The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-06-22

10 the ground KNEW lIldt Adu Sol LILY
first hostile aircraft. One OF my COM
rades was equally successful, but the
other two German machines got away.
We chased them back until things got
too hot for us by reason OF the appear
anve of other German machines, and
then we called 1t day.
This experience whetted my appetite
for more Of the same kind, and / did
not have long to wait.
1t may be well to explain here just
what spinning nose bend is. A few
years ago the spinning nose dive was
considered one Of the most dangerous
things pilot could attempt, and
many men were killed getting into this
spin and not knowing how to come
out Of 1t. In fact. lots OF pilots
thought that when once you got into
d spinning nose dive there was no
way of coming out Of 1t. It Is now
used, however. In actual flying.
The machines that are used In
France are controlled in two ways.
both by hands and feet, the feet
working the yoke or rudder bar
which controls the rudder; that steers
the machine. The lateral controls
fore and aft, which cause the ma
chine to rise or lower. are controlled
by a contrivance called "jOy stick"
II, when flying in the air. pilot
should release his hold on this stick,
1t will gradually come toward the
pilot.
In that position the machine will
begin to climb. So If pilot Is shot
and loses control of this "joy stick"
his machine begins to ascend, and
climbs until the angle formed be-
comes too great for 1t to continue or
the motor to pull the plane; for
fraction of second It stops, and the
motor then being the heaviest, 1t
causes the nose Of the machine to fall
forward. pitching down at a terrific
rate of speed and spinning at the
same time. II the motor is still run
ming, it naturally increases the speed
much more than it would ii the mo-
tor were shut off. and there is great
dangy that the wings will double up
causing the machine to break apart.
Although spins are made with the
motor on, you are dropping like ball
being dropped out Of the sky and the
velocity increases with the power Of
the motor.
This spinning nose dive has been
frequently used In stunt. flying In
recent years. but is now put to prac-
teal use by pilots in getting away
from hostile machines. for when .
man Is spinning it Is almost impOs-
sible to hit him. and the man making
the attack invariably thinks his en-
envy Is going down to certain death
In the spin.
This Is all right when q man IL
over his own territory. because he
can right his machine and come out
Of It: but II 1t 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. Il 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 1t II he ever
expects to come out alive. A spin
being made by a pilot Intentionally
looks exactly like a spin that II made
by a machine actually being shot
down, so one never knows whether 1t
Is forced or Intentional until the pilot
either rights his machine and comes
out Of II, or crashes to the ground.
Another dive similar to this one II
known 40 just the plain dive. As
sumo, for instance. that pilot flying
at . height Of several thousand feet
Is shot. loses control Of his machine,
and the nose Of the plane starts down
with the motor fun On. He 10 going
q Q Tremendous spsed and In many
instances 10 going % straight and
swiftly that the spesd 70 toe grsae Tor
~ m4ehipe. bseesse II ~ a4~er
os66e9sd y 1ithstand ~ eaee-
hoas eessssss Alree,d aSnlAst Re
r1n~ And DO ssQosaelt ereslse
1n -~~ss-aaDu1oz
II. too. In IN attempt to sl1alshten
the machine, ths elevators shouA b.
eoeaA Affected, q often happens In
trylAg b bring 1 machine out Of .
dive, the strain 10 again too great on
the wings, and there 10 the same dis
astrous result Oftentimea, when the
patrol tank Il pnnctufed by . tracer
bullet from another machine In the
air, the plane that Is hit catches on
Ore and either gets into q spin or a
straight dive and heads for the earth,
hundreds Of miles an hour, a mass Of
fame. looking like 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 territCry he simply SDinS