St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-08-16

TO brace myself up to pass the scrutiny
Of the oEloolzers about the hangers.
In this 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 speciality know the terrors OF physi-
cal fatigue which is purely muscular,
but which has the mental and nerv-
Gus element added to it.
Strain of Endurance Flights.
have seen men crawl down from
their aeroplanes after long flight and
have seen their friends rush up to
them to shake hands in congratula-
ton for noteworthy feat. And have
seen the hand dropped at once, for it
could not respond to the grasp that
was given it. There was no life in
it. It 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, who stayed up over
eight hours, would be impossible.
When these long flights are made
across country the nerve and mind en-
ter into the equation against the man.
He faces uneven and probably broken
land untitled for a quick decent if any
thing goes wrong, and he frequently
flies across country that is unfamiliar
to him, and that keeps him in mental
uncertainty that adds a 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 in the ordinary
work closer to the ground.
To most people the strain of altitude
climbing appears to be only matter
of enduring the rarefed air met with
a 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
q minute or more-and this is indeed a
torture long to be remembered.
In the early days of my altitude
al WI 7 of h0
ord at Lanark, Scotland, I kept fight
ing for each extra inch as long as
there was any strength or endurance
left in me. 1 struggled at the top IN
til it was useless to struggle any long
er, and then, with all. my strength
gone, there was nothing for it but to
fall back to earth with my aeroplane
pointed as sharply toward the earth as
safety would allow.
When the Head Feels Like Bursting.
I 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
I 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. I 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 Lanark
makes me sympathize with them pro-
foundry.
At Philadelphia last November rose
more than 5000 feet higher than at
Lanark and I fell faster on my de-
scent to earth, but while my sufferings
were intense they were not so great as
in Scotland, for 1 had been told of
method Of counteracting the increasing
pressure and used it with great sue
cess. I had shortly before this been
talking to Clifford B. Harmon about
some of his ballooning experiences and
had asked him If he had ever suffered
during rapid descents as I did at Lam
ark.
ST did quite frequently in my early |
days." said Harmon, ''but Captain
Baldwin told me way to avoid it."
%'What is that?" I asked.
sSwallow-swallow constantly" said |
Harmon.
So on this plunge from the clouds |
above Philadelphia, when my nerves
were racked 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. It seems ages, but my
Paragraph record for my highest climb,
d COZ feet showed that Ii took me- inst