Norwich bulletin., 1917-07-14
The Air Pilot

Flying in war times is q grim DuE- mess. There is precious little that is breezy about it. and. to tell the truth, the War pilot is not breezy fellow.
 If you are interested in the type. study the faces of any pilots you see, here are the alertness and quickness natural 10 the man who takes up flying. and there is also ? certain hardness. Small wonder, if, after three hours or so over the lines, his jaw should feel like iron.
 All the way. from the start to the return. the pilots condition Is one of incessant movement. Both feet and one Hand are engaged iu flying. Quick. neat nov ements, continually correct ing, even on a calm day. That is fly ing. Ears listening % the engine and for the crack, crack, crack" of Hun attacking.
 Eyes moving continually over tho instruments relating to speed and height and engine revolutions, over the earth. the other machines of the formation. and round and round. high and low. and especially back wards, first one side and then the other. lest Hun be diving on the tai. And in the midst of it all. sud denly. Archie" tsnt- t-aircraftt shells busting around in groups Of six Archie" is a greater strain on the nerves than fighting.
 Tt takes 15 seconds" eays a pilot,
  sight on you. Consequently you have to dodGe and 10 do something differ ent. every i5 seconds
 And there is plenty of fighting. too. for the British pilot always attacks. where the Hun, unless in greatly su- perior circumstances almost always puts his nose down and runs for pro- lection first.
 An aeria. feht Is 2 wild game. Sec q man dive 500 feet. on to his pre-. perhaps a the rate of 1s0 miles per hour. Does he feel exhiiarsted? %o his heart is humping too hard from the sudden change of atmosphere man oeuvring with not time 10 think. where one, pitted 2 gainst three. is yet the victor, Then think of the flight home that follows. with control cables holding by their last strands and only half the engines c, finders working is the time 10 get home. sure enough but British pilots have turned and fought in such conditions. because their principe Is attack.
 Perhaps as the formation returns 10 it's aerodrome there will be one or two pilots who are off duty. watching the landings. The power to land ma chine well under all conditions is the greatest test of the pilot. and conse- quentfy flying foIl are never tired of watching .andings.
 All bacl7?" NO" '" Who's miss ing ?" HOh, poor old" ''ReaIIyL1
 How Shot down as soon as we got there" ''oh, dear; any chance for him? Don't think so: we saw his machine fold up" Any luck your selves" "ArchlcS verv bad this morning ~ ---." And so on "a tale Of loss and gain. which fs yet steadily ensuTinc victory.
 No push can be succcssfu- without aerial success. and no aerial succegs can he attained without taking risks. The side that takes the greater risks is likely to have the longer casualty list. That is the pilots share in vic tory.
 But after six months or SO nerve begins to So. It is really a question Of nervous fatigue brought on by of er- strain. Probably no man living could fly four hours q day all the .ear round even in peace time. But when the signs of that overstrain begin to show