THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



91 



can, and who will remain in the rouleur 

 for some time yet. They've no grudge 

 against me, however, as it was only a 

 streak of luck on my part. 



Later in the morning I had some sor- 

 ties in the decolleur and got up 2 or 3 

 meters. The wind was too strong, so my 

 trips were a bit rough, but nothing was 

 damaged ; so hurrah for Friday, the 

 thirteenth. 



RAPID ADVANCEMENT AT THE FRENCH 

 SCHOOL 



July 17, 191 7. 



The work has been going very well 

 since last I wrote you, which was only 

 two or three days ago. I told you about 

 at last leaving the blessed rouleur; I 

 never was so relieved in my life. 



The first evening in the decollet class 

 I was requisitioned to turn tails, and the 

 morning after there was too much wind 

 to work. The decollet is the one where 

 you go up 2 or 3 meters and settle down 

 by cutting speed. The first time I had 

 three sorties in the wind, bounced around 

 a lot, but did no damage. 



The next time was first thing in the 

 morning. Two meters up on the first — 

 four or five on the fifth — strictly against 

 orders. I even had to pique — point the 

 machine toward the ground — a little, 

 which is not at all comme il faut in the 

 decollet. If I had smashed while doing 

 more than I was told to, there would have 

 been a lot of trouble ; as it was, no objec- 

 tion, and the monitor personally con- 

 ducted me to the pique class with a very 

 nice recommendation. 



Now there are two pique classes : one 

 with a piste, about one-fourth of a mile 

 long, in which one is supposed to do little 

 more than decollet, get up about 5 meters 

 and pique a tout petit peu — hardly at all. 

 After comes the advanced pique, with a 

 much longer piste, on which one can get 

 up 100 meters (300 feet). 



On my first sortie in the pique, I was 

 told to roll on the ground all the way ; so, 

 continuing my policy, did a low decollet. 

 Next I was supposed to do a 2-meter 

 decollet, so went up ten and piqued. Had 

 ten sorties in that class one morning, 

 getting as high as I could — about 20 me- 

 ters — and went to the advanced pique 



that night — last night. Four sorties there 

 last night with a machine with a poor 

 motor, so didn't get up over 100 feet. 



And this morning I did my first real 

 aviating. There was a bit of a wind 

 blowing, so the monitor, Mr. Moses, only 

 let a lieutenant and me go up, as we had 

 gone better than the others last night. 

 First it was a bit rainy and always bumpy 

 as the deuce — air puffs and pockets which 

 require the entire corrective force of the 

 wing warp and rudder to overcome. 



My last sortie was decidedly active. 

 The wind had developed into a bit of a 

 breeze, which is to a Bleriot like a rough 

 sea to a rowboat. Two or three times I 

 got a puff that tipped the machine way 

 over — put the controls over as far as I 

 could and waited. It seemed a minute 

 before she straightened. The trouble was 

 that the machine was climbing and there- 

 fore not going very fast. If I had piqued, 

 it would have corrected quicker. 



ADVANTAGES OF THE BLERIOT TRAINING 



I had no trouble at all in making the 

 landing. Hopping out of the machine, I 

 saw the head monitor rushing over to Mr. 

 Moses on the double, shouting volubly in 

 French and berating him severely. I 

 gathered that he had been watching my 

 maneuvers, expecting something to fall 

 every instant, and that he strenuously ob- 

 jected to Moses' letting me go up. Work 

 stopped there for the morning, and it was 

 very fully explained to me what the trou- 

 ble was. If I have some sorties there to- 

 night, I go to tour du piste (flying field) 

 in, the morning. I may be on Nieuport in 

 two weeks. 



I am now beginning to see the advan- 

 tages of the Bleriot training. There is a 

 great deal of preliminary work on or near 

 the ground. In all other aviation train- 

 ing, such as at Newport News, 90 per 

 cent of the work is in making landings — 

 in piqueing down, redressing at the 

 proper moment and making gradual con- 

 nections with the earth. 



I haven't made a really bad landing yet, 

 and the reason is that I have been in a 

 machine so much on and near the ground 

 that I have sort of developed a sense or 

 feel of it, and almost automatically re- 

 dress correctly and settle easily; also I 



