Reports received from our field men indicate that there are many fellows who privately consider themselves "Hot Pilots." They will tell you how easy it is to put a '38's nose straight down and buzz their gal's house so fast that the prop wash will blow off the shingles.

These H. P.'s do so much hangar flying that some begin to believe their own stories, and before long their reputation makes headlines - in the form of crash reports.

We asked if he could tell us how much altitude he'd need to bring his plane out of a 300 M.P.H. dive, if it required 800 feet to pull out of a similar dive at 200 M.P.H. His answer of 1200 feet would have put him about 600 feet underground. You see, he had forgotten the basic rule: "For a given G-load a plane going twice as fast needs four times the room to recover from a dive." As the ratio of dive speeds increase from 2, 3, or 4 to 1, the ratio of the corresponding distance required to regain level flight is 4, 9, and 16 to 1 at a given acceleration.

To insure against pilot error in judging distance we have a rule which sets 10,000 feet as the minimum altitude for dive tests and aerobatics. This does not mean that it is dangerous to go under this altitude, but it does give you a healthy padding, in case an emergency should arise. Due to the '38s rapid acceleration, the ground comes up awfully fast to smack you in the face. There is a dive limit chart in the cockpit - check it - obey it.

While testing '38s here he had never attached much sentiment to a plane it was just a job - but what a difference over there, where it's the pilot and his plane against the enemy. You learn to respect your plane and its fighting characteristics and the more you know about it the better qualified you become to "dish it out."

Lewis D. (Swede) Parker *says:

Another point of interest was that the '38 could not only climb higher, but faster than any of the planes encountered. This is important, and as a result of this characteristic an effective combat technique has been developed that of outclimbing the enemy, and when he stalls out, just rolling over and picking him off.

Another maneuver being used is the use of the rudder to increase the rate of roll. Just give the rudder a good kick while rolling and you'll find your rate of roll speeded up considerably a good thing to remember, incidentally.

It takes only a couple of combat missions to impress you with the importance of correct manifold pressure. The boost depends, of course, on the model you are flying, but there is one rigid rule which the boys in combat have found to hold in all cases. "Don't use War Emergency Power unless it's a real emergency - the engines aren't designed to fly for long periods at such high power." To get the most good from War Emergency Power, use it in a climb. In level flight it will mean about ten miles per hour faster, but in a climb it will make a very appreciable difference. Where roughness is encountered while on War Emergency Power they have found that by reducing power and giving the engine time to cool off, you can increase your power again. . . soon.