The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-10-09
THE MAKING OF lVIlT0RS.
AVIATION CAMP IN
TRANCE.
Said to BE Greatest in the World
Men are Drilled and Classified For
Different Kinds OF Service.


France, Sept % Correspondence O
! can flying camp is the largest IL
France and is said to be greater tnan
any other in the world
A flying field Of SO square miles, the
area Of an American county, with
nine separate flying fields on which
American aviators advance to the
stage Of flight combatants, and ar
planes--Liberties, Nieuports, Capronis
and all the others With officers, in
structors and newly equipped avia-
|. tors swelling our squadrons each
month-these were some Of the main
features Of this vast aviation ground.
AS The Associated Press CORE
spondent entered one OF the fields >
big gray machine rose from a nearby
field with a loud droning noise.
There goes a. Liberty airplaHe
said one Of the officers IT was one o
the fast-ncreasing number now
coming. and every flight was watched
with keenest interest and growing en-
thusiasm by those who will put it &c
the supreme test on the fighting front
Only one opinion was heard among
these men, that it was the biggest
and fastest machine OF them all. II
was doing wonders in quick ascent
and besides straight-away flight i.
had been put through all the intrl-
cacies of acrobatic flight and haC
been pronounced equal 20 the whole
range.
Groups OF aviators were lined up as
we arrived. preparatory to taking tbs
air. They We're 1.-the, stoclly, young
men, like football elevens about te
take the field. The flying ground
stretched Off for lniles-nine fields o.
four square miles each--all clean-cu;
stubble fields on which the machine,
could light without shock. Above
them circled countless planes, sinsly
and in sQuadrons drawn out 2iko
wild geese, looping and diving and in
all the evolutions Of fight. with groups
Of acrobatic planes over to the right
making headlong spirals, wing-slips
md reversements.
In the foreground rose city OF
barracks, one story pine shacks l0C
lGNC lOlls3, iIolFC lll9lIlS VI lAAS AA 90
but very practical. Fully a thousand
Of these barracks had risen on tlais
level plain to house the army OK flynn
men on the way to the fighting line
1--WE went from field to field to note
each stage in the development OF
combat aviators Generally speaking
it was explained, there are three dis
tinct branches of this aviation to-
warfare: Chase and combat work IL
which most Of the fighting occurs
bonlbardment Of enemy forces. camps
and towns, and scouting or recon
naissance work ior purposes Of OBJ
servation Of enemy activities. 1t Is
COR combat and bombardment tina:
the training is done here, and o!
these going forward monthly abou;
four-fifths are comhatants and one
fifth bombardment pilots.
These are the 'srasshoppers. said
the captain as we came to field NO
1, where the initial ground work and
theory Of fight begins. The grass
noppers were diminutive machines
with just enough horsepower to
lump over the ground, and occasion
ally rise ten feet. The men call them
! about sinSIy and in squads. Two werS
having a race across the plain, ans
one taking dive buried It's nose II
the ground. This was the circus pari
of flying, at the start. but there was
plenty Of very practical work BESIDE
! with motcl instruction. $unnery tfai
shooting, rife range and machine,
,un firing. Small dummy enemy air
planes dotted the field as targets, alie
The bounding grasshoppers took the!
shotS and were rated by the watching
instructors.
On the second field the, aviatorS had
| left their graSshopperS AID were IN {:
louble-control machine accompanied
by an instructor. They were gettlne
the feel" of the machine in actua
! aight, and il the rudder was MOI
manipulated deftly the iL-tructor was
there to make the correction. AND
was necessary here to learn how tt
come down as we'll IS to go up, anu
to come down at Il definite point
Small numbered flags marked the
landing point of each machine, ane
! the descent must be made close ur
to this flag.
The captain Of field No. 8 was abou
+! to step into the Flying Dragon on.
Of the most curious machines Of III;
feet, for besides being very flee
15-meter car. it was famous for it
dragon body. with flaming scales ans
tentacles and great red eyes. Here
on this field the aviators entered sin
gle-control machines, without an in
structor, and for the first time tooi
their own risks.
On Field it began to develol
whether the aviator could quaint!
as combat amman. or for lombard
ment or scout observation. He va
now in fast machine with wing
surface of Is meters and was begin
ming to make dips and high air ma
Inoeuvering He WAS being accuStom
ed to all types OF machines. Teef'
was a feet OF enc Of these stran$
types drawn across the plain. ihei
chief novelty was in having bi;ii
bearings on all their incCh@liShl, SIE
). ing a hair-trisger response TO "a