Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-08-02

as possible to a hospital. All these |
things a new pilot goes through dur
ing the first two or three days after |
joining a squadron.
Our regular routine was two flights |
q day, each of two hours duration. |
After doing our regular patrol, it was
our privilege to go off on our own hook
if we wished, before going back to
the squadron.
i soon found out that my squadron
was some hot squadron, our flyers be-
ing almost always assigned to special
duty work, such as shooting up
trenches at a height of fifty feet from
the ground.
received my baptism into this kind
Of work the third time went out over
| the lines, and 1 would recommend it
to anyone who is hankering for excite
ment You are not only apt to be at
! tackled by hostile aircraft from. above,
but you are swept by machine-gun fire
from below. l have seen some of our
machines come back from this work
I sometimes so riddled with bullets that
1 wondered how they ever held to-
gether. Before we started out on one
of these jobs, we were mighty careful
to see that our motors were in perfect
condition, because they told US the
"war bread was bad in Germany"
One morning, shortly after 1 Joined
the squadron, three of US started over
the line of our own accord. We soon
observed four enemy machines, two
seaters, coming toward US. This type
of machine is used by the Huns for
artillery work and bomb dropping, and
we knew they were on mischief bent,
Each machine had a machine gun in
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 us.
We picked out three of the machines
and dove down on them. / 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 1 went
right down under him, but l 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 saw him crash
: to the ground knew that had got my
| oil On g
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
, ance of other German machines, and
G then we called it q day.
This experience whetted my appetite
D for more of the same kind, and 1 die
: not have long to wait.
n 1t may be well to explain here jus
, what a spinning nose bend is. A few
4 years ago the spinning nose dive wa:
considered one Of the most dangerous
r things a pilot could attempt, ant
+ many men were killed getting into thi
b spin and not knowing how to com,
d out of it. In fact, lots of pilot
% thought that when once you got int,
spinning nose dive there was n,
t. way of coming out Of it. 1t is nov
o used, however. in actual flying.
le The machines that are used il
% France are controlled in two WAYS
1t both by hands and feet, the fee
N working the yoke or rudder ba
lie which controls the rudder; that steer
1T the machine. The lateral control
1r fore and aft, which cause the ms
re chine to rise or lower, are controlle
to by contrivance called a 'joy stick.
IN If, when flying in the air, pilo
d. should release his hold on this sticl
It it will gradually come toward th
It. pilot.
m In that position the machine wi
begin to climb. So if a pilot is she
he and loses control of this "joy stick,
ne his machine begins to ascend, an
ut climbs until the angle formed b,
st, comes too great for it to continue G
er the motor to pull the plane; for
of fraction of a second it stops, and til
motor then being the heaviest,
On causes the nose of the machine to ia
On forward, pitching down at a terrif
as rate of speed and spinning at tn
to same time. If the motor is still ruI
ar ming, it naturally increases the spec