I had a good game of tennis yesterday, and took up my machine to test it again. This time the engine ran perfectly and I did some splendid stunts coming down. When I had landed, an officer who was visiting the aerodrome came up and thanked me for my “beautiful exhibition.” I felt inclined to pass the hat round. I have just come down now, and have been taking photos. Archie was scarce owing to clouds, but the clouds made it harder for me to photo. Made a topping landing.
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Just come down from a shoot. G. was up with me, but I did the shoot. We got some pretty good Archie at us, and as the artillery did not shoot well, I dropped a couple of bombs on the target. I must get tea, and then to tennis.
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I have not much news to-day, except that I have had a splendid game of tennis, and a rather pleasant bombing raid. We went a long way over, past a Hun aerodrome, and got hardly any Archie at all, owing to the clouds. I got a beautiful shot with one of my bombs, on a railway station—my objective. On the way back I did a spiral on the other side of the Hun lines, and one of our chaps, thinking I was a Hun going down, fired a drum of ammunition at me. I told him he must be a rotten shot, and had better have some practice on the range with me. Altogether it was quite a jolly flight.
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Stalling
I was testing my machine round the ’drome this morning when it occurred to me to indulge in a few stunts. I obtained the sanction of my passenger, and we proceeded to do vertical banks, stalls, and tail slides, much to the enjoyment of a group of officers who (I heard afterwards) were watching. I found it most enjoyable. Perhaps you don’t know what “stalling” is. You are flying level so:
then you pull the nose of the machine up so: