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The funny thing about a ready room is that you get attached to the hole. As much as you are attached to the ship. It's more than sentiment. It's an urge for protection. The loneliest feeling in the whole of a carrier pilot's world is when he's at sea with the gas running low, and he can't see his carrier. You think of the ready room then, and the noisy guys who make it the most desirable place in the world. It's your office, you live in it, it is the big thing in your life. […] You sweat and worry in it, and grouse and argue, and you get mad at it when you can't hear yourself speak because everyone is yelling at once, but you're deeply attached to the place.


— Tommy Booth, "Wildcats" Over Casablanca

Welcome to the official Out of Character thread for the Black Sheep RPG! If you’re reading this it must mean two things: One, you’re a pilot with the craziest, most intense, lovable, and enigmatic group of pilots the Star Wars galaxy has ever seen. Two, you love Star Wars and aviation history and secretly missed your calling to climb into the cockpit and found the next best thing.

Us!

Strap on your uniform, pull up a chair, share your stories, listen to those around you, sit upright and pay attention. You’re surrounded by friends here. Rookies and Veterans. Pilots young and old. Former Imperials and Rebels alike. We all come from different backgrounds, we all fly different crafts, but remain united by our desire to see the tyranny of the Empire destroyed once and for all.

You're here because you're briefing for the next sortie, worried about what the mechanics are doing to your craft, dreaming about your next kill, dying to go out on your next mission, or simply angling to tell a good yarn about feats in the skies or in deep space. Make sure to take some time to make yourself at home in the Black Sheep Ready Room.

Set your shields to full.

Make sure your warheads are loaded.

Double check that your S-Foils, if you have them, are in attack position.

And remember!

Skids up in ten.

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Tag: @Mistress_Renata; @Adalia-Durron; @Sarge; @Anedon; @TheAdmiral; @galactic-vagabond422; @Mitth_Fisto; @Bardan_Jusik; @Rebecca_Daniels; @adaml83; @Sinrebirth; @Corellian_Outrider; @darthbernael

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The good stuff!!

 

Anybody else found 'gun camera footage' of our missions? I love this one, that's totally Kayn and Zara in the A-wings at the end.

 

Great footage. That's totally B-Flight out there with the A-Wings.

 

Hmm, I need to see if I can find any footage for Delta flight.

 

For anyone who has wondered what it's like to be frightened while flying a fighter, Mover just made a really soul-baring video about some flying moments last year that made him feel like Cougar in the first scene of Top Gun. He got some professional help and pushed through the anxiety attacks, but it wasn't quick or easy. I think it's the most intense video he's made. Of course there's the usual amount of flying jargon, if you don't understand that, imagine that you're driving on the highway during a white-out level blizzard, your windshield wipers and defogger aren't working, your gas gauge is below E, you keep hitting detours that turn you away from the nearest filling station, and if you try to pull over to the side of the road you will crash and die. Seriously, I was on the edge of my seat sweating bullets as he described the flight.

Also, his dogs are important to the story, so there's that.

 

Shiny new year, shiny new hangout space! Let's hope 2022 is better than the last one.

Max wouldn't allow anything but the good stuff! And Skipper has...sources.

 

Anniversary today for the original Black Sheep fighter pilot:

On this day in aviation history; January 3rd, 1944, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington tied World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker's record of 26 enemy planes destroyed, only moments before he was shot down. Pappy was last seen mixed in a large furball of dogfighting aircraft (70 Japanese aircraft sent to counter 30 American fighters involved in a sweep over Rabaul), and was not seen or heard from again during the battle, nor did he return with his squadron.
Pappy was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half before returning to the United States.
Boyington received the nickname "Gramps", because at age 31, he was a decade older than most of the Marines serving under him in the famed Black Sheep Squadron. The name "Gramps" was changed to "Pappy"
Pappy was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on January 15 1988 with full honors accorded to a Medal of Honor recipient, including a missing man fly-by conducted by the F-4 Phantom IIs of the Marine detachment at Andrews Air Force Base.
After the burial service for Boyington, one of his friends, Fred Losch, looked down at the headstone next to which he was standing, that of boxing legend Joe Louis, and remarked that "Ol' Pappy wouldn't have to go far to find a good fight.



Has anybody here read his book, Baa Baa Black Sheep? I read it cover to cover repeatedly as a teen, but I haven't seen it since. Probably should go back for a revisit; I vaguely recall some schemes and shenanigans that would suit our Sheep rather well. AmazonSmile: Baa Baa Black Sheep: The True Story of the "Bad Boy" Hero of the Pacific Theatre and His Famous Black Sheep Squadron eBook : Boyington, Gregory: Kindle Store

 

That looks like a great read.

Race of Aces is currently sitting over on my desk. Looks incredible. Have to dive into that here soon!

 

@Vehn, that looks like a good one, I just added it to my wish list.

Has anybody thought about what your character's first training dogfight was like? This was Mover's, and the story is surprisingly sweet and funny. I bet a lot of us can identify with him IRL.

 

Reading over the Introduction thread, I was tempted to introduce our OTHER Sheep game... the quest for Big Duff...LOL! Thinking of Skipper's fishing boat, it occurred to me that he would be chartering fishing trips for tourists, offering the Special Guest Stars of the week opportunity for shenanigans. Really, I'm beginning to see this as a zany soap opera...

I did ponder your question, @Sarge... thinking it would be very different for the deserters from the Empire vs. kids like Max or Amber, who learned it off the cuff from Clone War veterans who were trying to teach them how to stay alive.

 

Many fighter pilots were multi-talented. What kind of extra-curricular skills has your character been hiding?

This artwork was drawn by Colonel Robin Olds, ace fighter pilot in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, and proud wearer of one of the greatest mustaches of the 20th century.

 

I think Lou and the gal fighter pilots should have one of those wine painting sessions. You know the ones where they all paint the same picture and drink lots…

Hard part will be deciding what to paint!

 

If they make it worth his while, Kayn might pose for them.

 

Ianna would have to set it up. The only way most of our girls would go along with it (aka "be in the same room together") is if Farmgirl guilts them into it, LOL!

 

I miss Foodie.

 

So we making the alternate reality game set in a small rural town famous for its sheep?

 

Totally. Lou's that married woman with some unfinished business with an ex. An ex that won't leave her alone....

 

She can always call the friendly neighborhood cop?

Could be the sheriff?

 

And Ianna is the farm girl running the sheep farm on her own with some help from Jeen every now and again. Is the life of the party as well.