Favorite pilots. Man there have been so many over the years. Where to begin? I'll start with those already deceased:
Sir WalterMy first and earliest famous pilot was Sir Walter Gaines. Sir Walter never quite made it to becoming an ace, but in my early days as a DP player he was widely known for his exploits. He was known for getting his plane shot to smithereens and somehow always making it home. Until he went up in an RBF and never came back. He had a brother, Captain Raleigh Gaines, who built a successful career flying Bristols before he and his observer died due to crashing into the ground.....
Fred FerplunkFred was my very first pilot ever to survive a mission. And I flew him successfully for many years after. He eventually reached ace/experienced status and died on his 13th mission, finishing 13/1. Fred was remarkable for getting into a fight, getting just enough action to get a mission credit and then leaving the fight. He often would go home without a single hit in his plane. Ferplunk also became famous for having a lot of brothers and relatives in the war. I have honestly lost count as to how many Ferplunks are really out there. I have 2 alive on my roster now, and 3 more who are dead. I know Ken has a Ferplunk, and I think Wayne does as well. But to my knowledge Fred was the only one to ever make Acehood of the Ferplunk brood.
Guido Malavisto: Only made it through 4 missions before succumbing to a bullet to the gut. He was infamous for being my psychopath pilot, who would attempt head-ons and other crazy stunts, and was known to stare wild-eyed at his opponents when trying to shoot them down. Rumors have it that Guido had a brother who he used to hang from his toes and that his brother might be taking flying lessons........
Lt. Jean-Pierre AforsAfors was famous for me as the pilot who I flew when I won my first DP championship. He also has passed on, but I dont have his info in front of me. I do know that the day he won the championship he shot down 3 enemy planes, but I do believe he lost the cut on one of those kills.
Lt. Tom KnightKnight also died on his 13th mission, and that seemed to be starting a trend for me, one that I've since finally moved past. He finished 13/2 and was a British Camel pilot. His final mission was all bad luck. He took a pilot hit on a fluke shot, the wound was only light, but he had some other problems, so I attempted to land him and failed the landing with a stupid roll. He died in the crash. I still remember he missed what he needed by 1 percentage point.
Flugel BorenkeizerPerhaps my most colorful deceased pilot would be Lt. Flugel Borenkeizer. Borenkeizer was the ultimate survival ace. He finished 17/6 and his 17 missions were some of the most wild ones I've ever been a part of, they included:
-Twice he was captured as a P.O.W. behind enemy lines, and he managed to escape both times!
-He notched the following famous kills: Lt. Peter Flanigan, and Lt. Rich Littleton.
-On his 12th mission, he took a lot of damage to his plane (as he was apt to do), and decided to bug out and trust his parachute. Unfortunately for him, the parachute failed, and Borenkeizer fell 1,400 feet to what seemed certain death. But miraculously he landed just right in a bed of hay, hopped out and walked off. (Made the miracle survival roll).
He lived and acheived all of this to finally meet his doom to none other than Wally Mcnugget. To live through all of that and be shot down by a guy named Mcnugget.......
There are plenty more, but for time's sake I will just include a few living pilots and be done:
Randolf Zunk(12/5): My winning pilot from RBF XVI. Among his famous kills are the 62-45 Billy Bathgate. In the RBF he took down 3 Allied planes by himself at one point. He also finished 3rd place in RBF XVIII. In both cases he was flying the Red Baron DR1.
Lt. Buzza Dudlegorf (13/2): Early (German) fighter pilot, a huge, burly, hairy man who has pieced together an incredibly solid career to this point.
Lt. Jean-Claude Museir (16/8) , sworn blood brother and best friend to Wayne's French ace Jaques Richeson. Anytime you see these two aces in the sky flying their signature SPAD XIII's there is usally lots of German blood flowing.
Lt. Garrison Dennison II (11/4) Chivalrous and brave Brit who has made a nice career flying SE5a's.
Lt. Michael Jamison (10/4): American pilot who is on the verge of becoming an ace!
There you go, there are a few characters for your consideration.