~S~
Hi all, I have just been speaking to a new chap called Topsy who wishes to join the EAF with the callsign of EAF_T_79Topsy
He has been flying online for quite a few years, far longer than me in fact, but will need to go through the training package on Clod as he only has about 20hrs on Clod.
Could you all please give him a warm welcome…
Oooops…
I may have given him the wrong callsign to register with, it should be EAF79_T_Topsy so please check which one he has registered with as it should be the one in this post and not the one above!
Great to hear Vortex! He’s very much welcome to join all of us in the EAF.
The OTU officers would contact him in regards of training scheduling and other basic questions.
Welcome, Topsy!
Hi Everybody,
Thanks for your warm welcomes, and particular thanks to Vortex who picked me up the other day on SoW and convinced me to join EAF and gently plugged his 79S. Knowing that I was a Spitfire nutter he said that 79 also flew Spits during BoB ! I checked 79S’ long history and it seems to be a bit of poetic licence. They stayed a lot on Hurricanes F1 (Biggin, Manston, Melville, Digby, Hawkinge, Sealand, Acklington, Pembrey & Fairwood Common. June 41 Hurricane 2a, 2b in Sep even when they moved from UK to Bombay where they got F2c they ended up on Thunderbolts in June 44. Anyway no worries as long as I am “allowed” to fly Spitfires. I tried a Hurricane the other day, but I feel a bit caged in and need to find where all the controls are.
Just met up with a few of the other members of Salamander, to get me squared away on the forum, and had a few rounds with Red.
So looking forward to flying with you all and helping you to stem the tide !
All the best
Topsy (I get a bit disorientated sometimes)
PS : Expect to get my IR tracker in a few days time.
Hi Topsy, welcome to EAF!
Hope to fly with you soon, meanwhile give a hard time to our TOs 
Hi Topsy,
…and welcome!
Here’s to tons of virtual fun…s:D
EAF19_Baz
Hi Topsy, and welcome , was a pleasure to fly with you on Monday, and looking forward to seeing you in the virtual sky again
Stevie
Hi Topsy!
Welcome on board!!!
i’ve sent you the welcome letter!
(sorry for the delay, yesterday was a crazy day, had to drive instead of using the train and hadn’t time to send it! Sorry!)
Can’t wait to fly with you!
Welcome Topsy and see you in the virtual Blue!
I’m a Spitfire fanboy to…just love 'em
Can’t wait for the new ones coming in the TF5 patch.
Hi Topsy and welcome again!
You’ve found the right mad place in EAF!
Hope we can have a training session soon! 
Welcome Topsy 
Thanks Stevie
Had trouble keeping up with you during the mission last night as tried to keep a lookout and lost visual on you. My low mike volume didn’t help and as we know the POV is not super handy. Anyhow thanks for your patience and I hope i’ll be able to better cover your 6 in the future.
Thanks Jimmi, I’m glad to be joining your happy band of fliers. Let you know when I get the letter.
Hi Topsy
Nice to fly with you last night, although you where very quiet :roflmao:
I hope you will get your Teamspeak working soon.
check your Email!
I’ve already sent it!
(check also the spam box!)
if you haven’t received it let me know and i’ll send it again!
