8 Letters From the Front TELLS REAL THRILLERS OF AVIATION SCHOOLS Through tlio courtesy of Mrs. C. B. Shaffer, of Harrlsbure, tlio Tele graph is enabled to print another splendid narrative, written In let ters to his mother, from Walter J. Shaffer, n full-fledged filer, whoso skill In description la only equaled by his undaunted spirit. The letter is dated from Pau, France, but the identical spot of the big training camp Is not mentioned, Tlio most listless patriot will thrill with this young man's straightaway account of an American under the training of (hose adept French monlteurs. There are touches in Shaffer's nar rative worthy of a master writer and nothing has been published in this country which tells so specifical ly and yet entertainingly exactly what the novice must go through. Pau, France, Nov. 22, 1917. iJear Mother: This school rushes one along so fast that I cannot keep up with the events In writing, I don't have the time, for so much happens to me in such short periods of time It keeps one guessing how to explain it. This is the only school where ihe monlteurs don't "lay down" on the Job, no doubt because they don't tly with us. I told you 1 tlnlshed the ten-horsepower Nieuports in my last letter and tried vainly to ex plain the beauties of Hying above the clouds and llylng through them to see the sun rise. Becomes ail Alp Acrobat Well, the next day I was sent to the acrobatic class, the most talked of class in the school, Every once in so often some one gets killed in this class, so X approached it with some misgivings. The fait that a Frenchman broke a wing off com ing out of a vrille too quickly the day before did not odd to my cheer fulness. It was still cloudy, the clouds being only 300 meters high. This prevented any acrobatics, be cause all stunts are begun at 1,000 meters at least. So they put us in a dummy machine with controls the same as other planes and taught us the movements that were neces sary to perform the stunts. This illustrated explanation was given to everyone before he was sent up to try it in the windy element. It amused me to find out that the acro bJtic school was considered the high school and that I had been attend ing grammar school for so long, or was it primary? I was quite sure it was the latter when I tried some of those stunts and found out what 1 did not know. But I am away ahead of myself. The machines used for acrobatics are 13-m. Nieu- Millions Use It For Colds Because ''Pape's Cold Compound" relieves cold or grippe misery in a few hours—Really wonderful! _ Don t stay stuffed-up! sick headache, dullness, feverishness Quit blowing and snuffing! A dose sore throat, sneezing, soreness and nf "Pape's Cold Compound" taken stiffness every two hours until three doses are "Pape's Cold Compound" Is the taken will end grippe misery and qvickest. surest relief known and break up a sev ere cold either in the cost* only a few cents at drug stores head, chest, body or limbs. It acts without assistance, tastes nice' i promptly opens clogged-up nos- and causes no inconvenience. Dota t mis and nir passages; stops nast;' accept a substitute. Insist on [iischarge or nose running: relieves "Pape's"—nothing else. I An After-Christmas jji | Sale ol Odds & Ends jj j of Good Furniture 1 P§> * 11, In order to effect a quick clean-up of all || p Odds and Ends remaining after the heavy p m_ holiday selling, we have made a drastic price §j H cut on a number of articles. K 1 Many of these are floor samples and cannot gl g: he duplicated. We list but a few of the many items offered H I One-Half Price | 1 only. Mahogany Serv- 1 only, Fumed Oak Desk H ing Table, Chippendale de- Limbert Make, regularly = |j| svr!*". y $12.50 SB.OO fj 1 only; Inlaid Mahogany 1 only. Queen Anne Fire- Folding Table Tray, regu- side Chair, reg- tfi 17 = g| larly $25.00, $12,50 • U,aHy ,35> at H ifel , , 1 only, Inlaid Mahogany 1 only. Inlaid Mahogany Folding Top Table; regu- £= l&£ Sideboard, Sheraton style; larly $35.00, 3 bunch, because spades and diamonds were much in evidence in the de signing. One was all dolled up in the Italian colors, while another drew my eye by its checkerboard and plaid effect of red, white, black and green. The Turkish emblem was beautifully represented by a white crescent and star on a sky blue background. You cannot real ize what a pretty effect this made. But these machines which were such works 9f art 1 soon discovered wore not given to pupils to experiment with. Probably considered them too beautiful to have smeared over the landscape, and 1 can't say 1 blame them, because they were too beauti ful to bust. I know 1 had tho but terfly one all picked out, but I soon discovered I had no preference, as I had had in the "vol de groupe" class. It looked for some time as if 1 would get one of the old "war horses," which they called "petite pois" (small peas), due to its having white dots on a black background all over it. It sure was a Sam Hill of a looking bus, reminding me of Sarah's sunbonnet, or was it Maud Miller's? The moniteurs finally tired of waiting for the clouds to clear off and decided on a new stunt. Above tho Clouds They wished to send the pupil through