Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-02
FIGHTING CYCLONE
5000 FEET IN AIR
Plane Navigator Tells of Thrilling
Experiences During Fierce
Storm.

An observer in an airplane describing an
experience in a storm thousands OF feet
above the earth writes:
"rrhe sl<v was strewn with the remnants
of morning cirrus, as the climb wns nade
carefully, but swiftly, on the wings OF
warm wind Eight thousand feet were
reached with the merest effort. ne
salient features of the countryside could
be picked out without glasses. The air had
a milky tinge. but il was such rs the eve
could speak through. and IT gave no mn
preston of the moisture with which IT
must have been heavy. It seemed warm
and brilliant end as the machine throbbed
its way through it. two warm slip streams
flowed over the wind screen.
"Some time must have elapsed heiore
the pilot, in twisting the craft round to
n new direction, caught glimpse OF
livid purple-gray bank OF clouds whlch had
erent nm from the south. 1t had come
quite unheralded by thunder, but al
though the sight was not attractive there
seemed neither cause for alarm nor need
for premature descent. Even the growi
ing rumble of thunder nj great distance,
which came at last. failed TO disconeert,
and the airplane SCARED on with bracing
wires singing and the engine In deep, fuil-
throated roar.
"Then, without further warning, the
storm broke in full fury A mighty crash
of thunder. which seemed to deaten ana
deaden and almost shake the mac chine
out of the skies, was accompanied py WHO
burst of hail and rain which lashed the
machine mercilessly and made 1t toss
from one side To the other like cork on
the surface Of the sea. In a steamlng
cloak of rain and mist it was Impossible
for the eve to see the ground.
peal after peal Of thunder followed IN
swift succession between VIVID flashes oi
furious summer lightning The heavens
had opened TO pour forth the acciifnnMIaI M
ed passion of centuries. NJ nearly f'ooo
feet up it would be suicidal TO descend
into the unknown and unseen. W Wnich
was safer-air or landY 10 the pliot,
anxious almost beyond endurance, came,
the thought common to every hylng man
Of fire in the air: and as II to conhrm TINS
horror a fash in moment illuminated the
whole machine as though il were caught IN
the probing beam of a searchlight at night.
The skv was rent from vault to horizon
bv vivid streak of electric FIRE. The M
dicating fingers on the navigation IN
struments oscillated wildly.
at seemed the last moment; but It
passed, and still the machine was arr
worthy. The hail still tore fercely at the
fabric of the planes; the machine was be-
coming more and more unstable; but u
still hummed on. Down below cloud OF
vapor made it impossible to see the earth
or TO sight a stretch of ground whereon to
land. The thunder broke with undated
fury at regular intervals, and at each on
sIaueht the machine quivered like
wounded bird. +.
"If the pilot continued TO fly on II
could ONLY be a matter OF moments be-
fore all control of the craft would be
wrenched from his hands. 1t was equally
hazardous to plunge down into the sea oi
mist in total ignorance of the lie OF the
land beneath. But to the latter course
only could shred OF hope cling. The en-
CINE therefore was suddenly shut oil and
the nose of the machine dropped.
''Bv the altimeter, watched feverishiy
the descent of few thousand feet seemed
to take many minutes In the thick of 8
swirlinQ mist a sudden and violent con
tact with the earth was momentariiy ex
pected. But downtown; until at wha'
seemed the critical second there came {
sudden thrush of steady grateful AIR iron
a region of smiling content and peaceiul
/ ness, with the earth a thousand feet be
| low. There was no sunshine, but there
was also no storm. 1t had been cyclone
| of the uDpeT regions only.