New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-12-08

hours experience" and medical officer
j flying field. Their conclusions are
q. follows:
THE mark Of the successful aviator 10
',ne possession of suitable temperament
lie has, as d rule. "a fund OF anima! spirits
and Is athletic. He possesses resolution,
Initiative, presence Of mind, sense OF HUI
nor, Judgment; is alert, cheerful, op.imis-
TIC happy-go-llcky, generally good EEL
low, and frequently lacking in !uegination.'
His aaiscnleAts when off duty are thea
tres, music (chicHy ragtirne), cards ard
dancing, and 1t appears necessary FOR The
vcllheing o. tic acreage pilot ssat he
should indulge IN really riotous evening
s. least once or twice q month As Tor
tho fighting scout as distinct from the
ordinary aviator, he may be described as
tie same, only more 50. HI IL Full Of the
,cy &c life, las Hittle OK no imagination.
10 sense OF respons ibiity,' and very seldom,
cales his work seriously. bu. looks upon
'Hun-strafnG" Us q great game Oddly
COUGH. Z $50 these critics ahirn.-bet-
ter that he should know little or nothing
= The details OF his machine or engine.'
- exhaustive knowledge OF mechancs
seems to be desirable. Is this perhaps be.
cause i is necessary that his flying ap.
rsratLa should become part Of himself?
lie IS constantly obliged to give his at.
'ontion TO something other than the corr
Duct OF his aeroplane, which becomes sub
conscious. a +. man upon fit machine
should apparently not be prcoctupied with
the state C his body or It's mechanical
adjuncts.
Being absorbed in the interest Of their
subject, and anxious TO compare their OBJ
setvation with that Of others in a good
position to judge the airman aud the doc
TOR issued QUESTIONABLE to fully qualified
pilots and found their own conclusions
marvellously confirmed, many OF their
points being very strongly emphasized For
Instance, very large number OF those
who replied 10 their questions as to the
mental makeup Of the successful airaan
declare lack Of imagination to be essential
In slightly different words, one airrnan az
ter another onumerates this negative re-
Quremont. Very little imagination no
imagination,' mot too much imagination
again and again read the same thing
al down The list One witness is very con-
else, and declares the two essential char
acteristics TO be simply % lack Of i'm
agination and 90 endurance It is not
easy 10 be quite sure what they all mean
by lack OF imagination, but other phrases
OF similar kind may throw light upon
the matter An arman should show, we
read, abandonment of care and the words
happy go-lucky' and suggestions Of ire
sponSibility are constantly repeated. Does
imagination initiate against light heart?
We suppose that it does
The aviators who fail c., who begin
well and do not finally make eood--are
those who cannot stand loneliness. They
have pluck enough, they can stand any
danger in company with an instructor, but
solo rying is too much for them. AS soon
81 they begin to fly alone they are con-
stantly faced with terrible choice. They
must fly too low for safety or go up and
chance getting lost behind cloud This
getting lost seems 10 be Of frequent oc-
currence and no especially grave danger
hut one can we'll understand that a man OF
imagination could hardly bear it in soil,
tude
Answers to questions regarding favoyite
aiausements once more confirm our au-
thors' belief. The men whose adventurous
work takes them into the deserts Of space
Like the amusemcnts of the city, and OBJ
>.ousiy wish to add excitement TO excite
fneAt They are frank in their statements
\ Their bold confessions somewhat darken
)b tbs picture, and we have to keep in mind
as ne study It that we are reading OF very
Young; men, Some witnesses give thirty as
the limit Of ago for good aviator, but
our authors ana most of their witnesses
give twenty-five. Englishmen, we read, axe
at their best a little later than Colonials,
@Ad men who have been accustomed to
rough - do better than those who have
led more sheltered lie. Sedsutary occu-
patrons are almost pgohibitivc. a sense
o. fLmor seems to be regarded ns at asset
OF IM'nense Importance 70 the would-be
aviator, and we ere assured that tie sue
eesssuI ones all nave it. In tlla matter
We wish very much thna our authors had
oe''ned their terms norc exactly. Are they
not confusing sense of humor WITH high
spirits, or At least with 'chealy sva.cisr..'?
they are noe at all the same thing. In tie
experience Of the present writer . ssronr
sense Of hu1aor IS by no means common
apart from imagination but, o. course.
there IS an unseldsh courage which, per.
fars, because CT its healthy horror OF pa
raaS has lately found in the ridiculous a
medium OF expression. The quality cannot
he new, but it seems new in its new setting.
'iheSe Is ? pathetic touch which must
TO- he forgotten by. us as we try to descry
the outline OF the airnan. The crashing
Of = messmate produces 4 TERRIBLY deep
}mpressior- These have a common
Aeart, grieyc and exceptionally liable
TO loss Of nerve from mental distress. This
popularity, again, goes very Oddly with
lack Of imagination.
If the writer's in the Lancet Gre wight,
II IS not likely that the novelist who is to