Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01
INVERTED FALLING
LEAF PERFORMED
Lieut.. Gardner, Native of
D. c., and Williams Only
Ones to Execute Stunt.

Lieut. Matthias B. Gardner, opera
| tons officer at the Anacostia Naval Air
| Station, took his place as one of the
! countryS great acrobatic pilots yeSter-
day afternoon following the Curtiss
Marine Trophy races.
! In an exhibition of individual aero
battles which he climaxed with a feat
which only one other man in the world
has ever performed. Lieut.. Gardner,
| who now ranks as the Nays foremost
acrobatic performer, brought to a SEN
sational close the National Capitals
greatest aeronautical program.
| His greatest contribution to the aft
ernoon's program of remarkable avia-
| ton events was an inverted falling
leaf" the feat performed by Lieut.. AL
| ford j. Williams early in May as his
swan song to naval aviation before his
| retirement to take up as q civilian the
developing of racing planes.
The inverted falling leaf is described
by Lieut.. Williams as the last aerial
maneuver possible with the present.
day airplane. 1t was the last stumbling
Of the Rir-the last remaining position
in which an airplane could be placed
in flight.
| Gardner and Williams Alone.
Lieut.. Gardner is the only pilot in
the world other than Williams who SO
far has mastered this maneuver. Other
pilots who have unwittingly started the
maneuver in every case have crashed
or escaped only by joining the Cater
pillar Club, it is said.
The inverted falling leaf is a maneu-
| yer attended by the greatest hazard
| to the unwary pilot since each down.
ward. sideways swoop of the plane, up
side-down as it is, is the beginning OF
the deadly inverted spin. recovery from
which is exceedingly difficult. The In
verted falling leaf is performed by per-
hitting the plane to approach the in
verted spin first from one side then the
other, checking 1t just at the crucial
moment.
In this maneuver Lieut.. Gardner
flying with his head hanging toward
the ground and the wheels Of his little
single-seater fighter pointing to the sky
zig tagged toward the earth in a series
OF rocking sidesips, oscillating from
side to side.
Performs Outside Loops.
Lieut.. Gardner also performed sew
| eral outside loops, which two years age
were the latest aeronautical sensation
then just having been mastered by
Lieut.. James H. Doolittle and Lieut.
| Williams. He also circled the Ana
| SCdJAOu Wt1AA ApSAdC~
down, banking on the turns as pilots
normally do when right-side up.
Although he always has been known
in the naval service as an exceedingly
good pilot, Lieut.. Gardner until yes
terday had not been publicly featured
by the Navy as star acrobatic pilot
and has not occupied the limelight.
Born in the District Of Columbia or
November %. 1897, Lieut.. Gardner en-
tered the naval service from Pennsyl-
vania on July 8. 1915. He Is one OF
the few men who has graduated from
both the Army and Navy advanced
flying schools.
One of the reasons for the public
lack of knowledge of Lieut.. Gardner:
ability is his long service at sea. He
has had seven and one-half years oil
sea duty and formerly was with VT.
5B Fighting Plane Squadron. aircraft
squadrons, Battle Fleet and aboard tht
u. S. s. Lexington. Lieut.. Gardner
was operations officer of this squad
ron when 1t won the "gunnery money
In 1928. He has been stationed al
Anacostia as operations officer since
last Summer.