Dorothy Dixon Wins Her Wings Read online

  _Chapter IV_

  THE FIRST HOP

  "How about giving me my first flying lesson now?" Dorothy suggested asBill hauled in their anchor.

  "You really want to learn?"

  "Of course I do--I'm crazy about it!"

  Bill coiled the mooring line, looping it with practiced skill. "And I'dbe glad to give you instruction. But you're a minor--before we can startanything like that we must get your Dad's permission."

  "Oh, that'll be all right, Bill," was the young lady's cool assurance."But how about right now--"

  "Every student aviator is a watchful waiter the first time up. You standbehind me this trip and I'll explain what I'm doing as we go along."

  "That'll be great! I'm just wild to fly this plane!"

  Bill smiled. "But you won't get your flight instruction in this plane,Dorothy."

  "Why not?"

  "This amphibian is too big and heavy, for one thing; for another, sheisn't equipped with dual controls."

  "But what does that mean?"

  "I see we'll have to start your training right now, Miss StudentPilot--Controls is a general term applied to the means proved to enablethe pilot to control the speed, direction of flight, altitude and powerof an aircraft.--Savez?"

  "You sound like a text book--but I get you."

  "All right. Now, unless we want the bus washed up on the beach, we'dbetter shove off."

  Fastening the door to the deck after them, they passed through the cabinand into the pilot's cockpit where head-phone sets were at onceadjusted. The amphibian bobbed and swayed at the push of little waves.The sun's face, scrubbed clean and bright by wind and rain was reflectedin the rippling water; whilst wet surfaces of leaves, lawns, tree trunksand housetops bordering the inlet gleamed in a wash of gold.

  Little gusts of fresh air blew in through the open windows filling thecockpit with a keen sweet odor of wet earth.

  Dorothy drew a deep breath. "My! the air smells good after that storm!"

  "You bet--" agreed Bill. "But I'll smell brimstone when your fathercomes 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'svoice, 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 realBill 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 makeit. Look and listen! First--I crack the throttle--in other words, beforestarting the engine, set your throttle in its quadrant slightly forwardof the fully closed position. Next, I 'contact'--that's air parlance for'ignition switch on.' After that, I press the inertia starter to swingour propeller into motion--" the engine sputtered, then roared.

  "It is most important," he went on a moment later, "to see that the wayahead and above is clear at this point. Safety first is the slogan ofgood 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 thesame 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 wellback of neutral to prevent the nose dipping under the waves, he sent thebig seaplane hurtling through the water toward the inlet's mouth. Thewind had changed since the storm and now, as they raced into the teethof the light breeze, Dorothy tingled with that excitement which comes toevery novice with the take off.

  Six or eight seconds after opening the throttle, she saw him push thestick all the way forward.

  "Why do you do that? Won't that raise the tail of the plane and depressthe nose?"

  Bill shook his head. "In the air--yes. But we're moving at some speednow 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 onthe step, you see."

  Dorothy nodded to herself and watched him ease the stick back to neutraland 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 itsounds like a text book.--In order to fly, certain things must belearned--and remembered. Do not take off until you have attained speedadequate to give complete control when in the air. Any attempt to pullit 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 isgained, I give a momentary pressure on the elevators (like this)--andbreak the hull out of the water--so--easing the pressure immediatelyafter the instant of take off. Now that we are in the air our speed isonly slightly above minimum flying speed. Any decrease in this wouldresult in a stall. That is why I keep the nose level for six or sevenseconds in order to attain a safe margin above stalling point beforebeginning 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 Iforgot to say--you must always hold a straight course while taxiingbefore the take off. Also, never allow a wing to drop while your planeis on the step.--We've got enough speed on now, so I'll pull back thestick and let the plane climb for a bit."

  "But you're heading for the Long Island Shore directly away from NewCanaan--" she protested, "why don't you bring her about--not that I'm inany hurry, but--"

  "This is an airplane, not a sailboat, Dorothy. All turns must be madewith a level nose. If I should try to turn while in a climb like this, astall would probably result, and with the wing down the plane would mostlikely 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 highenough for our purpose. So I push the stick forward, like this--untilthe nose is level--so! Now, as I want to make a right turn, I applyright aileron and simultaneously increase right rudder considerably."

  Dorothy saw one wing go up and the other go down. She was hardly able tokeep her feet as the plane's nose swung round toward the Connecticutshore.

  "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 acentrifugal force, acting horizontally outward. To counteract this, theforce of lift must be inclined until it has a horizontal component equalto the centrifugal force. The machine is therefore tilted to one side,or banked, thus maintaining a state of equilibrium in which it will turnsteadily. No turn can be made by the use of the rudder alone. The planemust be banked with ailerons before the rudder will have any turningeffect.--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 boneup on the theory of flight. What I said just now amounts to this: if youdon'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 acar. A skidding plane loses her flying speed forward and drops into aspin. On the other hand, if you bank her too sharply, you go into asideslip!"

  "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 straightagain now--and I was so interested in what you were saying, I forgot towatch what you did!"

  "Well, after I had banked her sufficiently, I chec
ked the wings with theailerons and at the same time eased the pressure on the rudder. Then Imaintained a constant bank and a constant pressure on the rudder pedalthroughout the turn. To resume straight flight, I simply applied leftaileron and left rudder: and when the wings were level again, Ineutralized the ailerons and applied a normal amount of right rudder."

  "My goodness!" exclaimed Dorothy--"and that is only one of the things Ihave to learn. I thought that flying a plane wouldn't be much morecomplicated than driving a car."

  "Oh, it's simple enough--only you have to balance a plane, as well asdrive 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 widevista of rolling country over which they were traveling. The dark greenof the wooded hills, the lighter green of fields, criss-crossed bywinding roads and dotted with houses, all in miniature, seemed likeviewing a toy world. And here and there, just below them, there was theoccasional flash of feathered wings, as the birds darted in and outamong 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--gointo spins--and have a generally hard time of it!"

  "Oh, really? I'd never thought of that. But of course they can fly muchbetter than a plane."

  Bill shook his head. "That's where you are wrong. No bird can loop, orfly upside down. Reverse control flying and acrobatics--stuntinggenerally is impossible for them.--But look below! Recognize thescenery?"

  "Why, we're almost over New Canaan. There are the white spires of theEpiscopal and Congregational churches--and there's Main Street--and therailroad station!"

  "And over on that ridge is your house--and mine across the way," headded. "Well, here's where I nose her over. Hold tight--we're goingdown."