The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-07-19

front, worked by the pilot, and the OBJ
server also had a gun with which he
could spray all around.
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, keeping the sun
behind us, so that the enemy could not
see u.s.
We picked out three Of the machines
and dove down on them. l 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 went
right down under him, but I turned
and gave him another burst of bullets,
and down he went in a spinning nose
dive, one of his wings going one way
and one another. AS 1 saw him crash
to the ground knew that had got my
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
then we called it day.
This experience whetted my appetite
for more of the same kind, and 1 did
not have long to wait.
1t may be well to explain here just
what a spinning nose bend is. A few
years ago the spinning nose dive was
considered one Of the most dangerous
things a 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
a spinning nose dive there was no
way Of coming out Of it. 1t 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 contrivance called "joy stick"
If, when flying in the air, a 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 a 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 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 q terrific
rate Of speed and spinning at the
same time. If the motor is still run
ming, it naturally increases the speed
much more than it would If the mo-
tor 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 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-
tical 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 making
the attack invariably thinks his en-
emy 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 follow
him down, and when he came out of