The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-08-30
% brace myself up to pass tns's I ' my,

| In TINS case the entire breakdown
was the result of nervous strain. yet
flying can impose great physical strain
without reference to nerves or mind.
Those who go In for endurance rec
ords are subject TO this, and those OF
US who have made climbing for height
a specially know the terrors of physi-
cal fatigue which is purely muscular
but which has the mental and nery-
GUS element added to II.
Strain Of Endurance Flights.
I have seen men crawl down from
their aeroplanes after long flight and
have seen their friends rush up 10
them to shake hands In congratula.
ton for a noteworthy feat And have
seen the hand dropped at once, for It
could not respond TO the grasp that
was given 1t. There was no life IN
1t. 1t hung limp, inert, powerless and
feelingless from the fatigue of grip
ping lever with little or no change
OF position for so long a time.
Yet endurance flights such as those
made for the Michelin trophy and
prize are flown over good courses,
clearly marked by pylons or posts, and
almost invariably over good grounds
that provide safe landing places at
any time. In this way there is as lit
tie as possible OF nervous and mental
strain. Otherwise such flights as that
OF Henri Farman. vino stayed up over
eight hours. would be impossible.
When these long flights are made
across country the nerve and mind ELL
ter into the equation against the man.
He faces uneven and probably broken
land unified for quick decent If any
thing goes wrong. and he frequently
flies across country that is unfamiliar
TO him, and that keeps him I'm q mental
uncertainty that adds great deal to
the physical fatigue he has to suffer.
The Greatest Strain of All.
Those of us who are foolish enough
to climb for height have all OF these
torments Infinitely multiplied, and,
added to them, we face conditions that
are not met with I'm the ordinary
work closer to the ground.
To most people the strain of altitude
of enduring the rarefed air met with
couple of miles above the earth, but
the big torture comes with the sudden
descent-with the rapid change of
pressures as we drop thousand feet
II minute or more-and this Is indeed n
torture long TO be remembered.
In the early days of my altitude
alt no
ord at Lanark, Scotland, / kept fight
ing for each extra inch as long as
there was any strength or endurance
left in me. / struggled at the top UNI
Ill 1t was useless to struggle any long
er, and then, with all my strength
gone, there was nothing for 1t but to
, fall back to earth with my aeroplane
safety would allow.
When the Head Feels Like Bursting.
came down like thunderbolt As
the descent began the pressure began
to change rapidly with my entering
into heavier and heavier strata OF air,
and / began to feel pains in my head
and ears. These pains got worse with
every second of the descent, and when
l was within hailing distance of the
earth I felt as though something in
side my head would surely burst with
the awful tightening about my ears
and temples. l can appreciate now
the tortures suffered by medieval mar
tyrs who had bands of iron gradually
frightened about their heads. The rec
objection of that descent at LanarlS
makes me sympathize with them pro-
foundly.
At Philadelphia last November rose
more than 5000 feet higher than at
Lanark and 1 fell faster on my de-
scent TO earth, but while my sufferings
were intense they were not so great as
I'm Scotland. for 1 had been told OF
method of counteracting the increasing
pressure and used 1t with great sue
cess. 1 had shortly before this been
talking to Clifford II. Harmon about
some of his ballooning experiences and
had asked him If he had ever suffered
during rapid descents as ] did at Ian
ark.
81 did quite frequently I'm my early
days." said Harmon. "but Captain
Baldwin told me way to avoid It."
.'What Is that?" asked.
'Swallow-swallow constantly" said
Harmon.
So on this plunge from the clouds
above Philadelphia. when my nerves
were raclSed to pieces and my physi-
cal faculties were utterly worn out, L
suddenly thought Of this scheme when
the pressure became painful on my
ears. and the relief was immense.
Effect of an Hour In the Air.
An altitude fight of this kind does
not last long according to the time OF
the watch. 1t seems ages, but my
Paragraph record for my highest climb.
0,S07 feet. showed that 1t took me just
about fifty minutes, to reach the maxi
mum altitude. It could not have taken
more than four or FIVE minutes to de-
scend, but my plunge was so RAPID
that the ink could not flow fast enough
from the style Of the instrument to re-
cord On I cannot fell exactly.