Evening star., 1935-09-08

Smith said, include the supplying Of
air by pressure to occupants Of the
airplane in alright, sealed cabins and
cockpits and the development Of en-
gine superchargers capable OF func-
| tioning to meet changed flying con-
ditions at various attitudes.
The sensations Of an aviation pilot
! rendered temporarily mon compos
mentis" by lack Of oxygen during an
altitude flight are described in q re-
port to the Navy Bureau Of Aeronau-
tics from Fighting Squadron Of the
U. S. S. Saratoga.
During squadron altitude flight
one of the oxygen regulators began to
economic bit" and the pilot be-
came starved for oxygen in such short
order that he was unable to leave the
formation voluntarily before he had
become a menace to all his fellow
flyers. The situation was compli-
Gated by the fact that he was leader
OF the second section Of the squadron
and took the members Of his section
with him in his wanderings.
First he crawled up and "tried 10
sit in the skipper'S Jap" then lost
distance quite noticeably and finally
ended up by flying around in q wide
left circle, gradually losing altitude,
1t was reported.
His wing men saw his shoulders
heave as he pulled at the oxygen tube
TO coax more oxygen into his starving
lungs. After descending to $4,000 feet
he regained some control and re-
sponded more or less intelligently 10
the signals Of his left wing man. who
finally coaxed him back into forma-
ton.
After landing he could not remem-
Der clearly what happened, but about
half an hour later, while eating lunch,
memory started coming back. He then
reported the following symptoms:
Slight twitching of the fingers; twitch-
ing Of muscles in the wrists; difficulty
in controlling the hands: eyesight ap-
parently o. K. but range of vision
very short; feeling Of annoyance when
squadron commander made q turn;
no apparent discomfort or loss of
/ breath; no knowledge that anything
was wrong: no sense of hearing.
The word has been passed along
as q result of his experience that
evidently the time to leave formation
is when the fingers begin to twitch,
for at that time the pilot still has
enough sense to get clear.
/ Lieut.. Malcolm M. Cloukey. o. S.
N. r., former commanding ofiicer Of
Squadron VN-6R, local Naval Avia-
tion Reserve squadron at the Ana
costa Naval Air Station, recently vts-
tied the local station, arriving La q
tri-engined transport airplane from
the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla,
where he now is stationed.
Following an unofficial inspection Of
the local reserve department, Lieut..
Cloukey expressed much satisfaction
at the condition Of the local base,
training methods and the progress
that is being made in training.
An Army Air Corps captain from
Boiling Field and veteran non-com-
missioned officer from the War De-
partment will play parts in the pro-
! posed National Geographic Society
Army Air Corps stratosphere balloon
fight from near Rapid City, S. Oak.
Capt. Herbert K. Baisley, now on
duty at Boiling Field. has been as
signed to fly an observation airplane
along the course followed by the giant
balloon so that a Photographic his
tory of the flight may be made. Mas
ter Sergt. Grover B. Gilbert, Chanute
Field, Ill, Is to handle the camera in
Capt. Baisley's airplane.