Evening star., 1917-01-21
AIR FIGHTERS FIND
ROUTINE BIG BORE
Less Exciting Sport Than
Motor Cycling, Except When
in Actual Combat.
NEW MACHINES MARVELS

Correspondence of the Associated Press
WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN
FRANCE, January Its exciting at
times, but generally speaking it's rath-
er less sport than a motor cycle" says
a wing subaltern Of the British Fly
ing Corps. He chatted while tinkering
with his machine-one Of the latest
types in a war that is changing and
developing the aeroplane almost from
hour to hour. There were marvels OF
the air two years ago that have no
more relation to the machines Of today
than the clumsy attempts of q barn
An aerial scout that cannot register
in the neighborhood Of 40 miles an
hour cannot be classed as truly mod
ern. This speed is called for in level
air" not in running down HILL" or in
diving out OF loop. You may attain
$50 miles an hour doing that
"Oh. yes. the fghting's fun" resumed
the subaltern. but you can't always
have a go. They prefer most Of tho
time to stop on the ground and set
Arches on you with their noisy shrap-
mel shells. It's when you go padding
or five hours and nothing happens that
flying becomes monotonous. In spite
of the almost unbelievable speed at
which you go, you have no sense OF
speed whatever-rothing like the thrill
of forty or fifty miles an hour in
| motor with the trees whizzing by and
a bumpy road beneath you.
Air Sometimes "Bumpy."
Sometimes the air is bumpy. too,
and that's good sport. To collide with
an air bump is almost like hitting a
big rock in the road. They generally
lurk near a cloud bank. and give you
an awful jolt when you least expect 1t.
you can get a little practice and ex-
citement by throwing her about bit,
for when you get to close quarters In q
fight you need all the stunts she'll do.
sensation Of the wind that you get on
the ground. When you are running
ninety or hundred miles an hour. a
little wind moro or less makes no i'm
preston upon you.
Which latter fact may account for
the absolute contempt in which the
modern army hiers look upon the
mightiest blasts old Boreas can blow.
1t was not SO long ago that ten-mile
breeze would upset all flying plans for
day; now nothing short of a hurri-
cane can deter the Intrepid aviators OF
the allies. They laugh at gale and can
almost take a nap while comfortably
e,oams enemy elements are ioW clouds sa and
ground mists. They have little rela-
tion to personal safety, but they In
terfere very seriously with a wide
range Of useful work.
Like Driving Motor Truck.
After a few more earnest remarks on
the monotony of patrol work In smooth
air-which he likened to driving
motor truck along a cement road in
desert-the subaltern climbed into the
cabin" of his machine. 1t was a wasp
like creature. with the imprisoned
power of a hundred horses throbbing
in its wonderful engine.
It's 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 a modern aeroplane
suggests the pilot house of 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 airman ought to know. There are
| ingenious sights for the guns. and
range finders for bomb dropping, and
| a little device to tell that the bombs
and are hurtling on their way to the
| objective selected for attack.
| When he is tucked away. only tho
| pilots head Is visible above the free
board Directly in front Of him Is a
| tiny half-moon Of q windshield.
"You can lower that in summer time
| and get more air." grinned the sub
altern. .. -.
| winter timer" was suggested.
Kept Warm by Engine.
"oh," he replied. that all depends
upon the machine. This little scout.
for instance, with the engine in front
Of YOU Is as warm as toast even when
you are $1,000 feet up and the mercury
has long dropped below zero. You
get all the warmth of the exhaust and
can stay up indefinitely. The plane
with the propeller and engine in front
is a 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,
| that's all"
The control Of the fighting aeroplane
has been reduced to the simplicity of
single lever. known In the profession
as the 10y stick. BY moving THIS
stick a few inches one way or another
and with occasional foot pressure on
the rudders one can climb, dive. loop.
side-slip, fall a couple of thousand feet
and natten out "as right as rain" You
always have one hand free for the
machine gun and II necessary you can
| let the joy stick look out for itself for
minutes at time and use both hands
| for fighting. Or II the trip is q long
one you can let her float while you
eat luncheon. An air menu generally
consists of an apple or banana, milk
chocolate and biscuits. with hot tea or
coffee from a vacuum bottle.
| Airmen have queer sense OF tho
appropriate in insignia For instance
| the squadron to which this wasp-like
scout belonged has adopted an ele-
phant as it's distinguishing mark, and
| each plane has an elephant painted on
either side Of the pilot houses II
| anything could be less suggestive of
flying than q pachyderm. Another
squadron has adopted the hippopotamus.
| The air service IL the friendliest
corps in the vast British army, for
when other work is impossible the men
can go a-visiting while testing out
machines. 1t is astonishing to the
novice how far away the trained air
man can recognise caller.
| A waterfall in Norway will be har-
messed and made to provide 126,000.
horsepower for smelling and refining
| zinc ora.