New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-28
French Aviation Rockies Must
Hop Like Penguins Before Flying
Tiny Bleriots With Clipped Wings Often Spill Their
Pots-Much of the Chivalry Of the Air Is Gone
but British Still Take Big Chances

with A reasonable degree OF skill nc
practises some Of the simpler manpu-
yres of the air, such as sharp turns
and at tho end OF about four montnS
after his entry into the school he mes
ninety miles for his diploma.
He il done with the Blariot then ana
bevirs work at q speciality school with
a Sieuport, which 10 the battle type OF
plane. He 10 supposed to pick this up
rnpidlv. and only few weeks are al
lowed in which to learn the serpentine'
the spiral, the hairpin, the half loop
and other lodges Of the air upon which
his life may depend when he comes 70
fight the Boche.
Upon the completion OF this course
the aviator goes to the front ana
watches a little while before he goes
into battle work. The tricks, OF OF.
fensiye warfare In the clouds he mus
nick up largely for himself, IheSe
cannot be taught in any schooi.
Indeed, the French simplify AVIATION
training far more than the Americans;
The training school for our hiers wiz
include much more theory and much
more engine study. Some OF the pes.
French pilots know next to nothihg
about their machines. Only, repairs OF
the most minor nature can De mace III
the air. and the care of the machine ~
Ieft almost entirely to the mechanicisn'
or rather the mechanicians, for from
three to five men are needed on the
ground to keep a single machine aloft.
Soma of these groundlings arc women
who stitch the wings and others arc
chinese who attend to the delicate car,
nentrv of repairing propellers, and
rome of the more minute and yet
vhoiIv mechanical work Of engine re- =
na;r;ne. The Chinese can learn to 90
nnlv a few things, but these ne VIII 90
with infinite skill and inexhscst'o'e
The French Aier is essentially an
;ndlyidualist. He finds it hard 10
adapt himself to the practices OF squad
ron Aying, for all the early prac'ice
~ tho war was to allow the aviator
almost complete liberty. He flew when
he liked, and generally he chose the
latter part Of the day, which combined
the advantage Of giving him more steep
and putting the sun at his back r.
II an aviator felt ever so signify o"
color on any day. If he even feit uI-
lucky, he remained on the ground ne
flew only when the spirit moved MN,
hut in the early days Of the war these
were knights Of the air. and they wei
coined a chance for fight as much
a, anv man in armor. To-day, when
four planes will pounce upon one
chivalry is largely gone from the ar,
Sportsmanship has become something
OF a reproach. ,;.,
The French insist that the English
still have it, but there is no making an
exact estimate OF the relative daring
of the airmen Of these two allies. ASK
an Englishman, and he will say that ms
countrymen fly better and accomplish
more. but that for sheer daring ne Is
obliged TO admit the mastery OF the
French. On the other hand. put the
question TO a Frenchman and he re-
piled:
ooh. our men fly better in the sense
that they conserve their resources pet
ter and lose fewer planes, but the
Enplishmen take the crazy chances.
WHY, heard Of one who made land
ing in the middle OF German ava
ton field the other day, turned his ma
chine gun on the hangers and then
few away. No Frenchman would do a
fool stunt like that. These English
will send single planes up against Ger
man squadrons of twenty. That hap
pened in the last raid on London. We've
got more sense about things. We walt
until the fight is something like even.
"And when it is even?" I asked.
when there are four Boche planes
and one Frenchmsn," answered the
cautious aviator Of France.