The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1917-03-05


UelIidins With "Air sumps"-Ensins
Prevents Freezing.
ITS exciting at times; but, generally
speaking, it's rather less sport than q
motorcycle" says a wing" subaltern
Of the British flying corps, according to
q correspondent of the New York Trib-
une with the British armies in France.
he chatted while tinkering with his
machine-one of the latest types In .
war that is changing and developing
the aer0plane almost from hour to
hour.
There were marvels of the air two
years ago that have no more relation
to the machines CT today than the
clumsy attempts Of a barnyard fowl to
the fight of a swallow. An aerial
scout that cannot register in the neigh
borhood of 40 miles an hour cannot be
Chased as truly modern. This speed is
called for In 'level air." not in running
"down hill" or in diving out of loop.
You may attain $50 miles az hour do
Ing that.
No Sense Of Speed.
"Oh, yes, the flghting's funv' resum-
ed the subaltern. Its when you 60
padding through the air on patrol duty
for four or five hours and nothing hap
pens that flying becomes mOnotOnous.
In, spite of the almost unbelievable
speed at which you 60 you have no
sense Of speed Understanding like
the thrill Of forty or fifty miles an hour
in q motor, with the. trees whizzing by
and q bunny road beneath you.
"Sometimes the air is bunny, too,
and that's good sport. To collide with
an air bump is almost like hitting q
big rock in the road. They generally
lurk near a cloud bank and give you
an awful jolt when you least expect
1t. On dull days, when the air is
smooth, you can get little practice
aud excitement by throwing her about
bit, for when you get to close quar-
tiers IN a fight you need all the stunts
she'll do. In the air one doesn't even
get the sensation of the wind that you
get on the ground"
Winds Arc eeornsd.
Which latter fact may account for
the absolute contempt in which tho
modern army fliers look upon the
mightiest blasts old Boreas can blow.
II was not 50 long ago that ten mile
breeze would upset all flying plans for
q day; now nothing short of hurri-
cane can deter the intrepid aviators
Of tho allies. They laugh at q gale
and can almost take nap while COM
fortably riding a thirty mile wind.
The real enemy elements are low
clouds and ground mists.
After q few more earnest remarks
on the monotony Of patrol work In
smooth air, which he Hkened to driv-
ing q motor truck along cement road
In a desert, the subaltern climbed into
the cabin" of his machine. It was a
waspuke affair, with the imprisoned
power Of hundred horses throbbing
In its wonderful engine. Its guns
were attached unobtrusively to the
framework and synchronized where
necessary to shoot through the blades
OF the fast whirring propeller in front.
The "cabin" Of modern aeroplane
suggests the pilot house of a palatial
yacht In miniature. Everything Is fin
ished in hardwood, and there are pol
ished nickel instruments to indicate
speed, height, angle and everything An
sir man ought to know. There are in
genious sights for the guns and range
finders for bomb dropping and q little
lev1cs to tell that the bombs have been
properly released in turn and are
hurting on their way to the objective
selected for attack.
When he Is tucked away only the
pilots head h visible above the free
board. Directly in front Of him il a
thy little half moon Of q windshield.
you can lower that in summer time
and get more air." grinned the subal
tern.
Engine Prevents Freezing.
But what about freezing in the
winter timer" was suggested.
"Oh," he replied, that all depends
upon the machine. This little scout,
fof instance, with the engine in front
Hyou, is as warm as toast even when
you are $1,000 feet up and the mer-
cufy has long dropped below zero. You
ct all the warmth of the exhaust and
cah stay up indefinitely. The plane
With the propeller and engine in front
II tractor. The 'pusher' has engine
and propeller in the rear. In one Of
those you get the full effect Of the
cold, and you just naturally freeze,
hats ALL"
The control Of the fighting aeroplane
has been reduced to the simplicity of a
single lever. BY moving this a few
inches one way or another and with
occasional foot pressure on the rudders
one can climb, dive, loop, side slip, fall
. couple of thousand feet and flatten
cut ''as right as rain" You always
have one hand free for the machine
gan, and If necessary you can let the
lever look out for itself for minutes at
time and use both hands for fighting.
Or II the trip is long one, you can let
her float while you eat luncheon. An
xf menu generally consists Of an apple
or banana, milk chocolate and biscuits.
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