Aircraft pilot

“ The pilot of an avion de chasse must not concern himself with the ground, which to him is useful only for learning his whereabouts. The earth is all-important to the men in the observation, artillery-regulating, and bombardment machines, but the fighting aviator has an entirely different sphere. ”

“ Operational flying duty.— The term `operational flying duty' means flying performed under competent orders by enlisted members of the regular or reserve components while serving in assignments in which basic flying skills are normally maintained in the performance of assigned duties as determined by the Secretary concerned, and flying duty performed by members in training that leads to designation as a remotely piloted aircraft pilot by the Secretary concerned. ”

“ This instinctive control of his machine is absolutely essential for the fighting pilot who must keep his eyes on the movements of his enemy, watch out for possible aircraft guns below, (p. 115) and all the time be striving to get an advantageous position whence he can turn his machine gun loose. A row of gauges, dials, a compass, and a map on the frame of the car in which he sits will engage his attention in any moments of leisure. It is needless to remark that the successful pilot must have a quick eye and steady nerves. ”

“ On a clear night, however, with flambeaux, search-light flares, etc., a pilot has little trouble in landing, for [152] the straightaway can be as illuminated as it is in broad daylight. Nevertheless, when the aircraft is high in the sky, owing to the vast distances of infinite space, the speed at which an aeroplane moves, and the drift out of its regular course, due to the wind, it is often difficult for the flier to keep his bearings. ”

“ Gradually the minutes pass and by a supreme effort he begins to recover his nerve. Suddenly the door opens and a white faced applicant rushes out. The poor would-be aviator regrets his rashness in deciding to learn to pilot one of the big birds of the air. ”

“ A spiral descent is made with the engine cut off, and the pilot should always keep his eyes on the centre of the circle. When the angle becomes too steep, he flattens her out a little so that he does not side-slip or skid, and if the descent is too rapid, he pulls the control lever back slightly. When the bank is too pronounced, the rudder and elevator change functions, and the pilot must bring them back to their proper positions at once. ”

“ However, there are many three-crew aircraft operating in the world today with either flight engineers as pilot or engineer in the third seat who are forward-facing for take-off and landing and who do have assigned duties of monitoring the pilots. ”

“ J. B.'s motor behaved splendidly; I remembered my biograph at every stage of the journey, and we were at home again within three hours. We did our altitude tests and were then no longer élèves-pilotes, but pilotes aviateurs. By reason of this distinction we passed from the rank of soldier of the second class to that of corporal. At the tailor's shop the wings and star insignia were sewn upon our collars and our corporal's stripes upon our sleeves. For we were proud, as every aviator is proud, who reaches the end of his apprenticeship and enters into the dignity of a brevetted military pilot. ”

“ My experience in the French Aviation Service early taught me what a difficult and scientific task it is to pilot an aeroplane. By piloting I mean flying understandingly, skilfully; not merely riding in a machine after a few weeks' training in the hope that a safe landing may be made. In America many aviators holding pilot's licenses are in reality only conductors. ”

“ Our seaplane swung around and around like a bird about to settle, and, as the seagulls do, alighted on the waters against the wind. With remarkable skill and patience the pilot carefully steered the machine until she faced the ways on which waited a throng of air-station officers and waders. Soon we were properly placed, and a dozen men clad in waterproof clothes splashed forward into the water, and caught the floats of the seaplane's wings. As the engine had been stopped before we landed, I got the first chance to speak to my pilot. ”

“ The boy was unusually well-informed about aeronautical matters, but he had never made a flight. His request to go up was acceded to, but the captain did not want to take him, so he asked one of his officers, the best pilot in the escadrille, to take him as a passenger. I suppose that the lieutenant was on his mettle, for before his machine was three hundred feet from the ground he began to do stunts. He was a past master in his art, but a bit too bold. Suddenly his machine slipped off on the wing, and crashed to the ground. Even the best pilot was not immune against fate. ”

“ Some were taught flying by their officers, and later qualified as pilots. Others went through as cadets and became pilots after the regular course. The pilot of the future must learn the mechanical side, and the mechanic should be a good pilot. ”

“ I had first to find a suitable place, then a pilot with such attributes as an aviator and soldier as would enable him to face the many surprises of the undertaking. No type of plane with the propeller in front could be considered, because a landing with such a plane at night is far more difficult, since the pilot cannot see the ground in front of him. ”

“ With tremendous loud claps of thunder,
All things we made fast to stand the sad blast,
The pilot stood close by the helm;
Captain, pilot & mate on their stations wait,
But still the proud waves were a-swelling. ”

“ The propellors were swung vigorously once or twice, then, one after another, the engines broke into their mighty song, and the machines taxied off into the darkness across the aerodrome, and as the joy-stick was pulled over each 'plane sprang into the air, and began its long voyage.
"Good-bye, and good luck!" shouted the C.O. as each man taxied off, and as a parting salute, each pilot raised his gloved hand from the controls for an instant. ”

“ The air of this early dawn is distinctly chilly, and the A.M.'s are beginning to stamp their cold feet upon the dewy grass, but very careful and circumspect is the Pilot, as he mutters to himself, "Don't worry and flurry, or you'll die in a hurry." ”

“ The one who draws the paper with the X on it will be the pilot of the first plane. Now, to make sure the flight will go off smoothly, so that there'll be no possible chance of friction, the man who draws the marked slip can choose the chap he would like to have along as his observer. Of course you are all pilots, so if anything happens to the lad at the controls the other chap can take over at once. ”

