Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1918-06-23
HOSPITAL AIR SHIP
LATEST INNOVATION

DALLAS, Tex. June "a hospi-
tai airplane is the latest innovation
at the Love Field Aviation School. IL
is an emergency airship manned by
a skilled pilot. with physician in the
Observers seat and ii is kept ready
during ali hours of flying practice
to enable medical help to reach
fallen aviator. The hospital ship
is always ready for instant use. That
there NAV be no delay. the emergency
machine is 'cranked up" every twelve
minutes so that the engine may be
kept warm and ready to produce ITS
best speed as soon as needed. The
pilot and the physician stay close at
hand. Observers with field glasses
keep a watchful eye upon the men in
the fire wagon and the hospital ship.
Oftentimes when a forced landing
occurs it is in a field distance from
any road, and the ambulance can reach
it only by travelling long and round
about way. The hospital ship can
save time, not only by its speed, but
also by going direct to the scene OF
the accident. The ubiquitous evidence
of preparations for accidents is
throughly approved by. the young
flyers and has no depressing effect
on their spirits. Always during flying
times the ambulances manned and
with motors running, stand on the
dead line ready to start. Fored
landings sometimes occur, with oc-
casional accidents, but most frequently
the injuries are not serious, so the am
balances have no terrors for the ca
diets They call them meat wagons !"
Adjutant Wyman has just annnounc-
ed that work in aerial wireless and
aerial photography is being done at
Love Field now, special equipment
being placed on the planes last week
for those purposes.
Another innovation is a traffic
squad" composed of two or more ma
chimes which patrol the air during
flying to see that the practicing avi-
ators stay within the aerial bounds as
signed to them by their Instructors.
As the training progresses and the
men become more expert. there is a
greater tendency toward flying far
afield to some of the dozen little towns,
ten to twenty miles from Dallas. The
landing of an airship is an event in
these towns, and the aviator who lands
is feted and made much of. The in
structors discourage these trips by
penalties, but when a flyer is having
his cross-county training forced
landings are Inevitable, and the towns
which have the best reputation for
hospitality get numerous visitors. Now
the traffic squad will patrol the air
the boundaries of the training field
except for those engaged at stunts OF
cross-country flying, will be marked
and a reprimand will be due for fly
ers who pass out of the bounds.
Reports both from Love Field and
Call Field at Wichita Falls are thai
both these camps are to be made
schools for advanced flying and mel
VIII lbe sent to them direct from the
ground schools, but only after they
have been put through fundamentals
of flying and had certain number o.
hours in the air in some of the othel
schools. Then they will come to Love
and Call fields and receive their train
ing in stunts and war duties These
include acrobatic work, extensive for
nation flying of the difficult military
type and cross-country flying with ad
vanced instruction in wireless, aeria
gunnery and Photographic work