New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-05-25
Are Arm e N
Afraid? Not
Often
<;r n EDICAL and Surgical
/" Nj Aspects of Aviation"
AvA is to be the title of a
book which will appear

book which will appear
,resently IN England, and, accord
NC to "The London Times" the
rroblem of the proper selection of
r,lots+which becomes increasingly
;mnortant with the development Of
civil aviatSon-will be fully dealt
9th. The writer continues:
, s1t has been written by Major Graeme
Anderson. surgeon, Royal Air Force
Central Hospital "a doctor in posses
aim Of q pilots certifcate), and to
rsich Colonel Martin Flack, Director
=, Medical Research to the Royal Air
Farce. and Major Oliver Gotch, Physi-
ia, 70 the Royal Air Force Central
gospItal, have contributed chapters.
Lord Weir has written an introduction.
.The author illustrates in q very
.orcibls manner the results of failure
10 test the wouldbe airman thoroughly
and 10 keep him fit The ideal air
man must possess good health and
eool temperament Men who have
nlsyed games and led an outdoor life
are given the palm. But there are ex-
c.ptions to this rule. The author says:
aTvery now and then one meets the
.yue, with splendid physique and ap-
psrently unsuitable courage, and finds
that he learns to fly indifferently or is
unable to learn at all; and, again, one
meets the weedy, pale type, learning
quickly to fly and turning out a first
class pilot
1.-THE tests which have been devised
are Of very searching kind. The eyes
especially are subject to scrutiny. The
author believes that the airman is, for
tie most part, dependent on impress
sions conveyed through the eyes for
his sense Of balance during a flight.
The visual reaction time is carefully
observed. This Is the time which
elapses between the point at which the
ere sees anything and the point at
which consequent muscular action
takes place.
aIn q similar way hearing and the
sense of touch can be tested and the
reaction tines Of these senses deter
mined.
Colonel Flack deals with oxygen
want and insists on the need of q
good vital capacity'-i. e., lung air
space. He has devised means of esti-
mating this, and uses modification of
IN ordinary gas meter for the purpose.
Again, pilots who wear we'll have good
exploratory force, due to good abdomi-
nal muscles. This force can be tested
By causing the candidate to blow
against the pressure of column Of
mercury. Soundness of heart is, of
course, as essential as soundness of
Wind.
The study Of aeroplane accidents
has proved OF great value. The causes
st these, so lar as the pilot is con-
earned are classified as error of judg-
nent, loss of head, brain fatigue, fear,
PHYSICAL illness. Error Of judgment is
ae comn1onest cause of all, and this
most frequently occurs during the
process Of landing, 'fattening out too
soon, and so on. Fear is said to be
rare, as the mind is TOO much occupied.
The air has given us new kind of
fracture, comparable with the 'chauf-
ssurs fracture of early motoring days.
IL is called 'aviator's astragalus,' and
consists Of the breaking Of one Of the
bones Of the ankle.
The author throws out the sugees-
Ton that flying may be found to have
therapeutic value. He recalls that
saiewin IN 1876 heartily recommended
ssiiSoa ascents for convalescents, and
nas fiammarion assembled in a balloon
siin an attack Of influenza on him, and
.asa ne came to earth ne was COM
Aletelv rnrad