Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-08-07
G|MPER TALK IN
REAL ENGLISH
American Ace Gets Down to
Business in Describing Avl-
alton in France.
Copyright, 1918. BY United Press,

i copyright 1918, Dy On1ted fTSscJ
WITH THE AMERICAN AIRMEN
I'm FRANCE. July 10 (By mail1:-
Wee better translate some Of this
gimper talk into honest-to-gosh
American, or the United Press read
ers won't be able to stop it," observed
Lieut.. Eddie Rickenbacker, American
ace n former auto racer. as he be-
gan some 'igimper talk" which is the
aviation word for aero slang.
We'll start out with the rudiments
of the aviators' language" said Rick
enbacker. 1T completely ignores the
lstudy of grammatical formations. The
only formations we know are aero
formations, which is group flying.
First of all there's an airplane.
With us it is never an airplane-its
ALWAYS known as a can. Probably
we call 1t that because 1t carries such
big gasoline tanks. and when you stop
to think Of how easily the Germans
could set the can aflre, IL we didn't
let them have 1t first. you understand
why an airplane is a can
Letting them have 1t is Just the
iaviation way of saying you're firing
the machinegun as fast as she'll go
Into Heinie. You almost always have
a chance when you go to a pink tea
Going to a pink tea Is going up IN
the air after a German. Cuckoo
birds are always talking about pink
teas. though they never have them.
"A cuckoo bird Is an aviator who
does all his fighting while none OF
the gimpers are around. and then
comes back and tells about it.
"If you spot something. which Is
seeing another plane, you jockey for
position. That is trying to get where
I you can shoot at him without his
shooting you. Usually you try to get
, under his TAIL which Is behind and
under him and coming after him. He
can't shoot then, and you can.
He would probably 'zoom,' or
dive or 'vrille' then. II he zooms.
he runs for home; If he dives. he goes
straight g~roundward without turning,
while IL he vrilles, he dives, turning
around like a top so it's difficult to
shoot him.
IF it's a gimper you've piqued on
land pique is only the aviation way
of saying attacked or charged at-he
wobbles his iappers frantically, prob
ably, to signal you That means he
moves his wings up and down. You
know he Is American then, because
you can see the Allied coquards on
his wings.
EFF he were a boche he would be
letting you have it, probably, and
you'd try to get into the blind spot.
That is a point between him and the
sun, where HI can't see you but you
can see him. 1t Is a point OF van
tage,' technically speaking.
Good luck and your gun doesn't
Jam, n you've got a boche.' which
means bringing him down. Let him
get away to Hunland. and h gimp
4; ers with you will razz you with the
serpentine action, which is going
down by moving the wings abruptly.
Probably by this time the arches
and hA0fn IN
pepper you. That means the Ger
man anti-aircraft guns are shooting
they're called arches, and they pep
per you because the clouds they leave
behind you are little black ones. You
, can kid them along. If you wish.
which is getting first out OF range n
then doing stunts, usually loops. It's
bad form, though; unless you're try
ing to draw their fire from some
other activity of another gimper.
Doing stunts owe archies is the
worst insult you "a give the Ger
mans. and they never fail to pepper
lyou. III you're wise, you'll zoom on
for home about that time. or you're
liable to be en- panne, which means
the same as cuckoo. Cuckoo Is aero
slang for broken down somewhere.
ITS all right IL some Heinie hasn't
shot out of his bell at you. unexpect-
eddy. before you could xig-zag out OF
range. ~Zig-zagging usually foxes
him, as we say. Anyway, o want
to be near enough to the line when
your motor cuckoos on you so you can
glide back. Then the mechanics can
icome out and get their eskimo, as
they call the aviators in their fur
suits, and II you haven't scared
Heinie to death, maybe there'n be a
pink tea at the rendezvous next day
when the can is humming again."