ON FIRE IN THE AIR

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 281, 16 August 1918, Page 5

ON FIRE IN THE AIR

ORDEAL FOR WITS AND NERVE A FLIGHT WITH DEATH Fire in an aeroplane may bo caused through various reasons. 'The pilot may accidentally push open the extra air when flying at low "altitude. _ A weak mixture, ami.seizure of tho engine sometimes ends by . catching tire. Although cases of fire in tho air are much less numerous 'than in previous years, there still uro ■ occasional ones. Some machines have asbestos fire-screens, fitted between the engino and pilot; but theso merely keop tho flnmes away from the pilot for a time, so that ho has more chance oT geiling the machine safely to tho ground i? he is flying low, without burning himself; but tho machino is usually lost. '. ■ . The pilot may be flying calmly along at 3000 ft., on a perfectly 'calm day. Suddenly ho is startled by the popping back of tho engine, and long flames shoot back along tho side of the fuselage. If ho keeps his head tho pilot will immedin/teyl turn off tho petrol, at thn same time opening tho to its full extent, so that all the spare v petrol in the carburettor will be tucked up. Sometimes the tire can then be extinguished by div-' Ing the machine, as burning fabric aiono can usually be blown out. More often than not this does not happen, and the flames 6till swirl, and swish rou'nd the pilot's ankles, and only his flying boots keep his feet from being badly burnt. There is only one thing thnlt will deflect the-flames, aril:'', that is to sideslip so thnlt tho wind blows thorn up between the wings; also, this is tho quickest method to lose height, Still keeping the machine in a sideslip, the pilot undoes his safety belt, so that if the machine crashes he will be thrown clear, instead of (as would be most likely) being pinned in the wreckage and burnt. The pilot is almost certain •to crash slightly, if not badly, us it is differ, ent from the ordinary ease of a forced landing becauso in a eideslir) there is hardly any forward" speed to the machine and tho pilot has only fields directly under him to land In. , Down, down .comos the machine, side- • slipping to the right and then to tho left,, so that neither wing hns'timo to burn. When at about a hundred feet ho makes for hisi field. It is a feiaH gross field surrounded by low hedges; there is - a larger fiold of plmigli on his left but surrounded by 'trees. The pilot knows the danger of trees and the aptness of plough to turn a. machine "turtle"— the smaller field is tho. better, as one is not likely to get hurt running into a hedge. Tlie pilot takes off some-of the bunk and puts his "nose" down, so that he has more forward speed. 1 Immediately t're flames take a more acute angle towards him; the heat is' terrific, but it is only for a few seconds more if he can hold on. With a 'jerk ho straightens the machine, and flattens out; furiously the flamee flick round his bocfe, causing the leather to blister and the fur on his gloves to singo. ' Ah! At last, with a bump, he lands. It is not a good landing, but who cares? He would not have missed tnat bnmn for the best of landings, as it told him he was on the ground, and that bump was . more relief to the nerves, thnn' any expensivo nerve tonic. But it is not finished yet. , Nearer he gets to tho hedge, and the machine is still doing a gooiV 20 miles per hour whou iiithin 20 yards' of the hedge he kicks on 'the rudder hard, the machine swings- round on its wing tip—the speed was too great for a turn — it hesitates, and then slowly, very slowly, turns on its' nose, and then on its back. Hanging on' with one hand to tho machine, he protects his head with the other, but there is no need as the pilot's seat does not come flush' with 'the ground but is held about three feet off by the top plane. The. pilot drops harmlessly on to the ground, but is away like a rabbit as.fast as he can go, and not too soon, for as he stops and turns about a hundred yards from the machine there is a dull boom.and flames shoot up fifty feet-above the machine as the petrol ' tanks bursts, covering tho ground around with flaming petrol. The pilot turns away and waU,s towards the village to notify, his.squadron of his mishaps, and with luck gets six days' leave.-"B. A. 1.," in the "Daily Mail." i. ' ,