The Aviator

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THE AVIATOR

*J

Class

Book.

Gopyriglrt>J?.

C.QFHUGHT DEPOSITS

THE AVIATOR

Copyright by

It is

Underwood

&

Underwood, N.

Y.

The Italian Alps as the Aviator Sees Them almost impossible to tell the direction of the grades in the road at this height.

THE AVIATOR BY

HENRY

C.

McCOMAS

Professor in the Division of Science at Princeton University

Formerly Captain, San. C. t U.

S.

Army,

at the Research Labora-

tory, Hazelhurst Field, Mineola, L. I.,

E. P.

N. Y.

NEW YORK DUTTON & COMPANY 681 Fifth

Avenue

Copyright, 1922,

BY

E. P.

DUTTON & COMPANY All Rights Reserved

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

22

jcc

C1A690353

9tf

THE MEN WHO

WON THEIR WINGS BUT

WHO

DID NOT GET ACROSS

CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

II.

The

Aviator as a Machine

Nerve and Nerves Controlling the Plane

IV.

The

VI. VII. VIII.

IX.

X. XI. XII.

i

33

Sense of Motion and Balance

Vision in

PAGE

8

III.

V.

...',.

.

the Air

59 86

Other Senses

114

The

122

Feel of the Ship

Oxygen and Efficiency

140

Doing Stunts

165

Selecting the Aviator

176

Types of Airmen

The

.

.

t

.

Pilot as a Personality

.

.

.

.188

....

197

ILLUSTRATIONS The

Italian

Alps as the Aviator Sees

Them

Frontispiece

Flying Reptile, Restored from Fossil Remains Page

2

A

4

Type

The

German Monoplane

of

Controls of the Airplane

4i

.

Instruments for Detecting the Lateral and Longitudinal Movements of the Airplane

61

....

63

Organ for Giving the Sensations Motion and Balance +

67

In This Position the Vertical Canals Are Affected by the Rotation of the Chair .

73

Organs of Motion and Balance

The

Simplest of

A

Banks in a Long Spiral Will Affect the Vertical Canals

Series of Steep

The Frame

....

77

of a Ruggles Orientator

.

84

Muscles Controlling Eye Movements

.

88

Front of the Eye Viewed from Within

96

.

Niagara Falls from an Airplane at 350 Feet Facing page 108 Notes

Made

at the 20,000 Feet Altitude

.

Page 160

INTRODUCTION After the Wright brothers hit upon the principle of controlling a gliding machine,

progress

the

aviation

in

Their discovery came

at a

was time

astonishing.

when

the ex-

perience in manufacturing automobiles was available plane.

for

the

development of the

Already, the solution of

many

air-

of the

problems of light and powerful motors, metal alloys,

way.

was all

ignition

and carburetion were under

Before the war began, the airplane a practical

During

machine.

the war,

the great nations developed the invention

with a vigor and ingenuity that no other

in-

vention ever received in so short a time.

As

a result, the airplane

is

machine; each inch of

a highly perfected

its

surface,

from the

pitch of the propeller to the lines of the rud.

INTRODUCTION

xii

der, give evidence of the study put

So absorbing was

this

work

came

fiction

war

True,

and romance, but

that did not help his flying. dent, as the

in for

little scientific attention.

he was featured in

it

that the other

factor in aviation, the aviator,

comparatively

upon

became

It

evi-

continued, that in the art of

aviation the operator as his instrument.

was quite

Then each

as

important

nation under-

took the study of her airmen; not with the spirit,

nor with the assurance that her en-

gineers studied the planes, but in a hesitating

and apologetic way.

Nevertheless,

it

became

apparent to every one interested in aviation that the aviator should be understood as well as the airplane.

To

accomplish

this,

the

ma-

chinery governing his conduct must be studied as

thoroughly

tion

is

as possible.

Here

again, avia-

fortunate in being born at a time

when

the sciences of psychology, physiology and bi-

ology have accumulated a great deal of infor-

mation that bears upon the problems to be

INTRODUCTION solved.

To

bring some of this material to the

lovers of aviation and to put

form,

is

xiii

it

in readable

the purpose of this book.

Henry Princeton University,

June 23, IQ22

C.

McComas.

THE AVIATOR

THE AVIATOR CHAPTER

THE AVIATOR It

IS

not

centricities of

MACHINE

AS A

uncommon

of the airplane as

I

for the pilot to think

human, with

human

nature.

all

of the ec-

The tempera-

mental peculiarities of a gas engine are about as unpredictable as the

No

wonder

finds

the mechanic calls

the evidences

Turn this new idea.

moods

of

idea upside

a

of a coquette. it

is

down and we have

it

a

Instead of thinking of the plane

a machine.

which runs from the until

He

personality there.

as a person, think of the pilot as

He

"she."

reaches

his

The

a machine!

system of levers

ailerons does not stop

shoulder socket.

The

cords which swing the rudder continue until they terminate in the pilot's thighs.

Both

THE AVIATOR

2

machines suffer from cold, from the changes in the air densities,

a

number

of other

from prolonged

ills.

chines, they are one.

They are The success

flying

and

not two maof the flight

depends upon the combined action of the pair.

The

airplane was designed to do

in the air, but the pilot to

work

was designed by nature

do his work on solid earth.

of the type of

its

A comparison

machine Nature has produced

Flying Reptile, Restored from Fossil Remains

One

of Nature's earliest experiments in aviation.

to navigate the air

move upon

with the type evolved to

the ground shows

some very im-

portant differences in design.

Several mil-

lion years ago

Nature began experimenting

with air machines.

At

that time there

were

a

AVIATOR AS A MACHINE

3

number of light, agile reptiles who were being badly crowded by the increase of other aniIn their leaps to escape the monsters

mals.

of the swamps, those

who had

who were

the spreading membranes,

enabled some creatures to survive.

to glide,

Probably the

ture paralleled those of

ing

machines.

made.

One

sents a pretty

Then

of the

first

first

and

lightest

which

were the ones

designs by

Na-

man, and were glidimprovements

were

models known repre-

good type of

air

machine.

The

long rudder-like tail-piece probably served both as a rudder and an elevator.

models shortened its

this structure

and

Later

restricted

Our aeronautical problems were before man appeared and Nature be-

purpose.

met ages

gan trying out methods of getting more power in the engine

and of lessening the body weight.

Shoulder girdles were strengthened and hol-

low bones with pneumatic attachments were attempted; and met with success. as the

albatross,

which

is

a

Such birds

powerful

have the pneumatic system perfected.

flier,

The

THE AVIATOR hollow bones are connected with that the air entering the lungs

the bone

marrow.

also reach

Moreover, the problem of

stream-lining was early taken

A

may

aircells, so

up and solved

Type of German Monoplane

Showing ingenious efforts to take hints from Nature's experiments.

by Nature so

many

in the graceful tapering lines of

types of birds.

Compare

the rep-

AVIATOR AS A MACHINE head

tilian

in the picture

any modern

lines of

5

with the smooth

Notice the be-

bird.

ginnings of stream-lining in the body form.

German

saw the numerous

astuteness early

Nature had for those who were making

hints

heavier-than-air flying machines and the Ger-

man

airplanes

are

more

modelled

closely

along the lines of bird forms than those of

any other nation.

Not only flying

is

the gross structure of Nature's

machines unlike that of the types which

move on

land, but there are

many

little

re-

finements in structure, which perfect the

fly-

For example, the eye of the

ing machine. bird

is

the air

brought against a severe pressure in

when

it flies

high speed.

at

Nature

strengthens the eyeball and supplies a third lid.

