The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, June 28, 1930, Page 12

q i 4 4 OU, SUMMA, TRAM ACNE TESCO UC — a = POO CRASH is a serious thing to an airplane pilot. A succession of them reacts against his record. I've had 34 crashes to date. You'd think, offhand, that I was a pretty ter- tible pilot. But don’t be hasty. ere is a slight difference between my crashes and those in commer- cial aviation. All of mine have been done intentionally. All have been photographed for motion pictures, ly profession—or trade, if you prefer—is that of a stunt man for the movies, and crashing up airplanes is my specialty. I drifted to Hollywood after the war, and more. or less accidentally fell into stunting. I was an assistant property man, and on the lot one day a stunt man lost his nerve and refused to make a 40-foot dive into a net. I vol- unteered, and the director seemed Pleased with the result, for then and there I became a “stunt man.” That first year I got more than 100 stunts to do, and only smashed two ribs, which was remarkably lucky. Many of the wise ones who look at movie stunts on the screen and laugh them off as faked are in the same class with the fellow who, watches a magician’s most complicated illu- sion_and says, “Aw, he had it up his sleeve!” ‘The movie stunts are real, most of them, and that is wh bei men are employed. A director wouldn't dare to as ly-priced actor to jump from a moving train or crack ie an airplane, even if the actor. knew how. He would be too valuable to risk. a And don’t think the risk isn’t a real one, even to a trained stunt man. Last year 16 men were killed on Hollywood lots, nine were permanently injured, and 1272 men and women were hurt badly enough to require a physician's ai- tention. ‘The tisk in the thrill stunts of the screen is very real even to trained stunt men, a you can see why the directors don’t want to risk their high-priced actors. The risk would be even greater for thers becaues they don’t know how to stunt. FTER that first high dive, I trained and practiced. Hs Rave by veteran stunt men how to handle mi in the air. I went through all the as that fal to the _ MO Hollywood stunt lessee from speeding autos, wrecking autos, m plane to plane, from Lifes to auto or motorboat, iades off cliffs, and dozens of But gradually I turned more and more to plane stunting, particularly nla See My experience as an aviator over- seas durit war, I led me to turn to this. As e “a ff found that J seldom lacked work in making crashes the 34 ary I have made up to this ay i expect to add between five and ten more this slieg see no bee aed I should not reach 50 before I lene ra bese, believe I have vig crack- T have confidence in my Tie to smash a ship on an sesh spot in a restricted territory. Esteteess teaches me what to do to be able to - wilbanay! away from the wreck. unds simple, and yet to tear the wings from a ship tavaing at vrou pode of fom 60 to 110 miles an hour anvolees unusual In the iat le iT war if I were to miss I'd not only not get paid, but woul uman lives, Cameras and men are ay ee placed aires directly in front of the designated spot. R “Wings” it was necessary to do a crash into “ man’s land.” This no man’s land was as real as fy ~ that of the western front during the war. As a matter of fe) te Papagicee! area was closely supervised by the %: in command of such see att during the frat War Riot piece of abandoned artillery, every pill- ghy Spal oy ES it had been at the = “the Pe in the lence fe batted i wee en panels built of soaks posts two in grol four out. e oe ie me real war Bia Stet holes fra feet in diameter that in depth pitted the entire area. I looked at that burned and broken country Co that I had to dive into it-in a zeal little 220 S. P. is . at a speed of 90 miles an aapow T almost lost hope. ‘A forced landing at fone! . aaah Roe usually spelled catastrophe in a sse I ae ad to come in land on a spot within vision of the 21 cameras detailed go Ff ken, A section 25 f very protection was tal section feet wide was re-made. The cedar posts were removed and feather-light ones of balsa wood were substituted. The wire was unstrung and cotton yarn placed on the balsa posts. Fick they were painted, it looked almost as real as it had* psy other precautions I took. The Spad plane had @ pressure system of gasoline feed—and contained its large tank under the belly of the ship. This arrange- ment I changed completely, discarding the big tank and using a smaller one on the top wing. This fed the