
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, May 9, 1995                   TAG: 9505090101
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WATCH OUT! CUT SHIRTTAIL IN HANGAR

Q: My husband just made his first solo flight, and one of the traditions after a successful solo is that they cut off his shirttail. Nobody seems know how this tradition originated or what it means. I wondered if it had something to do with the expression ``flying by the seat of your pants.''

K.G., Roanoke

A: Cutting out the fledgling pilot's shirttail is a tradition dating back at least to the 1930s. It might be true that a rookie pilot flying by ``feel'' didn't need anything getting in his way.

More likely, though, is this story of the old days from veteran pilot Wes Hillman:

Experienced pilots wrote the new guy's name on the shirttail and put it on the hangar wall.

The shirttail was a warning that the pilot was like a young bird whose tail feathers weren't fully developed. ``When they come in for a landing, just look out.''

Armstrong's purse

Q: How much money did Lance Armstrong win altogether in the Tour DuPont bike race?

C.L., Roanoke

A: Armstrong is credited with winning about $60,000 individually, but his six Motorola teammates helped a lot. The cash will be shared with the riders, team director, mechanic and maybe a few others.

In addition to the $40,000 prize as overall winner, Armstrong received $5,000 as a member of the winning team and $5,000 for the King of the Mountains jersey awarded to the top climber.

The All-American boy also received $1,700 for winning stages 4, 5 and 9. Stage 4 went from Lynchburg through Fincastle to Blacksburg; Stage 5 was the Roanoke time trial; Stage 9, in North Carolina, went from Asheville to the top of Beech Mountain.

Armstrong also picked up $500 each day he was the overall leader, for a total of $3,500.

That adds up to $58,600. Toss in a little more cash for finishing well in the stages he didn't win.

His teammates deserve a big cut, though, for staying in position to hinder the progress of competitors who tried to challenge Armstrong when he broke away from the peloton, or main group of riders pursuing the $250,000 purse.|

Unscathed in Okla.

Q: With all the attention focused on the Oklahoma City bombing, how many people in the federal building escaped unscathed?

P.F., Union Hall

A: Perhaps 250 got out of the building uninjured. No one knows for sure how many people were inside.

The death toll stands at 167, including some victims who were on the street nearby.

More than 400 were injured when the bomb exploded April 19 in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

There were 560 employees and about 250 others in the building, by the best estimate available from Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla.

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB