Honolulu star-bulletin., 1917-09-29
ARMY AERODROME
BECOMES BUSY
PLACE AT NIGHT
Repair Work Goes on Almost
necessarily in Stations
Behind the Lines =.
IBy Associates pr..sI


BEHIND THE BRITISH LINES IN
FRANCE, August 30.--Night, as well
as day, is full OF work and hustle at
an army aerodrome. Night flights are
not frequent, but the night is the time
when the mechanics are busiest, put
ting everything right for whatever
tomorrow may bring forth.
Long after the sun has sunk be-
meath the tops of the hangers and the
trees have changed from green to
black, the hard-worked aIrplanes drift
homeward, crossing the evening sky
like black specks on public cloth
and la..ding wit a deep droning on
the clipped grass, lame and weary
from a long afternoons work over
the lines.
The days work is finished; reports
are handed In, and the pilots saunter
down TO their mess-tent among the
trees. The mechanics appear, wheel
the machine into their respective ham
gars and the nights work is begun.
II is seventeen miles 10 the she'll
holes OF No-Man's Land, and all the
horrors of war The long white road,
thick with the dust Of transport, Is
silent. The flat aerodrome 10 in dark
ness, but the hangers, looming black
against the evening sky, are bright
within. There Is much to be done.
Mazes of wires must be overhauled:
many must be replaced or tautened.
The enemy antiaifcraft artillery has
been active and some of the planes
bear witness Of ifs work The canvas
wings of one machine are riddled and
need long and patient attention before
it will be Eft Tor service again. On
another, the flying struts must be re-
newed. On another. the wings are out
OF shap, the result Of straining ma
neuvers In aerobatic fighting.
Hard Work
The whole means q hard seven
hours c. work for the entire staff OF
mechanics. They settle down to It as
q matter Of routine. Every time a
machine comes back from the lines 1t
has 70 be oyerhauled, perhaps disman-
tied. New gadgets must be fitted, the
elgine repaired and cleaned. Air
planes are after all very delicate
pieces Of mechanism and need con-
tinual attention Without It they are
useless. even dangerous. The accu-I
racy Of hundreds of measurements, the
trustworthiness Of hundreds Of parts,
are essential 70 good flying and re-
liability, and just as much depends on
these factors as on the skill of the
plot.
The airplane mechanic doesn't share
the dangers Of the field or the hard
ships Of the infanrtyman or artillery
man. but he has endless work and q
very heavy responsibility. When
there is heavy air fighting he must
frequently work al day and all night.
and woe betide the pilot II he should
EkImp any Of his work. Upon his
shoulders rests the strength OF the
squadron and its efficiency.
The officer In charge OF the aero
Irome during the night hours is
known as the "Orderiy Officer. y
Warmly clad. TO keep out the chills of
ne night, he walks around the busy
1heQr and hangers now and then Of
Iering q word OF advice or encourage
ucnf. but always with an ear for the
Telephone bell, for at any moment or
fcrs may come through for night
bombing or the warding off Of some
hostile aircraft Such orders are very
rare, but everything is ready for them
when they come
The work "a the hangers Is so ar
r1nked that the steeds appointed for
the next days work shall be ready an
hour beforc. dawn AS the first rays
[f the sun light up the aerodrome. the