carburetor by gravity. Such an arrangement minimized the danger of fire. Furthermore, as the longerons were of wood, I stripped te cs How | Have Crashed in A crash for ‘Young Eagles’ stages of the same crack-up . to hit the dirt . (3) the right wing has been broken off by the first impact . . . ( oy one wheel of the lan ing gear is coming «+e (5) Pilot etace ‘ Wheels still spinning . propeller splint- ers sil ae . wm preci uselage, upside lomn , . ides Dick Grace, the pilot, who is underneath . . . dust and debris shroud the wreckage. fuselage of its fabric and taped them as far back as the tail. Tet wk cee eee : eancea, fie fe from splin- te Soler, are haagieay rane pad it bes tet t and it’ end o} 2 et dy or te pales ae oe the fuselage was recovered, all of the instruments were tna from by board and a pad placed ice me. The throttle and sj ‘were put ct close together on the ide that co A Pena as them with two fingers. re was but one more precaution. A system of belts was devised to keep kr strapped back firmly in the ship. These consisted of a webl i and one across my knees. I found the chest belt necessary. Without it in a previous crack, I had hit the instrument board with such force that I went completely through it, breaking four vertebrae in my Re I've found that I need another addition to these ih a picture called “Young Esa it was neces- pe “for me to crash on my back. The force ae which I overturned almost threw me from under the two belts. Now T have added shoulder straps, connecting to the chest bigs ty little Spad was rea iy for the shot and, ene tested the motor for the last. time. Then we air, followed by the two German scouts who were supposed to shoot me down. IROM 1000 feet I looked down and ha the red flag waving from the observation tower. It was the signal that told me they were ready. Simultaneously, the two “Germans” aged diving on tail, and the Spad and I went roundward, Tt was ti I threw away my goggles. You can’t risk glass ae 4 your eyes, you know, if it can be avoit I could see the German and British trenches below, and between them the hazardous no man’s land. The troupe, this and the other photos on this page show successive . a ) shows where the plane had struck the water with a shower of spray and bounced 15 feet . . . (2) the propeller is splintered, the nose is about After the crash . ship after the dust he entanglements: No wonder camouflage fooled war flyers! Mir beck ached Se de eee “A fee wpe lly near the i switch. Nearer sive ime toithe soot where thd tee anced plunge ea Tanager the cock Ince the cameras and picked ghey possible. Pes Bee fet fom te pnts ow, and Lord the ste r impact. jancing at the air tion made me eee rea ee et eRe # Teak crt, for the ship was making 9 Two hundred feet! Now! A Prigane of a second too late would land me in the midst of those anxious people. Wii Bick on the let rudder and'a push down and to he Heed po nga " boken propeller, the ering of pont —the right wing left the plane. Then as it went over on its back I ducked forward in the pit just as an object plunged through the seat directly nose dug in ‘ 34 Airplanes-+ After doing 50 crack-ups, the author says that he will retire, but here he reveals his tricks of plane wrecking me cesiton of the wrecked a the positon mips the ‘relation of this picture to that at the left, above. . . . Pilot out. Grace has crawled clear, under his own power. of the landing wheels sh sts, rij the exund—ad I di nt Fah a ee hee I always have _a sense of relief and satisfaction wher § crash is perfect. Then I am relieved of a great responsibility TP chupe I’m dumb. Maybe I am insensitive to the fins; drawn emotions but still, I see nothing to fear. My only fear & that | + struts, wings, ribs! Pieces of . not give satisfaction or that my 100 per cent record I'm doing the crash. crash, plan carefully what I am about to do. Afterward, when I see it on the screen, I do get a resije_ _ MMMM AGL UC ST TETTUITUTAUIUL ARE URL ee The same crash as that at the upper left, taken an instant later from another br angle. ... Note that both wings have now above my lowered head. * ‘lS wing, ew All haps that T had’ bit hit det co. 4 of them frong the just UT nce back of head, Lor ay Porgdi ck of my hea it was a perfect the ship lay it was 17 feat the nearest camera. Mme le cnt ta See ace rete Je iy, secon of control are pi re a) often asked about the fear or thrill which crowd into the lives of other a ly, I can't stop to think about rth Before or afterward, yes. I live UPLATE