The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-08-16
FIGHT IN THE OZONE
TAKEN AS BIG SPORT
THAT Is WAY RlCKENBACKER
VIEWS THE SITUATION
Battling Above the Earth Is
Question of Very Keen
Thinking

COPYRIGHTED BY UNITED PRESS.
With the American Airmen il
France, July 1O.-[By Mail. ]-"Hov
do you feel up there in the air whel
you're jockeying with a Hun for
chance to bring him down before h,
gets you?" was the question put t,
Eddie Rickenbacker, American ac'
and former auto racer.
"Rickenbacker reflected a momen
and then said:
You don't feel very much be.
cause you are too busy wa:chins
the Heinie machines. But you tlinl
<of it as a machine and not as a man
l never think of the men in ths
boche planes, but regard a fight q:
a sport in which we both take chances
and if he is better than me and uses
better judgment, he will get me
but if l am the better sportsman, III
get him first
Question of Thinking.
Fighting in the air, in the chase
work, at any rate, is more a ques
ton of keen thinking and good judg
ment than anything else. You first
Try to outguess your opponent and
then try to get the position on him.
Attacking is question of knowing
when to pique on him, and when
not to.
'Of course good flyer has to have
his nerve with him, and we all fear
the mistake of not attacking when
we should, more than we fear being
shot down. A mistake. like that, OF
allowing your nerve to fail you Just
once, would weaken man and we
know it. However, we also know we
cannot be foolhardy and reckless.
Doug Campbell, our all-American ace
has worked out some unusual tactics
regarding fighting boches, which have
succeeded remarkably. He is of a
studlous turn of mind and figures out
what the methodical German mind
would expect him to do at certain
time or in a. certain situation. Then
Doug does just the opposite.
Piqued on Boches.
For example, he has piqued on
boches in certain positions which
We're thought to mean sure death. But
he did it suddenly and Unexpected
Esy, and before the German mind had
conceived the situation, Doug let him
have it and diyed out or position.
again. He's landed several boches
that way.
You have to make some quick de-
cisions up in the sky sometimes and
they're pretty important for. you, too.
hut that is the important pdrt of the
game and fascinating part. 1t has
DeGn
American flyers have been most sue
cessful.
Their judgment has been made in
a lightning way. But most of the
Boys are well educated men and quick
thinkers.
After you fly while you get your
sense of feeling that is new. You sort
OF feel boche around and feel the
direction too since it is hard to SEQ
him. OF course you are always look
ing around because a couple of min
utes without care would enable a
German TO be on you Unexpectedly,
and 1t might mean flowers.
How To Operate Planes.
Most people who never have flown
imagine running the plane is a cues
ton of concentrated attention on the
mechanics of it, That is not SO. Once
you get up. you can fly along for
long time without touching a lever
ana without bothering about the mot
or. You don't need to stir because
there is nothing to do and your ONLY
concern is not getting too far into
Germany. Since there are no ruts
or trees to hit and since the air is
Dig space, your direction makes lit
tie difference. You can't bump into
anything.
The Thing you watch most is the
huge space all around you and YOU
Keep your eyes open for more planes
once you see one, you immediately
work for position until you learn
whether 1t is a friend or a boche. Then
you act accordingly and it never takes
long to make up your mind what
to do.
Clouds are risky things. Thew
look brightest and 1eecy when Won
are away from them. When you dive
INTO them you feel no sensation and
MT nothing. Everything seems like
fog. If they are large they are
DANGEROUS for you lose your sense
or direction among them. Sense of
direction is more important than
compass, which often doesn't work
when you are diving around. Clouds
can also hide boches.'
~