Flying for France : with the American escadrille at Verdun . restored, only to bebroken by a series of rapid explosionsincidental to the trying out of machineguns. You loudly inquire at whataltitude we are to meet above thefield. Fifteen hundred metres—go ahead! comes an answering yell. Essence et gaz! [Oil and gas!] you49 FLYING FOR FRANCE call to your mechanician, adjustingyour gasolene and air throttles whilehe grips the propeller. Contact! he shrieks, and Contact!you reply. You snap on the switch,he spins the propeller, and the motortakes. Drawing forward out of line,you put on full power,
Flying for France : with the American escadrille at Verdun . restored, only to bebroken by a series of rapid explosionsincidental to the trying out of machineguns. You loudly inquire at whataltitude we are to meet above thefield. Fifteen hundred metres—go ahead! comes an answering yell. Essence et gaz! [Oil and gas!] you49 FLYING FOR FRANCE call to your mechanician, adjustingyour gasolene and air throttles whilehe grips the propeller. Contact! he shrieks, and Contact!you reply. You snap on the switch,he spins the propeller, and the motortakes. Drawing forward out of line,you put on full power, race across thegrass and take the air. The grounddrops as the hood slants up beforeyou and you seem to be going moreand more slowly as you rise. At agreat height you hardly realize youare moving. You glance at the clockto note the time of your departure,and at the oil gauge to see its altimeter registers 650 feet. Youturn and look back at the field belowand see others leaving. In three minutes you are at about4,000 feet. You have been making50. TWO MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN ESCADRILLEOf the French Flying Service, who were killed flying for France Upper picture: Norman Prince, of Boston, picture: Victor Chapman, of New York City FLYING FOR FRANCE — i I *«m —1i« ii i ? ? ??? .i inn ? ii ?.>????* wide circles over the field and watch-ing the other machines. At 4,500feet you throttle down and wait onthat level for your companions tocatch up. Soon the escadrille isbunched and off for the lines. Youbegin climbing again, gulping to clearyour ears in the changing the other machines, yourecognize the pilot of each by themarks on its side—or by the way heflies. The distinguishing marks ofthe Nieuports are various and some-times amusing. Bert Hall, for in-stance, has Bert painted on the leftside of his plane and the same wordreversed (as if spelled backward withthe left hand) on the right—so anaviator passing him on that side atg
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectworldwar19141918
