New Britain Herald Newspaper, December 3, 1926, Page 31

A would-be aviator being whirled at great speed in a device called the “orienta- tor” to see how well fitted he is mentally and physically to-adapt himself to the rapid changes of position he must undergo when flying machine three or four miles up in the sky. How would you feel? What differ- ence would it make in your mental alertness? How would it affect you temperamentally? Would your physical powers suffer impairment? To make a study of such questions, our Army Air Service has newly built a “low pressure chamber” in which, by partial exhaution of the air inside, conditions are produced similar to those encoun- tered by the aviator in the thin atmos- phere far aloft. Men, placed in the chamber, are subjected to scientific ob- servation, the ‘effects being watched and recorded. With the progress of the World War, flights were made at increasingly high altitudes. It is expected that in the next war aviators will engage in combat at even higher levels. Hence the military importance of a study of the effects of altitude upon flying men. At sea level the aviator breathes air containing 21 per cent. of oxygen. As he ascends, the percentage remains the same, but the air becomes thinner and chinner, so that to vitalize his blood he must take more of it into his lungs. Beyond a certain level he cannot get enough oxygen, and then queer things begin to happen to him. ¥ He feels extraordinarily gay, has a delightful sense of well being, and per- haps laughs in a silly way. If the horizon tips up at an angle that should be alarm- ing, he is convinced that his machine is right and the horizon is wrong. The truth is that his mind is beginning to be affected. A few minutes later he is likely to be- come cross or even angry. His power of attention is impaired, and he is un- able to read his chart or instruments properly. Presently, if “he keeps on going higher, he loses control of his SUPPOSE that you were in a flying muscles. Memory, judgment, sight and * hearing fail. Sleepiness overcomes him; his legs and arms seem paralyzed and he may become unconscious. Then he falls through space like a plummet. But it takes quite a while to fall five miles and, as happened recently to Major Schroeder who holds the record for altitude, he may recover his wits in time to right his plane and make a safe landing. One conclusion drawn from experience is that no man should attempt to fly higher than 20,000 feet (less than four miles) without a tank of oxygen. At 25,000 feet the average flyer becomes unconscious, unless he has oxygen to breathe. Even with oxygen, the absolute possible limit must be somewhere be- tween 40,000 and 45,000 feet, or, roughly, seven and a half to eight and a half miles. How the Aviator Is Mentally and Physically Transformed as He Climbs to Higher 4 and Higher Altitudes, and W hy Death Sets a Limil to the Speed and Height An army airplane attaching itself to a dirigible balloon, a “stunt” which experienced airmen find neither very difficult nor perilous The flying man travels at terrific speeds, is obliged to get along with in- sufficient oxygen at high altitudes, and is exposed to severe cold, to intense glare and to constant upsets of his equi- librium. Manifestly it is only the excep- tional indivdual who can endure such stresses. Not more than 25 per cent of the young men selected for training as army aviators are eventually graduated as flyers. Every nation now has a special physi- cal standard for its flyers, and it is the business of “flight surgeons’” to examine men and select those fit to fly. A fundamental requirement is sta- bility of the nervous system. The candi- date for appointment as a “flying cadet” is examined not omly in regard to his nerves, but in relation to his entire mental constitution and history. The examination begins with ques- tions regarding his personal history from birth on. At what age did he learn to walk, and to talk? At what age did he cut his first tooth? More than ordinary delay in any of these matters is likely to indicate mental backwardness. Did he have any nervous habits, such as nail biting and stammering? Did he ever walk in his sleep? From what dis- s of childhood did he suffer? Those, ere, may lessen his efficiency as a Was he an only child? Was he dif- ferent in any way from other children? Was his boyhood happy, or did he have fits of discouragement and depression? How about his play life? Did he get along well with other youngsters? Were his playmates of his own age and sex? In what sports did he engage, and in what one did he excel? Inclination toward sports is desirable; likewise ability in athletics, especially tennis, golf and running. The type of athletfcs W which stresses team work to the exclu- A parachute sion of individual initiative is not so jump is the part favorable to the development of a flyer. of an airman’s ed- Does the candidate play the piano or ucation that requires violin? Can he handle a cue skillfully perhaps the steadiest nerves of all at billiards? Any evidence of manual dexter to the good. mentally What is his attitude toward the oppo- tive, res site sex? How many love affairs has much imagination. he had and how have they affected