Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-08-29

-, ssii m - " fu1et h ais
cuGtu. I'D a h FuhaAis dsf n-n
e u matuteI Ere 49, e. cry oFu-
ss.s Aaa h t1s e u-y olkG Ghsol
Sr@ eonpanics have besn se.f n ths
as I've vcth aicnG
Hardrr naa ouuers Wok
Ma Rlssen T. cnxfort. vhs q.if
he tsaching q ustruno.y IN he Un-
vcrtify q Caiifouia d enter The army
= ofrr n ehArrs q tzining. he
euurss enhraccs 80 houn . well q
elAssroon wurk. ~ eo1pared VITA The
average q Is % % in college; one hour
e arm a day. and three hours a veek
q military instr1rtioa The total Is isi
hours n five weeks. and then CONES
tuo weeks in the air. with "a hours ae-
tually spent in the BASKET q a ballOoa
Weimer says hat Il IL a much harder
couue than that given at COLORADO U.
his Alma Mater.
Class work begins with study Of the
winrh. BY which the balloon Is con-
trOIled in the arr . Al Port Omaha q
new and highly perfected winch has al
ready been developed. II Is mounted
on an automobile truck which carries
a motor for the wiailass alone al
though both motors may Be used sep
arately or together for either the truck
or the windlass. Complete structural
knowledge Of the winch Is required.
Balloon rigging comes next-study
Of the fabric Of the gas bag, its
valves, It's diaphram. the ropes that
hold IL in their network. the knots
that hold Il in their network. There
are more than 80 Of these knots alone,
and the student must tie the hardest
Of them in eight seconds before he is
through.
Preparation for Mapping.
Then comes drawing. 1t is carried
on through One-pOint and twO-point
perspective to cylindrical perspective,
the panoramic work that sets forth
to scale the landscape as it appears
20 the balloon observer. This is work
Of the utmost importance, for a bal
loon cannot scout into strange coun-
try as an eirplane can, and the OBJ
servers knowledge Of new terrain
must be gained from maps.
In cylindrical perspective the roads
and groves, the hills and buildings,
the bridges and cuts-every land
mark Of importance-are brought out
into reality from the conventional
signs and contours with which the
military maps content themselves.
With such a drawing before him an
observer may go up over new coun-
try knowing what it will look like and
where he must direct his attention in
his watch for developments.
Radio and wire work occupy a part
of the five weeks the student spends in
ground school. The equipment for this
includes even a section of a pole, with
its cross arms and insulators. Actual
stringing Of wires is required, and
knowledge Of the operation of SWITCH
boards, the telephone being the medi-
um of communication Of the balloon
observer, except in emergency.
Must Forecast Weather.
Especial attention is given to mete-
orology. Thunderstorms are the
gravest menace to balloons, next to
gunfire, and ability to tell the signs
of storms is Of the utmost import
ance. General weather conditions, too,
must be understood, for forecasts for
IL hours, and for "a when possible,
make a lot Of difference to the safety
of equipment and the comfort Of the
men.
The first work in observation is
done on a relief map of the Messines
region. This map was made in the
school. II embraces q wide stretch Of
the country around the village, includ-
ing that over which the most desperate
fighting for possession Of the ridge &C.
Cured. Its forests are scopes of
sponges stained green, its houses
wooden blocks, its hills plaster paris
and papier maehe, but it is all in the
scale of the 2500-foot elevation around
which balloon observers do their work.
Locating Gun Fire.
Beneath this map are placed 1870
electric lamps, each shining through
its W opening. These lights may
be switched on and off from a central
control and in that way stimulate gun
fire. To each student is assigned a
of the relief map while he has
before him a military map of the same
country~~T The task is to observe and
accurately locate each flash.
relieving this practice come visits
high observation towers surmount-
ing hills in the reservation. In groups
Is the students learn from these
the general aspect of the ter
rain which they are about to study
balloons.
Passing Out" Flight.
An eleventh, Or passing out"
Tight is made solo by the student. In
its n and one-half hours duration
ne must "pick up" 10 hostile batteries,
is by no means as simple as it
despite the observers famiI.
.arity with the terrain.
When the student has successfully
passed out" he is entitled to the rat.
ng Of observer. When he has been
commissioned, he has the right to wear
his breast the (deleted) Of his rat
ng' AS our balloon companies are
low organized, he will be one Of four
observers attached. There will be four
'ther oficers-the Captain command !
ng, n supply officer and two ma
towering officers. There will be 200 A.,
Unlisted men although the present !
prospect Il that the French organiza- '
will be adopted-seven officers }
md 40 men.
Busy City Does Not Bother Men. ,
Gunnery has not figured extensive :
. in the course at Fort Omaha. Train