A

differentiation

is

made

those doing night work.

in the eyes of

A higher body tem-

perature and a covering of feathers give the bird a natural advantage no

has matched. slip device

can

No

human

ingenuity

fore-and-aft level, or side

make

the

human

flier fly as

THE AVIATOR

6

of a cloud

No one ever saw a bird fly out upside down! No compass will

ever take a

man

the bird does.

stinct takes the

takes off

across a continent as the in-

from the ground

instinct they fly in a

that they

By

bird.

instinct the bird

into the

wind; by

squadron formation,

No

do not interfere with each other.

such endowments are 'given man. use intelligence

where

He

so

must

his aerial competitors

use native instinct.

In short, Nature has made one type of machine for moving in the

air,

another for mov-

ing on the surface of the earth. latter type

is

When

put into the natural element of

the former, certain difficulties arise. these are

the

What

and how we may meet them are the

subject matter of this book.

At

the outset,

we must

consider the very

common difficulty which besets the flier. Nature made man with a certain kind of nervous system. It was evolved to make a man feel and act in a certain way whenever he encounters a sudden danger.

Can

this sort of

AVIATOR AS A MACHINE behavior carry

man through

Some attempt

the air?

the

The

tivity of the

Nerve and

art of flying calls for an ac-

brain and nervous system of a pe-

This

culiar kind.

rious senses,

is

made

clear in Control-

After these chapters, the va-

ling the Plane.

form and

of

answer that ques-

to

tion appears in the chapter *on

Nerves.

perils

7

which

assist

act as instruments to in-

the

are explained and

flier,

From that we naturally turn to the common enemy of both the pilot and the In this study we find difairplane, Altitude. discussed.

ferent types of airmen and a description of

the

method of

Finally,

study of

some

men

selecting

facts as

which

aviators

find

follows.

no place in the

machines are presented in

the concluding paragraphs on the Pilot as a

Personality.

CHAPTER

II

NERVE AND NERVES A

PLANE caught

From

at

fire

2000 feet up.

the flying field a wonderful flight

was

witnessed between a flaming airship and a

cool-headed cadet.

He

so the fierce tongues

could not lick him.

hung from

his fuselage

turned his ship over

He

with one hand and

brought his machine down toward the ground

The

with the other. sought his

to

the

fuselage

He

out.

and

right

He

quickly, skillfully, intelligently.

She

plunged toward a woods. steer

burned

She became unmanageable.

ship.

worked

regain

fire

Still

striving to

and balance her, the pilot and the plung-

ing, rolling ship

These

disappeared among the

disasters

or deplored,

are

among

the day's work.

not often

the cadets.

trees.

discussed, It

is

all in

But, months after the 8

man

NERVE AND NERVES had been

9

and the airplane scrap

laid to rest

would speak of the fight. handle a plane when she catches

ped, the cadets

The way fire is a

tion,

to

matter of technique, a scientific ques-

and

it

often comes up.

This fight never

received a purely technical treatment; always this

remark entered the conversation some-

where it,

"It's a

:

shame he

for he certainly

Two making work.

excellent

One

together.

headway

Both were

in flying

The

were bad and

His land-

his tight eights looked as

though they were both "tight" and

He

school

crashed and was killed.

other never flew well afterward. ings

away with

had a nerve"

bunked

friends

didn't get

was grounded.

"You

his friends.

Nerve and

tipsy.

"It was hard luck," said see

it

nerves!

was

a case of nerves."

The

self-control, the plural

singular

spells

means the opposite.

This trick of concealing ignorance with words is

an old one.

we come

to the

convenient

to

It has

its

good

points.

When

end of our information, give

the

terminal

a

it is

name.

THE AVIATOR

io

A

great

quickly,

many people reach that place very when they attempt to understand

themselves;

then

they

comfort

find

in

"Nerves." If

we

follow the line of reasoning of the

preceding chapter, that there

is

we

shall

soon

discover

no necessity for considering a

play on words, the final terminal, in an effort to

a

understand self-control which ;

form of conduct.

of course,

is,

Conduct varies

ent animals strikingly.

Compare

placency of a porcupine under

in differ-

the

all

com-

circum-

with the temperament of the jack-

stances,

The porcupine is cannot harm him. He

rabbit.

so well protected

fate

saunters into

unmolested by the dogs.

man.

He

camp

shows no fear of

His equipment for sensing danger afar

and for

flight

is

not developed at

all.

Had

he nothing but the rabbit's fur he would have to

have another nervous system and another

type of locomotion.

Compare

the conduct of

such unlike creatures as an opossum and a fox.

A danger signal

near at hand paralyzes

NERVE AND NERVES the former,

galvanizes the latter into swift

it

The same menace

action.

n same

inspires the

fear in both, but the instinctive reactions are

An

the opposite.

their functions, in these

would make one

and

analysis of the organs

two types of animals, In

their conduct intelligible.

we should

find the excitement results in

nerve action preventing movement, in the other then,

it is

stimulates

our cue.

Here,

vigorous action.

Nature has endowed

differ-

ent forms of life with different mechanisms for behavior in the presence of danger.

we not human peril,

The

Can

learn something about the conduct of beings, in the presence of an

imminent

by a study of such mechanisms? physiologists have afforded a

sight into the mysteries of

human

new

in-

nature by a

study of the organs and functions which operate during the

stress

of strong emotions.

These organs are controlled by the nervous system; so

it

is

necessary to give a brief

sketch of the nervous machinery and the it

way

works, in order to understand such emotions

THE AVIATOR

12

and

as fears, anxiety, dread, anger,

of the

who

list

which we

all the rest

find credited to the

man

Roughly divided, the nervous

flies.

tem may be considered

sys-

two systems; one

as

has to do with the action of the person and the other has to do with the action of the in-

The former

ternal organs.

and

central nervous system parts;

(first,

it

a set of nerves

pressions

from

(second)

the

of

all

brain

is

known

as the

consists of three

which brings im-

the

sense

organs to

and

and spinal cord,

(third) a set of nerves carrying impulses out

from the brain and cord glands.

This

is

to the

the system

muscles and

which

controls

we live and move among our men and among the objects of nature.

our conduct as fellow

Closely allied to system, but

its

organs,

heart,

others.

It,

parts;

first,

it is

duty

is

lungs,

too,

may

the autonomic nervous

the control of the vital

stomach,

and

all

the

be divided into three

a set of nerves

which have

as

their purpose the conservation of bodily re-

sources by controlling the supply of the juices

NERVE AND NERVES

13

which digest the food, by controlling the

movements of the stomach and

and

intestines

by bringing about the cooperation of other purpose of carrying on

vital organs for the

the

upbuilding of the body.

nerves set of

is

known

as the cranial.

nerves has as

of the vital organs to

do extra duty.

This 1

A

set

of

second

purpose the excitation

its

when

they are called upon

For example, when we run

from some dangerous

object, the muscles

must

have more than their ordinary supply of

fuel,

so both heart

orously.

and lungs must work more vig-

This

set of

nerves starts both heart

and lungs into quickened action before we

may

known as the sympathetic nervous system and is much more elaborate than the cranial. Where the latter acts to

begin to run.

slow the heart

acts to

quicken

It

rate,

it.

is

the sympathetic system

Moreover,

it

stops the ac-

tions of the cranial nerves in secreting juices

for digestion 1

and in

its

movements

of the ali-

For an excellent description of the autonomic nervous system Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage, by Walter B. Cannon. see Bodily

i

THE AVIATOR

4

mentary canal.

