The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-11-07
TIMES WRITER
FLIES WITH A
DARING AVIATOR
Correspondent Shepherd Tells
What il Means To BE a
Soldier of the Sky
STORY OF HIS TRIP
WITH AIRMAN BREGI
Military AerOplanists Are Most
Feared Warriors in
the World
BY WILLIAM SHEPHERD.

PARIS, Nov. You have read oil
the Italian and German avtators who
are flying with the Bulgarian armies
in the Balkans.
The cables have told you, | think,
Of the French aviators who were call
ed at the last minute TO CONSTANT
nop16 10 help the Turkish armies
Today the most feared soldier IN
Europe is the aeroplane operator.
And the greatest OF these are the
flying men OF France.
| have Just had the most thrilling
experience OF my life-a ride into the
clouds with the most skillful air sol
der In the French army-Henri
Bregi.
l wanted to find out by the closest
personal observation, In order that |
might tell American readers about II,
how these army dare devils act In the
air, how they spy out things thou
sand feet below them on the earth
in a word, what II means to be a sol
der OF the blue heavens.
But before | write OF my flight in
the French army aeroplane, let me
tell about this remarkable solder
Henri Bregi.
It
his exploits. During the recent man
euvers, when the great French army
was divided into Blues and Reds.
Bregi returned after a flight one
morning and said to Gen. Dubois:
Gen. Marion of the Red army and
his stan are In a little town at your
rear"
Impossible" said the Blue gen
eral. Ellis army Is In front OF me-"
Hes there just the same, said
Bregi. IL saw him and his small
force from my aeroplane,"
Unbelieving, the Blue general sent
a small force to the town. They re-
turned with Gen Marion and his stan
prisoners.
This arrest, OF course ended the
maneuvers.
During the recent French troubles
in Morocco 200 French soldiers were
-hesieged- In Fer, holding the Morroc.
ans at bay. One morning these sol
diers saw an aeroplane in the sky.
II dropped in a park. and down among
the French soldiers stepped another
French soldier-Bregi. He had been
ordered from a point 60 miles away,
to fly to Fee And he had flown.
He sailed away again, with the
Moroccan guns popping at him, vain
ly. and within few days the French
soldiers we're relieved. Their gener-
al had not known OF their plight until
Bregi told his story.
I'd as lief hy with Bregi as ride In
a taXicab
Crawl in" he said to me from his
perch. | took the chair-like seat In
front of him. Right before me was
the huge propeller. A mechanician
gave Il a turn. We started to move
slowly, the plane jolted slightly over
the field, and presto-we were a hun
dred feet in the air.
The 100-horse power engine was
whirling the propeller so rapid that
couldn't see the blades. We rose 10
1000 feet. The wind was terrific.
wondered how the turning would feel.
Suddenly the earth below us rocked
crafty. Bregi and ! and the aepo-
plane appeared to be the only level
things In the universe. Just when IL
looked as II the whole earth had tip
ned up and that the houses in the
city OF Versailles beneath us would
slip off into the west, with the setting
sun. everything became steady again.
I turned to look at Bregi There
the soldier sat, leaning back in his
seat like a man In a Morris chair,
smiling.
looked along the planes that were
holding Us aloft They were CULVER
ing. The network OF wires was sing
ing In the wind. Everything was vi