Karaya, a very skilled, technically knowledgable and dedicated Bf109 pilot, comes to JG52 from Vienna, Austria. Without a doubt, he has proven to be one of, if not THE most deadly ace we've ever had amongst our ranks. He truly lives up to his callsign. Here is more about him in his own words:
My virtual pilot career goes back to when I was about 8 years old and still in elementary school. Other than most (or actually all) of my former school mates I developed a strong interest in any simulation wether it be planes, cars, tanks or helicopters - the more realistic the better. I don't know which game/sim was actually the first I ever tried but it's probably either "RedBaron" or "LHX". They were both considered state-of-the-art back then and 256colours (Super)VGA was deemed high-tech. I fell in love with both of these games and my sparetime ended up split between flying as a German pilot in WWI pursuing the goal of becoming a famous "Rittmeister" and flying helicopters in the heat of battle.
One or two years later I turned in my rusty 486 with 55Mhz for a brand new Pentium I with 166Mhz - what a leap in performance. Of course I felt an urge of getting my hands on the latest simulations at the time - namely "Strike Commander" and "US Navy Fighters". Especially the latter kept me occupied and looking back I think I played that sim (and its '97 successor) for a total of ~7 years! But like time and time before better, more modern and more realistic simulations were produced and in the meantime I had gotten an Intel Celeron with 466Mhz. As I had had a great time with Jane's "US Navy Fighters" I decided to give "IAF" and "USAF" a try. It was "IAF" that I gained my first online experience in. At that time 56K modems were still considered up-to-date and in the evenings I logged into "Combat Net" which was actually the predecessor of today's "Hyper Lobby". I quickly made myself a name amongst the IAF crowd and joined "161st fighterwing BlackKnights" which was made up of players from all around the globe (just like JG52). My Commanding Officer identified my talent as a flight leader and instructor so I quickly rose in rank and was assigned more and more tasks within the squadron - my final rank being "Lt.Col".
For about 2 years I enjoyed flying with this group of fine people when real life struck on us - it was the time of 9/11/2001. Our squad CO "Gen.Falcon" was killed in the terrorist attack - I don't know exactly about the circumstances but a relative of him informed me about this tragic incident. By vote I was assigned to be the new Commanding Officer of 161 but shortly after the squad broke up, not as a result of the loss of our CO but because of ever growing problems within the squad. More and more people started to drop off because of personal reasons and/or simply didn't show up anymore. That's when I also lost interest in "IAF" and "USAF".
Then there was this article in a games magazine reporting about a new sim on the horizon - its name was "IL2 Sturmovik". What first struck me about the sim was it's unbelievable graphics and the level of detail put into it. Planes broke apart, bullets ricochet off of hard surfaces, etc. This game turned out to be a quantum leap in combat flight-simming. I bought it on the first day and installed it right away. At that point I was completely new to WWII, the warfare and the planes. It was IL2 that turned out to be a huge history lesson for me. I immediately felt sympathetic with the German fighters just like in "Red Baron" however I didnt care to fly it online until the release of its successor "Forgotten Battles". A couple of months later I remember bumping into Heep and 6High on one of the arcade servers. We somehow came into contact and they pointed me towards the squad and that's how I signed up! I guess that was the best thing I ever did in my virtual pilot career - the comradeship and friendship and the feeling that you are part of a big "band of brothers" - wouldn't want to miss that for a second! The rest is history...
Hobbies:
- A real life glider pilot (motor, winch & towed takeoff permissions)
- Paintball (usually with a group of friends - loads of fun)
- Flight simming obviously!
Plane(s) of choice:
- Messerschmitt Bf109 (WWII)
- Albatros series (WWI)
My virtual pilot career goes back to when I was about 8 years old and still in elementary school. Other than most (or actually all) of my former school mates I developed a strong interest in any simulation wether it be planes, cars, tanks or helicopters - the more realistic the better. I don't know which game/sim was actually the first I ever tried but it's probably either "RedBaron" or "LHX". They were both considered state-of-the-art back then and 256colours (Super)VGA was deemed high-tech. I fell in love with both of these games and my sparetime ended up split between flying as a German pilot in WWI pursuing the goal of becoming a famous "Rittmeister" and flying helicopters in the heat of battle.
One or two years later I turned in my rusty 486 with 55Mhz for a brand new Pentium I with 166Mhz - what a leap in performance. Of course I felt an urge of getting my hands on the latest simulations at the time - namely "Strike Commander" and "US Navy Fighters". Especially the latter kept me occupied and looking back I think I played that sim (and its '97 successor) for a total of ~7 years! But like time and time before better, more modern and more realistic simulations were produced and in the meantime I had gotten an Intel Celeron with 466Mhz. As I had had a great time with Jane's "US Navy Fighters" I decided to give "IAF" and "USAF" a try. It was "IAF" that I gained my first online experience in. At that time 56K modems were still considered up-to-date and in the evenings I logged into "Combat Net" which was actually the predecessor of today's "Hyper Lobby". I quickly made myself a name amongst the IAF crowd and joined "161st fighterwing BlackKnights" which was made up of players from all around the globe (just like JG52). My Commanding Officer identified my talent as a flight leader and instructor so I quickly rose in rank and was assigned more and more tasks within the squadron - my final rank being "Lt.Col".
