Gilpin observer., 1918-07-11

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danger that the wings will double up.
causing the machine to break apart
Although spins are made with the
motor on, you are dropping like a ball
being dropped out Of the sky and the
velocity increases with the power Of
the motor.
frequently used in "stunt" flying in
recent years, but is now put to prac-
tical use by pilots in getting away
from hostile machines, for when .
man Is spinning 1t is almost impos-
sible to hit him, and the man making
the attack invariably thinks his en-
emy is going down to certain death
in the spin.
This is all right when a man 10
over his own territory, because he
can right his machine and come out
of 1t; but If it happens over German
territory, the Huns would only follow
him down, and when he came out of
the spin they would be above him,
having all the advantage, and would
shoot him down with ease. It is
good way Of getting down into a
cloud, and is used very often by both
sides. but 1t requires skill and cour-
age by the pilot making it II he ever
expects to come out alive. A spin
being made by pilot intentionally
looks exactly like spin that is made
by a machine actually being shot
down, so one never knows whether It
is forced or Intentional until the pilot
either rights his machine and comes
out Of 1t, or crashes to the ground.
Another dive similar to this one 10
known as just the plain dive. As
sumo, for Instance, that pilot flying
at q height Of several thousand feet
Is shot, loses control of his machine.
and the nose Of the plane starts down
with the motor full on. He is going
at tremendous speed and In many
instances is going SO straight and
swiftly that the speed is too great for
the machine, because 1t was never
constructed to Withstand the enor-
nous pressure forced against the
wings. and they consequently crumple
up.
If, too, in an attempt to straighten
the machine, the elevators should be-
come affected, as often happens in
trying to bring a machine out of a
dive, the strain Is again too great on
the wings, and there is the same dis
astrous result. Oftentimes, when the
patrol tank is punctured by a tracer
bullet from another machine in the
air, the plane that is hit catches on
fire and either gets into q spin or a
straight dive and heads for the earth,
hundreds Of miles an hour, a mass Of
flame, looking like a brilliant comet
in the sky.
The spinning nose dive Is used to
greater advantage by the Germans
than by our own pilots for the reason
that when fight gets too hot for the
German, he will put his machine In
a spin, and as the chances are nine
out Of ten that we are fighting over
German territory, he simply spins
down out of our range. straightens
out before he reaches the ground, and
gets on home to his airdrome. It is
useless to follow him down inside the
German lines, for you would in all
probability be shot down before you
can attain sufficient altitude to cross
the line again.
It often happens that a pilot viii
be chasing another machine when
suddenly he sees it start to spin. Per.
haps they are fifteen or eighteen thou
sand feet In the air. and the hostile
machine spins down for thousands of
feet. He thinks he has hit the other
machine and goes home happy that
he has brought down another Hun.
He reports the occurrence to the
squadron, telling how he shot down
his enemy; but when the rest Of the
squadron come in with their report,
or some artillery observation balloon
sends in report, 1t develops that
when a few hundred feet from the
ground the supposed dead man In the
spin has come out Of the spin and
gone merrily on his way for his air
drome.
III L