like the idea of parachutes being selectable for the player, with the added aspect of being locked behind an availability date in the career mode when it comes. 

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

Bump

[J99_Sizzlorr]

On 10/13/2021 at 1:00 PM, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

Personally, i like the idea of random parachute failures.  I also think it would be cool if you could randomly manage to avoid capture if ditching behind enemy lines.  

Then let us go full real and have random engine failures as well...

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

I like it.?

[J99_Sizzlorr]

? Me too...