Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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JUMPS FROM AIRPLANE. Marine Gunner Adapts Very Novel Diversion. Marine gunner John L. McCoy is one soldier who hasn't found his life made flat, stale, and unexciting by the end of the war. Once a day or so he jumps out of an airplane, by ii A way of trying out new parachute deuces. If the experiment is successful, he lives to jump again another 1 Jay. Thus far it has been successful. In the Marine Bulletin, published monthly by that celebrated corps * from offices in New York city, gunner McCoy tells how, when, and why he koes his jumping: . , Tne iaea or jumping out 01 au airplane or seaplane isn't one of amusement. It is one of utmost necessity, the make-up of an airplane engine is neb that when an aviator is working Ik 9 at an extreme altitude and starts to |Ude downward, there is grave danger of fire. During the glide the carburetor is almost sure to flood, With the result that when the aviator turns on the power again the .consequent firing of the cylinders * \ Sa. ii often causes a backfire which gives serious danger of enveloping the whole plane in flames. In a case like that an aviator's only chance is to ?ump. For that reason, the efforts lave been many to evolve a system Whereby a parachute can be attached in such a way that an aviator can Jump swiftly to safety no matter how his airplane may be traveling. ^ The credit for evolving this system goes to Capt. Arthur H. Page, hi charge, of the Marine Corps Ballpen school at Quantico, Va., Capt. Harvey a. Mims, omcer in cnarge 01 aviation at Marine Corps headquarA iters, and Lieut. Harold E. Kelsey. Pm only a jumper, and, to tell the giruth, I have to give thanks for the fact that they found for me a new thrill in aviation. When a man tehes a "hop" every day or so, spends much of his time in the air a lot of the zest of it departs. One gets the feeling of a taxi-driver on a deserted street. There isn't enough k-Y Y.difficulty in driving to interest him. making a jump in a parachute j v from a seaplane going a hundred fevc';- ?iles an. hour?well, that's something else again, as they say in the "' < Marine Corps. "V ; v The system is yet so new that we , haven't taken the trouble to have / regular harness for parachute jumpera made. We make 'em ourselves g^YY hy tying ropes in such a way that i. When the jump is made, the knotted elopes, which pass around both thighs about the waise, form a cradle. I|\i; : To make the jump at all, and to 'learn the best means of making that >. Y Jump in the safest way, it was, of crude manner. The thing to be established was the fact that it was possible to jump out of an airpjlane With a parachute. We talked it all y/. - wver?or, rather, Captain Page and . "$ Captain Mims did the . talking?and decided that the best way to arrange the thing would be to wad up SYCY- iflbie parachute in a container which would be fastened just beneath the 'Y*: fuselage of the seaplane. From this YY would run a rope which would be Y'V attached by a snaphook to the harness of the jumper. It would be necessary to climb about thfee thousV ; and feet? so that the jumper would he reasonably sure of the parachute opening before the ground got too Jose. Wo thoroforo maHp rmr harness ant of pieces of rope which we tied together in such a way that they would fit snugly, and at the same time be stanch and safe. Then Lieutenant Kelsey went up for the first Jump. . j. The way to jump out of a seaplane? It's really simple when you know. You just let go. After that there's nothing to stop you but the ground. The thing, of course, was that neither Lieutenant Kelsey when he made the first jump, nor myself, 'when I made the second, knew anything about it. That added a few ^ thrills. Of course, I don't know exactly how the lieutenant felt, but as to myself? With Captain Page at the wheel, we climbed about three thousand feet. The air was a little bump>, and there was a strong wind blowing, which with the 100-mile-an-hour apeed of the seaplane seemed just that much faster. Gradually the captain steamed tne piane, ana tneu ^ lie gave a jerk at the wheel, which was the signal to me that I was about to take a trip to the earth, swift or slow, depending on whether or not the parachute opened. > You don't make the jump from the plane seated or from the fuselage. You will when the new ara xangements which have been perfected and which are now in the process of manufacture are finished. But, in the first attempts, it was a matter of climbing out on the wings of the plane, hanging on agamst that i - hundred-mile-an-hour wind from the propellors, assuring yourself that your harness was straight and thai your rope was perfectly fastened, * then hanging down from the plane In such a way that you would be sure \ 6*. , of missing the rudders and the tip of the plane when you let go. And when you're waltzing around a few thousand feet above the earth, this is not the easiest thing in the world to do. If I remember correctly, there was a queer feeling along my back-bone when I loosed my safety-belt and be gan to crawl out of that seat. When I got one foot over the side, the wind hit me full and nearly blew me from the plane before I could get a chance to steady myself. However, I made a wild grab and caught on to the safety strap just in time, and from then on it was comparatively easy. Slowly I managed to get the other foot out of the cockpit, and, bending as close to the fuselage as possible, I held on, as I made my way along the wing of the plane to the rear. This caused the machine to rock a Ki+ Viii* Pontoin Pq era, c/vnn Viori it Ulbf UUb V uy VUiii A l*OV "V.v? >v steadied again, and slowly I began letting myself down. Th8 wind held me here. We were going so fast that the breeze seemed to hold me up, especially as I was leaning against one of the brace wires which held the plane, which kept me steady. However, as soon as I was clear of this, the problem of holding on until the psychological THE SUCCESSFU uses the