The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-09-16
LIBERTY AIRPLANES GIVING THE
 BEST SATISFACTION IN FRANCE
Wonderful Power of Great Machine Has Been Demon strated and Many New Ones Are Being Built and Stunts Are Being Devised By Pliers Who Express Their Enthusiasm

Romorantin. Central France, Sept. -(Correspondence of The Associat- ed Press)-Liberty airplanes were darting across the sky; other Liberties were drawn up in battalions across the big plain, and still other Liberties were puffing and struggling at their anchor tests, as The Associated Press correspondent arrived at, this great center of airplane production for the American fighting army. The near by town of Issodoun is the great cen ter for American aviators.
 Crowds of soldiers and workmen had gathered to see one of the fighting Liberties completely equipped with bombing machines wireless outfit, all it's guns, and every last device for go . ing into combat. There had been other Liberties turned out, scores and hundreds of them now moving in d steady stream. In this and others which had preceded, the last step had been taken to give them their final equipment for actual fighting.
 The big machine had a spread oi wings B feet across, and like all the | others was of gray cloud-color seen from below, though above the color I changed to green and merged into the green fields. Ahead pointed the ma | chine gun operated by the pilot, with syncronizing device by which a hun l dred shots a minute flew between the arms of the spinning propeller. Fur I ther back, in the observers nests, two more machine guns had a sweep Of l both broadsides and upward and rear ward. There was no angle they | could not reach, and even the Gothd trick of shooting straight down l through a floor tunnel was more than matched, though details of how this is done cannot, of course, be given. It | is sufficient to say that this new type I long and anxiously awaited and now Q reality, armed for combat was as l formidable as any car ever produced. ] and in the judgment of these experts was far more formidable than any of l them.
 | Climbing into the pilots seat there was an opportunity to see the work 1 ings of this big car-the pioneer of the fighting squadrons soon to come.
 
 tons Jumping was just ahead with two | long exhausts sweeping back toward the tail. Within the seat were straps to hold the pilot in a headlong flight and all the delicacy of mechanism one sees in an automobile-speed in- 1 dicator, gas meter, oil pressure, throt- ties, switches much more be- sides; lights for signaling, height meter and compass, and fire extin- guishers to fight a blaze.
 This is the joy-stick," said Cap
 tain x as he swung the lever contro;-
 ing the tail and ailerons for vertica
 movement. And he pointed out that
 the foot-rudder, which controls tht
 horizontal movement, worked on tho
 same principal as the bob-sled.
 Truly it is a wonder " he said
 fondling the mechanism. q know
 them all-English, French, Italian
 and there is nothing like this for pow
 CT. and speed. Why"
 And then he gave an instance O
 what had been accomplished in :
 straight rise from the ground, whicl
 constitutes a record for exceedin! anything before. This was made il
 one of the Liberties recently turned out here. It was not regarded as on
 of the best of the machines, and tn , workmen even dubbed it "Fals Alarm" But it soon proved its rights It was sent to one of the trainin | fields. and on one of its first ascent ; it shot up straight from the groun to the height of 2O,040 feet in 35 g. F minutes.
 3 Tt is the fastest time a huma
 being has ever gone up," said the cap tain. "and it gives an idea of what ahead when these SnuadronS are i