The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-28
FINE WORK DONE BY AV|ATORS IN MEXICO Problems Met More Diffi-
 cult Than in Europe AIR CONDITIONS BAD Have Been Forced to Rise From Alti- tude of 5200 Feet and Cross Moun-
 tains 5000 Feet High-Four Hours Cranking Up
AIR CONDITIONS BAD

Field Headquarters American Expedi- 1 ton, Colona Dublan, Chihuahua, Mex,
 March 27.-(By aeroplane to Columbus, N. M.)-The first aero squadron in the l United States army in a weeks service | with General Pershing's expedition in 1 Mexico. has surmounted flying problems more difficult that most of those en- countered by European aviators. | The work has been done thus far with out serious accident. One of the senior aviators said today that only in the Alps are the European flyers likely to en- counter conditions paralleling those un- der which the Americans now are work ing.
 Never" said this aviator, have we had any flying as difficult here. We
 are under a handicap of an altitude of
 about 52O0 feet when we rise. Some of
 the mountains we have tried to get over
 are approximately 5000 feet above sea
 level and none of our machines are pow
 erful enough to carry the pilot, observer
 and sufficient fuel at such an altitude.
 We might get over one of the high moun-
 tains, but we probably would be unable
 to carry enough fuel for the return
 flight"
 
 men over a mountain pass which he de- clared was in the toughest country in
 Mexico.
 Just before reaching the pass they were
 above gorge 2000 feet deep. No landing place was observable within 15 miles, and
 one of the flers had difficulty in rising
 to the necessary altitude He turned and
 wheeled his machine trying to ascend,
 but the strong air currents swept him
 lar mil ho Wa Uif hin hOnt 20 feet
 of the tree tops near the summit of the
 pass. He had grazed the trees without
 heinz able to fight his way higher
 through the treacherous winds and was
 forced to turn back.
 The other aviators succeeded in mak-
 ing the flight. Two of them carrying
 dispatches landed near the camp in a
 wind which they described as the worst
 encountered by any of the squadrons since the flight for the Mackay trophy
 in 1914 from San Diego, Cal, to Los Angeles, when Lieutenant Fred Gerster- ner. an observer, was killed.
 The bad air near this camp drove one
 of the machines. into a spiral nose glide,
 in which it dropped about 1000 feet. When
 the aviator came out of the glide he saw some cavalrymen waving a blanket and
 he finished the descent, delivering his ordhfs safely. Five minutes later the
 second aviator on this particular trip came along, his machine rocking like a boat in a rough sea. The second plane also landed safely.
 After the landing had been accomplish
 ed the wind was so strong that it picked
 up one of the machines and sent 1t back
 2 to 30 feet. The wind increased ana
 was followed by severe cold, freezing and
 sleet so that these two planes renamed
 for two days out on a high prare, the aviators and guards enduring cold and hunger without complaint, to Insure the safety of the machines.
 lariat served to fasten one wing of plane to seven tent poles, anchoring the machine so that the wind would not
 blow it away. The men slept i'll the open without blankets and with no covering When the wind moderated enough for flight it still was very cold. The avia- tors did not wait for favorable weather before resuming flight and one of them cranked his engine from $50 a. m. to $50 a. m.
 The other machine got away by the same process with two hours of crank ing. . "In flying here,' said the aviator, 1t is case frequently of pitting ones life against the motor for if the motor stops tkere is no landing place within reach. and the aviator has no chance" Thus far, however, the aero squadron has kept the motors in running order in all emergencies.
 The aviators themselves believe that their work of gathering and transmitting information is a more difficult duty than being under actual fire. The chances of being hit while under fire in this country they estimate at about mil- lion to one"
 The European planes in the Alpine work, they have been informed, carry specially powerful motors designed for mountain observation duty. Furthermore. in the Alps if an aviator, after an acci- dent, does succeed in landing he stands a chance of capture, but in any work they may undertake against Villa the Amer ican aviators are not counting on saving their lives if they should be forced to descend within reach of bandits. The cold itself has required great nerve. A few of the men have come in from hard flights so numb that they had to be lifted from their machines. MEXICANS FRIENDLY Thus far in their landing the aviators have not encountered any signs of un- l friendliness among the Mexican people. Some of the planes have made long trips away from their bases In one case an aviator in a flight which lasted until 1 g o'clock at night, used the north star as his guide This man did two days 1 work during which he once became so exhausted for lack of water that in a 1 long trip foot to place where he knew he could find it. collapsed several times. Finally he got the water He also 1 later on needed a horse for ground l mission. At a Mexican ranch he found one but it had no bridle. He tore up 1 his overalls, fashioning a bridle which | answered the purpose. The Mexican
 ranchman. riding another horse, acted as ] the aviators guide When this aviator