All the energies of a person

are needed in the muscles and in the heart,

lungs and brain,

work

when

there

and

of the stomach

is

The

danger.

intestines

must stop

while the other organs are putting forth their best energies to help

This

work.

set of

the muscles

nerves

partment; when there all

business

which

preservation of in the

its

A

life.

it

de-

stops

is

third set of nerves

known

as the sacral,

duties being the control of the sex

the greater and

more

the sympathetic, and of both of

From

its

it

overrides the activities

this sketch of the

tifying things

Each is

acteristic

diffuse set of nerves

neighbors.

find the explanation

nerves

any danger

war

Between the cranial and the sacral

organs.

tions.

a sort of

their

not necessary for the

is

autonomic system

one of

lies

is

is

in

we have

for all

machinery,

some

we may

of the mys-

noticed in the emo-

of these groups of autonomic

accompanied feelings,

in their actions

or emotions.

by char-

When

the

cranial nerves are engaged in the delectable

NERVE AND NERVES work

15

of controlling the necessary juices for

the digestion of a of well-being,

good meal, the general sense

which prevails makes

a sharp

contrast with the feeling of being "ill at ease"

when anticipating some unpleasant encounter. The latter feeling may develop into a genuine fear, or

sance

even terror, then none of the complai-

of

well-being

One

remains.

cannot

much less enjoy it. stomach, it may be ejected,

even eat his food, reaches the undigested.

If

or

it

lie

As an experiment, an animal was

fed and then subjected to a period of fright; it

was observed

stomach and

that all

movements

intestines ceased.

Many

in

the

an avia-

fear.

made his passenger vomit from sheer Even more conspicuous in the emo-

tional

realm are the

tor has

conflicts

between the

emotions which arise from the sex trolled

life,

con-

by the sacral system, and the emotions

fear and anger, controlled

by the sympathetic

system. It has

been found that the work of the

sympathetic system

is

aided in a very remark-

6

THE AVIATOR

;i

way by

able

the secretion into the blood of

Two

adrenalin.

small glands

lie

of the kidneys,

which are known

renal

The

bodies.

substance

just

back

as the ad-

they

secrete

passes through the blood-stream to all parts of

the body.

If an animal

inoculated with

is

adrenalin he shows those symptoms which ap-

pear

when

the sympathetic system

is

arousing

the creature to fly from some danger.

The

pupils dilate, the hair stands on end, the heart

and breathing

A

rates increase.

careful ex-

periment shows that even the tired muscles are refreshed.

Adrenalin

a sort of reserve

is

corps which jumps into action the instant there is

a

danger

signal.

When

nerves in the central system

the

is

first

affected

set

of

by some

outside danger signal, let us say a curtain on fire,

the nerve current passes to the brain,

arousing a conscious

It then passes to

state.

the third set of central nerves and starts the

muscles into action, but as

it

does this the cpn-

scious state affects the mechanical operation of

the nervous system.

If the fire

is

really dan-

NERVE AND NERVES gerous, the autonomic system

recognition of the danger.

is

17

roused by the

At once

the sym-

pathetic system quickens the heart, the breath-

muscles

ing, stimulates the adrenal glands, the

become abnormally leaves the cheeks,

With

tion.

it

"irritable,"

blood

the

flows to the parte in ac-

the general disturbance

characteristic sensations

come

which we speak

the

of as

from the

the "emotion of fear," sensations

heart, the stomach, the quickened breathing

and the tension

in the muscles.

This emotion of fear and the physiological activities

which accompany

instinct.

An

habit, is

a

it is

it

constitute an

instinct is often called a racial

characteristic of the

genuine part of

human

human

nature,

it

race,

operates

automatically; given a certain stimulus, find ourselves

An

it

we

doing certain instinctive things.

unexpected danger, or a sudden, violent

pain, will start the racial habit into actions of

we have just been describing. we have the materials for explaining

the kind

Now

some of the mysteries of "Nerves."

For

ex-

8

THE AVIATOR

1

ample,

a

it is

common

experience in learning

aviation to be very restless, anxious, perhaps

thoroughly scared, during the

when one once

few

trips

simply observing the ship and

its

All of these symptoms disappear

at

is

behavior.

first

as

soon as one takes the wheel and the

rudder!

Instead of experiencing greater ex-

citement

and

calmer and self.

One

apprehension,

becomes

he

he has better control of him-

feels

of several reasons for this

The whole

doing something.

system

is,

is

he

is

pre-

do

pared by the excitement of the occasion

to

something.

mak-

If these natural processes

ing for action are blocked, one has that most distressing experience of fighting against nature.

To

avoid

this,

men do something

many

have their

trainers

prior to entering a contest,

something that enables the organs least

to act at

mildly when they are urged by Nature

act vigorously.

It has

been found that the ex-

citement of witnessing a football substitute

player

blood-sugar, which

definitely is

to

game by

increased

a

the

needed for active mus-

NERVE AND NERVES The same

cles.

of

iety

anticipating

Excitement

found

results are

work

who

Surely the poor mortal,

in the anx-

examinations.

college

calls for action to

19

his first flight in an airplane

it

off

prepares for

and discovers

his knees trying to beat "taps", his

complex-

ion like a flag of truce, his heart and breathing

misbehaving and that annoying cold sweat,

No;

will find consolation in Physiology. is

not a "yellow streak" in his make-up,

it is

adrenalin and a rampant sympathetic

just

nervous system. in the air?

Is

he going

If the

to

be any good

That depends upon what

machinery does when

ternal

emotion incident

to

it

his in-

gets into action.

impending danger

arouses excessive actions in his organs,

still

which

his efforts

do not direct and restrain he Often a

will be "too nervous to fly." sense

enough

herited

from

to

know

his ancestors,

Many experiences have instinctive

man

has

that his machinery, inis

not dependable,

and that he gets "rattled" when he

his

it

actions.

is

excited.

taught him not to trust

Such a man shows

THE AVIATOR

2o

courage and good judgment when he leaves aviation alone.

Another

trick of the nerves gets

When

explanation here.

its

exerts himself.

too vigorous.

with a

little

his

new

you began

anxiety about

and rudder alone

for a steady wind.

after

too quick

and

a boat

to sail

performances,

its

you will remember how hard sheet

some-

is

experience he over-

His motions are If

swim-

a beginner in

ming, rowing, fencing, or any sport

what excited by

partial

it

was

to let the

you had them

Nature was urging

set

ac-

tion,

your physical ship was cleared for ac-

tion

with boilers hot and steam up.

teacher

made you

found compensation till

sit

still.

Probably you

squeezing the

in

your hand was numb.

Your

That

is

beginner in the airship tends to do.

tiller

what the

The

in-

structor often casually remarks, "Don't try to

squeeze the juice out of the

seasoned."

Perhaps

novice squeeze!

is

it

It uses

plus energy his system

is

stick, it's

been

as well to let the

up some

of that sur-

supplying and

may

NERVE AND NERVES do a

little to

prevent

21

him from overworking

his controls.

The

question naturally arises,

happen

if

man were

a

what would

kept in a

state of ex-

citement continually, or frequently, and not

allowed the action his nerves and organs de-

The answer

mand?

of nervous troubles

observers. to

The

a greater

given in a comparison

which

latter

afflict

pilots

with the ship.

The

and energies are occupied

The

observer has his

mind

freer to note the dangers of the situation.

must

also trust the pilot for his safety.

there

is

must

and

break down sooner and

degree than the former. 1

attention

pilot's

is

an accident, he can do nothing.

rely on his associate.

He If

He

His attention can-

not be diverted from the danger to an active control of the plane.