“ The process of training a man to be a pilot aviator naturally varies in accordance with the type of machine on which he takes his first instruction, and so the methods of the various schools depend on the apparatus upon which they teach an élève pilote--as an embryonic aviator is called--to fly.
In the case of the larger biplanes, a student goes up in a dual-control airplane, accompanied by an old pilot, who, after first taking him on many short trips, then allows him part, and later full, control, and who immediately corrects any false moves made by him. ”

“ All this time the Pilot is carefully buckling his belt and making himself perfectly easy and comfortable, as all good pilots do. As he straightens himself up from a careful [30] inspection of the Deviation Curve10 of the Compass and takes command of the Controls, the Throttle and the Ignition, the voices grow fainter and fainter until there is nothing but a trembling of the Lift and Drift wires to indicate to his understanding eye their state of tension in expectancy of the Great Test. ”

“ It set me to thinking of a conversation I had had with an old French pilot, several months before. It came apropos of [111] nothing. Perhaps he thought that I was sizing him up, wondering how he could be content with an instructor's job while the war is in progress. He said: “I've had five hundred hours over the lines. You don't know what that means, not yet. I'm no good any more. It's strain. Let me give you some advice. Save your nervous energy. You will need all you have and more. Above everything else, don't think at the front. The best pilot is the best machine.” ”

“ At the front and just beneath the wings, as you see, is the engine and propeller. This particular type of plane, and in fact the majority, are drawn and not pushed through the air. The pilot is seated in the cockpit immediately behind the motor. Two rudders and two ailerons are placed at the rear of the fuselage. The former, vertical, and used for steering the plane horizontally, are operated by a cross-piece of wood upon which the pilot rests his feet. The ailerons are horizontal, connected with a control stick by means of wires, and, of course, tilt the plane either up or down. ”

“ For a moment after the pilot turns over the controls the plane keeps on a straight course, then the nose begins to lose its normal position on the horizon, a wing dips down, and a blast of air rushes in from one side of the cockpit. ”

“ The handicap was not a serious one, and I think I may truthfully say that we kept pace with our French comrades. The most important thing was to gain actual flying experience, and as much of it as possible. Only in this way can one acquire a sensitive ear for motors, and an accurate sense of flying speed: the feel of one's machine in the air. These are of the greatest importance. Once the pilot has developed this airman's sixth sense, he need not, and never does, worry about the scantiness of his knowledge of the theory of flight. ”

“ Thus we find that in aviation man has designed the propeller, which, by its rapid revolutions derived from the motive power of the aerial engine, cuts a spiral pathway through the air and drives the light craft rapidly forward. The chief use of the planes is for support to the machine, and the chief duty of the pilot is to balance and steer the craft by the manipulation of the rudder, elevation and warping controls. ”

“ Regular air service, in either the Navy or Army, is reckoned more exacting than ordinary flying, and for the reason that—say when upon manœuvres or special tests—the pilot of war-craft may have to make long flights in treacherous, blustering winds. ”

“ A pilot sees better than a stranger, because his local knowledge, like a sharper vision, completes the shapes of things hurriedly glimpsed; penetrates the veils of mist spread over the land by the storms of the sea; defines with certitude the outlines of a coast lying under the pall of fog, the forms of landmarks half buried in a starless night as in a shallow grave. ”

“ Lieutenant Moppa called attention to the fact that the craft had also been fitted with floats, “which about provides for every emergency,” he concluded.
“Think of an aeroplane pilot working behind glass windows; he will feel as stuck up as a chauffeur in a first-class automobile.”
“And as high-toned as the steersman of an ocean liner, pard,” said Henri, adding to Billy’s comparison. ”

“ Watch the successful model as it gains its altitude, settles down to a horizontal flight, is perhaps knocked off its course by a cross current, and steadies itself with a graceful curve and proceeds on its way.
All these problems must be anticipated. The young aviator must ingeniously arrange his planes and ballast in advance. The regular sky pilot, on the other hand, meets the problems of the air as he encounters them, by flexing his wings against disturbing currents or by banking to maintain an even keel at a turn. ”

“ After a careful look around to see that no other planes are landing, taking off, or in the air near by, the pilot opens out the engine, the roar increases its pitch, the plane moves slowly along the ground, gathers speed and rises smoothly into the air. ”

“ All flight and engine controls are conveniently placed around the cockpit within easy reach of the pilot. The pilot sitting normally in the cockpit can reach every control necessary to operate the airplane and fire the guns. ”

“ An airplane pilot may experience difficulty with the flying qualities of his machine. Consequently he should know something about the conditions which are responsible for the various kinds of unsatisfactory flying qualities which are more or less characteristic of airplanes. ”

“ So he simply rises a little higher and calmly continues his big circles over the German position.
I take off my hat to these brave men, the aeroplane pilots. They are willing to chance their luck. What matters it if their machine gets hit, if the planes are riddled with holes? It will still fly, even if the engine gets a fatal wound and stops.
The pilot, if he is high enough, can still glide to safety in his own lines. But (and it is a big "but") should a shrapnel ball find its billet in the pilot—well, one has only to die once, and it is a quick and sure death to fall with one's machine. ”

“ Pilots should be a happy as well as a useful class of men. When a ship arrives at the entrance of a harbor, after a long passage, the sight of a pilot carries joy to every heart. He appears truly in the guise of "a guide, philosopher, and friend," is warmly welcomed, and treated with kindness and hospitality. ”

“ The only training necessary for the pilot is to fly as often as possible on the type of bus he will use in France, and to benefit by the [Pg 7] experience of the flight-commanders, who as a rule have spent a hundred or two hours over Archie and the enemy lines. As regards the mechanics, the quality of their skilled work is tempered by the technical sergeant-major, who knows most things about an aeroplane, and the quality of their behaviour by the disciplinary sergeant-major, usually an ex-regular with a lively talent for blasting. ”