The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-10-05

ations in every subject. III a student
failed in one subject In these week
~ examinations he was dropped
back a week in his course IL he fail
ed again in the same subject or any
other subject he was dismissed from
the school and his hope of becoming
an aviator shattered. There was no
recourse. The administration Of the
school was in the hands of a board
Of members of the university faculty
and military officers. The discipline
was military in every respect. One
could hardly call his sould his own.
I considered the course more vaIu-
able in general information and
training than a years work at COL
lege.
Italy and France Train Men.
On graduating from the ground
school 1--WE received certificates Of
graduation from the war depart
men). was assigned to Kelly Field
Flying school for flying instruction.
A limited number Of graduates from
the ground school are being sent d.
rect to France or Italy for flying in
structions. The governments of these
countries have graciousIy offered to
train a limited number of American
aviators. II had graduated two
weeks later l may have been sent
to one OF these countries.
One Flyer, Fifteen Helpers.
Here at Kelly field we rank as
cadets. There are only thirty student
| flyers at this field at the present
time. There are, however, about 49,
600 men enlisted in aviation here
who expected to fly when they en-
listed, who have very little chance
Of ever getting up in the air except
for pleasure rides. For every aviator
1t Is necessary to have three planes
and from IL to Is non flying men to
| take care Of the machines. So when
you read or hear that the United
States has a hundred thousand men
| in aviation that means that at the
most there can be only from five to
six thousand flyers. Training avia-
tors is at best slow work. / under
stand that the French and English
consider six months, or even nine
months, short period of training.
Our courses are modelled closely on
the course and training given by the
Royal Flying corps of England.
Treated Like Prize Bulldogs"
We are treated splendidly here. AS
one of the men so aptly put it, I'VE
are treated like prize bulldogs
training for a fight" Every precau-
ton against accidents is taken. Two
ambulances with chauffeurs and sur
geons in their seats are always on
the flying field. Since the school
opened Aug. / there has not been an
accident of any consequence. We
have smashed up two machines but
no one has been hurt seriously. In
fact, l believe aviation is safer than
motorcycle or auto racing. 1t would
hardly be fair to say that 1t is safer
than automobiling in general; but I
feel safer in plane than 1 do in a
jitney driven by the average jitney
driver. l am confident that before
long aviation will be as safe as au-
aircraft are being invented almost
two flights.
Keen For Liberty Motor.
We are all very anxious to see the
new Liberty motor. We expect one
to arrive for study purposes in a few
days. Aviation motors are intensely
fascinating to me. They are marvels
Of construction when one considers
the high power developed by them
and their lightness OF weight. The
problem in construction of aviation
engines is to secure a combination
of power with minimum Of weight.
l am enclosing cuts OF the Curtiss
biplane, model JN4. This is the plane
used by the United States and the
allies for training purposes. AS soon
as the student has passed his R.M.A.
(Reserve Military AVIATOR, tests he
uses the Curtis R-4, LIVE, and
Wright Martin machines. These lat
ter planes are larger, more powerful,
hn
JN-4. ! should like to send you pic
lures of planes and other things
about Kelly field but we are not al
lowed to take pictures of govern
ment property. OF course the reason
for this is readily seen.
Remarkable Photography.
Besides flying we are studying the
following subjects every day: French,
photography, motors, airplane con-
struction, wireless, military tactics
and law. and military drill. The
camera used in aerial photography
is quite similar to an automatic mo-
ton picture camera. Its lenses are
so powerful that they will take a
picture from a height of $4,000 feet
moving at a rate of 100 miles an
hour. The price of one Of these
cameras Is $500.
The work here is not so strenuous
as at the ground school. Although
we have considerable to do besides
actual flying, we think flying, talk
flying, and dream flying almost con-
tinually. It is all absorbing and in
tensely interesting. After coming in
from a mornings flight we simply
live for tomorrow to come that we
may go up again. Flying Is quite
strenuous. After having been up for
forty or fifty minutes a student
comes down quite exhausted. One
can appreciate the necessity for
quick action and good Judgment in
landing when he knows that various
controls must be manipulated at ex-
actly the right time and in the right
way at the beginning Of the landing
glide, so feet above the ground: 30
feet 20 feet, 10 feet, and so on until
the landing gear touches the ground
and the machine comes to rest. At
certain times during the glide the
machine travels at the rate Of over
100 miles per hour. Most accidents
occur because of poor landings.
AT Ease in the Air"
am now beginning to feel quite
at ease in the air. ! cannot say that
l enjoyed the first flight although it
was not unpleasant. Students are
given the controls of the plans after
the first two or three minutes in the
air during their first fight. For the
first two or three weeks the instruc-
tor accompanies the student on every
fight. The planes are equipped with
dual controls so that the instructor
can take them when the student gets
into trouble. In flying we must be
constantly on the alert for wind
puffs, counter wind currents, air
pockets, whirlwinds, other planes,
and good landing places in case the
motor should Unexpectedly stop. II
these difficulties are not encountered
the instructor sometimes will pro-
duce mechanically the required ir-