the clouds, have him do his vrille above tho clouds, and send a moniteur up to watch him. This was a decidedly dangerous stunt, as everyone realized, for a vrille is sim ply a machine falling out of control, spinning like a top, and if one did not come out of his vrille before he hit the clouds things might go bad (With him. And It w;.s Just this very j thing that happened, for a Frenchr I man went aloft, went into his vrille, i went through tho clouds still spin ning nnd never did come out until ' he came to twenty-five meters from the ground. Naturally, he pulled on I the stick, because he was In a | straight noee dive. There was a I stone wall in front of him two feet thick ,and you will get an idea of j his tremendous speed when I tell | you he smashed tho wall fiat. The | strange part of It was the machine i was smashed (o splinters and the pilot not even scratched. I _ Yankee Fliers Are Game It's saying a lot for the Ameri cans that when tlie moniteurs called | I for volunteers to do their vrilles above the clouds they were the tlrst ones to ask for the chance. I'll hand it to (ho Frenchmen, though, for they were right with us on the vol unteer stuff. They like the Amer- j leans because they will try anything I once, if they never do it again, so i they gave an American tho first j crack at it, but I was not the lucky j one. A Frenchman came next and ] he came otit all right. Gee whiz! I had Just about given up hope of getting a chance, because my name was cloar on the end of the list. Sure enough, the whole morning passed nd I sat and watched others tumbling around and out of the clouds while I did nothing. Of course, I was learning from watch ing the others' mistakes, but I was anxious to have a try at it, even if I was Just feeling at home sitting around taking in the sights. They were many, 1 assure you, for some thing was happening every second. It sure was the original rubberneck class, for it was always a question what a student would fall into wlitn _he tried his stunt. There are only three principal acrobatic stunts which they require of one, and they are the vrille, retournement and vertical virage. One Is sent tip to do them in the order named. It shows how well they understand this game that the vrille is given us ! first, because that is the usual thing 'one falls into when he first tries the retournement, which is by fai the hardest. These last two stunts don't require so much altitude, so, while we newcomers were doing vrilles above tl>e clouds the more advanced students were trying re tournements and vertical virages un der the clouds. . A Complicated Stunt Before I go any further, I better explain a retournement. The idea is to come out of it in the direction op posite from which you went in, doubling on one's tracks, so to speak. It is done by diving a little to gain speed, pulling up to a forty-degree angle, then kick the foot far oyer on tho side which you wish to turn, that twists you over on your back. Then one is supposed to shut off his motor, bring the feet back to eerier and pull back on the stick. Sounds complicated, don't'it? If it sounds that way here, imagine we poor, ig norant boobs trying to do all these things at the right time, going around 120 miles an hour. I assure you one gets all balled up and conies out every which way. Fainted in the Clouds That afternoon tho Frenchman that I told you about in the above who came out at twenty-five meters much against the wall —and his wishes, the clouds were very low when he went up about 200 meters, and foggy the rest of the way. lie soon disappeared in the clouds with the moniteurs and twenty minutes later the moniteur landed with the information that the Frenchman had gone into his vrille, made fourteen turns and went into the clouds si 111 turning. A little later one of the mechanics heard a crash and main tained he had seen a machine off to tho left immediately before the crash. So the moniteur sailed up again in the direction of tho sup posed smash, and while he was out hunting for our unlucky comrade, who we were lamenting as lost and remarking what a nice fellow he was, in walks the Frenchman him self with a story of fainting while going through the clouds. They gave him no more training here, but sent him to Avord for training on a different type, plane. That did not hold work up any, though, as that afternoon they were at tho same stunt—vrilling above tho clouds. You remember how 1 compared the scene above tho clouds to a little bit of heaven; no, that don't mem Ireland. Well, I was pretty veil pleased that I was going to get. a chance to begin my "high school" education in such a beautiful place. A Thrilling Ride Sure enough, my turn soon came and they gave mo the Italian plane for the purpose. They sure did strap me in tight. Two big belts were buckled around my chest, one being |so tight that I had to exhale a lot j of wind to enable it to be brought j together. You see how chesty I am getting! Tho way these me > chanics buckle one in is sure amtts i ing. One would think they were ; tieing up a bag of sand the way they handle one while fastening the belts. After they were through I was quite i sure it