The Topeka state journal., 1919-05-06
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON S
BURE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
Washington. D. c.
\ REALLY SAFE FLYING MA
CHINE"

all the physical sensations of flying,
and to test your fitness for aviation
without once losing your hold upon
the earth, has just been adopted by
the war department for use in train
ing its pilots. 1t is probable that this
device, known as the Ruggles oriental
tor, will be feature of all flying
schools, and will enable civilians as
we'll as soldiers to determine without
risking their lives whether they are
fit for flying.
The Ruggles machine does for the
BEGINNING aviator about what a walk
ing chair does for an infant learning
to toddle-it enables him to go thru
the motions without risking tumble
One of these orientators was Off
cially demonstrated here the other
day. The machine consists of two sets
of steel rings, the larger one of which
is twelve feet in diameter. One ring
revolves in the horizontal plane and
other in the perpendicular plane. The
rings are driven by small motors so
that they revolve within each other
The boat" in which the pupil sits, is
suspended from the inner ring, and its
movements may be controlled from
within by the pupil OF from the out
side by the instructor. The prospec-
tive pilot seats himself in the boat
while the instructor sits, with his hand
on the control, alongside the machine.
The instructor can put his pupil thru
all the motions of machine in the
air by operating the controls; Whlcn
are connected to the machine by
means of wire batteries. After sew
eral demonstrations of looping-the-
loop, dipping, gliding and volplaning.
the pupil is permitted to operate the
machine by the controls in the boat.
The test is even more severe than that
of actual flying. If the neophyte has
anything the matter with his heart
nerves or stomach. which will dis
qualify him for flying. the orientator
will bring the fact out at once.
This new mechanical device is to be
introduced into the course of training
at the various flying fields, and Will
completely revolutionize the wartime
/ system of training aviators. The Rug
giles machine fills the gap between the
ground school and actual flying, thus
giving the cadet the feel of the ship
on the ground before going into the
air Army officers say that the NUM-
| Der of casualties among cadets IN
training is certain to be greatly re-
| duced by the use of the machine, a.
will the subsequent destruction of
| equipment.
| The orientator will not teach a man
actually to fly but it will undoubtedly
| be of great assistance to the embryo
| flyer by developing his senses for fly
! ing 1t will also make the task of his
| instructor easier and less dangerous.
Records show that some of the best
| pilots in the air service have been
killed while instructing. In most cases
| the crashes were not due to defects in
| the planes. The most plausible theory
in most cases IS that the cadet 'froze
the CONTROLS as they say in the army
that is, lost his head and failed to
manipulate the controls as his instruc-
tor told him, thus sacrificing the lives
| of ~
flyer has gone thru all the motions of
| controlling a few hundred times in the
ground machine, any tendency he may
| nave to freeze the controls is pretty
sure to be eliminated.
| The old method of testing the
adaptability of a man to flying, by
whirling him in a revolving chair ten
or more times, is entirely obviated by
this scientific method of finding out
whether or not a man is fitted to be-
come a pilot
Owing to the urgent demand for
pilots during the war, it was then
almost impossible to give much atten-
ton to the improvement of the method
| of training aviators. But now that
I peace has come, the aeronautic divi-
sion of the war department is concen-
trating on the development of better
methods in this all-important military
branch. The adoption of the Ruggles
machine is the first step in that direc-
ton.
1.-The training of the aviator is in
its infancy" declared Mai. F. J. Mar
tel, one of the enthusiastic supporters
of the new method, and a former fly
er in the British royal air force. 1--WE
have not been training enough pilots
to evolve a scientifically correct way
of putting man in the air and know
ing that he will conduct himself as
he should under all emergencies.
NO 1at5
than S,000-were trained during an
urgent demand, and our perspective
of training was kept out of focus.
There has been practically no concen-
tration on the problem. and what
practical systems were evolved were
the work of instructors on the field,
whose one concern was the turning
out of, pilots in numbers.
Now that the demand for the
pilots has been reduced to the mini
mum, it is time to survey the subject
of training with the idea of launch
ing a system by which an aviator may
be trained, not only safely from a
practical standpoint, but scientifical-
ly as we'll The time has passed when
we can allow cadet to take a few
hours ground instructions, a few
hours dual instructions, and then turn
him loose in the air.
THE pupil, under the old system. al
/. no time during his ground school in
struction actually used aeroplane con-
trolls, nor did he experience the effect
flying had on his natural upright po-
sition. Experience is not transfera BILE
A pupil could be told a thousand
times how to handle the controls in a
plane. and yet be completely confused
the minute he was seated in one and
actually controlling. The pupil is
taken from a ground school and sud-
denly placed in an aeroplane and
asked to fly. He is asked to apply
, himself In a most attentive manner al
a time when his mind and senses are
practically paraiyzed with apprehen-
sion and the mental effort to adjust
himself to an absolutely foreign en-
, VirOnment-
Mature did not intend that a man
should fly, nor that man in his pres
ent development should have to think
and act with perfect coordination