Evening star., 1926-02-01

Under its influence metal contracts
and tends to draw snug fittings out
of alignment. Blittleness increases
and the vibration of the motor some
times snaps metal parts like chalk.
AS for the sun, Without the pro-
tecting atmosphere, the sun beams
directly upon objects at great heights
and it's rays blister the human skin
within a few moments. AS protec-
ton aviators cover their faces with
grea-se-axle grease Is as good as
any-before going over 10000 feet.
Heavy fur gloves and Eskimo suits
ward off the sun from the rest of the
body as well as hold the natural
warmth.
If the Oxygen Fails.
An aviator always faces the chance
that his oxygen supply will fail If
this happens above the 25.0O0-foot
level, after he has been taking oxy-
gen for some time, Il flyer will go un-
conscious at once. This accident &C
tually happened to Maj. r. w.
Shredder in 1920. when his oxygen
supply suddenly ran out after he was
nearly 1000 feet up. on this occa-
sion the aviatOr'S automatic oxygen
apparatus froZe up, and he had to
switch to his emergency bottle. Be
fore realizing the supply was gone he
went unconscious and fell nearly )
miles. The last thing he remembered
was lifting his hand and raising his
goggles, until some strange idea
struggled into his consciousness a few
minutes later and bade him act
quickly.
With the peculiar instinct that
aviatolS develop, he realized at once
that he was flying, but that some
thing was wrong. He glanced over
the side of the machine and immedi-
ately pushed the rudder straight and
pulled the controls backward. right
Ing the afrplane at approximately
5000 feet. He managed to land the
machine, but his eyes We're frozen and
his ears bursting from the rapid de
scent.
Another Thrill.
On a previous altitude flight this
same aviator nearly waited too long
before turning on the oxygen. His
sensation at this time, as contained
IN his report, is interesting:
When | reached $4,000 feet l no.
tlced the sun growing very dim. |
couo hardly hear my motor run and
| was very hungry. The trend of my
thought was that it must be getting
very late; that evening was coming
on. But as l was still climbing /
thought l might as we'll stick to it a
little longer. for | knew ! should
reach my ceiling pretty soon. Then
/ could go right down, and even
though it We're dark l could land all
right, for l had made night landings
many times before.
$50 went on. and soon began talk
ing to myself This I felt was good
sign to begin taking oxygen, which
l did.
Il was then over $4,000 feet. AS
soon as | started to inhale the oxygen
the sun grew bright again. my motor
exhaust began to get so loud that
thought something was wrong with it
| was no longer hungry, and the day
seemed to be a most beautiful one.
felt like singing with joy
Unusual psychology begins when
the lungs begin to lack the usual
amount of oxygen. This is true even
on the ground where laboratory tests
have been conducted, as we'll as in the
upper regions of the atmosphere.
An aviator with his oxygen supply
gone. or lowered, may read his instru
| mentS backwards, or write numbers
incorrectly. Fortunately, common
sense still hangs around to inform him
of his error. Flyers have watched
dial climb up to 25,000 feet and have
been amazed to find themselves think
| ing that it was registering this dis
tance in the other direction-below sea
level, But few moments of laborious
! reasoning would correct this impreS
sion. In writing the number 81, for
example, aviators have written IS
with complete assurance, and then
were surprised at what they wrote
after coming down or taking oxygen
| Time also hangs heavily upon al
aviator seeking altitude records, es
pecially with his oxygen low. All
aviator naturally thinks in split sec
onds. and thus much goes on in a few
minutes. He may inspect a half
dozen instruments and interpret the
readings of each within three seconds