How to Fly

Last week William P. MacCracken Jr., Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of aeronautics, announced that 23,310,355 miles had been flown by 1,536 commercial airplanes in the U. S. during 1926. His report included planes engaged in the mail service, passenger transport, exhibition flying, advertising, photography, crop dusting, etc. Adding the distance traveled by Army, Navy and Coast Guard planes, a total U. S. air mileage of 48,586,492 was recorded.

The confidence in aviation and the lust for adventure created by Capt. Charles A. Lindbergh's flight, led airmen to predict a doubling in U. S. flying activity in 1927 and 1928. In the few days following the news of Captain Lindbergh's arrival in Paris, aviation schools throughout the U. S. reported a host of new applicants who wanted to be taught the art of flying. Barnstorming pilots noted a significant increase in the number of people who were willing to pay $3 and $5 for a few minutes' ride. One editorial writer said: "America is flying mad."

Landlubbing men and women marveled at the newspaper story of one Bessie Davis of Brooklyn, who recently "learned to fly an airplane after only 20 minutes' instruction." But Miss Davis had performed no astounding feat--considering the fact that she simply manipulated one set of controls of a dual-controlled plane, 1,000 feet above the ground. She was as safe as a person learning to drive a new Ford on a wide, straight concrete highway in the absence of traffic. If she had attempted to take the plane off the ground or land it, then she might well have encountered difficulties. It is on the earth or near it that green pilots have most of their accidents.

Ability to pilot a plane is not due to any "bird instinct," but is achieved by knowledge of a few fundamentals of airplane construction and air behavior, by practice in a dual-controlled ship. Then a pilot develops co-ordinations of his nerve centres which enable him to handle his controls automatically, like a policeman on a motorcycle, a taximan in his cab.

The chief control on an airplane is the "joy stick," regulating the ailerons on the wings and the elevator on the tail. Stand a pencil vertically on a table. Affix a piece of cardboard, parallel with the table, to the upper end of the pencil. Slant the pencil at any angle in any direction, keeping its lower end on the table. Imagine that the pencil is the joy stick, the table is the ground, the cardboard is the airplane. Thus, can be seen the approximate positions of a flying ship as determined by manipulating the joy stick. A pilot must constantly keep a hand on the joy stick, just as the automobilist must on the steering wheel. The joy stick is conveniently located between the pilot's knees.

The other important control is the rudder bar, across the cockpit floor, with pedals on each end. To turn the airplane to the right, press on the right pedal; to the left, on the left. Because the whirling of the propeller forces an airplane to the left, an adjustable device has been invented to keep sufficient pressure on the right rudder-pedal to maintain a straight course. But, even with his rudder out of commission, a skilled pilot can manage his plane with his joy stick alone.

Getting a plane off the ground is not dangerous except when carrying a close-to-maximum load. A light plane may need only a 100-yard runway. Planes are usually launched against the wind, at a speed between 50 and 90 miles per hour, depending on their weight. The pilot watches his tachometre to make sure that the engine is making a sufficient number of revolutions per minute.* Then he pushes the joy stick forward slightly to get the plane's tail skid off the ground, pulls it backward and the plane rises. Green pilots sometimes try to elevate a low-powered plane too abruptly. The result is that the engine cannot lift the plane at the angle of the elevator. The plane loses flying speed, slips downward, is likely to crash. A passenger in a well-launched plane from a smooth runway is hardly aware that he has left the ground --unless he peeks.

Flying a straight course is as devoid of sensations as sitting in a placid hammock--except when the air is "bumpy." Air currents shooting up over hills and mountains, diving down over seashore cliffs and into valleys, make flying bumpy, cause a plane to rise or sink suddenly. Even on a day that is calm and sunshiny, there may be bumps in the air.

There is the joy of shooting up through the clouds on a grey day and suddenly emerging in unexpurgated sunlight. The rarity of the atmosphere begins to be noticeable above 8,000 feet. Breathing becomes slightly more difficult and one's body feels lighter.

Returning to earth is where the experience and "feeling" of the skilled pilot are most evident. Without looking at his instrument board, he can tell by the feel of his plane that he is traveling in a straight line parallel with the ground and is ready to land gracefully. An inexperienced pilot often fails to detect a wind that is causing his plane to drift sideways. This may account for a wrecked landing-gear, a crumpled wing. This is why planes, like pitching ducks, land directly into the wind whenever possible. A perfect landing is when the two wheels and the tail-skid touch the ground in unison.

*On the instrument board of an airplane are also: an oil pressure gauge, gasoline gauge, thermometer (for motor temperature), turn-and-bank indicator, rate-of-climb indicator, altimetre, air speed indicator, compass, clock.