The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-03

Claude Graham White in Harper.s
Weekly: Thus an elderly and lrascl-
BILE gentleman:
Flown for four years? Then, thank
God, you're alive, sir, and DOM ny
again."
sent the opinion of many. But / do
not purpose to retire. Instead profit
ing by experience, I hope to pilot aero
planes for more thousands Of miles
through the air.
How have I, in a pursuit Teckone9
SO perilous, preserved myself intact?
Luck" is the natural answer Of the
layman; and if I had to respond mere
|ly yes. or mo-, / should be obliged
to say yes. But qualifications are
needed and important ones, too.
In the category of impending acct
dents which examination fails to re-
veal, should be placed that which be-
fell MT. Lorraine, when flying the Irish
sea. His machine, like mine, had been
pronounced in perfect trim; but when
a waste Of water lay below and no
ships Were in sight, his engine pop
popped, and ceased its work. Com
mencing to plane down, he wondered
how long the biplane would remain
afloat. But then, the engine, which
was still turning slowly, began abrupt
ly to fire again and he flew ahead once
more. Thrice did it play this trick
ing merely to start again, and
giving it's pilot each time the foretaste
Of a watery plunge. And then at last
Irish shore, it actually stopped for
good. The machine fell into the sea
and Mr.. Lorraine completed his jour
ney with 100 yards swim. This &C.
centricity Of the engine, had, it was
found, been due to the presence in the
petrol tank Of some loose pieces OF
solder-relics, quite evidently, of its
making; and these, with the swish to
and fro Of the petrol in the tank, as
the +-achine rode the gusts had mo-
mentarily blocked the mouth Of the
outlet pipe, only to be washed Out
again. In the end, as might have beer
expected. a fragment damned itself In
the ~orifice, n refused to come out;
and it was then that the motor failed
in earnest.
Once only, 1 think, when a motor has
take of breath which probably repre-.
sents the sensation, having your
heart in your mouth" It happened
during my second London-to-Man
chester flight. Pursuing the victori-
Gus Paulhan, I determined to make III
ground by a night flight, then an I'M
heard of exploit, and assembled from
the little village OF Roade, some sixty
miles from London, Paulhan being sc
far ahead of me as Lichfield. 1t was
pitch dark, and I rose into a vague
black void, nothing showing in front
save the outline of my elevating plane
Soon, however, some bright specks
twinkled far below; they were the
lights of the local railway station. Al
this moment my motor, which had
been firing smoothly, sputtered sever
al times and stopped. Medically !
tilted down the machine, it being the
only thing to do, and dived toward the
shrouded earth with not the vaguest
notion where I should alight. or what
obstacle I might strike when I did sc
house, tree, church or wall. AND
then, as unexpectedly as it had stop
ped, n while 1 was seeking in vair
to pierce the pail through which L was
speeding, the engine resumed its task
But such an experience, though it lasts
a bare two or three seconds, is not
readily forgotten.
The risk of engine failure, while in
flight, was ever present in the mind OF
the pioneer. But the pilot today is moi
ap~prehensiVe, even when over noun
tains or seas; modern motors, indeed
have a reliability which was undreamt
or a year or sc ago.. When BleriOt
flew the channel, he did so in dread
that his engine might stop at any mo.
ment; it was thought a miracle, il
fact, that it should run without 6
breakdown for thirty-six minutes