The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-08-20
SEvEREST TESTS
IN AVIATION CORPS
Candidates For AIrmen Must
Meet Rigid Requirements.
MANY ARE REFUSED DAILY

Must Not Only Be Physically Sound,
but Must Have Acute Eyesight and
Balance-Sense Of Touch 10 Also
Carefully Examined by Physicians,
and Many Refused on These Grounds.
Perfect physical condition Is only one
Of the requisites Of the aviator, and the
degree Of perfection desired Is far be
yOnd that expected In any other branch
OF the government military service
But to top this on, the finest organs.
perfect limbs and all around physical
proficiency count as nothing unless the
candidate for a place In the aerial
corps can pass a series Of tests which
for ingenuity OF search are appalling to
the man under the probe.
Strong, vigorous youths who could ft
into any other branch OF the service are
daily refused In aviation because their
lack Of balance, the sixth sense. which
few knew any possessed, would con
denim them to speedy death, OF because
OF their inability to distinguish browns
from greens at great heights would
cause them to drop into treetops in
stead Of plowed fields.
Whispering Test Next
The candidate must fall within the
weights of 100 pounds as a minimum
and 100 pounds as a maximum. After
each man Is credited with his mark for
physical fitness and s%oundness OF the
organ his hearing Is examined by the
whispering test Mt distances OF twenty
feet.
All possible diseases are hen inves
tigated. Each man In sounded and e
amined from the top OF the head 10 the
soles OF his feet. If any has skin dis
ease, v~arlcose veins or other complaints
Of a similar nature he is counted out
until cured. Flat feet. unless they are
Of a very serious nature, are not a bar
to the aviator. as he IL not compelled to
march.
The dynamic test follows. This Is
the first deviation from a general physi-
cal examination. Each candidate Is
compelled to stand IN "A corner Of the
room and walk %diagonally forward
with eyes shut and then walk back
ward TO the point from which he start
ed. This tests his sense of direction.
The Vital Sixth Sense.
The most interesting part remains.
That is 10 discover how well developed
In each man Is the vital sixth sense.
the principle of equ%ilibration. An ex-
pert on this subject explains 1t as fol
lows:
in Zach ear are three tiny canals
filed with lymph. These really are the
spirit levels of the body. Movement In
any direction is communicated through
the flow of the fluid In these tiny ca
nails To sensitive nerves, which carry
the impression to the brain. This or
gan in turn sets about correcting the
balance In the normal method"
Then begins the test of balance. The
candidate il seated In an armchair
working upon a pivot, with a head
rest for security and a tall handle pro-
jecting above, by which the chair can
be turned. The youth is told TO fasten
HIS tAc hHbl an tuJtNt anu Iich NloSt
his eyes.
The chair Is then spun rapidly to the
right. ten revolutions I'm twenty sec
onds. AS IL Is stopped suddenly facing
the stationary object the candidate
opens his eyes and endeayors to focus
them upon the object. The dizzy mo-
ton causes the Eyes to jerk rapidly
from side to side until they regain
their natural control Twenty-six sec
onds are allowed for the nerves To re
gain control. Then the same test Is
performed with the spinning to the
left. This test shows the rapidity with
which the candidate regains control of
his balance after being violently twist
ed and turned.
Testing Sense Touch.
The spontaneous touch test next is
In order. The candidate closes his
eyes. The physician standing before
him at arms length holds his index
finger so that the youths finger rests
upon II. lie IL then ordered to raise
his arm and allow II to descend grad
ually to see whether II will come back
to the same point Of contact.
This was nc very severe task, but
thaA nyINrI fnI1NurnI x.na nna NJ thn