The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-04-19
HAL
BOYLE
SAYS
BY SAUL PETIT
Enr Hal 8nNIAl

y
OTIS AIR BASE, Cape Cod,
Mass. Rs-Off hand, I'd say I'm
as brave as the next man, if the
next man happens to be coward.
recently had occasions to 60
up in a jet fighter plane. Many
people have flown in these 600
mile an hour jobs. But Ill bet
none came as close as ! did to
backing out BEFORE takeoff.
A nice young officer, whose Sc
renity ! learned to detest, helped
me into my equipment.
There's really nothing TO il, |"
said 1t. Lou Cilento, Denver. Colo.
Smoother than your car. =
He tipped me into a flying suit
which, was assured, had built-in
compartments that would automat-
ically initiate against sudden pulls
in gravity. Lou also helped me
into:
A helmet. bigger but lighter than
. football helmet: an oxygen
mask; q bail-out bottle Gin case
you need oxygen if you jump;
a 28-foot parachute with folded
up rubber dinghy attached; Mae
West Life preserver 1.-THE pack,
you know, is sharkpresistant");
heavy gloves, and q signal mirror,
flashlight and whistle lin case !
landed in the ocean in the dark
or fog and needed to attract at
tention).
There's knife in the cockpit
| of the plane which you use to
puncture the dinghy if it initiates
accidentally" Lou said.
He and another man then put
me into the rear cockpit Of O.
scatter F-94 jet. With all those
gadgets, ! couldn't get in myself.
With help, / was pushed in back
wards and then sideways. It's
| really . very unglamourous way
Of taking off for the wild blue
yonder.
/ had to sit with my knees bent
and my head leaning down slightly
because Of the low, transparent
canopy.
Nov look" Lou said when
was all connected, There's moth
ing to worry about. But if some
thing should go wrong, remember
the first thing is to keep calm. 7
I asked him to rush on to thu
next thing. me first advice was
completely useless.
IF the pilot gives you the order
to jump" Lou said, You pull up
these seat handles first. That
makes ready a 20 nm. charge
under your seat"
Where, where?"
Lou put my quivering hands on
the seat handles.
.Oh, yes. if the pilot can't open
the canopy, you pull this gear
here. As soon as ii opens, squeeze
this trigger on the arm OF the seat.
Do II quickly. The winG win be
terrific"
Where, Where, Where?"
Fright here. That win explode
the charge and shoot you out Of
the plane. Now, you'll find your
self 10 or so feet in the air above
where the plane is. or was. You'll
still be in a sitting position, with
the seat strapped to you. Remem.
Der. be calm. Then unlock the
seat belt.
/ felt frantically for the hook.
Lou found il for me around my
waist, under some other gadgefs.
after you unlock the seat belt. "
he continued, ''straighten up in the
air, arch your back a little like
for a swan dive. Wait a few sec
ends and then pull the chute cord.
Where. where. where, wheref'
fright here. Pull me Ifpcord
all the way out. arms length. Stay
relaxed. Keep your feet together,
try 10 land or your toes ard keep
your legs flexible. II yoa land In
! water, pull these two small cords
down to initiate tire Mise West.
Where, where, where, where.
where."
Lou showed me. Then We vent
over the various steps four times.
I'm . stirkier for detail.
Finally, sha pilot, Maj A. J.
Cnlemsn. Newark. n. r.. climbed
IN. and we took off. The fzighi
vas comfortable and uneysnkfssl.
Actually. I didn't see much, ] spent
most CT my sine mencrszang and
che<king al the gadgets ! Esigni
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