Evening star., 1927-10-11
Flying With Gen. Patrick
-.--------- T.
By Mai. Gen. Mason NJ. Patrick
Chief of the Army Air Corps
Start of the Flight.

The pilot opens the throttle to test
his engine in preparation for the
| flight. Finding everything satisfac-
tory. he throttles down the engine and
gives the signal to remove the blocks
| from the landing wheels Again the
throttle is opened, the propeller be-
gins whirling faster and faster, set
| ting up a deafening roar. The plane
starts moving along the ground, the
blast of air from the propeller send
ing a shower of loose dirt and peD-
bles flying to the rear.
AS the plane gains momentum the
pilot veers it into the wind ana
pushes the control lever. or Joy
Stick" forward, thereby causing the
elevators to move below the horl.
zontal from their point of attachment
to the horizontal stabilizer. The tail
now is lifted off the ground and the
| plane is skimming along in what is
| termed flying position, it's longi-
tudinal axis being approximately
| parallel with the ground. The air
| pressure caused by the speed OF the
| plane and the velocity of the wind
| into which it is headed combine to
provide the necessary lifting force.
A boy flying kite employs one OF
the fundamental principles In ava
| ton. He heads his kite into the WIND.
| giving it forward motion by running
with the string, thus producing mt
which is required to sustain 1t IN
| flight. His necessary speed varies in
versely with the speed of the wind.
| So with the plane-the ground speed
is governed by the speed of the wind,
Reaches 1OO.MiIe Speed.
If there is no wind blowing, the
| pilot finds it necessary to attain a
! speed of 40 or more miles per hour
| before the plane clears the ground.
Once free of the ground, the plane
takes to the air swiftly and easily. It's
speed increases and only the roar of
| the engine and the rush of the air
can be heard as the plane wings along,
| high over fields and streams.
The air speed meter on the inStru-
| ment board points to 100 miles per
| hour" The air seems to be rushing
| madly at the plane. The latter is
pulled forward by the propeller and
| upward by the wings, climbing at
| the rate of about 1000 feet minute.
Factors of prime Importance con-
| tributing to the propulsion of the air.
plane upward are the forward speed,
| the angle at which the wings are in
| EllUGu W lAlC SILCulIls tic area VI
the supporting surfaces (wing area)
and the shape of the wings. Early
| pioneers in the science of aeronautics
discovered that more lifting power
could be obtained from an inclined
plane by making it arched instead of
| fiat. This curvature of the wing is
known as Gambler"
Vacuum Aids Lift.
The air, as the plane moves for.
| ward, strikes the front edge of the
4. wings, and as it passes over that sec.
tion it creates a semi-vacuum or rare
| field area over most of the top sur
face. Strange as it may seem, less
| than half of the increased lift of a
cambered wing is due to the pressure
on its under side. Nearly three-fifths
of the lift is the result of the convex
upper side. The vortex or eddies set
up in the air by the rapid progress
of the plane cause a vacuum over the
top, and the wing, if properly curved,
actually is drawn upward with force
powerful enough to have a great
effect on its lifting power.
| Speeding through the air one Won
ders whether it would not be better
TO construct a plane shaped like a
wedge, with the heavy or blunt part
trailing. Every portion of the plane,
however, is constructed so that the
blunt edge is in front. The wings,
the struts-connecting rods between