The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-12-11
CITIES SMELLS
C0MPASSES TO
GUIDE AIRMEN
Many a Harassed Pilot Has
Been Able to Find Way by
Familiar Route Scents
FLYING GUESS PASSING
Mechanical Devices Removing
Element of Chance Are Now
Safeguarding Airmail
FLYING GUESS PASSING

Editors Note: This is the
fifth and last story of q series
on the dangers faced by pilots
who fly the airmail.
The installation, now in progress,
of radio bcacons, radio phones and
other modern devices for control Of
airplanes will soon eliminate the
guesswork and most Of the dangers
from airmail flying.
Even now pilots are flying the
Always, with headphones tucked in
their helmets, in constant commune
cation with radio stations at strate-
gle points along their route.
If sudden storms develop. the
weather bureaus broadcast a radio
phone warning and every pilot listen
ing in can be warned to "sit down"
at an emergency field until the storm
passes.
Two-Way Communication
Soon two-way commandments
tween station and plane and pilot
and station-will be in operation and
radio will have written the last
chapter in the dangers of flight.
But these modern conveniences
were not available for the pilots who
first tried the dangerous blind fly
ing and night flying. They were
forced to develop for themselves
many rules of thumb and to find
their way through the air wastes.
They became adopts at reading the
topography of the country below
them and thus finding their location
by consulting their maps.
Guided by Smells
MANY an airinail pilot has found
his way about the country merely
by knowing the smells of various
cities" says Wesley L. Smith, one of
the early airmail pilots and now
superintendent of the eastern divis-
ion Of National Air Transport Co.
"But sometimes the sense of smell
forsakes you or the wind is blowing
in the wrong direction. Then there
are other methods Of finding your
way and we had to resort to them
in the old days.
"On one occasion I was flying into
CHICAGO with Bert Mcconnell, one
of the editors of the Literary Digest,
Tas passenger, l knew when l had
reached Chicago but the weather was
SO murky / couldn't locate the field.
That was in the days before we had
any night flying equipment in our
planes, not even searchlight.
Lights Matches to See
II had been lighting matches all
l N NH.IA -
pass, which was between my feet.
! tried several times to locate Check
erboard Field, the Chicago terminal,
but failed. My gas was getting low
and l had to get down before it ran
out.
$50 I flew west several miles and
then dived down through the dark
ness. l found d field bordered by a
lighted road. Gliding in over the
field I dragged it, looking for OBJ
stacles. There didn't appear to be
any SO circled again and sat down.
AS l came in my undercarriage
dragged through the top of tree
l hadn't seen but / got down safely.
l was only three miles west of
Checkerboard Field and must have
been right over it when was hunt
ing for it"
On another occasion coming west
over the Pennsylvania mountains
Smith lost his way in thick weather,
When it broke he saw large city
on the northern horizon. Thinking
it was Cleveland he headed for it
Then he spied Niagara Falls and
found the city was Buffalo. So he
| followed the shore Of Lake Erie to
Cleveland.
Railroads Are Guides
One of the methods used by pilots