A

to find

nerve" 1

me that he was surprised his companion, who "had a wonderful give way and cry, "Oh God oh, dear

pilot once told

!

Anderson, H. G.,

Aviation,

p. 116.

The Medical and

;

Surgical Aspects

of

THE AVIATOR

22

God !" feet.

as

they crashed from about a hundred

He

declared he had no emotions of any

sort, that

self as

he

clearheaded and had him-

felt as

well under control as at any time.

was busy

u

trying to slap this planet as gently"

he could, and was a

as

He

little

surprised to hear

companion

his usually silent

so vocal.

This leads us into another phase of the subject.

When

there

mind

is

directed to the

is

not dwelling on the dan-

When there is

no thought about danger,

controls, the gers.

the attention

is

no anxiety.

in

the attention.

his

hands

The crux

When

of the issue

is

the beginner gets

on the wheel and his

feet

on the

rudder, his thoughts turn to things mechanical

and there

is

room

little

for ideas of crashes.

This, with the efforts to control the ship, dispels the anxieties

which will haunt

intrepid in his trips as an observer. there are

many

the most

Indeed,

who never know a mowhen controlling the air-

pilots,

ment's discomfort,

plane themselves, that become actually sick

when

they ride as passengers.

I

found

in

my

NERVE AND NERVES first flights

23

the tension of the situation relaxed

when

considerably

ceased speculating on

I

landings and watched the controls, trying to relate

movements

of the stick to changes in the

ailerons.

Self-control, then,

is

The high-strung, graduate who knows how to keep his

control

the

of

college

mind on one

attention.

line of

thought and the stodgy,

unimaginative fellow,

may

the indirect result of

who

is

never afraid,

both show their "nerve" in danger, one

because he concentrates upon a certain line of thinking, the other because his inactive

entertain

to

chances to occupy

A man's is

it

anything

at the

too

what

training in control of his thinking

concentrate

is all

important.

difference in the mental traits of self in their

The

but

is

moment.

invaluable in times of danger.

ity to

mind

The

abil-

Here

the

men shows

it-

conduct.

pa^fcof the nervous system in which

consciousness

cerebrum,

is

is

resident,

the

cortex of the

the most recent acquisition of the

—

THE AVIATOR

24

human after

species.

It

developed during the ages

had

the lower centers and the cord

The

reached their development

functions of

the old system run back into the remote ages.

Those

of the

newer are not

The

fundamental.

most ancient

so deep-seated, so

old has to do with the

activities, instincts for flight, or

self-preservation

and the emotions which

company them.

The new

ac-

has to do with con-

scious conceptions, with the social ideals, pa-

honor and the respect of

triotism,

others.

has been suggested that some forms of

It

war

neuroses arise from a conflict between these

two parts of a man's nervous system, and

their

Thus, the terrible detonations of the

duties.

battle naturally arouse the instinct of flight all

living creatures possess the instinct of

flight in the

noises.

presence of very loud, or sudden,

The

mutilations

cries,

all

the odors, the scenes of

arouse the deep instincts of

cape from the imminent horrors. these

es-

Against

impulses stand the ideals of the in-

dividual.

He

thinks of the

shame

of flight.

NERVE AND NERVES He

resists the

25

impulses of his nature and holds

himself in an unnatural environment. conflict

this

From

comes a nervous break-down

which

is

Among

aviators this conflict often results in a

miscalled

often

The

staleness.

"shell

shock."

effort to force the brain to

endure the long strain of flying over the enemy's lines results in a

The

fagged.

There

terest in everything.

There

brain

is

read, to play, or to

hard

to

nerve energy.

loss of

is

a loss of in-

is

no desire

do anything.

Sleep

win, dreams are excessive and

to is

dis-

tressing.

Occasionally delusions appear and

haunt the

listless

wretch.

insistent fears beset

Persistent ideas, or

He

him.

the most finely developed his nervous system.

has overtaxed

and adjusted part of

If he, or his officers, ig-

nore these protests of nature and force the vic-

tim

to

continue his work, he

is

surely destined

to disaster.

One

of the most pathetic notes I have en-

tered into

my

can aviator, as

records it

was

is

told

a story of an

Ameri-

me by his two chums.

THE AVIATOR

26

The man was

a college athlete of the best

type, strong, alert, full of

He

pluck and ingenuity.

kept in the air too long, he grew

stale.

Then something happened that never occurred before in all his many encounters, an opponent crept upon him unawares. His chums declared

the

was the long hours friend,

Hun

did not get him,

in the air that killed their

plus his determination

constitution

to

make

bear the unnatural strain.

trying to select aviators, one of the terests

tem

it

first

was whether he had the nervous

to stand the strain of great

whether he could keep

it

his

In insys-

excitement and

in control.

As might well be expected there are some men who give way under the strain more easily than others.

Dr. Gotch

*

found that

167 out of 200 patients at the Royal Air Force Hospital, Hempstead, gave evidence of nerv-

ous

instability

either

on

the

father's side of the family, or

"The worst 1

Op.

cit.

p.

mother's

on both

cases almost invariably 112.

or

sides.

showed

NERVE AND NERVES some."

27

Dr. Gotch followed up his patients'

family histories, inquiring into their nationalities

"particularly as to any Celtic or

Hebrew

blood, " also noting the cases of alcoholism, of the

eccentricities,

and troubles of

toward worries

"attitude

all

kind."

Slight defects in

man may never He may live his

the nervous organization of a

show

in ordinary -civil life.

three score and ten years quite like anyone else, is

"but in the case of the flying officer

The

different.

this

experiences he daily under-

goes whilst on war-flying involve the greatest strain

on his nervous system that

any 'human being, and

it is

possible in

is

reasonable to sup-

pose that any slight kink in his hereditary

nervous disposition might give way." family histories of those Fliers" there

is

Not only does

who become

a former

"Star

nothing for debate. a "kink" in the nervous

up which comes down the family tute a flaw

In the

which may

line consti-

result in a break, but

break-down may leave

for years undetected.

make-

a

weakness

One never knows where

THE AVIATOR

28

weak

a

link lies until the breaking strain

brought

come

A

to bear.

A

number

is

of strange cases

to light in the psychiatrists' records.

rather typical example

lad of nine set

Roman

is

as follows:

fire to his sister's

1

A

hair with a

candle and burned his hand.

He was

extremely upset by the shock and suffered nightmares.

It passed as

hood.

Twelve years

server,

he took

loon was

to his

an incident in child-

later, as a

parachute

threatened.

balloon ob-

when

the bal-

Again the haunting

dreams, which finally took the form of burning his home. It

was with

He

became a "debility"

difficulty

case.

and only after question-

ing that he recalled the incident in boyhood. Nevertheless, no psychiatrist,

who had

expe-

rience with this sort of trouble, will doubt the

connection between the two experiences. is

necessary to

know whether any

It

of these

childhood episodes, whose results are so often concealed, have occurred in the past life of the

man who x

Op.

cit.

gives

p. 1 1 a.

way

to the strain; especially

NERVE AND NERVES when

29

the break-down seems out of proportion

to the

apparent cause.

Often the

flier

has nothing in his heredity,

or his early history, to indicate a weakness.

The

trouble comes

from

some emo-

strain plus

The two are may be mental,

much

tional shock.

too

The

the effect

cause

bility

insta-

affect centers controlling his

heart, breathing, blood-pressure reflexes.

and even

He cannot concentrate his

memory

comes

is

and heightened excitability of his nerves.

