The sun., 1919-05-31
JUMPS FROM PLANE
TO PLANE In MIDAIR
Lieut.. LOcklear Risks Life and
Thrills Thousands at
Sheepshead Bay.
AvIATORS SHOW SKILL
Start at 1000 Feet and Speed
to 200 Feet Altitude in
Perfect Control.

Lieut. or1ner LoclSlear trified with
death standing erect on the upper wing
OF speeding airplane and later Jumped
from one plane to another yesterday
afternoon at Sheepshead Bay Speedway.
o Then a girl tried to climb over FIVE
foot wire mesh fence to get a closer view
Of the Lieutenant. got caught on top Of
1t and attracted just as much attention
and applause as the daring aviator. The
little diversion was a welcome one for
the crowd, for It soothed a lot Of nerves
which were standing on end and vibrat-
ing like electric buzzers after the stunts
Of the afternoon.
1t was not so much the stunts that
were gone through, the loops, fiipper
turns, nose dives, tail spins and Immei-
man turns that were shown, as IL was
slight altitude at which they were per-
formed. During most OF the afternoon
the least failure to execute any Of the
difficult evolutions would have resulted
in death. for the tricks were pulled"
so low in the air that II would have been
control
OF his machine II once he lost IT,
Lieut.. Locklear's feats were the most
sensational in the view Of most OF the
crowd, but the aerial antics OF Lieuts.
Shirley Short and Milton Elliott, his
pilots. and of Jean Domenjoz. caused
the worst srudders to army and navy
aviators in the crowd. Lieut. Elliott.
especially. took a long chance on his
skill with the stick, when, starting at
thousand feet he came downward, his
machine rolling around, upside down.
with wings vertical. tail downward. and
every which way, seemingly absolutely
out OF control. but actually under the
most rigid guidance. He finished less
than zoo feet from the ground with an
zimmerman turn and few other rota-
tons which seemed like certain death.
Lieut. Locklear's most daring trick
came at the end of the programme
Curtiss plane No. I. with Lieut.. Elliott
at the stick on whose eye and arm
Locklear usually depends most Cor his
safety, went out of commission jus,
before the aerial derby, SO he went UT
in the plane OF Lieut.. H. B. Shields
Higher and higher the plane mounted
followed by another Curtiss plane piloted
by Lieut. Short
Finally at probably a thousand feet
Lieut. Short dropped over the side a
fiimsy looking rope ladder, which wal
sent whirling backward by the force Of
the speed OF the plane. Then the risk,
work began. the business of getting tn,
two speeding planes sufficiently neal
and yet not near enough for the col
lision which would mean death for three
men. To add to their difficulty the tw,
pilots, their planes making better thar
sixty miles an hour. must get togethe1
at Just the right time 30 that the pub
lie. sitting comfortably In the stands
could see the whole thing at as clos,
range as possible
Black against the blue sky the ngur,
| OF Lieut. Locklear suddenly appeared
| on the upper wing Of Shields plane. II,
! stood erect. his body inclined agains
| the rush Of air which would throw al
! average man to his face on the ground
his arms stretched outward and his hea,
up. with eyes fixed on the swaying lad
| der dangling from the plane above
Slowly. almost imperceptibly the ma
chimes drifted together while Locklea
! somehow retained his footing on IN
smooth. curving surface OF the plano
| Then the ladder swung for an instan
| within reach Locklear grasped at
and as he did so the plane below dive
downward and the one above zoome
upward with his body swinging beloy
the ladder. He had successfully &C
complished once more the feat in whic
he has as yet no imitators.
Lieut.. Locklear had begun his exhibit
ton in or rather on Lieut. Elliott
plane at a much lower altitude. walkin
out on the lower wing and thrustin
one arm and leg outward into spac,
standing erect on the upper wing. slid
ing down to the tail and crawling u
again and dangling by his knees fror
the axle of the plane with head down
ward.
A feature Of the afternoon was stur