Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-05-10

period Of time after having been
declared o. K, thereby giving the
American government an organic
alton of up-to-date flyers who
| would always be available on "a
hours notice; for it has been my
experience that unless a pilot con-
tinues to fly regularly-when l say
regularly l mean two or three
days a month-he soon loses the
! feel of the air, and not only does
| he endanger his own life, but that
| of others; consequently no system
that might be inaugurated would
| be advantageous to the govern
ment unless the pilots were en-
| ployed constantly Two weeks
not enough to keep a pilot fit Be
tween times his eyesight might
| become affected or his hearing i'm
paired"
Answering a question as to the
qualities needed to make an ideal
pilot, he replied: My experience
on the western front for two years
has given me an opportunity to
! judge the type of man who would
make an ideal pilot The age limit
should range from Is to 40, but
the ideal age is from 81 to %. A
man of that age has had an OPP
portunity to develop his individu-
ality and increase his powers of
initiative. The ability to make
| quick and accurate decisions is alb
solutely essential to a pilot if he
would be successful, for he must
constantly make decisions under
very trying conditions, j e., ex-
IRENE speed and the tremendous
| force of the laws of gravity I be-
| lieve, however" he added, that
| these handicaps will be eliminated
| in the near future, so that even
the most unsophisticated will be
able to handle and pilot a plane
with assured safety and ease
Americas youth make the ideal
human war material fog fighting
in the air. They are not like the
French, who limit their develop
ment and progress by their ma
tional characteristic, conservatism;
neither are our boys like the Brit
ish, who are known for their fool
hardness, but they seem to strike
the happy medium in such a way
that, as a German pilot whom l
met in Germany expressed it, You
all fought like Indians-one could
never tell what you were going to
do. The French and the British
we could always rely upon to fight
according to Hoyle, but you fool
Americans come in single-handed
to one of our large formations, in
variably disorganizing US and TAX
ing your toll of one or two vic
tins before making your escape
This added the captain, as. in
my estimation, the highest COM
pliment that could be paid to
Americans as air fighters.
i at is a distinct advantage to
any pilot to have had mechanical
training, especially with motors,
for with this knowledge of motors
a man in the air is like a doctor
on the ground: always able to feel
the pulse of the motor, which is
the heart of the aeroplane, and
with that knowledge a man is in
position to preserve not only his
own plane but his own life. Such
Ia man could distinguish between
a missing spark plug. or a mag
neto which was not properly func-
tioning. and was able thereby to
profit by his knowledge and turn
back from a trip over German ter
ritory or take part In a prospec-
tive combat before It was too late
It was not always the husky, rug
ged chap whose constitution was
best fitted for flying at great alti-
tudes. but in many cases the fraiI,
delicately built physique which
housed q strong heart. good lungs,
and. greatest OF all, dominating
will power