would take more than a mere stone wall to knock mo loose. Up we went then, headed for a 'iole in the clouds. Must have missel it, ! because I went through quite a lay ' er of clouds before reaching tho :cp layer. Having flown through them for several hmirs the day belore, this bothered me little. I could not i find the moniteur up there, hunt 1 though I did: so, not finding him j anfl reaching 1,800 meters, I .star.ed | the virille, anyway. This was done by shutting off the motor, standing j the plane slowly up on its tail until ,it had lost all its speed and be,ton to wabble chen over went the rud -1 der hdrd, and back came the "stick" in my stomach and then, hovering , there an instant as if considering | whether we- would start anything : or not, over we went nose down and spinning like a top. Spiuiiing in the Clouds Watching the altimeter, 1 !,.t her spin several hundred meters and then attempted to come out, wishing to come out above the clouds, but I over-controlled and instead of stop ping the spin I started to spin the other way. By that time I wa-J in the clouds and, like the Frenchman, still spinning. That didn't worry me much .though, since there was 1,000 meters of space below the clouds, so I looked down at my feet and found they were not straight. That is a very important thing, be cause if the feet are not straight c n the rudder bar, one never will oome out of a vrille. I soon remedied this and immediately I stopped spin ning and started diving head down for the ground. In this way [ came out of the clouds, easing her back slowly, for 1 had no desire to Imi tate a Frenchman who pulled back too quick and broke a wing off. It cost me five francs to help bury him, and I didn't want to cause anybody to go in deht for me as I had f*r him. Now For the llrtotii'iicniciit The lieutenant in charge asked me smilingly, if I was tired and look ed closely for signs of sickness, for this causes many men to vomit. With a laugh I told him I felt great and when did I get a chance at the next stunt? That tickled him and his esteem for the Americans went up another notch. So he put mo in the "dummy" plane again, and explained the movements for tho "retournement." It was very simple so he said—only seven distinct, move ments. It took me some little time to get it even in the dummy, and then was sent aloft to have a try at BAIUUSBURG TELBGKSPH • It In the air. He pointed out a pret ty machine, all (lolled up with the , ace of spades on a pink background, but at tne last minute gave ihe an other "ace/* old, dirty and ugly and the motor worked rotten too, but I kept on cllntblng up, and reaching [ the clouds at 700 meters came down | 50 meters, no 1 would bo In plain view of the official critics, B'or once I was the Whole cheese I I was it with a big II And I am sure i I performed quite well, going through nearly evolution but tho| I one- X was trying. I got the first | three moves just right and- then | things happened so suddenly I | didn't know where In Sam Hill 1 ! was. The next thing X knew X was !in a vrille. Came out quickly and I tried tho retournement again. For | one hour I flew around that field I trying that doggone stunt, falling I into six vrilles, two side slips, three i barrel roils, and a number of other ! positions I don't know the names of, : and probably the moniteur didn't j ' either. I fear I forgot my religious I i training, for trying one thing and i j falling into another sure made me! i mad, and one isn't in a mood for j j praying In that frame of mind, I Funny In the Stomach Finally, I had to admit I was 1 stuck and beginning t6 feel funny in! the stomach from my many different I positions. I came down thoroughly disgusted with myself for feeling ■ sick and being too thick to get thej hang of the thing. I imagine my i surprise on coming up to tho lieu-; tenant, expecting a balling out as a! bonehead, to hear him say "tresi bien." I had actually did several of; them right so he said, and I did notj know it. I must have tried 20 times. I got "balled out" too, but not in! the way I expected. "What in H—— did you want to stay up all day for said he, "They were "tres bien" and six were enough. I want to finish you tonight—Hurry up, get in the dumitiy and learn the vertical vir age." I soon got that, having tried it while Hying "Vol de Groupe." 1! obeyed orders this time and only did; a few of these but 1 knew I had some of them right. A vertical vir ago is a sharp turn done by banking the plane right upi to the limit. Bed time, tell more later. Airmen Kougli Jokers Yes, indeed, that acrobatic class] sure was the most interesting and amusing. Honestly, those Monlteurs would laugh if a fellow killed him self. When that Frenchman came walking in the gate with only a bump on the head, from knocking over a stone wall with the plane, not the head, it was the biggest jone of the day. For a man to get sick and vomit, that was the prime joke of all, for he sure didn't get much sym pathy. They even had a good laugh at me for shedding one of my coats when I went up for the "ver tical virage." I was warm, believe me, for 1 had tried so hard to do that retournement that I was sweat ing when I