Feel of Fall

Out of an airplane 2,200 ft. over Dayton last month tumbled a bulky Army doctor with a parachute rip cord in his hand, a determined gleam in his eye, and, since it was his first jump, a tremor of 'fear in his heart. For 1,200 ft. he plummeted end over end at 119 m.p.h. Then he pulled his rip cord, jerked upright as the parachute opened, floated serenely to earth, well pleased because he had just made the first scientific analysis of the "subjective mental and physical reactions to a free fall in space.''

The pleased medico was Captain Harry George Armstrong. 36, director of the Army Air Corps' Physiological Research Laboratory at Dayton. A married man with two children, he enjoys flying but is not a pilot. Long aware of the importance of parachuting, he made his jump as a precise laboratory experiment to uncover the basic facts of the matter. Last fortnight he published his findings, well substantiated by witnesses and figures, in the American Medical Association Journal. Excerpts:

"During the few seconds preceding the jump, the predominant mental factors were fear and excitement. . . . Throughout the free fall, all conscious mental processes seemed normal. As soon as the airplane was cleared, fear and excitement disappeared. ...

"Perception of an auditory nature may or may not have been impaired. While twelve airplanes were in close proximity ... no airplane noise can be recalled. Also it was expected that the rush of air past the ears would produce considerable sound, yet none was noted. . . .

"Visual perception was normal. . . .

"For the first second of fall there was a horizontal velocity of about 175 ft. per sec. and a vertical acceleration . . . of about 16 ft. per sec. At the same time there was a tumbling motion of the body making a complete revolution in about two seconds. Of all these motions . . . the only one recognized was rotation of the body. . . . During the third and fourth seconds, the eyes were voluntarily closed and during that time all sense of motion was lost. . . . The sensation was that of being suspended at rest in midair. When the eyes were opened, which was at an altitude of about 1,900 ft., and the ground again sighted . . . there was for the first time a definite sensation of falling. This . . . increased rapidly. . . . This phenomenon . . . lends strong support to the recent theory that the eye and not the ear is the predominant organ in determining spatial position and relationships. . . .

"There was none of the empty or 'gone' feeling in the abdomen so common in elevators and in airplanes. The eyes, although unprotected from the high wind blast, were not irritated. . . . Breathing was even, regular and undisturbed.

"The last phenomenon . . . has to do with skin sensibility and was a result of the increased air pressure on the lower surface of the body. It consists of that force which restricts terminal velocity to 119 m.p.h. instead of infinity and appears in consciousness as a very gentle, evenly distributed, generalized, superficial pressure on the surface of the body toward the earth. The nearest possible similar earthly experience is that of being lowered slowly into a great bed of softest down."

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