Low_Flyer_MkIX
What was taken as my masterpiece by my proud grandmother was the big Revell Rickenbakker Spad. 1/32 or 1/24? A bit cloudy on that one. Can't remember for the life of me. I've seen it recently in my local model shop, too, and thought about a trip down memory lane with it. Unusually, I actually painted it and was very pleased with the result. I always did like that cammo scheme. Anyway, Gran was so proud of it she put it pride of place on her ornament shelf and pointed it out to anyone who came round. Mind you, that sort of thing runs in the family (most families, I'd imagine), my mother still gets out the Christmas candles I made at infant's school - toilet roll tubes and coloured foil, little paper flame on the top. Bloody awful. She loves showing them to my lady friends.
O.k - you asked for it. Carts, look away.
A bit of a mystery with this one - perhaps someone can figure out what happened at the end of my latest airborne adventure. I've made some narrative embellishments, but the events recorded are set down to the best of my recollection...
Seemed like Jerry was coming to pay us a visit - bloody lunatics. Had they noticed the weather? I wouldn't send a dog up in that! In the mad rush to get up, I found myself leading the flight. I peered through the murk and couldn't make out any aircraft ahead, just lots of huge, rain-sodden low cloud. To be honest I had my doubts about there being anything up there today - I know he has poor taste in paint-jobs for his aeroplanes, but Jerry's a sensible flyer as a rule. Only a madman would come over in this...
The heck with it! I rolled the old girl forward and up we went...
As soon as we were off the ground, a pair of black Pfalz's came down at their customary fair old clip and shot past me...
I reckoned I was at safe enough speed to rudder the old girl around and gave chase, expecting to merely scare a Pfalz off from the lads below us. Maybe it was my height advantage, but I managed to stay with him and loosed off a couple of short bursts at opportune moments...
He finally started to pull away from me, I was surprised that it took him so long. As he faded into the grey distance, his chum shot past me dead ahead at about 90 degrees and I turned to get in a hopeful burst on this latest interloper...
The Pfalz zoomed away and I began a spiral climb in an attempt to get high enough to mix it with the black specks I could see swarming around above me. The odd tracer round told me that some of the lads had already made it up there. A flamer left a trail some way ahead of me. Couldn't tell if it was friend or foe...
A Pfalz drifted by just below me, his engine had obviously stopped and for a brief moment I thought about administering the ol' coup de grace, but, as ever, I was wary of his playmates and decided to conserve my ammo. Some other bugger could claim him, I thought...
Well, that was the opening bout over with. It was going to take a while to get up to the main event...
To be continued.
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