The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-07-03
(Associated Press)
ISN'T AWARE WHICH
SIDE IS UP
Uncanny Experiences of Aviators
When Trying to Fly in Clouded
Atmosphere
ASSOCIATED Press)

London, June 26, Correspondence
Dangers of flying in heavy clouds
when it is impossible to keep the air
plane on even keel and the aviator has
only his compass to depend upon were
described by Captain B. c. Hucks, Of
the Royal Flying Corps, in an address
on Modern Airmanship' which he
recently delivered before the Aero
nautical Society. Describing an ex-
perience of his own he said his air.
plane "tumbled about" in the cloud
and that he emerged from it flying
nearly upside down. Captain Hucks
was emphasizing the need of an in
strument that would show an airman
in the clouds whether he was flying
horizontally. He said:
II set out on a very cloudy, windy
day to do a test climb to 10000 feet
on late type two-seater. On reach
ing 1000 feet we got into a dense
rain cloud, but carried on beyond
5000 feet, still in the cloud, when the
compass apparently began to swing,
although actually it is the machine
that begins to swing, not the com
pass. Efforts to check the compass
had the effect of causing it to swing
more violently in the other direction.
The air speed then rushed up far be-
yond normal flying speed. All eff
forts to pull her up checked her only
slightly. Then the rudder was tried.
Back went the air speed to zero.
There was an unusual uncanny feel
ing of being detached from the ma
chine and knew her to be literally
tumbling about in the clouds All
efforts to settle down again to
straight flying seemed to be unavail-
ing, until we emerged from the cloud
very nearly upside down.
|. "a few days ago squadron COM
mander told me that on one occasion
when in France everything loose in
his machine fell out while in cloud
A week or so ago, on the south coast,
machine disintegrated itself in a
cloud and the main planes landed
half mile from the fuselage. In a
cloud you can see nothing whatever
but your machine. There is no fixed
point visible.
"The only means by which you can
tell if you are flying in straight
course is by your compass and your
air speed. The compass should give
you your direction horizontally, your
air speed your direction vertically.
Before your compass starts to
move your machine has already start
ed to turn. You rudder the opposite
way to check it, over-correct it, and
turn sharper the other way on bank
turn; then the nose drops and speed
goes up. Pulling back your elevator
lever has little or no effect, for if
you are banked above an angle of 45
degrees the eleEator becomes the rud-
der. All enis occurs without the pilot
being in the lde aware of the posi-
4
ton his machine is taking relative to
the ground"
Captain Hucks said the rate of inn
provement in aircraft was SO alarm
ingly rapid that manufacturers could
scarcely keep pace. Comparing the
average performances of five differ
Ient types Of machines used at the be-
ginning of the war with others of late
patterns he said the maximum speed
for level flying had nearly doubled
Horsepower was more than doubled.
Airnlanship had advanced more
than it would have done in eight OF
ten years of peace conditions and the
advance seemed to have been along