Part 5 (2/2)
Now he feels happier and that he is well on his way The gusts, too, have ceased to trouble him as, at this altitude, they are not nearly so bad as they were near the ground, the broken surface of which does much to produce them; and sometimes for miles he makes but a movement or two of the controls
The clouds just above race by with dizzy and uniform speed; the country beloly unrolls, and the steady drone of the Engine is almost hypnotic in effect ”Sleep, sleep, sleep,” it insidiously suggests
”Listen toelse to do Dreah space for ever, and ever, and ever; and rest, rest, rest to the sound ofwhatever h space and a sleepy monotonous d-d-r-r-o-o-n-n-e------” But the Pilot pulls hiether with a start and peers far ahead in search of the next landmark This time it is a little country town, red-roofed his h, there in the right direction are the broken outlines of a few red roofs peeping out from between the trees
Another minute and he can see this little town, a fairy place it appears, nestling down between the hills and its red roofs and picturesque shape, a glowing and lovely contrast with the dark green of the surrounding moors
So extraordinarily clean and tidy it looks froht, and laid out in such orderly fashi+on with perfectly defined squares, parks, avenues, and public buildings, it indeed appears hardly real, but rather as if it has this very day htful children's book!
Every city and town you must know has its distinct individuality to the Pilot's eye Soly blots upon the fair countryside, and with tall shafts belching forth murky columns of s rey, slate-roofed houses, are always sad and dispirited; never welco for leaden skies and a weeping Heaven Others again, little coquettes with village green, white palings everywhere, bright gravel roads, and an irrepressible air of brightness and gaiety
Then there are the rivers, silvery streaks peacefully winding far, far away to the distant horizon; they and the lakes the finest landmarks the Pilot can have And the forests How can I describe theether into enor over the country, and so soe at tireat dragon of olden ties its arms encircle
And the Pilot and Observer fly on and on, seeing these things and s, dear Reader, that you shall see, and poets sing of, and great artists paint in the days to coner has captured Efficiency Then, and the time is near, shall you see this beautiful world as you have never seen it before, the garden it is, the peace it breathes, and the wonder of it
The Pilot, flying on, is now anxiously looking for the railway line which midway on his journey should point the course Ah! There it is at last, but suddenly (and the es into the earth! Well the writer re 'cross-country flight in the early days of aviation Anxiously he wondered ”Are tunnels always straight?” and hat relief, keeping on a straight course, he picked up the line again some three miles farther on!
Now at last the Pilot sees the sea, just a streak on the north-eastern horizon, and he knows that his flight is two-thirds over Indeed, he should have seen it before, but the air is none too clear, and he is not yet able to discern the river which soon should cross his path As he swiftly speeds on the air beco of a sea-fog, perhaps drifting inland along the course of the river Now does he feel real anxiety, for it is the _duty_ of a Pilot to fear fog, his deadliest ene not only hides the landmarks by which he keeps his course, but reatest difficulty Hehis ainst the horizon, and with the horizon gone he is lost indeed Not only that, but it also prevents hi-place, and the chances are that, landing in a fog, he will s, with disastrous results The best and boldest pilot 'wares a fog, and so this one, finding the conditions beco forced to descend lower and lower in order to keep the earth within vieisely decides to choose a landing-place while there is yet tiine he spirals doards, keenly observing the country below There are plenty of green fields to lure hirass is long, for that would bring his machine to a stop so suddenly as to turn it over; or one of rough surface likely to break the under-carriage Now is perfect eyesight and a cool head indispensable He sees and decides upon a field and, knowing his job, he sticks to that field with no change ofjust over the trees and head on to the wind he skilfully ”stalls” hisdecreased sufficiently to avoid such a ives the Aeroplane as large an angle of incidence as possible, and the undersides of the planes le act as an air-brake, and the Aeroplane, skiround, lessens its speed and finally stops just at the farther end of the field
