Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-06
DANGERS AvIAToRs MUST FACE.
WhirIing Currents Mean Disaster and
How They Are Met.

WhrIins Currents Mean Disaster ane
How They Are Met.
One often hears the expression
Vanished into thin air." Air is un-
doubtedly the thinnest Of fluids, but
that is not so thin" as the ordinary in.
dividual supposes, and that there is 6
deal of substance in it any aviator
can readily testify
In the words of Arthur T. Ather.
holt, president of the Aero Club OF
| Pennsylvania, who prepared a paper
on Air Currents" at the request OF
the Boston Society of Scientific Re.
search: lone of the most serious prob.
lens with which the aviator has tc
contend, and for which meteorologJ
offers little relief, are the vagaries OF
air currents. There seems to be abso-
|lutely no established or reliable knowl-
edge of these. as their existence as 6
] factor in aviation has only been rec
| ognized since the establishment o
the heavier than air machine, which
must of necessity, or for practical pur-
poses, maintain a lower altitude thar
| the balloon"
The study of air currents, therefore
Especially in regard to vehicles of the
air. is really a new one, and the rec
| ord heights that have been attained
during the past week or two all show
the conquest of the air to be anything
but a foolish dream, and truly won
derful reality although flying in its
present stage is not without its attend
ant perls.
The atmosphere surrounding the
earth is in continuous motion, and the
constantly changing air currents which
result form a very real danger to avi-
ators. Probably the whirlpools of Nj
agara contain no more erratic currents
than those encountered at different
heights. which is a hard fact for land
bility
The air is in a state of inces-
SAINT turmoil The aviator finds he has
to contend with air mountains and val
leys, hills and dales, cataracts and ed
dies-although unseen they are felt
and only at time when immediate
and sure regulation of the different
mechanisms of the air craft is neces-
sary.
Many and various are the proper
tons that go to make up our atmos-
phere, and these are sensitive to de-
gree. The clouds, for instance, throw
shadows, and a shadow always means
lower temperature, giving a cooler
and more contracted atmosphere. This
change has to be met with adjustment
in the nick of time, and If the atmos-
phere enters the changed condition
lend on" say, then the wing or part
of the main plane first affected mus,
receive immediate attention.
In flights through wooded districts
| tree shadows always retain the heavier
air, and the result is to defect thai
part of the machine coming into the
shadows first, tending to overturn the
craft.
Passing out Of the shadow into the
| lighter air the climatic change again
calls for momentary adjustment, no,
only of the ailerons or wing tips, but
of the front control, and probably the
rear rudder, for the aeroplane is like
little boat plunging upon a head
heavy sea; it is tossed and turned lr
all directions.
Another danger that is sometimes
encountered is that of ''air-holes'
-voids through which the aviator anC
machine drop. Mr.. Griffith Brewer
experienced one of these voids wher
flying with Mr.. Orville Wright short
time ago, and NJ. Paulhan in his Lon
DON to- Manchester flight dropped tc
| a depth of thirty feet in a similar "ail
hole"
| Yet another peril of the flying mer
is the steady currents that are eVel
| blowing over the earth's surface. The
tall buildings of our cities and the higf
mountains all tend to upset any cal
culations regarding the probable di'
rection Of the wind. 1t has been prov
ed, however, that air currents have ar
upward tendency when arrested II
| flight, and always run up the side Of
a mountain or high building, and a
the top intermiX with the more horl
zontal passage of air, so forming {
perfect maelStrom.
| The skyscrapers of New York cit!
are especially dangerous from an aVia
| tors point of view, for the wild winds
are met at every turn by the contrar!
currents that are being CONSTANT!
forced out of place and twisting ant
twirling comprise the eddies and whirl
pools and other dangerous forms o
moving air that are responsible foI
the present day difficulties of aeria
navigation.
| The perpetual motion" of the air i
caused in a great measure by the vary
| ing climatic conditions of the earth
| crust, which affect the air immediate
ly above. For instance, it has beer
| shown that warm air rises and coo
air falis-as a natural sequel. The al
directly above fields and land tina
may have retained the heat of the SUI
is always rising, and on its upwart
passage winds its way between heaV.
clouds, forcing them aside, so that the!
naturally fall below to fill the space
| left by the warmer current. These II
turn get heated, and, rising, cause
| constant changes of motion in the up
per elements.
| One of the peculiar vagaries of thu
air is the fact that some of the uppe
| currents have, at different stages,
/ course of opposite direction. Prof. a
Lawrence Rotch. who is perhaps th'
| greatest American authority on th'
subject, has said: I'm some parts o
the world, at height varying from
IOne-Quarter mile to two miles, the sur
face winds are completely reversed, th'
northeast trade winds being south
west and the southeast becoming
| northwest hence it is posi-
BILE for balloon starting from the Af
rican coast (for eXample) TO sail IA
out over the Atlantic, and, rising int
| the upper current, return safely t
land
Another feat, but more dangerous
| would be for balloon starting from
the southern West Indies to seek frs
| the upper current, trusting to tn
northeast trade wind for the return
journey.
/ An aviator has ever to be on tn
alert and be a quick thinker, his BRAN
compelling action simultaneously. Th
experienced air pilot has a sharpening
of the SenseS-"bird sense it is call
| ed. He seems to anticipate comm!
atmospheric changes, and can there
fore regulate his controls exactly a
| Of