The%e disorders

his

for him.

is

his

attention,

poor, he lacks interest and be-

sleepless, restless

symptoms point

and

irritable.

Such

to disturbances in his higher

centers.

To

anyone who thinks only in terms of cour-

age and cowardice, the fly

man who

after seeing a friend crash

refuses to

is

simply a

coward.

we were limited to a general knowledge of human nature, our opinion would be very low of the officers who "broke down" If

after

they

had learned

to

fly

and were

THE AVIATOR

3o

about to start for France, or of the

men who

gave up flying after they had been up alone once or twice. After flier,

survey of the machinery of the

this

surely there will be few

who

will think

of aviators in terms of courage and cowardice only.

It

is,

of course, true that a

man

is

he were, a mental

state

could

a machine.

If

By

never cause a physical collapse. reasoning, the mental state

avoid the collapse. of the

man comes

the

not

same

may do much

to

Just here the personality

into play.

If he has

the habit of dismissing the unpleasant

formed

from

his

mind, of bobbing up with a smile each time he gets a shock, he has gone a long

way toward

controlling his instinctive reactions.

other hand

if

On

the

the ancient racial habits, the in-

eradicable instincts and emotions, are disproportionately strong, no effort of his will can

override them.

He

is

not a coward; he

simply disqualified from physical disability!

flying,

is

because of a

Navigating the

air calls

NERVE AND NERVES for a kind of nervous balance

which

31

all

human

animals do not happen to possess.

Our

forefathers partly recognized the physi-

They located it in the Indeed, the word "courage" is defrom the Latin word "cor" meaning

ology of courage. heart.

rived

"heart." it

In early French

was taken over by

it is

"corage" and

the English as a

word

they needed in their business with the French.

Horace declared,

Still earlier

in

one of his

man who ventured out to craft among "the rolling mon-

odes, that the first

sea in a frail sters of the

deep" had a heart of oak, bound

around with a

triple

teresting to speculate

would have used aviator.

band of

brass.

It is in-

on the language the poet

to describe the

organs of an

However, from Horace down, there

has been a strong suspicion that the unfortu-

who did not possess stout hearts were in some way to blame for their misfortune. If a man were "lion-hearted" it was to his credit, nates

if

he were "cow-hearted"

it

was

to his

shame.

32

THE AVIATOR

Perhaps there was some wisdom all.

in this, after

Experience does teach us that

we

are

not altogether the masters or the victims of

our constitutions.

CHAPTER

III

CONTROLLING THE PLANE The

first

Once

control.

cern

concern of every pilot

is

assured of that, his next con-

Along

the control of the airplane.

is

self-

with self-control must go a number of other qualities.

cisions

Quick decision and unchanging

are

among

the indispensable

No man can vacillate when ing in one of two places cision in

two seconds.

de-

traits.

a question of land-

is

offered for a de-

The

picturesque halts

of the cinema hero are denied to the aviator.

He cannot hesitate, ter

glance back, or even regis-

an expression of uncertainty,

when

the

ma-

chine must be placed on one side or the other of a fence,

which he approaches

ship at the rate of a

two seconds.

hundred and

It requires 33

in a slow

fifty feet in

about 2/10 of a sec-

THE AVIATOR

34

ond for an

move

alert aviator to see a

his hand,

and

danger and

requires about 5/10 of

it

him to make a decision and the right reaction when one of three or four wellknown dangers may appear. If he is speeda second for

ing through the air in a fast machine at the rate of 150 miles an hour, is

coming toward him

and another machine

at the

same

rate,

220

feet are covered in that half a second of de-

If he

cision.

is

a little slower in deciding

and requires about a second cision, a twelfth of a

time of his decision

mile

to

is

reach his de-

used up in the

—or indecision.

In mo-

ments of sudden danger the quick decision

means

life.

A

sluggish type of nervous sys-

tem may survive fair-weather aviation

is

flying,

on a peace footing, but

not last long

it

when could

among unusual and sudden

perils.

Quick decision system actions.

is

is

a native trait.

A nervous

either capable or incapable of such

Perhaps the knack of making and

keeping a decision

is

also a native trait.

It

CONTROLLING THE PLANE is

conspicuously absent in some people.

is

often a

symptom

cultivated. uisite.

is

a

In part, the power of

matter of habit and can be

For good

Of very

decide quickly,

little if

flying

on the

business in the

is

the decision

right, then

the difference

it is

service

moment later. The man who first

This

of a fatigued, or disord-

ered, nervous system.

quick decision

35

a

prime req-

the ability to is

reversed a

starts to pass

on the

left,

and

you

splits

by running into you, has no air.

Naturally, the senses which inform the aviator of

what

is

going on around him are the

most valuable instruments he ears

possesses.

Eyes,

and the senses of touch and balance must

be in perfect condition.

The

materials they

supply his mind must be quickly received and used.

It

is

not enough for the eye to detect a

slight difference in the shades of green in

neighboring

fields.

significance,

for

The mind must it

two

grasp the

makes some difference

whether one lands on a lawn or a

cornfield.

A

mind

color-blind eye or an unreceptive

are

THE AVIATOR

36

Every moment the airplane

equally bad.

is

in motion, the ears are receiving information,

which cannot be ignored.

and

it is

The

sense of pressure

of a kind

machine cuts

from the controls

way through

its

further information of

Even

ing.

the air gives

what the

the change of the

as the

craft

wind

is

do-

against

the cheek has a message for the alert mind.

Every sense

a purpose for the aviator

meanings can he afford

all

be used.

serves

and not one of these

to neglect.

of perfect instruments he

must

meaning

that can convey a

Not

It

is

a set

must have and they all

of his faculties

But

are in action all of the time, of course.

he must be capable of using time.

The

list

all

of

them

at

any

of accidents bear witness to

this.

"It has been estimated in the British Service that of all fliers lost to active flying service less

than 2 per cent are put out by

bullets,

only 8 per cent, as the result of a de-

fect in the plane, the

because

German

of

the

remaining 90 per

physical

condition

of

cent,

the

CONTROLLING THE PLANE pilot.' ities

7

*

Undoubtedly some of these

37 fatal-

from lack

are due to conditions resulting

Dr. Anderson kept an

of adequate oxygen.

account of the accidents that occurred in an

English flying school during this

time some 9000

airplanes were

flights

six

were made and 58

When

wrecked or crashed.

the causes of these accidents

he found one crash due

In

months.

were analyzed

to a defect in air-

were unavoidable, four due

plane, four

to

brain fatigue, seven to "loss of head" and

Of

forty-two due to "error of judgment." course,

hard

it is

to say just

an error of judgment. mistake, as

when one

It

what

may

forgets to

enters into

be a simple

make

a

turn in turning from against a strong to

More probably

with the wind.

error of a

somewhat

example one self

pilot,

it

wide

wind is

subtler character.

whom

I

an

For

know, found him-

using the wheel for the rudder

machine reached the ground. 1 Air Service Medical, published by the Washington, D. C, p. 207.

He

when

his

was never

War

Department,

THE AVIATOR

38

guilty of this trick

explanation

lies in

when he was

in the air.

The

Years of

the man's habits.

driving an automobile, turning the wheel to direct

the

machine with reference

to

the

ground formed habits which were deeply im-

They were overcome when

planted.

ground was it

so far distant

the

from the earth that

no longer suggested the moving ground

about an automobile, but as soon

as the old

situation reappeared the old habits asserted

themselves.