came down. No, it wasn't cold sweat, thank you. 1 wouldn't admit it to the lieutenant that I was feeling groggy after my try at the retournement. I was that, hut I went up for the vertical virage just the same. Merit Has Its lie ward I really believe these critics con sider one good if they see him try hard, and I sure did that. The mechanics are as interested in wa pilots as the Monlteurs, and no one feels prouder of a pilot than a mechanic who sees him make a good landing, "catch" his engine and roll back to the starting point in n straight line. This rolling, or tax ing, along the ground takes a nice sense of collaboration of speed, dis tance and the feel of your plane, for plane on the ground is a most wobT>ly bird anc' is given to all the queer quirks and twists of a woman's mind. They also keep a book which every pilot signs, with any remarks he may think of at the time—also five franca for the privilege. There are some famous flyers' names in scribed in that book, and many Americans among them. Some of the remarks are very clever, one reading. "Falling down from Heav en to Hell will never worry me at all." Another who realized the chances he had just taken came across with this gem: "By the Grace of God we still have with us, James H. Parker." One that may appeal to those who look on the wine when it is red, runs like this? "All the sensations of the 'night before' with none of the after effects." The last sure is aptly put judging from my observations of the revelers. Sorry I would not read the many French men's attempts. Some were quite artistic, going in for poems illus trated prose and what not. A French Air Wonder The Moniteur in charge was cer tainly a wonderful man with a well developed sense of humor. Some one said he was so blind he could not see a brick wall two feet in front of him, a stary that was soon disproved when he went aloft in the plane with the black sats painted on it and put the black cat through every known evolution, bringing her down right side up every time. See ing three of us holding down a bench, watching him with open mouthed wonder, he suddenly head ed straight down for us and like to upset the bench, so close he came. That was his morning exercise. Af ter that he affixed his miscroscopic monocle to his eye, leaned back in his comfortable rocking chair and sent us up to perform. landing Without Engine It rained the next day, so yester- j day we were sent to "Vol de Preci-1 slon," a class to teach a pilot how to land on a designated spot without using his engine. Wo had to wait two days for this stunt, as the clouds persisted in sticking close to the ground. Finally, they raised high enough to allow us to climb up 1,000 meters. Wo were told to go up to this height, cm our motor dead and come down In anyway we pleased, hut land between a rdad and a white line drawn across the Held. There was a wnite circle near tho white line. We were supposed to land so as to stop in this circle. To make the game more interesting they told us to imagine that there was a row of trees along the road, and the white line was a cliff. So you see how necessary it was to stop before coming to the white line. It ure was great sport, though, and I was anxious to try It. Soon-1 had a chance, and getting up to the 1000 meters, shut off power, went into a tight spiral until I reached 300 meters and then came circling slow ly—for a Nleuport—down, calculat ing my distance as I came. Nearly hit the circle, too, stopping six feet from it. Anyway, I had not gone over the cliff—and it even tickled the mechanics, who came running out to crank my propeller, and cry ing "ties bien" as they came. It sure makes a fellow feel good when' two Monlteurs congratulate one. Making Figure Eights The next try, (one gets two), I, seeing I was going to overshoot road, circle and cliff, I began making fig ure eights which kills both speed and distance, and overshot-the circle] by some 15 feet. Nearly went over the cliff that time, because the circle Rely On Cuiicura For Skin Troubles Soap 2Sc. Ointm.nt 25 and BOc. was mighty near the chalk line. But this (light tickled the Monlteurs and mechanics even more, because of the steep banks necessary to make tho figure eights near the ground. Whilo waiting for the mechanics to crank my motor for the third stunt, I hap pened to look around Just In time to see a pilot smash up, trying the same stunt. As It was, he just IB Men's Shoes 7>' La dies'Uici Kid Shoes Jj fi Men's W. 1,. 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Getting Iti stopped dead was quite a Job in It self, since one had to Hold his plane level (with no ensino. <>l couiae), slowly turning to the right. Propel lor turns to the left you know, so to stop it. one would do it quicker by turnlht; to the right, just a bit. Nearly wont into a "vrille" stopping that doggone propellor, for the plane sure did. get wobbly as sbe lo*t speed, but the propellor finally stopped, and then it was a steen peak—stood her right on her nosd —with a little turn to the left, and I soon had it gninir again. Did not run* over tne "cliff" either, just a little past the circle again* (Lights too bad to write more.) WALTER.