commercial bank extensively.. Business could not exist without it. If you're not a client of ours there are many reasons why you should be. Him hnnlr nnt rrnlv ftfPnrrin ft safft place for your money, but pays interest as well. Let us explain our methods to you. Enterpri 5 Per Cent. Interest Paid on Savj I NIT I A SPREAD FOI 9 Order a B< I PEANUT I DATE NUT 1 OLIVI I KRAFT B PIMENT( r0quef01 I Phoi Itom d bambe: EQUIl Q Mutual in Princ Impregnabl U Enterprising Manai | w Comprehensive, i * Low Mori Prompt Paymen: Efficient Service A A satisfied const Fifty-eight year; I B These are some of joyed by those The Equitable Life j of the Un *-* A. B. UTSEY, Ag EQUI1 j second was a troublous one. The J wing of the plane was smooth, and ! one doesn't like to put too much i strain on the wires which connect I the two wings, lest that should snap ! the support and thereby cause troui ble for the pilot. Gradually, however, the descent j to a kneeling position was accom! plished. I let my leg hang below the j wing of the plane. Then, supporting | myself on my abdomen, I let down , the other leg. The wind caught my j feet and trailed my legs out behind ; the swiftly moving plane like strings of ribbon. 1 looked up to see the captain nodding and smiling at me. 1 It was the signal that the plane was steadied for the pull that would be given when the parachute jerked loose. So, with a bit of a push, I I oiaoroH mvcoif fmm thfi nlane and ; dropped. A dizzy, blurred second, and then j something hit me like a punch in the | jaw. It was the parachute opening ' after a drop of about a hundred feet, and I knew that I was safe. From now on nothing but an extremely bad airf)ocket could cause me any 1 trouble by collapsing the parachute 1 on me, and that, of course, is a ( chance that must always be taken. I However, nothing of that kind ocL BUSINESS MAN ise Bank [ngs Deposits. Bamberg, S. C. rjA I t SANDWICHES. I )ttle Today. yj 1 BUTTER. I BUTTER. I 2 ZEST. I CHEESE. I i ) CHEESE. li JT CHEESE. I le 15 I UCKERI RG, S. C. I rABLE iple and Practice e in Strength , Conservative I I cement Adaptable Policies w talitv Rate * / t of Death Claims rJ^ to Policyholders ituency gained by A s of public service Xm the advantages en- Ty who insure with Ty Assurance Society ited States ? ent, Bamberg, S. C. fABLE eurred, and 1 landed safely. The | next jump was the next day after; that. In fact, I made a jump vary-; ing from three thousand to four thousand feet nearly every day?and liked it. It gives a new thrill to aviation. j And there is always, of cohrse, the feeling that in making these jumps you are helping perfect the system whereby an aviator will be safe from fire in his plane?and that counts for a great deal. Automobile batteries recharged by! Delco-Light at Brickie's Garage, adv.: ^ PJ Copyright 1110 by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. f. THE WORTH OF A Every one re to their owners; 1 liability and fair ( millions of dollar * Such names f LIC for goods thi fidencs that a rer be maintained. When you pi into making a crc RO1 FER ORl DI F. S., R( Norfolk, Va. Baltin N. C. Columbia Macon, Ga I Would Cut Acreage. B. Harris, commissioner of agriculture, commerce and industries, has addressed letters to the commissioners of agriculture of all the cot-; ton growing States, urging that they j call on all State bankers' associa- j tions to join the organizations of j farmers in the campaign to cut cotton acreage for the 1919 crop. The general suggestion is that; bankers withhold loans from farm-! ers to pitch the next crop, unless there is' a reduction of 30 per cent. | |r C AY, you'll have a |r . O put pep-in-your-s r ring-in with a jimmy nail some Prince Alb< Just between ourselves, you never will wise-up to high-spotsmoke-joy until you can call a pipe by its first name, then, to hit the peak-of-pleasure you land square on that two-fisted-man-tobacco, Princ e Albert! Well, sir, you'll be so all-fired happy you'll want to get a photograph of yourself breezing up the pike with your smokethrottle wide open \ Talk about smoke-sport f Quality makes Prince /dbert so Yoa bay Prince Albert every when tidy red itine, handsome pound am ?that classy, practical pound cry moistener top that keeps the tob R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Com , NAME TO YOU. a liVes liow valuable certain low years of association \ lealing have made their g s. lowever are equally valuat lis identified may be bough mutation so valuable, once I it your time, your money < jp, why not protect them b IfSTE mt* i r llLh DER EARLY AND AVO SAPPOINTMEN )YSTER GUAI^ lore, Md. Toledo, 0. Tarbor , S. C. Spartanburg, S. C. . Columbus, Ga. Montgoir in the acreage. J. Skottowe Wannamaker, president of the South Carolina Bankers' association, is; calling this to the attention of South Carolina bankers. Mr. Harris is of the opinion that bankers have the key to the whole situation, and the campaign is designed to create a psychology throughout the cotton belt to discourage increased production in 1919, which is as much of a problem just now as the effort to procure bet ter prices for the unsold 1918 crop. ?Columbia State. , streak of smokeluck that'll . mokemotor, all right, if you'll pipe or cigarette papers and. >rt for packing! ? " - 1 ^1- 1<MA appealing an aiong uie suww mic. Men who never before could smoke a pipe and men who've smoked pipes for years all testify to the delight it hands out! P. A. can't bite or parch! Both are cut out by our exclusive patented process! : *3 Right now while the going's good you get out your old jimmy pipe or the papers and land on some P. A. for what ails your particular smokeappetite 1 tobacco is told. Toppy rod bags, i half pound tin humidors?and stcl glass humidor with sponge acco in such perfect condition. pany, Winston-Salem, N. G . / > I O V names become vith quality, reood will worth >le to the PUBit with the con? ?i mi tct gamea, ivi^ui v ' ind your labor y insisting on n>c jJ\, o ' V* . : / * * * f ^ ?ER ID T 10 CO. o, N. C. Charlotte, Atlanta, Ga. iery, Ala. \ .