"You bet--" agreed Bill. "But I'll smell brimstone when your father
comes into the picture, if we don't shove off pronto for New Canaan."
"Oh, that's just like a boy--" she pouted.
"Shush! student--Listen to your master's--I mean,--your instructor's
voice, will you?"
"Instructor's better," she smiled.
"Here beginneth your first lesson." Bill slid into the pilot's seat.
"Stand just behind me and hold on to the back of my seat," he ordered.
Dorothy promptly did as she was told. After all, was not this the real
Bill Bolton the famous ace and midshipman she had read about?
"All set?"
"Aye, aye, sir."
"Good enough! Here we go then. I'll explain every move I make, as I make
it. Look and listen! First--I crack the throttle--in other words, before
starting the engine, set your throttle in its quadrant slightly forward
of the fully closed position. Next, I 'contact'--that's air parlance for
'ignition switch on.' After that, I press the inertia starter to swing
our propeller into motion--" the engine sputtered, then roared.
"It is most important," he went on a moment later, "to see that the way
ahead and above is clear at this point. Safety first is the slogan of
good flying."
"Yes. But really, Bill, you don't have to explain every thing you do.
I'm watching closely. When I don't understand, I'll ask--if it's all the
same to you?"
"Good girl. Don't hesitate to ask me, though."
"I won't."
With that she saw him widen the throttle and with his stick held well
back of neutral to prevent the nose dipping under the waves, he sent the
big seaplane hurtling through the water toward the inlet's mouth. The
wind had changed since the storm and now, as they raced into the teeth
of the light breeze, Dorothy tingled with that excitement which comes to
every novice with the take off.
Six or eight seconds after opening the throttle, she saw him push the
stick all the way forward.
"Why do you do that? Won't that raise the tail of the plane and depress
the nose?"
Bill shook his head. "In the air--yes. But we're moving at some speed
now on the surface--and the bow cannot be pushed down into the water.
Our speed is gradually forcing it up until--now--we're skimming along on
the step, you see."
Dorothy nodded to herself and watched him ease the stick back to neutral
and maintain it there while they gathered more and more speed.
"Now I'm going to talk some more," said Bill. "Don't blame me if it
sounds like a text book.--In order to fly, certain things must be
learned--and remembered. Do not take off until you have attained speed
adequate to give complete control when in the air. Any attempt to pull
it off prematurely will result in a take off at the stalling point,
where control is uncertain. Understand?"
"I think so--but how does one know when to do it?"
"That comes with practice--and the feel of the ship. As flying speed is
gained, I give a momentary pressure on the elevators (like this)--and
break the hull out of the water--so--easing the pressure immediately
after the instant of take off. Now that we are in the air our speed is
only slightly above minimum flying speed. Any decrease in this would
result in a stall. That is why I keep the nose level for six or seven
seconds in order to attain a safe margin above stalling point before
beginning to climb."
"There's certainly a lot more to it than I ever dreamed!"
"You bet there is. I haven't told you the half of it yet. One thing I
forgot to say--you must always hold a straight course while taxiing
before the take off. Also, never allow a wing to drop while your plane
is on the step.--We've got enough speed on now, so I'll pull back the
stick and let the plane climb for a bit."
"But you're heading for the Long Island Shore directly away from New
Canaan--" she protested, "why don't you bring her about--not that I'm in
any hurry, but--"
"This is an airplane, not a sailboat, Dorothy. All turns must be made
with a level nose. If I should try to turn while in a climb like this, a
stall would probably result, and with the wing down the plane would most
likely go into a spin and--"
"We'd crash!"
"Surest thing you know!"
"_Oh!_"
"But the altimeter on the dash says one thousand feet now. We're high
enough for our purpose. So I push the stick forward, like this--until
the nose is level--so! Now, as I want to make a right turn, I apply
right aileron and simultaneously increase right rudder considerably."
Dorothy saw one wing go up and the other go down. She was hardly able to
keep her feet as the plane's nose swung round toward the Connecticut
shore.
"Isn't that called banking?"
"Right on the first count," replied Bill.
"Why do you do it?"
"Because in making a turn, the momentum of the plane sets up a
centrifugal force, acting horizontally outward. To counteract this, the
force of lift must be inclined until it has a horizontal component equal
to the centrifugal force. The machine is therefore tilted to one side,
or banked, thus maintaining a state of equilibrium in which it will turn
steadily. No turn can be made by the use of the rudder alone. The plane
must be banked with ailerons before the rudder will have any turning
effect.--Get me?"
"I get the last part. Guess I'll have to do some studying."
"Everybody has to do that. But I'll lend you some books, so you can bone
up on the theory of flight. What I said just now amounts to this: if you
don't bank enough you send your plane into a skid."
"Just like an automobile skids?"
"Yes. But of course the danger doesn't lie in hitting anything as in a
car. A skidding plane loses her flying speed forward and drops into a
spin. On the other hand, if you bank her too sharply, you go into a
sideslip!"
"And the result in both cases is a crash?"
"Generally. But I think you've had enough instruction for today."
"Oh--but I want to know how you ended that turn. We're flying straight
again now--and I was so interested in what you were saying, I forgot to
watch what you did!"
"Well, after I had banked her sufficiently, I checked the wings with the
ailerons and at the same time eased the pressure on the rudder. Then I
maintained a constant bank and a constant pressure on the rudder pedal
throughout the turn. To resume straight flight, I simply applied left
aileron and left rudder: and when the wings were level again, I
neutralized the ailerons and applied a normal amount of right rudder."
"My goodness!" exclaimed Dorothy--"and that is only one of the things I
have to learn. I thought that flying a plane wouldn't be much more
complicated than driving a car."
"Oh, it's simple enough--only you have to balance a plane, as well as
drive it."
"Do you think I'll ever learn?"
"Of course you will. It takes time and practice--that's all."
"I wonder how birds learn to fly?" Dorothy glanced down at the wide
vista of rolling country over which they were traveling. The dark green
of the wooded hills, the lighter green of fields, criss-crossed by
winding roads and dotted with houses, all in miniature, seemed like
viewing a toy world. And here and there, just below them, there was the
occasional flash of feathered wings, as the birds darted in and out
among the treetops.
"Birds have to learn to fly, too. They get into trouble sometimes."
"They do?"
"Certainly--watch gulls on a windy day--you'll see them sideslip--go
into spins--and have a generally hard time of it!"
"Oh, really? I'd never thought of that. But of course they can fly much
better than a plane."
Bill shook his head. "That's where you are wrong. No bird can loop, or
fly upside down. Reverse control flying and acrobatics--stunting
generally is impossible for them.--But look below! Recognize the
scenery?"
"Why, we're almost over New Canaan. There are the white spires of the
Episcopal and Congregational churches--and there's Main Street--and the
railroad station!"
"And over on that ridge is your house--and mine across the way," he
added. "Well, here's where I nose her over. Hold tight--we're going
down."
_Chapter V_