Then, after driving the Aeroplane up to and under the lee of the hedge, he stops the engine, and quickly lashi+ng the joy-stick fast in order to prevent the wind fro the to the tail he lifts it up on to his shoulder, for the wind has beco unle at which the planes are inclined to the wind and so minimizes the latter's effect upon them Then to the Observer, ”Hurry up, old fellow, and try to find so hich to picket theand I shan't be able to hold the 'bus steady for long Don't forget the wire-cutters They're in the tool kit” And the Observer rushes off in frantic haste, before long triuhbouring fence Blocking up the tail with some debris at hand, they soon succeed, with the aid of the wire, in stoutly picketing the Aeroplane to the roots of the high hedge in front of it; done with much care, too, so that the wire shall not fray the fabric or set up dangerous bending-stresses in the ork Their work is not done yet, for the Observer re, ”I don't like the look of this thick weather and rather fear a heavy rain-storm,” the Pilot replies, ”Well, it's a fearful bore, but the first rule of our gaine and body covers”
Working with a will they soon have the engine and the open part of the body which contains the seats, controls, and instruly housed with their waterproof covers, and the Aeroplane is ready to weather the possible storm Says the Observer, ”I'm reland's stately ho themselves just beyond that wood, less than a quarter of a mile away What ho! for a raid What do you say?”
”All right, you cut along and I'll stop here, for the Aeroplane must not be left alone Get back as quickly as possible”
And the Observer trots off, leaving the Pilot filling his pipe and anxiously scrutinizing the weather conditions Very thick it is now, but the day is yet young, and he has hopes of the fog lifting sufficiently to enable the flight to be resumed A little impatiently he awaits the return of his comrade, but with never a doubt of the result, for the hospitality of the country house is proverbial a the made pleasant by such hospitality? Never too late or too early to help with food, petrol, oil, tools, and assistants Many a grateful thought has the writer for such kind help given in the days before the war (how long ago they seem!), when aeroplanes were still more imperfect than they are now, and involuntary descents often a part of 'cross-country flying
Ah! those early days! How fresh and inspiring they were! As one started off on one's first 'cross-country flight, on ayet to learn, and the wonders of the air yet to explore; then the joy of acco hours better than leisure; and what a field of endeavour--the realoes on with ever-increasing success Who is bold enough to say what its liner, as he puffs at his pipe, until his reverie is abruptly disturbed by the return of the Observer
”Wake up, you _air the doctor ordered! A basket of first-class grub and so out, too”
”Well, that's splendid, but don't call me newspaper naer such as only flying can produce, they appreciatively discuss their lunch, and with ht for the donors--and they talk shop They can't help it, and even golf is a poor second to flight talk Says the Pilot, who ed to stop the e! A little dom Coround and so I could not give the Aeroplane any larger angle of incidence Could I have given it a larger angle, then the planes would have become a much more effective air-brake, and we should have come to rest in a much shorter distance It's all the fault of the tail There's hardly a type of Aeroplane in existence in which the tail could not be raised several feet, and that would le of incidence when the uarantee to safely land the fastest ine what a difference that would s are concerned!” Then rapidly sketching in his notebook, he shows the Observer the following illustration:
[Illustration: The Pilot's Aeroplane
The Change of Design He Would Like]
”That's very pretty,” said the Observer, ”but how about Mechanical Difficulties, and Efficiency in respect of Flight? And, anyhy hasn't such an obvious thing been done already?”
”As regards the first part of your question I assure you that there's nothing in it, and I'll prove it to you as follows----”
”Oh! That's all right, old chap I'll take your word for it,” hurriedly replies the Observer, whose soul isn't tuned to a technical key
”As regards the latter part of your inquiry,” went on the Pilot, a little nettled at having such a poor listener, ”it's very sirowed' like Topsy, and they consequently contain this and n when Aeroplanes were h that could get off the ground”
”By Jove,” interrupts the Observer, ”I do believe the fog is lifting
Hadn't we better get the engine and body covers off, just in case it's really so?”