In World War I, pilots on either side of the line enjoyed sudden lurches ahead in technology advances followed by steady declines into obsolescence. This created a seesaw effect in the air where Allied pilots would be able to blast their way through German lines for a few months, but then had to run scared if the enemy got the jump on them. So the Allied pilots found a way to fake their deaths in the air with a risky but effective maneuver. Some Nieuport planes had a tendency to break apart when pilots pulled them out of a steep...