River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-04-27
IN The AIR
Perils For the AeropIane Pilot
When He Loses His Way.
FACING THE DIVE TO DEATH.
When the Machine Gets Into a Cloud
1t Has Tendency to Fly In Circles,
and When 1t Strikes Bump #
Takes Dangerous Plunge or Dip.


What must be the sensations Of the
aeroplane pilot gone astray in midair,
! travelling at more than express train
speed? Far, far below the fields and
villages and roads fash past; racing
there between heaven and earth, with
/ the knowledge that but half an hours
! gasoline remains aboard; then, unless
suitable landing ground shows up, a
dive to certain death!
| What does the face Of the earth look
like viewed from above? The first
glimpse over the side is apt to be both
curious and bewildering. There, jum-
bled together in peculiar and irregular
masses, are houses. Roads wind and
turn and run into one another on all
hands. Railways appear from entirely
unexpected directions. The topography
appears to be wholly different from
that shown by the map. Towns appear
so small and the open country so ex-
tensive in proportion. Ones view COW
ers such wire area Of pygmy build
ings clustering around and intersected
by white ribbons Of roadways and long.
narrow, cleaning lines of railway
tracks.
The earth is one large color scheme,
in which the blue Of the rivers and
lakes, the green of the fields and open
spaces and the gray Of the plowed and
cultivated land predominant, splashed
here and there with the red and white
and black of the villages and towns.
After an altitude Of 2,10O feet has
been reached the whole surface is per-
fectly fat in appearance, hill and dale
being Of the same level. This matter
of indistinguishable contour is one of
the greatest existent dangers to aerial
navigation and goes far to nullify the
good effects of the altimeter, as that
instrument only records height above
sea level. Thus a pilot flying across
country may encounter range Of hills
1000 feet in height and find himself
liable at any moment to run into some
high point with his altimeter recording
1000 feet, as in point of fact he is,
above sea level.
Thus the differences in altitude of
the surface of the earth present the
same danger and the same risk to the
pilot of the air as do the rocks and
shoals in the bosom of the ocean to the
navigator of the seas.
When a pilot has lost his way in
either fog or cloud there is tendency
for the machine to fly in circular di-
rection and always to the right hand.
Another danger which presents itself
at low altitude is the bump or
patch of. rarefied air, the immediate
effect of which is to make the plane
either drop, plunge or dip on either
side. The drop is often considerable,
and pilots have reported drops Of as
much as 200 feet at time.
Climbing higher to between 5000 and
10000 feet, clouds are encountered.
and these are, if anything, more dan
| gerOus than the bump" Once in a
cloud, an aeroplane behaves much in
the same way as a ship on a stormy
sea, and should it get into nose
dive" when in cloud it very rarely
RECEIVERS it's equilibrium, and the result
is usually fatal.
| A pilot when engaged on a long
cross country fight before leaving the
| ground draws line on his map from
| the point of departure to the point at
which he intends to alight mentally
noting any prominent objects which
will reveal themselves en- route.
! Towns and villages are naturally the
most prominent features in the tOpog-
raphy of the earth. To their shape
and formation particular notice must
be given; also where and how they
are divided by roads, rivers or rail-
ways is Of the utmost Importance.
Next In order of value, but the most
easily distinguished from the air mans
point of view, are sheets of water.
Railways are always extremely USE
full guides and can easily be distin-
| guiShed from as great an altitude as
10000 feet. The rails CLEAN In the
sun on bright day, and the track is
usually very straight.
The most convenient and the most
interesting from purely observa-
| tional point of view height at which
to fly on long cross country trip is
1000 feet, for below that height one
is apt to feel the effect of bumps" or
of blasting furnaces" or Of tall fac
tory chimneys. The wind affects the
aeroplane in much the same way as
currents and tides affect the ship at
sea, often causing it to drift long
way from the true course, and this has
to be allowed for when using the COM
pass. Finally, the secret Of accurate
aerial navigation is the strictest tatten-
ton to detail and topography and the
concentration of the mind on the SUBJ
| ject in hand.-Cincinnati Enquirer.
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