Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-12-28

put Ut Ine last minute gave tue an
other "acen ola, dirty and ugly and
the motor worked rotten too, but 1
kept on climbing up, and reaching
the clouds at TOO meters came down
SO meters, SO 1 would be in plain
view. of the official critics. For
once I was the whole cheesel / was.
1t with big II And 1 am sure
performed quite we'll, going
through nearly evolution but the
three moves just right and then
things happened SO suddenly
didn't know where in Sam Hill /
was. The next thing 1 knew L was
in a Yrille. Came out quickly and
tried the REQUIREMENT again. For
one hour 1 flew around that field
trying that doggone stunt, falling
into six vrilles, two side slips, three
barrel rolls, and O number of other
positions 1 don't know the names of,
and probably the moniteur didn't
either. 1 fear 1 forgot my religious
training, for trying one thing and
falling into another sure made me
mad, and one isn't in a mood for
praying in that frame of mind.
Funny In the Stomach
Finally, 1 had to admit 1 was
stuck and beginning to feel funny in
the stomach from my many different
positions. L came down thoroughly
disgusted with myself for feeling
sick and being too thick to get the
hang of the thing. L imagine my
surprise on coming up to the lieu
tenant, expecting a balling out as a
bonehead, to hear him say tres
bien." had actually did several of
them right so he said, and l did not
know it. 1 must have tried 20 times.
L got "balled OUT too, but not in
the way L expected. What in H
did you want to stay up all day for
said he, They were tires bien" and
six were enough. L want to finish
you tonight--Hurry. up, get in the
dummy and learn the vertical vir-
age" I soon got that, having tried
it while flying Vol de Groupe." l
obeyed orders this time and only did
a few of these but l knew l had
some of them right. A vertical vir-'
age is a sharp turn done by banking
the plane right up to the limit. Bed
time, tell more later.
Airmen Rough Jokers
Yes, indeed, that acrobatic class
sure was the most interesting and
amusing. Honestly, those Moniteurs
would laugh If fellow killed him
self. When that F'renchman came
walking in the gate with only bump
on the head, from knocking over a
stone wall with the plane, not the
head, it was the biggest JOKE OF the
day. For man to get sick and
all, for he sure didn't get much sym
pathy. They even had good
laugh at me for shedding one of my
coats when l went up for the yer
tical Virage." l was warm, believe
me, for 1 had tried so hard to do
that REQUIREMENT that 1 was sweat
ing when 1 came down. No, it
wasn't cold sweat. thank you. 1
wouldn't admit it to the lieutenant
try at the retournement. | was that,
but l went up for the vertical virage
just the same.
Merit Has Its Reward
really believe these critics con-
slider one good if they see him try
hard, and L sure did that. The
mechanics are as interested in we
pilots as the Moniteurs, and no one
feels prouder of a pilot than a
mechanic who sees him make good
landing, catch" his engine and roll
back to the starting point in q
straight line. This rolling, or tax
ing, along the ground takes nice
sense of collaboration of speed, dis
tance and the feel of your plane,
for q plane on the ground is a most
wobbly bird anc is given to all the
queer quirks and twists of a woman'S
mind. They also keep a book which
every pilot signs, with any remarks
he may think of at the time-also
five francs for the privilege. There
are some famous flyers names in
scribed in that book, and many
Americans among them. Some of
the remarks are very clever, one
reading, Failing down from Heav-
en- to He'll will never worry me at
ALL" Another who realized the
chances he had just taken came
across with this gem: by the Grace
II. Parker" One that may appeal
to those who look on the wine when
it is red, runs like this. "All the
sensations of the night before with
none of the after effects" The last
sure is aptly put judging from my
observations of the revelers. Sorry
1 would not read the many French
mems attempts. Some were quite
artistic, going in for poems illus
trated prose and what not.
A French Air Wonder
The Moniteur in charge was GER
tainly a wonderful man with well
uGNelOpeu SCIlSS Ol nuHlOI. IoOIIS
one said he was so blind he could
not see a brick wall two feet in
front of him, a starry that was soon
disproved when he went aloft in the
plane with the black sats painted on
it and put the black cat through
every known evolution, bringing her
down right side up every time. See
ing three of us holding down a
bench, watching him with open
mouthed wonder, he suddenly head
ed straight down for us and like to
upset the bench, so close he came.
That was his morning exercise. Af-
ter that he affixed his microscopic
monocle to his eye, leaned back In
his comfortable rocking chair and
sent us up to perform.
Landing Without Engine
1t rained the next day, so yester-
day we were sent to Vol de Preci-
sion," a class to teach a pilot how
to land on a designated spot without
using his engine. We had to wait
two days for this stunt, as the clouds
persisted in sticking close to the
ground. Finally, they raised high
enough to allow us to climb up 1000
meters. We were told to go up to
this height, cut our motor dead and
come down in anyway we pleased,
but land between a road and a white
line drawn across the field. There
was a white circle near the white
line. We were supposed to land so
as to stop in this circle. To make
the game more interesting they told
us to imagine that there was a row