"His looping the loop, his upside-down flights, his general acrobatic
feats in the air are all of the utmost value to pilots throughout the
world. We shall have proof of this, I am sure, in the near future.
Pegoud has shown us what it is possible to do with a modern machine.
In his first attempt to fly upside down he courted death. Like all
pioneers, he was taking liberties with the unknown elements. No man
before him had attempted the feat. It is true that men have been upside
down in the air; but they were turned over by sudden gusts of wind, and
in most cases were killed. Pegoud is all the time rehearsing accidents
and showing how easy it is for a pilot to recover equilibrium providing
he remains perfectly calm and clear-headed. Any one of his extraordinary
positions might be brought about by adverse elements. It is quite
conceivable that a sudden gust of wind might turn the machine completely
over. Hitherto any pilot in such circumstances would give himself up
for lost. Pegoud has taught us what to do in such a case.... his flights
have given us all a new confidence.
"In a gale the machine might be upset at many different angles.
Pegoud has shown us that it is easily possible to recover from such
predicaments. He has dealt with nearly every kind of awkward position
into which one might be driven in a gale of wind, or in a flight over
mountains where air-currents prevail.
"He has thus gained evidence which will be of the utmost value to
present and future pilots, and prove a factor of signal importance in
the preservation of life in the air."
Such words as these, coming from a man of Mr. Hamel's reputation as an
aviator, clearly show us that M. Pegoud has a life-saving mission for
airmen throughout the world.
Let us stand, in imagination, with the enormous crowd of spectators who
invaded the Surrey aerodrome on 25th September, and the two following
days, in 1913.
What an enormous crowd it was! A line of motor-cars bordered the track
for half a mile, and many of the spectators were busy city men who had
taken a hasty lunch and rushed off down to Weybridge to see a little
French airman risk his life in the air. Thousands of foot passengers
toiled along the dusty road from the paddock to the hangars, and
thousands more, who did not care to pay the shilling entrance fee, stood
closely packed on the high ground outside the aerodrome.
Biplanes and monoplanes came driving through the air from Hendon, and
airmen of world-wide fame, such as Sopwith, Hamel, Verrier, and Hucks,
had gathered together as disciples of the great life-saving missionary.
Stern critics these! Men who would ruthlessly expose any "faked"
performance if need were!
And where is the little airman while all this crowd is gathering? Is
he very excited? He has never before been in England. We wonder if his
amazing coolness and admirable control over his nerves will desert him
among strange surroundings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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