An

error of judgment in his case

was a reassertion of deep-seated

habits.

was not simply mistaking the wheel understand them flying a

To things

for the

"Errors" then need explaining.

rudder.

we must review

It

To

the art of

little.

keep the airplane are

off the

One

indispensable.

through the air

ground three is

motion

at a sufficient rate to sustain

the weight of the

machine

;

a second

is

main-

taining the position of the machine as the resisting surfaces are

third

is,

supported by the air; the

naturally, directing the

machine

in

CONTROLLING THE PLANE To

course.

its

must learn

39

accomplish these the pupil

to control the

speed of his ship in

the air, to control her position laterally and

The

longitudinally and to steer her.

con-

speed calls for some experience

trol of the

with gas engines, a knack of listening

to their

action and governing their speed by switching the gasoline off and on. as

It

is

not as difficult

supplying the automobile with gasoline, usually opened on the air-

as the throttle

is

plane and

open until

The

left

it is

time to land.

chief difficulty in speed control

is

with the

habit of estimating the speed in terms of

how

moving past. This is all right for anything which moves upon the ground, but it is all wrong for anything movfast

objects

ing in the

are

Only one thing

air.

tance in the airplane and that

through the

air.

sense, so that

he

lation to the air.

is

is is

of importo

move

Slowly one acquires an

air

conscious of his speed in re-

The

of the craft laterally

is

control of the position

accomplished by mov-

ing a lever, or a wheel, from right to

left,

THE AVIATOR

4o

and back and forward In

aft position.

movement

to

change the fore and

machines a very slight

fast

results in a

very quick change of

Gradually, one acquires a feeling

position.

of position-changes with the changes of the lever.

It

comes

to

him

same way the

in the

feeling of controlling the bicycle comes, and

he begins just as

to

keep his balance in two planes

he learned on the bicycle

one plane.

to

do

it

in the

Steering the course calls for foot

movements, which must be accompanied with

movements

of the wheel.

der necessitates a

new

difficult things for the

his

hand work

One

of the

beginner

is

to

match

work

in

the

finesse

in

banking his

All of these movements

are simple and easily made. sists

the rud-

balance.

to his foot

ship around a turn.

A turn of

The

art con-

and coordination with

which they are made. Flying, like any other performance,

is

an ac-

quirement of new habits and combinations of habits.

To

take a simpler and

accomplishment

first;

more familiar

riding a bicycle affords

CONTROLLING THE PLANE a

good

it is

illustration.

4*

After you have learned

not hard to discover what you are doing.

Your

habits are so well

TVftNING

The Controls

formed that you can

to left

5k

of the Airplane

The upper figure illustrates the relation between the movements of the rudder-bar and the rudder.

The middle figure gives the relative positions of the control lever and the elevators. The lower figure shows the aileron connections with the control lever.

THE AVIATOR

42

To

watch them while they work.

habits you have, try eliminating

does not

it

motion of the machine. ficulty of

balance

Remove one

the

Loosen the

move with Right away

the side the dif-

enormously increased.

is

pedal.

what

some of

things the habits are built upon.

saddle so that

find

Notice the

difficulty of

when it tips to the side of the missing pedal. Try riding with the eyes directed to the sky. The trouble you experience now is due to the absence of that inrighting the machine

direct vision that constantly told

position

relative

to

the

ground.

you your

Take

a

strange machine with a different pitch to the steering head;.

Your

steering

is

you get the "feel of the ship"

as

would

until

an aviator

The whole performance is a habits. They are built up without

say.

group of the clear riders

bad

knowledge of

their formation.

have analyzed what they do

ance themselves.

Some do

Few

as they bal-

not even realize

that the constant turning of the handle bars is

correcting their balance by turning the

ma-

CONTROLLING THE PLANE chine into the direction

it is

leaning.

43

Fewer

how they get their cues of lack of balance and how they use the cues. Such ignorance is very common when the new accomplishment is based on actions still

realize

learned without seeing and understanding exactly

what

If the

is

arm

being done while stroke of

with the leg stroke,

it is

swimmers

it is

being done.

is

compared

very evident that the

arm work is much more alike among swimmers. They see others and can see their own arm movements and correct them. The leg movements are controlled by the in the water, the sense of strain. is

motion and muscle

Often the beginner

going on in the rear that

what he wishes.

Could he

correct their behavior he

improvement.

Try

movements instead of

to

sense of touch

tries to see is

what

not doing just

would make great

think

in

terms

of

in terms of things seen

Notice the vagueness and uncertainty. often helps the beginner trying to shell to practice in a

and

see his legs

dummy

row

It

in a

shell before a

THE AVIATOR

44

Then he can

mirror.

make

movements and

see his

the correct coordinations.

After they

are seen, analyzed and understood the habits

can be started which later are directed by the sense of

movements and muscle

In learning

to fly

one

may

strain.

unite the two

methods of learning, namely, seeing and

He

ing.

feel-

should see and understand the ac-

tion of the controls, but he

them by the

must learn

to direct

feeling of the ship's motion and

position and by the resistance in the stick and

rudder.

The

natural

into habits.

back

stick

ship. to

1

movements are

It to

is

formed

easily

very natural to pull the

raise the

forward end of the

Everyone has made

accomplish similar ends.

this

movement

So, too,

it is

nat-

ural to push forward to bring the nose of the

One

ship down.

backward, prior an airplane.

The

to descending, or rising, in

Such

lateral control

the motion 1

naturally leans forward, or

See Figure

is II,

a control is

another story.

a natural one. page 41.

comes quickly. True,

To draw the

left

CONTROLLING THE PLANE wing up one would naturally pull or to lower

it

push

to the left.

ging of the ailerons

45

to the right,

This the

rig-

designed to accomplish.

is

All goes well after the pupil gets the habit.

At is

when one

first,

sees

an aileron go down, he

apt to think that wing will go down, though

a moment's thought

tells

him

A

the reverse.

few students are troubled with

their ailerons

while they are in the seeing and understanding stage. tions has

When

the correcting of side

become a matter

mo-

of feeling, there

is

no confusion.

The rudder than

it

bothers some pupils

does others.

the direction

would turn

airplane moves in

you thrust your

foot.

If

you

to the right, the right foot is thrust

Now

forward.

The

much more

this

movement

is

the reverse

of such steering as one does on a bicycle, or a sled, or an automobile.

In these vehicles

the bar or wheel turns in the direction

wish

to go, not

away from

it.

I

the knack of steering the airplane ily

when

I

you

found that

came

eas-

thought of the action of the rudder

THE AVIATOR

46

when

in striking the air

was drawn.

mind

the right or left cable

tBy keeping a visual image in

of the position of the rudder, I could

overcome

tendency

the

der bar in the direction

turn

to I

wished

the to go.

In acquiring habits of making a certain of

movements

it is

out the situation,

if

you can,

as

pery road when the car begins the side of the road,

to the

class

wise to go slowly and think

you

For

go.

example, in driving an automobile on a

of steering lead

rud-

him

all

toward

to skid

one's

past habits

to try to steer it

middle of the road.

If

slip-

back

he has thought

out the situation he will turn his steering

wheel

in the opposite direction

and

start his

front wheels rolling in the direction the car

skidding. ily

formed.

After a few skids the habit

The skidding motion

gives a certain feeling

which

is

is

is

eas-

of the car

promptly met

by the correct turn of the wheel.

At

first

there must be an intelligent understanding of the skidding motions, later the habit trusted.

may

be

CONTROLLING THE PLANE I

a

dwell on

number

this feature of learning to fly as

of cadets in the flying schools, and

number

indeed, a

of aviators with

have talked, are unable

Not a few ment, "You just do they

fly.

