The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-08-26

us UPWARD at neary twice the speed
first employed, anu in a few seconds
the earth below was but dun dark
blurred mass, with now and then a
faint twinkling from an electric light
far below.
The early twilight faded into dark
ness when we had reached the 5000
level, and ! directed Aid, who was
looking after the engines behind me-
to turn on the electric searchlight
The warning came none too soon, for
almost as l spoke there was a little
fluttering, crashing sound as the ma.
chine plunged headlong into a flock OF
sea gulls which had not noticed our
approach.
Better look at the compass" shout.
ed Aid you are out at sea-"
Brushing two of the dead gulls from
the plane at my side, and turning on
the pocket electric light which was
placed at my left over the map and
SOihBdSo' oOOll lGdllAGu ludJ we udu
indeed been following a straight
course across Long Island and were
now probably over the Fire Island
light. Shifting the vertical planes in
the rear a trifie l set them at IS de-
grees, which would mean that the tri-
plane would describe great circles APP
proXimately ten miles in diameter, as
it gradually ploughed upward through
the atmosphere.
The earth was now entirely out of
sight In daylight, as all experienced
aviators know, the earth becomes 'prac-
ticaIly invisible at the 1000 foot level,
even on a clear day. On cloudy days
one is lost to the earth after ascend
ing a few hundred feet Just as the
waiting crowds below at an aviation
meeting find it impossible to distin-
guish even a speck on the horizon ten
minutes after a swift machine leaves
the earth, so the aviator aloft on his
sLeedy career finds himself absolute
ly alone in new world
The sensation is indescribable. One
feels that one has opened up a new
territory, discovered a new realm, in
which he alone is king. Preserving
the balance when thus out of signt
of the earth is not as difficult as one
might imagine, as the laws of gravita-
ton operate through the unseen space,
and one has only to watch the deli
cate mechanism of the anograph to
ascertain whether one is losing the
equilibrium of the machine.
Slowly the needle moved round and
round on the barograpn, steadily reg
istering our ascent. Within the first
hour when darkness had completely
shut us off from the rest of the uni
verse, we had passed the 10000 foot
, level, which for almost year in the
early days of aviation had been
prize goal for the amateur aviators be-
fore the business had been placed on
the firm footing it now enjoys.
Then came the moon. 1t rose at
1902 on the 75tn meridian, but as we
were nearly three miles above the
horizon, we saw it much sooner. 1t
seemed reflected in some faint, misty
manner by the water which we knew
must be far below us, but as we
mounted higher and higher even the
faint reflection disapI cared
At 9:37 p. m. Aid leaned over my
shoulder and grunted. =.
Fifteen thousand feet" he mutter-
ed. 1--WE can do it faster if we use the
other engine"
no. l replied. Hold engine No. 3 ,
for emergencies"
"Emergencies?" he repeated, with a |
laugh. Good Lord, what emergen-
cies can happen now? What? AS IL
the tri-planes are not as safe as an ex.
press train or submarine nowadays"
I4did not argue with him. Aid was
noted for his fondness for a contro-
1ersy. merely signaled to him to
get the oxygen helmets ready, for the
increased difficulty of breathing
showed me that the rarefied air was
asst becoming too thin for us to
breathe with comfort. / noticed, too,
hat our speed seemed to diminish
slightly, as the planes found the sup
.orting air becoming thinner ana
thinner. l fondly reflected, however,
hat the third engine would remedy
his when it became necessary to get
more speed to keep aloft on the last
eg OF our upward climb. However,
we we're soon inside the oxygen he'll
nets, and once more could take
ong, full breath of life-giving ozone.
The helmets of course made further
conversation impossible, but long ex-I
)eriencs in the higher attitudes had