Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-12
REPORTER ESCAPES
CRASHBY NARROW MARGIN
Aviation Student Tells of Experiences
During First Two Hours in Air.
Hasn't Learned Much Yet.

You're not driving a truck Move thu
stick Just a little at time and ease the
ship around the turns. Keep your nose
up. Now your left wing is too low No,
don't try to jerk 1t back, ease it back.
/ Try to be rhythmical,"
For 30 minutes the next day I praC
ticed turns at 5000 feet while Bill cor
rected my faults through the new ear
phone attachment with tubes leading
from a transmitter IN his hand to
receivers in my helmet,
1t was a one-sided conversation and
the remarks I heard above the terrific
clatter of the motor and the shrek OF
the wind were not all flattering.
Earphones are great help in train
ing. l think learned more in 80 min
utes than I did in an hour and half
without the phones.
Before this the only means of CONF
munication from the instructor in the
front cockpit back to me was by little
Jerks on the dual control system or by
his cutting off the motor to yell some
thing back at me. Generally couldn't
understand because of the shrill scream
ing of the wind through the wires and
struts of the plane.
Like Novice Automobile Driver.
just as person learning to drive an
automobile nervously Jerks the wheel
from one side to the other too quickly
overcontrolled the plane / had a
vague idea that An aviator WreStles
with the control stick and that flying
in some way resembles AN athletic con-
test. This is not true With the plane
we are flying it is possible to control
most of the time with three fingers on
the stick.
The danger Of overcontrolling an
airplane is much greater, because there
are so many directions in which it may
move or drift You can steer II side
wise. to the left or right, or up and
down. also in every possible combina-
ton of these directions, The air Is not
/ a sable element either, and at nn
miles an hour or Sc you are continual
ly running into bumps" or new up,
down or lateral currents which cause
the plane to drop. buck or slide out OF
its course.
When you are Just starting to fly. as
l am, and don't know what you're dons
three-fourths of the time anyhow, 1t is
pretty diSconcerting to have the plane
drop so or 100 feet and feel yourself
slammed against the safety strap which
holds you to the seat
A constant. sensitive changing of the
positions of the control stick and rud~
der bars is necessary. There arc calm
DAYS when the plane almost flies itself,
but In my first two weeks OF training
haven't been lucky enough to meet one.
No Time for Scenery.
There is no time for day-dreaming or
even enjoying the scenery. AS the
plane banked over steeply and We made
a turn ! could see for an instant out OF
the corner of my eye beautiful hazy
map-1ike landscapes with clouds float
ing over them and below us. The next
instant ] realized with a nervous JERK
that the plane had banked too steeplf
to that side and I must move the stick
over TO try TO pun it back before ve
slipped off and plunged into stdeslip
nist like an automobile running of q
steep embankment.
i've had not quite two hours IN the
air vet. You never learn much the
first two hours" the instructor said
1T takes you that long To get accus~
toned enough 10 the feeling Of being
in the air 10 begin ia learn something
After five or six hours youll oegln
to get the hang Of the thing so well
that youth feel like q veteran. Then, u
you are like many students, you'n get
overconf1dent and be In more danger
than you are now"
Copyright, 1929. IN All Countries bs me
North American Newspaper Alliance
In MS article next SUNDAY Brown Will tell
how ne stalled his plane IN the air, md What
wnuId have resulted had ne not plenty Of
altitude between himself and the ground