I

how

take refuge in the stateit

which

instinctively,"

their flying habits

Now,

without analyzing them.

when

whom

explain just

to

means they have acquired right

47

that

all

is

things go well, but in an emergency

habits need correcting.

From

this

comparison of

and understanding

flying,

as contrasted

by seeing

with flying

by feeling and habit, we can distinguish between two types of

mechanical

flier,

ural

The former

as

flier.

to

a

the other develops into a nat-

a "radiator flier,"

watch

One becomes

fliers.

is

sometimes known

owing

to his

constant

keep the upper part of the radiator

above the horizon.

He

never acquires the

sense of the ship's position sufficiently to en-

able

him

down,

to tell

so his eye

course, this

whether she is

means

is

nosing up or

ever on the horizon.

that his attention

is

Of

largely

THE AVIATOR

48 absorbed

means

things,

less

—map

awkward

in as

who

has

his

levels,

thought

that

to

give

He

not.

position as the cyclist

a

has to keep his attention on the balancing

of the

wheel

all the

while.

A

soon learns whether his plane

He

and

formation

reading,

photographing and what

flying, is

he

that

other

to

keeping

in

natural

is

on a

flier

level.

substitutes the feeling of his position for

the horizon and controls his ship by that. feels the air

on his cheeks, hears

it

in the wires

without giving a conscious thought corrects his controls accordingly. that the signals to

He

to

it,

and

This means

which he used

to attend

now

relegated

with the greatest attention are

to the "fringe of attention" as the psycholo-

By

gists say.

tention

is

There

is

this

means the center

free to turn to

nothing

mysterious

Everyone has been doing all his life.

the

At

hand took

so

first

many

of his at-

other things.

about

this.

just this sort of thing

the holding of a pen in

much

attention

we

could not

think of what to write, the spelling of the

CONTROLLING THE PLANE words

in

the beginning obscured what

we

bow and holding

the

read, controlling the

violin

49

made

the score impossible to read, the

place and the action of the automobile's pedals,

talk

wheel and levers made

and be chauffeur

it

impossible to

same time.

the

at

Gradually the matters that required such tention

were shifted

at-

to the "fringe."

In terms of the nervous system something like this goes

ments.

The

sciousness

we master new

accomplish-

cortex of the brain,

where con-

on

as

dominantly resident,

is

is

a vast

maze of myriads of nerve connections. A number of these nerve tracts transmit the first impressions of the thing seeing

are handling and

from one part of the brain

In doing so

we

we

we

to another.

are keenly conscious, that

are "all attention,"

become frequent and the

As

is

these processes

parts engaged are

frequently in connection, the resistance in the

nerve tracts easily.

is

With

lessened, the currents pass this

more

advance in making con-

nections readily the consciousness

accompany-

THE AVIATOR

50

That

ing the process diminishes. consciousness

is

nerve current

to say,

is

a function of the resistance to

The

greater the resistance the

clearer the attention, for attention

simply

is

In the case

the clearest sort of consciousness.

of an instinctive action the nerve connections are so complete

them.

little

consciousness attends

In cases where habits (or good nerve

we can

never

the case in

many

connections) cannot be formed cease attending.

This

is

of the complicated duties in

As

life.

brains are by no means alike,

we

should

naturally expect differences in the consciousness of different people.

One

interesting of these differences

is

of the most in the

of consciousness present at any one

amount

moment.

As we would expect, some brains have the capacity for more connections, amid the great meshwork bf nerve connections, than others. This results in a more expansive type of attention, or

attention."

termining

what

is

called a "broad span of

Usually,

how many

it

is

measured by de-

things one

is

capable of

CONTROLLING THE PLANE

51

attending in a second or a fraction of a sec-

Measurements

ond.

of this sort prove there

broad- and narrow-spanned types.

are

everyday

life

we

more conRapid readers

easily detect the*

spicuous examples of

this.

Their eyes make few

broad-spanned.

are

They grasp more

pauses as they read.

these pauses than the narrow-spanned.

good

organist,

who

may

in

Every

reads the scores for his

keys and pedals must be broad-spanned violinist

In

—the

be the opposite type, as his

work does not demand attention upon so many things. Of course a narrow-spanned orchestra leader would be an impossibility. It

is

not difficult to imagine the advantages

the broad-spanned type has over the opposite

type in flying an airplane.

many advantages over

the latter

if all

has

other

Indeed, in learning to

capacities are equal. fly,

The former

one of the most frequent complaints

number

directed against the

have

to attend at the

fellow remarked,

same time.

it is

is

of things you

As one poor

worse than Christmas

THE AVIATOR

52 shopping,

when you have bundles

in both

hands, under both arms and an umbrella to

Apart from simply doing

hold over a lady.

numerous things the aviator must do them

all

number

together.

It

is

not unlike juggling a

of balls.

It

is

disastrous to the ensemble to

ignore one, though

This explains

why

be just one

it

little

one.

that a narrow-spanned

it is

aviator finds his ship nosing up, or down,

while he leans over the side graph, and

formation

why

when

it

photo-

that he flies badly in

is

his attention

the leader's manoeuvers.

how

to take a

absorbed in

is

Later

we

shall see

the loss of oxygen affects his attention.

Perhaps

it

should be stated that the princi-

ples of "span" apply not only to the clearest

part of attention, but also to called the "fringe." to believe that the

There

is

some reason

broad-spanned type

the wide-fringed type.

consciously attends

what we have

many

is

also

This type not only things at one time,

but also carries a number of things in that sort of

penumbra

of consciousness

we

call the

CONTROLLING THE PLANE To

"f ringe."

illustration,

revert to the organist

'his

attention

is

53

by way of

on the

scores,

the keys and pedals, in the "fringe" he

is

aware of the choir leader marking time, of the time to turn the page, awhile further re-

moved from so far

the tenter of attention, indeed

removed from the

clearest part of con-

that they are

sciousness

practically uncon-

scious (until disturbed) are the habitual

ments of fingers and

feet, of

move-

head and body

positions.

Fortunately the aviator has no such elabo-

However, an enumeration

rate task.

duties totals rather high. his

First he

This means

course.

steering goes attention to altitude,

ing or diminishing? portant. if

He

present,

The

must

attention

ground, or the compass, primarily.

to

is

the the

increasall

im-

The wind, keep him alert.

must always hear

and choppy, will

steer

With

is it

engine

of his

it.

The

balance of the plane calls for a "fringe"

that

is

concerned with the "feel of the ship,"

and a constant response on

stick

and rudder.

THE AVIATOR

£4

Then that gasoline gauge cannot be forgotten. The whistle of the wind in the rigging is always saying something.

If he

is

flying in

formation, or observing the terrain, or wirelessing a message, these duties claim his at-

tention primarily

and

all else

must be

in the

"fringe," or relegated to the slight consciousness of habitual actions. It

would appear then

that the success of the

aviator depends in a large measure

way

in

which he succeeds

The

habits.

easier

it is

for

him to make his more freedom he

has for thinking and planning.

work

is

bad habit will begin

and very It

is

To

habitual-

not as simple as one might

There are

imagine.

the

in acquiring certain

performance automatic, the

ize his

upon

pitfalls in the as readily as a

way.

A

good one,

subtly.

a poor plan to attempt to acquire a

when you are fatigued. It is worse to persist when you have begun making mistakes and have to work constantly to overcome them. Seize the hour when you are

new

habit

CONTROLLING THE PLANE and things come

fresh

55

Often the hesi-

easily.

tancy acquired by uncertainty, or nervousness, will persist as a nagging habit to be overcome.

