Washington High School Cadets - Adjutant Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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Going Up! By Captain Rodney Hatcher, H. S. C., Contributing Editor ,VIATION, in recent years, has so , 5 progressed and developed that we up regard it as little more .than com- Q IL: monplace, unless some pilot breaks 1' K all precedent for non-stop ilights or establishes a new speed record. Flying has reached its present high status largely through the developments brought out in the Wforld VVar, from which the value of the airplane for commercial use was foreseen. Since then, all nations have been constantly improving, de- signing and vying with each other in making new inroads into the realms of the upper air. Of these none has outstripped the United States. Our 'round-the-world flyers, the trip overthe North Pole by Byrd, the recent world record for endurance of fifty-one hours in the air, made by Acosta and Chamberlin, and the present tour of South America, being made by the American good-will flyers, all propheti- eally point to America's continued supremacy in aviation. Nevertheless, most of us much prefer read- ing newspaper accounts and seeing Pathe pic- torials of these events to actually engaging in them. Few people, comparatively speaking, have been up in airplanes. Ever since the first time I saw an airplane- before America entered the Wo1'ld War and mail planes were not running daily schedules, and skywriters had not heard of Camels and Rodney Hatcher and Donald Lane Rodney in the plane Bond Bread -I have had a keen desire to see what it's like to be up, looking down. At last I've succeeded and it's great. It was far from easy to get permission from Air Corps Headquarters, and only after re- peated assurance that the rest of the Cadet Corps was not waiting in line to go up also, Don Lane and I were granted the opportunity of making one local airdome flight in a gov- ernment plane at Bolling Field. Moreover, our parents had to sign statements absolving the government from any liability to suit or damages in case of accident resulting in injury or death. It took all of one day to get the permits and the next morning we presented our credentials at the Operator's Office at Bol- ling Field, Where we signed up for a flying suit, helmet and goggles, and parachute. The officer in charge told an orderly to go out and get one of those flying cadets who needs credit for flying time and landings. This was not overly encouraging as we did not know whether this cadet-bird was a safe bet or not. Ile was splendid. lVe walked out on the ily- ing field, carrying our gear. Lane and I both arguing as to who was to have the honor of the hrst trip, and neither one breaking a leg to get there lirst. Vile Ilippedg I lost, that is to say, I went Hrst. VVhile the pilot and mechanics were warm- ing up the motor I struggled into the heavy fur-lined ilying suit, put on the helmet and goggles, and hooked up the parachute. The mechanic explained how the 'Chute worked. In case of trouble I was to wait until the pilot told me to jump, then leap over, as though diving into the water, and when clear of the plane pull the ring that released the folded silk. I climbed in the rear cockpit, fastened the safety belt and sat tight, very tight. The plane was a two-seated De Havi-

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in Y , A .- - There was once when a Captain was cranky There was oh, so much at stake, I l ,Q 0 1 5, . ci. Ii 69 l J f, H J He cruelly bawlecl out a private For making a little mistake. And the private swore most fiercely Dy all the Saints he knew IIe'd quit the Cadets in the morning, NVith that kind of stuff he was through. Then he looked up at Old Glory, And he straightened with a jerk, Regretted the oaths he had muttered And settled himself to work. He said to the Captain, 'Tm sorry I spoiled the drillg but I'll try To never do it again, Sirg Then thc Captain made reply: That's the right spirit, Buddy, XVe're playing this thing on the square You n1uEed the drill up sadly, But I was a grouch out thereg Try :md forgive me old fellow, XVe are true Cadets, you and I l X xxxtx fi I .f i 9 2 ' Ni X Img! 6 l' i 7 K f '- 5 .WP e is Y l 3 NX .xnxx It's every one moving together, when , sz-. .S - EQ The boys are marching by. f-X X N l 5 j I E I !'l So they've drilled for hours together In weather fair and foul, - ,Te- W XYith weary feet and gritted teeth, 'F' ' But you've never heard them howl. 1 'l'hey've given the best that's in them I X I 7 Their hearts and brains, and why- x l' YE-H f ,V 5 f L To credit their Alma Matersg r I aj? C I ft , ,. The boys are marching by. f, F, A ' . V: , rr. ., .. So cheer again in the grand-stands, ' I ,firmdklq 'lf' f Today is the School Cadets' day, Cb , Forgotten all the hardships - ' k' , v -- rl - As they bravely march away. : - ' They cannot all bc winners Q No matter how hard they tryg ' Q But at that, they are really heroes, -1 x , ff X , The boys who are marching hy. , L ' . f. M ' '- ' fi --,,,-:-il A-al - 'f it . gr f X, I - U, A , 1 lv I, X 11141 i S ' - xg . f 'N - Q W I A' W ' Ye' - 2 r .f 0. ,Q 4,9 -f v ff 2, w. L ll A' 5 H ' I M Z , 110.11 1 F A f T X , Q , i V' 1 ' X J X . 2 ' 4 1 ,' 4 W - . X ' ' -' 'Q ' I 5 fl r i ,i T V f r - . - u . -.,s- -- - I' ti 1 ,- M ix Y Y, .iv fst, . .W . -Fu D 1.L,,,.c X Y f -ur ' 'B mn 'TTI' Aw - ,

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land, equipped with a double set of controls. There on the dash before me were the gas and oil gauges, altimeter, and air speed indi- cator. Rodney up in the air The plane swung around and we bounced down the field, heading into the wind and gaining speed with every whirl of the propel- lor. First the tail lifted, then the wheels and looking over the side I watched the hangars fall away beneath us. We straightened out for a long lap down the field, still rising, until at twenty-iive hundred feet the red roofs of houses looked like postage stamps and tug boats on the river like canoes. VVe roared along at ninety and one hundred miles per hour as smoothly and as lightly as a feather. No sense of ePfort, not the slightest feeling of discomfort. The noise of the motor was not at all unpleasant. The plane made dives, banks, turns, and climbed, and the pilot made Donald Lane and 'Rodney Hatcher several landings. After about half an hour we made a iinal landing, taxied across the field, and I transferred the equipment to Don. l was very pleasantly surprised, inasmuch as I had heard that the height made one dizzy, that motion of the plane caused sick stomach, and that the noise of the motor was a con- stant source of annoyance. On the other hand I can imagine no more pleasant mode of travel. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The Pilot and Donald Lane Don's turn in the air was about the same as mine, except that after he landed and was idl- ing across the lield toward the hangars, the wheels struck a large mud puddle, which, splashing up, was caught in the air stream of the propellor and flungall over the plane. W'hen it came up there was water, mud and grass all over it. The mechanics were not pleased. They had to clean-it up. VVe turned in our equipment and departed in Lane's Chevrolet, which has nothing on an airplane. It never misses a mud hole either. lle wanted to have a picture of it towing an airplane, but they were afraid that some one might think that it belonged to the govern- ment. Congratulations to Captain Hatcher, Company F First Regiment, Central The Brigade congratulates Captain Rodney llatcher on being selected by the Wlashington, Yale Club to receive its scholarship. This means four years at Yale for Rodney, and the advantage of entering college with distinction. Captain Hatcher has many talents, which have not been unappreciated, as he is the president of his class at Central, a member of the Senior Council, and of The Review Staff, the Com- mander of the Guard of Honor Company of the First Regiment, and Contributing Editor to The Adjutant. ,