Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-04

likely to mean q continuation of health,
happiness and we'll being.
The black spot is used on the airport
at night to blank out tiny area in the
glare of the fioodiights so as to avoid
binding the pilot for whose benefit the
light is intended.
Just how beneficial the black spot Is
when properly applied is revealed by
the fact that before the black spot was
used one pilot was blinded for several
hours. and another was blinded for
three days at one airport when the
hoodlights were suddenly turned on in
their faces as landings were being
made at night.
So much do pilots dread being blinded
by the tremendous glare CT the field
fioodlights that another pilot at the
same airport cut his engine a long way
from the airport and glided silently in,
choosing to make a dead-stick landing
in the dark rather than face the blind
ing lights.
The black spot, as used when pilots
metal disk or a board, held in front of
the light so as to cut off the direct rays
from the pilots face, but still TO light
the ground ahead of his plane.
Accumulates 1000 Hours.
Acts of Congress and other misfor-
tunes of man end nature ordinarily
limit the amount of flying an officer
of the Air Corps may put in during a
year. 1t is only good fortune that
enables an officer to pile up a really
large amount of flying time.
Consider, then, the type of good for
tune which blessed Lieut.. Thad V.
,f~ frD1 Nf1 Of 10
9th Corps Area, with headquarters At
Fort Sam Houston. Lieut.. Fosters job
calls for flying and more flying The
Job eased him around many of the OBJ
stacles which prevent fellow Air Corps
officers putting in the flying time many
or them desire.
The result was that during the past
year Lieut.. Foster was able TO accu-
mulate for himself the unusual total of
1.0l9 hours and IS minutes of flying
time more by far than any other officer
of the corps during the same period
Lieut.. Foster. moreover. gained his
total at the rate of nearly three hours
a day during the entire year, without
accident OF any description.
July was his big month, when he
/ few ll3 hours and 40 minutes. March
was the of month and he put in only
so hours and 10 minutes, mere two
! hours a day.
Lieut.. Foster Is given considerable
credit by superior officers for the part
he played in building up the South
western airways Recently the Gov
ernor of New Mexico. in a letter to the
chief Of the Army Air Corps. praised
Lieut.. Foster for his fine public service
during the past three years in improv-
ing the airport at Lordsburg, N Mex
and all regular and emergency landing
| fields in that State.
| In piling up his 1000 hours in year
Lieut.. Foster, though setting record
| for the Air Corps. did not equal the
maximum flying time Department OF
! Commerce regulations permit a trans
! port pilot to put in during the course
of q year. The Department of Com
merce rules limit a transport pilot TO a
maximum Of ITO hours month. not
more than 80 hours to be put in in
any seven-day period or more than
eight hours in any 24-hour period.
Smoke Pots Advocated.
Some American airports are trying
out the European system of smoke pots
to take the place of wind socks" tees
and other devices to indicate wind di-
rection across the landing area.
In Europe many of the airports are
equipped with smoke devices. which
often are placed in the center of the