Well, while waiting for some nice quiet training sessions, I’ve been doing it the hard way, i.e. in action. Unfortunately I’ve let the side down a few times because I keep getting into trouble, which is a bind for the others to keep an eye on me, and then when things hot up the rest of the squadron has disappeared. I guess the new boys in 1940 suffered the same fate. Anyway i’ve pranged a few kites, I guess HMG will deduct these from my pay even though my wheels up no flaps crash landing at Hawkinge I swear was due to flak over Calais and not to mismanagement of my Merlin III. Anyway I fired at a yellow nose that crossed just in front of me at Le Havre last night, but as I got jumped (which I fully deserved by flying in a straight line for more than 30 secs and in Red’s six) and quit the server a bit quickly even if I survived the crash landing on the beach, I don’t know if I did any damage. OD took me on a Blenheim raid to Dieppe at low level. Exciting stuff with my 2nd a/c (I pranged the 1st on t/o ! - even with 2 engines difficult to keep the thing straight). So we got to target and the low flak severed my ailerons just as I was jinking to line up the runway and as I had difficulty flying on elevators and rudder I elected not to try a second pass - sorry guys I chickened out ! Managed nevertheless to fly back to Britain before the server timed out. I am learning to master take-offs and landings even though I still have the odd incident. After a fight over Bembridge we headed back to Ford in dispersed order and hearing there might be a low bandit I orbited from Ford to Westhampnett before coming back to base. On finals I noticed my shadow racing across the approach only to discover that it was another Spitty, Red swore at me but I managed to avoid him without pranging my kite. I feel a bit like fresh bait, especially on the ATAG server. DB, who had taken me up for a spin before I requested to join EAF, killed me on finals at Poix Nord. So what have I learned in these last 2 weeks ? Well, 1 it’s easier to shoot someone down when you sneak up on them from behind, rather than chasing them around the sky (I get caught in both situations). 2 If you want to survive, only get involved when you have an advantage, and quit pdq when you don’t. 3 The guy’s on the team are GREAT ! Looking forward to our next forays and hope that I will soon be able to contribute to squadron tally.
Great report!
Everybody crashes at some stage, some don’t fly the Blenheim at all either!
As you were flying from open bases there was no impact on the EAF aircraft supply either! Bonus there!
You’ll soon be finding it much easier to track friendlies and targets with your new head tracker 
, it’ll also help you to be able to check your six easier.
We’re happy to have you aboard. With SoW down, for the time being, we’ll hopefully be able to crack on with some training!
Hi Guys from virtual 322. Do any of you have contacts with the real 322 buffs ?. I wrote to the webmaster but got no reply. I worked with AF/KLM and we got involved in doing research to find the crash site of Flt/Lt Jan Plesman, who got s/d & killed by flak while attacking ground targets on 1st Sep 44 North East of St Omer in a Spitfire MkIXB most likely MK905 coded VL-P or 3W-P (some sources say 3W only came into effect end 44/early 45). Our particular interest was that he was the son of the founder of KLM.
See you soon in the air !
Hi EAF Pilots,
I have just received my welcome letter, thanks for admitting me into your fold.
Presentation :
I have been mad about Spitfires in particular and WW2 in general since I read war comics in the late 50’s and started building Airfix kits. I continued to collect and build Spitfire kits since then, I still have a Revell Mk1 in 1/32 that I built when I was 14. My collection now stands at over 130 kits (but only 1/3 built yet, I was hoping to have more time later in life). I started life in England but my professional career in airlines which started as an operations agent & itinerant station manager in Gatwick for an american charter airline soon took me to many places around Europe, Africa, the USA and the Pacific (7 months in Tahiti !). Had quite a few hair raising adventures including being arrested by the MPLA during the civil war in Angola and did a lot of cockpit jump seat flights which helped in getting familiar with procedures. On the sims side I was always interested but at the time only to watch friends on early versions of MS FltSim. As time went by I discovered WW2 flt sims, I think the first was “Air Warrior”, then Jane’s EAW followed by the MS CFS suite, Rowan’s BoB, the MS Flt Sim with Just Flight Spitfire add on set. Then came the IL2 suite, which I have to admit I found difficult to master, partially due to not having the right equipment. I moved to France in the late 80’s got married and had 2 children. On the professional side I had moved from Ops to Sales and now worked for a regular airline. In the early 90’s I was expatriate GM for the airline in South Africa for two years before heading back to Paris for other management positions in Products & Marketing. 3 years ago I took a voluntary departure package in order to set up my own company which I run from home and which I don’t think it is right to plug here as it is linked with Spitfires. Last Xmas I finally took the plunge to get properly equipped for flight simming and uploaded CloD which I had been gaping at for the last 3 years. My IR tracker has arrived at the PO yesterday so i’m about to dash down there to get it and I have seen some Russian VKB rudder pedals which will be back in stock in a couple of weeks time. On-line flying is new to me so I need to spend some time in OTU to master the basics in Clod and of flying in a squadron etc before I can be an efficient member in the campaigns. To quote the famous joke : Woman to New York taxi driver “How do I get to Carnegie Hall ?”. Reply “You gotta practice lady !”.
Looking forward to flying with you soon
Brgds
F/Sgt Topsy