The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-06
HOW|TFEELSTO
 BE UP 4000 FEET Army Aviator Describes
 His Feelings a
 WAS FROZEN NUMB Did Not Realize Condition Until He Was Too Stiff to Guide
 His Flying Machine
 Accurately
From the Washington Post.

From the Washington Post.
 "How does it feel to be nearly frozen in the clouds?" was asked of Lieutenant Arnold, at College Park.
 Were you ever locked in an ice box after leaving the warm rays of the sum mer sun? Well. If you can imagine how that feels, you can appreciate my pre- dicament during my aeroplane flight last Tuesday morning." said Lieut.. Harold Il. Arnold, the intrepid army aviator, as ne mounted his machine for flight.
 Lieutenant Arnold was almost frozen while attaining a new altitude record for the army. His body became so numb that he was scarcely aware of what he was doing. Fortunately he realized his pre- dcament just In time to start his craft sarthward before any serious mishap oc' cured. Lieutenant Arnold gives the fol- lowing account of his experience:
 s"We got out to the aviation field rather carly Tuesday morning, and Lieutenant Milling and myself decided to make record number of flights. Later, thought It would be a good idea to try to beat
  At exactly 20 minutes after 10 o'clock I left the earth The wind was rather chilly around the hangars.
 Wore Street Clothing
 1T wore nothing but my street clothing, however, and mounted the pilots seat. I went around the field at fairly good clip, but noticed nothing unusual in the hat tlt1A air was little damp, and the suns rays were absent. I was at the 1000 loot mark when I began to feel cold. My engine was working at it's best, and I attributed The unusual chill to the speed I was mali- lng against the wind.
 After leaving the 1000-foot mark the Rir became noticeably cooler, ard the er- zine was gaining speed. I even missed the warmth of the cylinders, that IS usually felt behind the back of the aviator. l paid no attention to this at that time, and it was not until I had risen 5000 feet above lhe ground that I realized there was something wrong. By this time I was be- ginning to feel a slight tinge of cold at my finger tips. I attributed this to low pressure of the atmosphere in the strata of air in which I was doing most of my  reached higher realms I would find warmer air currents. Then T started climbing in figure -eights until I was another 800 feet higher
 Just as in the ocean, there are swirl Ing downward and upward currents; those maelstrooms in which the machine pitches and losses, and which sometimes ure hot and sometimes cold. Into one of ihese maelstrooms I thought had driven my craft, and that is why I endeavored to reach still higher levels, not thinking that I was running into colder air cur rents all the time Possibly I was crazed for the time being and did not know what I was doing. At any rate, pro reeded, and before knew it I was at the i0o0 foot level.
 By this time I had almost lost the use cf my body. My fingers felt as though they were frost bitten. There I was, 4O00 feet above the earth and feeling ti!o power leaving my hands. l felt liFe man in dream, who is trying to pick up something and cannot move it.
 You've felt that way, haven't you? Ever dream you were running race, and that just as you wanted to maxe your final spurt you seemed glued to the ground, and the fellow you were racing walked past you? Well, that's just how l felt when I was at the 4000-foot lever, with no control of my levers.
 'There is one good thing about a bi- plane, after all, and that is that when you have set your radder and elevator md your engine is working well, the ma chine will keep straight on its course. Of course it is always well to keep one hand in close proximity of the control levers, and so when I knew that the ma chine would climb without me watching the control levers l just kept one laiid on the lever and beat the other agains+ my thigh, in order. to start the circula- ton of blood. As soon as l had that Land in fairly good condition I managed the control with it and then warmed the tther in like manner
 Could Not Warm Feet
 My hands, however, were not the only part of my body that was cold Out cr the dashrail my feet were suffering tor ment couldn't even kick them against the dashrail, because the rail is made nj rail piece of white ash and were I to Kick it to pieces I would come tumblrg out of the aeroplane head first. When YOU are coming down in a spira: gli1e it is the dashrail that holds you r the pilots seat.
 ''The terrible cold began to creep up to my breast, and I thought that my heart would congeal. All these sensations were taking place rapidly, and I was travelling at the rate of 50 miles an hour.
 Tt was at the altitude of 4l5l rect that ] began to realize that T was freezing, and had I gone 1000 higher I an sure 4t would have been the end of me. But I didn't. I started to come down, and then. it was that I realized how weak and help less was. My craft pitched and tossed from one side to the other, and many times l felt it lurch from its equilibrium. My hands seemed poweress. I held the two levers. But didn't have the power to twist my fingers around the handles tight enough to move a plane
 Remembered His Instructions
 %'Luckily I remembered some of the in- structions that Wilbur Wright had given me when was a student at his school in Dayton, o. He told me that if an aero rlane were brought to earth in a spiral glide and the descent was steep enough the machine would make the landing al- most by itself, because the pressure of the fir against the rudder and planes would Eold it in true position. And that is just What did. I gritted my teeth and <uni- mOned enough strength to start the ma chine in spiral glide to the earth It was not long before I felt ths air about me growing warmer, and almost before I knew it I was back on terra firma. eazed at first, but after a few minut,s ] was all right, and that afternoon I went pp for short flight.
 Tt was terrible thought to me when l realized how narrow had been my es- cape. All that night I could hardly sleep. thinking about it. Now I have re-