him? It is very important that } How did he get along in school and free from financial, fa college? How did he stand in his classes? A good educational record is favorable. arriage is a nerve strain What determined his choice of a ca- ng on the part of t reer? Is he successful in his present ious handicap. occupation? Lack of success and fre- Flying is a young mar quent changes of employment require youth under twer adequate explanation. judgment. The b If married, what does he think of that to twenty-eight. relationship? good combat fl How does he look upon his past? from men who start the Contentedly or with dissatisfaction? over twenty-ei How does he estimate himself, and what “flight surgeo! does he believe others think about him? after thir What are his chief amusements? Lack maintains his effic of interest in amusements or excess in years. them is not a good indication. Has he All aviators becor any special hobbies? How about alcohol and tobacco? Ex- pairment. Night vi cessive use of either indicates insta- the flyer, especially bility. much of his flying ha Has he any morbid fears or dreads? night. Some indivi Is he given to worrying? Has he a by daylight are “night tender to be up and down in his The Army School of moods? Is he irritable? These are bad cine, whose activities signs, indicating a deep-seated psycho- study of all matters per nervous taint. Frequent bad dreams ical mental and mor likewise. I'he idea of the examination is to dis- close deviations from the normal. A if a flyer has any w young man, to be in all respects an ideal system, the cold of flyer, should be cheerful, modest, frank, likely to provoke at self-reliant, contented, adaptable, enthu- Learning to fly involve siastic, alert, resourceful, encrgetic, self- education of the nervous system. Iirst, controlled, punctilious, a good sports- the learner by conscious thinking works man, fond of people and, of course, out what he must do. and their vision ght, 1026, oy Jomnson Features, Ine Naval aviation apprentices being taught while asleep to “take” rapid radio messages his muscles to do & And finally he turns over the job to his subconscious “reflex which, when they have been taught to attend to the business prop- make flying “instinctive.” They y then be counted on in all circum- nees to do what they ought to do hout being told.” centers,” The aviator, while in the air, is con- v changing his position. He is first , then on his side, then upside The air is sometimes “bumpy,” the res g sensation is like that itching and rolling of a ship at end from a high ¢ vhat is called a “tight spiral,” making a series of corkscrew turns in a small rad This is apt to cause vertigo. ng the loop” he descends a tance to gain speed, then climbs swiftly, turns upside down, drops to e loop and comes out in up- Acrobatic work, such as “barrel roll,” is neces- hting, and “stunt flying” is he training of every »mes habitu- which he rizon. They cease to d, and the tendency and vertigo disappears. It whirling dancer who ess and stops the whirl se of equilibrium, person attempting performance would fall down. b in training apprentice avi- has been devised an ep- paratus called an “orientator,” which consists of an airplane cockpit suspended in three concentric rings. It is operated Candidates for the aviation corps the army and navy are strapped into a chair like this and are then revolved in all directions with great violence and speed by motors and controlled from the in- structor’s chair on the ground. The cockpit, with a man inside, can be put through all the evolutions of a plane—looped, rolled, spun, spiraled, etc. It accustoms the beginner to rapid changes of position with respect to the horizon, so that when he goes up into the air he is less apt to have an accident. By this means the period of training is considerably shortened. Wind is one of the worst of the dis- agreeablenesses the flyer has to em- counter. A terrific blast of air from the propeller blows upon him and, though many planes carry windshields, which are a great comfort, the pilot is often obliged to stick out and expose his head. Then, if traveling at high speed, he must be careful not * > open his mouth; for if he does so the wind will balloon out his cheeks and he will have trouble to get his lips closed again. When, in 1923, Lieutenant Williams, U. 8. N,, flew 266 miles an hour, discus- sion arose as to how fast a man could fly and live. The winner of the Pulitzer trophy in 1922 _tated that he became unconscious in making turns. This was almost undoubtedly due to centrifugal force, which carried the blood away from his head and toward his lower ex- tremities. His body, strapped in the cockpit, was immovable, but his blood necessarily obeyed that familiar physical law as his machine was “banked” at the turns. The School of Aviation Medicine says that a speed may yet be attained suf- ficient, when a turn is made, to cause death by pressure on the stem of the brain. Or blood vessels in the brain might be ruptured with fatal results, the effect being equivalent to that of apo- plexy. As for straightaway speed, we talk of 500 miles and even 1,000 miles an hour, but it is not likely that any man could fly so fast and survive. Y N \ ray e s