Thursday, September 11th,. 1919
THE ALLIANCE (NEBRASKA) HERALD
LOCKLEAR GIVES PERSONAL STORY
OF HIS STUNTS IN THE AIR
t -
?M IBP
Lieutenant Ormer Locklear. darp.rtt.vii aviate o. r ...
who thrilled Nebraska 'Victory" state fair visitors with his stunts 'in mld-
oji, anu uib biucb, ufuifiiBiiis anon ana Elliott. Rending from left to
npui. ieui. e.niney j. tnon, Lieut. Locklear. Lieut. Milton Elliott T-nrk
lear performed his first stunts when at Baron Field. Texas, and the govern
ment officials threatened him with court-martial. Since e has demonstrat
ed his work for them, they have offered him the use of any the government
fields for his experimental work. He is 28 years old and has 1.000 flylne
Lours to his credit, having been an instructor" in the camp In Texas His
""n personal siory explaining now ne does his stunts and telling of his am
bitions, hobbies and superstitions, is told in the accompanying article.
By Leonard Kline.
"How does he do it?"
This is the question on the lips of
every one of the quarter million per
tons, who saw Lieutenant Ormer
Locklear, the worlds most daring
aviator, perform at, the Nebraska
"Victory" fair this year.
Volumes have been written about
the Etunts which Locklear has in his
extensive repertoire but very little
has been said about the manner in
which he does these stunts or how he
feels while he is doing them, he told
me in several conversations I had
with him while he was in Lincoln.
"Ninety-five rercent of the people
who question me," he said, "want to
know whether I am braced or tied to
the plane, whether I have cleated
hoes for standing on the plane or if
I use safety devices in making my
change from plane to plane."
"If 1 had to UBe all these things,"
he told me, "I wouldn't be in this
game. There would be no fascina
tion in it for me if there wa6 no
danger."
Locklear uses an ordinary plane,
with no extra braces, his shoes are
leather-soled and rubber-heeled and
Le carried no safety belts or ropes
whatever. The people who see him
perform see everything there is to
tee.
After people know this some of
them figure that perhaps his stunts
are not as dangerous as they appear.
At thiB period, however, it is well for
1bem to know that there are approx
imately 75,000 aviators in the world
and thatLieutenantLocklear is the
oniy one who has ever successfully
changed from plane to plane or per
formed his stunts in midair.
During the first few weeks that
Locklear was performing his stunts
several ambitious airmen were killed
in attempting the same feats and at
the present time but few are trying
(o copy his program.
"Well, what Is it, then, that makes
it possible for you to accomplish
these feats when other men fail?", I
asked him.
Lwt Fear of Height.
"The secret of my flying success,"
he replied, "is that I have lost all
fear of heipht. In fact I would
rather perform 5,000 feet in the air
than only 500 feet. The air is much
smoother higher and the planes be
have much better.
"I knew every inch of the plane by
heart." he continued, "and know
just how it will act under all condi
tions. I know just how it will act
when things are working well and
when something is wrong wherever
I am on the wings."
Locklear has pone through what
might be termed the "experimental"
period. The knowledge of the plane's
actions and the ability to foresee
what it will do under various con
ditions comes only through experi
ence. Aviators, who have been killed
in trying the same stunts have met
with their accidents while trying out
their planes without this knowledge.
"When do you feel your greatest
danger?" I asked the aviator as he
was waiting for his time to fro Up on
his tiiM dny at the fair.
Ml (irwitrM Punier.
The answer wns the one which
niilit hne been expected.
"While I am changing planes." he
said. "The swirling propeller of
Lieutenant Elliott's machine coining
toward me as I stand on the outer
edge of the top wing of Lieutenant
Short's machine is probably the
greatest danger 1 have to face. A
little puff of wind, up or down pt
sidewlse, or an air hole, would throw
nie into the whirling blades.
"We cannot hear each other up
there for the noipe of thfl propellers
and I guide Elliott's plane by mo
tions of my hands. I can tell him
to come forward or to go to one side
or the other. We can tell as much
from the expression on each other's
faces as from anything. When
something is wrong we Fhow it by
our expression and the others know
immediately what the trouble is.
A Narrow Fcape.
At St. Paul, Minnesota, last week
Locklear had a narrow escape. He
was just ready to grasp the rope lad
der, when a gust of wind nearly
brought the planes together. He
was forced to slide quickly from the
top wing of Short's machine to avoid
being caught In his final perfor
mance he had to jump for he ladder
and caught it by his left hand. His
wrist was sore from the sprain, when
he crrived in Lincoln on Tuesday.
"Tliere Is one peculiar thing about
my change from plane to plane."
Locklear said. "I never think to
look to see how Short gets his ma
chine away from under me after I ,
have caugnt ril;oW's plane. Nearly
evry day I go up I say to myself
that I an peine to watch him but I
nevei do. 1 hav to concentrate I
upon Elliott's J im? and on the ;
ladder.
Has Some Superstition.
"Do you have any superstitions,"
I wanted to know.
"Well, very few," he replied. I al
ways wear my army identification
tag on the little silver chain around
my wrist and I would not fly with
out it. I don-'t like to fly on Sunday
either, and when I do it is always
against my will. Sometimes when I
am passing over a graveyard during
my flying, I wonder if I am to be suc
cessful." And then he smiled that
pleasant smile that makes friends for
him wherever he goes.
Locklear's description of his meth
od in pr rforming his feats on various
parts of the planes is particularly in
teresting. His journeys from th
seat to the ends of the wings and the
fusilage are made quickly in spite of
his precarious position and the un
certainty of wind currents.
Many Tlilngn to Watch.
"While going from mv seat to the
wings," he explained, "I step from
one brace to the other, all the time
leaning against the wind, watching
for air pockets or bad currents, list
ening to the hum of the motor and
analyzing the "feel" of the plane.
The breeze is terrific up there and
I must make a great deal of allow
ance for that. Locklear wears a
chamois-skin Jacket and an especial
ly made cap and gocgles to protect
him from the wind but t ese are
the only "extras" he wears. While
in Lincoln he was troubled somewhat
with hay fever and his face was
rather hadly chapped from contact
with the air.
"Senses" Air Pocket.
It is Locklear's experiences that
enables him to climb to the wings
successfully. His acquired ability
to sense air pockets and diverging
air currents has often saved him
from death, he told me. He doesn't
know how he can tell when they are
coming but It apparently is a Fort
of a sixth sense. While at Ntbraska,
(Continued on page 7.)
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2377 O St., Lincoln, Nebraska
Gentlemen :
Date
.., 1919
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OMAHA OFFICE
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Secy, and Mgr.
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