For about 2 years I enjoyed flying with this group of fine people when real life struck on us - it was the time of 9/11/2001. Our squad CO "Gen.Falcon" was killed in the terrorist attack - I don't know exactly about the circumstances but a relative of him informed me about this tragic incident. By vote I was assigned to be the new Commanding Officer of 161 but shortly after the squad broke up, not as a result of the loss of our CO but because of ever growing problems within the squad. More and more people started to drop off because of personal reasons and/or simply didn't show up anymore. That's when I also lost interest in "IAF" and "USAF".
Then there was this article in a games magazine reporting about a new sim on the horizon - its name was "IL2 Sturmovik". What first struck me about the sim was it's unbelievable graphics and the level of detail put into it. Planes broke apart, bullets ricochet off of hard surfaces, etc. This game turned out to be a quantum leap in combat flight-simming. I bought it on the first day and installed it right away. At that point I was completely new to WWII, the warfare and the planes. It was IL2 that turned out to be a huge history lesson for me. I immediately felt sympathetic with the German fighters just like in "Red Baron" however I didnt care to fly it online until the release of its successor "Forgotten Battles". A couple of months later I remember bumping into Heep and 6High on one of the arcade servers. We somehow came into contact and they pointed me towards the squad and that's how I signed up! I guess that was the best thing I ever did in my virtual pilot career - the comradeship and friendship and the feeling that you are part of a big "band of brothers" - wouldn't want to miss that for a second! The rest is history...
Hobbies:
- A real life glider pilot (motor, winch & towed takeoff permissions)
- Paintball (usually with a group of friends - loads of fun)
- Flight simming obviously!
Plane(s) of choice:
- Messerschmitt Bf109 (WWII)
- Albatros series (WWI)
Achievements
Inducted into the JG52 Hall of Fame for "Exceptional Service Beyond Duty"
Earned for his indisputable loyalty and long standing service to the squadron. He not only helped the squadron in all sorts of administrative matters such as organizing/maintaining a new website and forum & writing a comprehensive guide for beginner pilots, he has also shown to have unparalleled knowledge of the simulation and its workings. Having been heavily involved in the modding scene he has released many new aircraft and flight models, most of which have been featured on and incorporated in the major modding sites and packs.
Inducted into the JG52 Hall of Fame for "Most A2A Kills Per Sortie"
5 on Bellum Report ID# rep_04404 (his first ever online war mission)
4 on Bellum Report ID# rep_04481 (his 2nd mission)
5 on Bellum Report ID# rep_05298
Truly an Ace in the making! ~SA~!
March 23rd 2006
5 (again!) on CAD Report ID# rep_04892
April 18th 2006
And 5 again!!! (5x IL-2M Late) on EIF Report ID# rep_17234
December 1st 2006
Karaya ties Heep for most A2A kills per sortie (6)!! 2x LaGG-3S4, 2x IL-2M Early 1942 & 2x Yak-1 on
AFW Report ID# rep 10823
June 2008
Release of the first issue of Karaya's "Pilot Training Guide" for IL-2 Sturmovik:1946
Earned for his indisputable loyalty and long standing service to the squadron. He not only helped the squadron in all sorts of administrative matters such as organizing/maintaining a new website and forum & writing a comprehensive guide for beginner pilots, he has also shown to have unparalleled knowledge of the simulation and its workings. Having been heavily involved in the modding scene he has released many new aircraft and flight models, most of which have been featured on and incorporated in the major modding sites and packs.
Inducted into the JG52 Hall of Fame for "Most A2A Kills Per Sortie"
5 on Bellum Report ID# rep_04404 (his first ever online war mission)
4 on Bellum Report ID# rep_04481 (his 2nd mission)
5 on Bellum Report ID# rep_05298
Truly an Ace in the making! ~SA~!
March 23rd 2006
5 (again!) on CAD Report ID# rep_04892
April 18th 2006
And 5 again!!! (5x IL-2M Late) on EIF Report ID# rep_17234
December 1st 2006
Karaya ties Heep for most A2A kills per sortie (6)!! 2x LaGG-3S4, 2x IL-2M Early 1942 & 2x Yak-1 on
AFW Report ID# rep 10823
June 2008
Release of the first issue of Karaya's "Pilot Training Guide" for IL-2 Sturmovik:1946