The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-09-12
u. s. AVIATION CAMP
LARGEST nv World
The Territory in France Comprises SO
Square Miles, with Nine Separate
Flying Fields--Visit to Place
Described by Associated
Press Man.

Described by Associated
Press Man.
American Aviation Center, Issodoun,
France, Sept. ii Correspondence Of the
Associated Press This American fly
ing camp is the largest in France and is
said to be greater than any other in the
world
A flying field of SO square miles, the
area of an American county, with nine
separate flying fields on which American
ayiators advance to the stage of flight
combatants, and airplanes Liberties,
Lieuports, Capronis and all the others,
with officers, instructors and newly
equipped aviators swelling our squadrons
each month-these were some of the
main features of this vast aviation
ground.
As the Associated Press correspondent
entered one of the fields big gray ma
chine rose from a nearby field with a
loud droning noise.
There goes Liberty aiTplane," said
one of the officers. II was one OF the
fast increasing number now coming, and
every flight was watched with keenest
| interest and growing enthusiasm by
those who will put it to the supreme
test on the fighting front Only one
opinion was heard among these men,
that il was the biggest and fastest ma.
chine of them ALL II was doing wonders
in quick ascent, and besides straight
away flight it had been put through all
the intricacies of acrobatic fight and
had been pronounced equal 70 the whole
range,
Groups of ayiators were lined a, as We
arrived, preparatory to taking the air.
They were 1.-the, stoeky. young men, like
two football elevens about to take the
field. The flying grounds stretched of
for miles--nine fields of four square
miles each-all eleau-cut stubble fields
on which the machines could light with
out shock Above them circled countless
planes, singly and in squadrons drawn
out like wild geese, looping and diving
and in all the eyolutions OF fight, with
groups of acrobatic planes over to the
right making headlong spirals, wing.
slips and reyersements.
III tht lbAeEtOutu iuaf ClAN VI Uai =
racks, one.story pine shacks 100 feet
long, not very highly ornamental but
very practical Fully a thousand Of
these barracks had risen on this level
plain TO house the army of flying men
on the way to the fighting line.
We went from field to field to note
each stage in the development Of combat
avstors. Generally speaking, it was ex-
planned, there are three distinct branches
OF this aviation for warfare; Chase and
combat work in which most of the fight
ing occurs bombardment of enemy
forces, camps and towns, and scouting
or reconnaissance work for purposes Of
observation of enemy activities 1t is
for combat and bombardment that the
training is done here, and Of those going
forward monthly about four ffths are
combatant and one-fifth bombardment
pilots
These are the 'grasshoppers'," said
the captain as we came TO field No i,
where the initial ground work and theory
Of fight begins. The grasshoppers were
diminutive machines with Just enough
horsepower to jump over the ground and
occasionally rise 10 feet The men call
them taxes and roulers. They were
skipping about singly and in squads,
Two were having race across the plain,
and one taking a dive buried it's nose in
the ground This was the circus part of
flying, at the start, but there was plenty
of very practical work beside, with mo
tor instruction, gunnery, trap shooting,
rife range and machine gun firing. Small
dummy enemy airplanes dotted the field
as targets, and the bounding grasshor-
pers took their shots and were rated BY
the watching instructors.
On the second field the aviators had
left their grasshoppers and were in a
double control machine, accompanied by
an instructor. They were getting the
"feeF of the machine in actual fight,
and if the rudder was not manipulated
deity the instructor was there to make
the correction. And it was necessary
here to learn how to come down as well
as to 60 up, and to come down at a
definite point Small numbered flags
marked the landing point of each ma.
chine, and the descent must be made
close up to this flag.
The captain of field No 3 was about
to step into the Flying Dragon one Of
the most curious machines of the feet,
for besides being very feet l5-meter
car, it was famous for its dragon body.
with flaming scales and tentacles and
great red eyes Here on this field the
aviators entered single control machines,
without an instructor, and for the frat
time took their own risks
On field 4 it began to develop whether
the aviator could qualify as a combat
airman, or for bombardment or scout
observation. He was now in a fast ma
chine with wing surface of Is meters
and was beginning to make dips and high
air maneuvering He was being accus-
toned to all types of machines. There
was feet of one of these strange types
drawn across the plain. Their chief
novelty was in having ball bearings on
all their mechanism, giving hair -trig-
ger response to the slightest touch.
IF you sneeze you loop the loop" was
the way the officer explained the delicacy
/ of this mechanism.
Progress is rapid now that it is evil
dent what flyer can do He enters a
very fast machine at No 5. with lJ-