increases at the first area 20 this pressure is communicated through the poppet spool 32 and pilot spool 42 to the second area 28 via internal radial passageways 34 50 and internal axial passageway 36 49 the pressure in the second area 28 thus acts upon the pilot ball 56 as the pressure acting on the third area 58 increases to match the force supplied by the pilot spring 62 the pilot ball 56 begins to move off the seat 26 of pilot 24 as the pilot ball 56 moves off the pilot seat 26 the pressure in the second and third areas 28 58 is routed to the tank port via the milled flat on the pilot seat 26 and the seat 21 of poppet housing 12 the passageways located in the poppet spool 32 restrict the total amount of oil flow into the first and second areas 28 58 to less than their individual capacities as the pilot ball 56 moves axially off the pilot seat 26 the pressure in the second area 28 deceases this pressure imbalance acting on the pilot mechanism 24 moves the entire pilot assembly axially toward the pilot ball 56 against the force generated by the biasing spring 62 as the passageways in the poppet spool 32 begin to close as a result of the axial movement the flow into the second area 28 decreases further this decrease in flow increases the pressure imbalance acting on the pilot mechanism 24 this in turn closes the passageways completely in the poppet spool 32 within the poppet 22.