The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-10-26

the loop at attitudes Of 1000 feet, whe
do nose dives. side slips and other
thrilling and seemingly frivolous evo-
lutions, learn to accomplish these feats
In seven or eight hours-or they never
learn them at all. For the mastery OF
airplane acrobatics does not require
the time that is requisite to train q
PERFORMER for a circus.
Cadet flyers receive this instruction,
which is called the acrobatic stage, to-
ward the end Of their training and aft
er they have become masters Of their
machines and possess absolute con-
troll. Otherwise they could not ac-
quire the knack of throwing their ma
chimes in and out of these whirls and
loops. And, by the way, some Of them
master Of his plane, 1t does not inev-
itably follow that he can stunt" He
may not be fitted for it temperament
ally; he may lack the head or the heart
or the stomach for it. If that be so,
then he must abandon acrobatics. Those
who like 1t stick to 1t, and thus 1t hap
pens that frequently these stunt fly
ers become the aces In actual combat
in France, because fights In the air are
more or less games of tag; and the
more artful the dodger the greater are
his chances.
The course in acrobatics is not
nh To- eha s,rNn
tacular, 1t is as much a part of a
cadets training as pursuit work, re-
connaisance or bombing. It is designed
to inspire the student with confidence
in his ship and In his ability to teach
him the feel Of dangerous positions In
the air; to actually get into them and
out Of them safely, and In general to
demonstrate to him how much may be
accomplished by the proper and skill
full handling Of his plane. -
The greatest care is taken In choos-
ing instructors for this work and in
selecting the ships or planes to be
used. Expert riggers are assigned to
check the alignment Of the planes used
after each flight.
At Kelly field, Texas, there is a
special stage for the instruction and
to insure safety for the cadets and
their instructors. Others not flying in
this stage Of instruction are required
to keep entirely away from the terri
tory over which the stunts are being
performed. A severe penalty Is at
tached to the slightest infringement of
this regulation. No student or In
structor is allowed to stunt under 1000
feet, and practically all of the work
in the acrobatic line is done between
1000 and 1000 feet.
When student reports to the stage
for instruction, he is assigned to a
teacher who at the first opportunity
takes him and performs the requisite
evolutions The student is then given
the control and directed to repeat the
maneuver. After the third or fourth
trial he is usually able to perform in
creditable manner. However, In no
case does the instructor allow stu
4dent tc fly alone unless he shows him
self well qualified.
When student is sent into the air
he is directed to follow definite
course in gaining his altitude; to turn
over his sector, and, If at sufficient
altitude, to do his stunts. 1t may be
that he will have been directed to do
a one-turn spin, two-turn, spin, FIVE
loops and three Immelmann turns.
Upon returning to the ground he re-
ports to his instructor, who has care
fully watched the execution Of the
stunts and who offers appropriate criti-
clsm and suggestions. This is repeated
several times, and before the student
is transferred ne again goes up with
the instructor, who estimates whether
the former is qualified to advance to
the next stage.
Troops for the Slavic legion which
Is to be part of the United States
army will soon be recruited under reg
ulations just promulgated by President
Wilson. The officers and enlisted men
in these regiments will be Jugo-Slavs,
Czecho-Slavs and Ruthenians. II
practicable, companies will be COM
posed of members of the same race
and this plan of organization will be
followed as far as can be In the larger
INSTALLATIONS and regiments.
Enlisted men for the Slavic legion
will be obtained by voluntary Undue
ton from among the members Of the
races mentioned. They must be resi-
dents but not citizens Of the United
States and not subject to the draft.
Enlistments In coal mining regions will
not be authorized. Volunteers for this
legion will be forwarded by draft
boards to depots in the usual manner
and will be sent from there to Camp
Wadsworth, South Carolina.
The weather bureau will publish In
its National Weather and Crop Bulle-
tin series of charts showing for the
country east of the Rocky mountains
the southwark progression of the earli-
est killing-frost date line and the total