For example,

in

making

right turn

a

more difficult Some instructors grew im-

torque of the propellor makes

than a

left turn.

the

it

patient and roundly cursed the clumsy pupils

who bungled

sequence a hesitancy showed

itself

which they had hard

pupils,

As

their right turns.

a con-

with these

fights to over-

come, whenever a right turn was needed.

Saner teaching would have demonstrated the reasons for the difficulty, and given constant practice

Some schools

till

the habit built up.

of the needless accidents in our flying

men attempting work when they were

were due

on their habit

to

half sick, or recuperating fore."

A half-formed habit When

trust.

from is

mind

is

a sine

qua non

or

a "night be-

bad thing

Good

in flying.

to

to the

not alert there

splendid chance for a crash. is

carry

stale,

one relegates an action

"fringe" and the

tion

a

to

is

a

condi-

But good

THE AVIATOR

56

condition

not always as obvious as

Occasionally, one feels quite

be. fit,

is

Often a

nevertheless.

might

but

fit,

man

it

goes

is

stale.

His nerve energy has small resources. on a crisp wishes to

fall

fly.

his reserve

day he

The

and he

feels

But

"snappy" and

strain of flying soon saps is

in

no condition

to

the fine balance and coordination in

ments and the

not

keep

move-

perceptions needed to

alert

make a good landing. The flight surgeon was a life saver, in more ways than one, to many a cadet in the flying His knowledge of human nature schools.

Who

and of science was of great value.

but

he could advise with confidence and success a cadet,

who was

tracted

by worry,

An

in splendid health but disto

keep out of the planes?

average instructor would contend that

such a cadet should

fly,

"To keep

"Not so," "When his mind

his

mind

off

his troubles."

said one flight sur-

geon,

reverts

mother and the trouble be moments

when

at

to

the sick

home, there will

attention relaxes,

when

the

CONTROLLING THE PLANE newly formed habits cannot be risk

too

is

That

great."

"grounded," until he

won

some very all,

some acting

cadet

tion of

a balance

is

in full consciousness,

way and some

These,

physical

condi-

the man.

to

the

Nerve energy

varies

A

truly as does other forms of energy. flier

may

in a

perhaps sub-conscious way. subject

are

stayed

control of himself.

in a partly conscious faint,

The

trusted.

In controlling the plane there of abilities,

57

find all

as

tired

going well in the clearest

area of consciousness, but he cannot cheat nature.

In

the

outskirts

his

sentries

are

drowsing, perhaps he does not notice the revolutions counter, or the gasoline gauge, or that occasional miss in the engine.

age

is

splendid, but his control

is

His coursubtly de-

ceiving him.

To sum

up; the control of the airplane

matter of habits.

No

a

one can step from the

ground into an airplane and run basis of the

is

knowledge he

possesses.

it

on the

Only by

forming one habit after another does the

art

THE AVIATOR

58

of controlling the aircraft build up.

It

is

the mechanical response of the nervous sys-

tem

to the stimulations it receives

flying possible.

What

the nerves of the bird

acquire by racial habit the

gain by practice.

human

flier

must

Such mechanical actions by

are, of course, directed

but fundamentally the is

which makes

his conscious wishes,

human

flying-machine

dependent upon the structure and function

of his nerve machinery*

How the various tem function chapters.

parts of this elaborate sys-

in flying

One

is

of the

the study for separate

most important

mechanism which enables

all

is

the

types of fliers to

and which

keep their equilibrium in the

air,

yields the sensations of motion

and balance.

CHAPTER

IV

THE SENSE OF MOTION AND OF BALANCE Certainly there can be no sense about which we know so much and so little as the We knew we liked it when sense of motion.

we were make

the

cordingly,

swung

hand

We

knew we on

in swings, slid

whirled

world

that rules the

We

merry-go-round.

We

and we took pains

in the cradle

liked sleds,

it

to

act ac-

when we

and rode the

experimented with

on one heel until

it.

we were

drunken dizzy and watched the landscape go dancing by when observant

among

we

stopped.

us noticed that

saw the landscape dance past direction to the one in

spinning. to the

When we

The more we always

in the opposite

which we had been

bent over with the face

ground and spun around, we found that 59

THE AVIATOR

60

we had

to fall

turning

and

enough, as the

we

down

straightened

always

we

soon as

as

up.

the

fell in

Strangely

same direction

we had been

one in which

stopped

turning.

Probably our early experiments had been long forgotten

when we took

the tests as candidates recollection of

them

must have returned when we were spun

in the

for aviation, but

"turning chair."

some

Again

in the opposite direction to

the officer in charge

of the eyes, again

we

attempted to

we

our turning while

watched the nystagmus

fell

sit

danced past

objects

over to one side

when

straight after the prer

scribed "ten turns in twenty seconds" with the face toward the floor.

Undoubtedly,

we were

somewhat surprised to learn that the dizziness, against which we fought so hard, was perfectly natural and that if we were to become aviators

or

we must have

we would

a certain

amount of

it

not be normal types.

Dizziness, therefore liability for the aviator!

is

an asset and not a

That

is

rather hard

MOTION AND BALANCE SIDESLIP

INDICATOR,

bubble.

FO&L AND AFT LEVEL Sectional

Side View

Dashboard Instruments for Detecting the Lateral and Longitudinal Movements of the Airplane.

61

62

THE AVIATOR

to believe.

Of

but the part of

Nature's

course, it

it

which

instruments

is

only part true,

is

true

is

important.

informing

for

us

whether we are moving and whether we are keeping our balance are very delicate, and one of their by-products

is

If they

dizziness.

are not functioning, there will be no dizziness. It

is

compare Nature's device

interesting to

for informing the bird, fish or

he

is

turning with the device used in the air-

plane for the same purpose.

know whether the airplane ward or downward, "nosing up to

to

accomplish

As

which

It

also,

,is,

whether the machine that one

other.

wing

A

is

turning up-

or down," and

half-filled

is

with

sinks in the vertical tube as the

machine turns upward and

downward,

is

the cut shows, the level

merely a triangular glass tube a liquid

necessary

It

a fore-and-aft level has

this

been devised.

this,

man whether

is

is

rises

as

it

necessary to

turning in such

turns

know a way

becoming lower than the

sideslip

indicator

just as a spirit level

accomplishes

would

do.

When

MOTION AND BALANCE the

machine turns from

pass tells the story.

its

course, the

63

com-

So there are three direc-

Organs of Motion and Balance The

three semi-circular canals which detect turning in three planes: (i) the external, or horizontal, canal; (2) the superior vertical canal; (3) the posterior vertical canal. The two sacs for detecting changes in positions of the head, and motions: (4) the utricle; (5) the saccule. (6) The nerve leading to the brain.

movements

tions or planes

turn;

in

up and down

which the airplane may in a vertical plane;

from

THE AVIATOR

64

side to side in another vertical plane, at right

angles to the former; and around to the right

or

left,

the

Nature

in a horizontal plane.

problem of turning

solves

in these three planes

by having an instrument something

like the

fore-and-aft level lying in each of the three

These three

planes.

levels are

known

as the

three semi-circular canals, and they are lo-

cated in the inner ear just back of the cochlea,

which

is

As

devoted to hearing.

their

name

implies, they are hollow half circles, joined together, as

A

liquid

move

in

is

shown

fills all

in the cut

three of them.

on page

When

63.

they

any direction, the liquid moves in

The

the opposite direction.

canals are com-

pletely filled with liquid and, unlike the level,

number

of hair-

like bodies projecting into the liquid.

These

the sides of the canals have a

minute hairs are the endings of the vestibular branch

head

is