Arizona republican., 1919-06-04
REPORTER HA5
 FIRST RIDE IN 4
 CIRCUSPLANE
Republican Representative
 Is Passenger with Lieut..
 Baker - Aviator Makes Machine Do Crazy Stunts

The first exhibition flight of the aerial recruiting campaign iu this city was made yesterday by Lieut. !. c. Baker, one of lhe fliers here 10 recruit men for the air service, early last night. Baker fleW a reporter for Tn. Republican, sent under special. permis sion from Washington t0 find on, what flyins reels ike 10 a landsmau and to pass the experience on to the people or the Salt River valley,
 The flight WIS started few miuule after o'cloci. and lasted 60 minutes. A large part of the Salt River valley was covered and a number of stunts done just over Phoenix.
 TO the reporter who had never been off solid ground before except in d bal loon the flight was d revelation. For one thing living is not nearly so full of thrills as some people think. But, then, again it has more thrills than other people think. And one cannot apprec fate the Salt River valley until one has seen it from am airplane. flying at a height of 900 or 5000 feet
 Aaxious Half Hour
 SiS-thirty last night found the anN- Ious reporter on the field at the state fair grounds. Captain l.. F. ApplebY. commander of ,he squadron of aerial recruiters, who in the next two weeks will cover the entire state in a drive for men, and the lieutenant. who was to be the pilot, had already arrived. Out in the field, at the end ot a long strip where the alfalfa had been cut out To assist the plane in taking off, stood the Curtiss tWo-seater in which the scribe was soon to soaS aloft. As if for the occasion, the plant had been freshly r,ta s,l, tl, the figure of a skull and crossb0nes stood out. while the tail was adorned Sith painting of a large and venom ous looking devil.
 After half an hour of anxious wait ing. during which the tIispano- Suiza motor was thoroughly warmed up. the 'andsmau was permitted to draw near Everything was in readiness. The cap tain had loaned the passenger to be his helmet and goggles For his part the lieutenant had given careful in- structions as 10 what to do in case of sickness.
 Thrills Were There
 The lieutenant slipped into the pilots seat in the rear. The reporter, about tc try his wings, climbed into the obserV- CTS seat forward, behind the roaring engine. Slowly the plane began tC move down the field. then faster anC faster.
 The writer was prepared for thrills He got a few. Roaring down the fielC in the fast plane was d good bit bettel han riding a dirt track in a racing motorcar The third time he looked over the side the plane rose gentll and the green alfalfa field began t, fall below
 Going up was easy, the rising motion being not too steep for comfort. Al altitude of some 500 feet was gained Lieutenant Baker swung the shi around on d neat bank and heade, back over the field. Motor cars O the ground were tiny objects. thoug the captains farewell wave was dis cernible. still rising, the plane heade over the city, which from that neigh looked like q toy town, neatly set i little squares with the white lines c streets in between.
 .c. A Toy City
 By this time the reporter, as h passed over the side to look for ia miliar landmarks. became aware tha SO far at least flying was easy. l the. air. looking down on an earth tha seems unreal, toy. one loses all sens of fear. The feeling is one of absolut independence-at least in this case WdS. WILl the cdEJH SIppllS Dy uOW below and the roar sof a powerful an uncomplainins motor drowning out a other sound. it was hard to even cor ce1ve the possibility of falling something goes wrong. It was a ser satiOn of boundless freedom from Il earth and everything worldly.
 At a height of 1000 feet, it was eas tolocate the heart of the city; the tv iall hotels the federal building ws ter users Y. NJ. c. A. block, the hie school group and a few other Ill places standing out in relief The pa! seneer tried in vain. however. to pic out the block in which he lived.
 After few dips and banks over u city, the pilot headed the plane off the direction of Tempe. Anoth thing then became apparent to the r porter--flying at that altitude, one do notThave the sensation of rapid nov mekf. The earth slips by below, b it is hard to realize that the plane moving something like 90 or 100 mil an hour.
 Over Tempe
 out of town, the ground began resemble a patchwork quilt, each fife standing out in a neat square or oblol figure. Some were green some we