Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-08

When we first noticed the Huns,
| our machines were about six miles
back of the German lines and we
were lying high up in the sky, keep
ing the sun behind us, so that the
enemy could not see us.
We picked out three of the ma
chimes and dove down on them. /
went right by the man 1 picked for
myself and his observer in the rear
seat kept pumping at me to beat
| the band. Not one of my shots took
| effect as l went right down under
him, but l turned and gave him an
other burst of bullets and down he
went in spinning nose dive, one of
his wings going one way and one
another. AS 1 saw him crash to the
ground l knew that l had got my
first hostile aircraft. One of my
comrades 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 appearance of other German
machines, and then we called it a
| day.
This experience whetted my appe-
tite for more of the same kind, and
l 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 dan
gerous things a pilot could attempt,
and many men were killed getting
into this spin and not knowing how
to come out of it. In fact lots of
pilots thought that when once you
get into a spinning nose dive there
was no way of coming out of it. 1t
is now used, however, in actual fly
ing.
The machines that are used in
France are controlled in two ways,
both by hands and feet, the feet
working the yoke of rudder bar
which controls the rudder; that
steers the machine. The lateral con-
trolls an fore and aft, which cause
the machine to rise or lower, are con.
trolled by a contrivance called a
Joy stick" If, when flying in the
air, a pilot should release his hold
on this stick, it will gradually come
back to the pilot
In that position the machine will
begin to climb. So If a pilot is shot
and loses control of this "joy Stick
his machine begins to ascend, and
climbs into the angle formed be-
comes too great for it to continue or
the motor to pull the plane; for a
fraction of a second it stops, and the
motor then being the heaviest, it
causes the nose of the machine to
fall forward, pitching down at ter
rife rate of speed and spinning at
the same time. If the motor is still
running, it naturally increases the
/ speed much more than it would if
the motor were shut off, and there
is great 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 in
creases 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 a
man is spinning it is almost impos-
sible to hit him, and the man MAX
ing the attack invariably thinks his
enemy is going down to certain
death in the spin.
This is all right when a man is
over his own territory, because he
can right his machine and come out
of it; but if it happens over German
territory, the Huns would only fol-
low 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.
1t is a good way of getting into a
cloud, and is used very often by
both sides, but it requires skill and
courage by the pilot making it if he
ever expects to come out alive. A
spin being made by pilot intention
tionally looks exactly like a 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 ma
chine and comes out of it, or crashes
to the ground.
ITO Be Continued.)