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and its tail skid (the 3 point landing). My appreciation of the landing gear grew on apace as I saw men level of at the ridiculous height of 15 to [[strikethrough]] [[?]] [[/strikethrough]] 30 feet and "pancake" (settle with no more flying speed - nose drops on account of weight) and still have the undercarriage hold. A burst tire or a bruised wing was natural because on landing in the furrowed ground the "cheval" would just simply happen, and unlucky was he who bounced and [[strikethrough]] gave the [[/strikethrough]] caught the motor on the wrong instant, for he 'most always went right up on his nose.

Spirals were good fun. After the short run over the earth the nose took its upwards course and you left it there till your altimeter registered 1000 meters. Then, over a conveniently seen location, you tipped over at 90 degrees after shutting off the engine, and in