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INVENTION TESTS FLYING ABILITIES OF BIRDM EN1»H. ROBKRTSOX, FOKJTE'R MITSCA.. TT7TF, MAT, BKSIGXS Vy-tSSTJAX APT1VI.UWE.will save lives OF MANY AVIATORS■Compartment Provides Means Wicre-fy It Can bo BcfhiJtolj Knovrn if Prospective Aria tors Caa Stand Sensation of Fjtfnnj? Through Air.One or lit a most perfect inventions, •ana the only ono of its kind, in testing tho ability of aviation recruits for •flying above the clouds has boon completed and contributed to the air service oC tho United States povorn men:, jbv Dr. Charles M. Robertson of CM-jcago* a former Muscatine man. Dr. :Robertaon, a captain in the army Reserve Corps, is the son of [Mis. Anna f\. b‘obertson oC Gl* West Third stTeot, this city, and o brother of Mrs. NelUo Robertson Cod rod of 1 hIs city.A 'Jotailed descrpition of the-: machine, and its uses is Included in a lengthy story srpoaring in a Chicago ■r*arcr of a roceui data. Thy arr/’.le follows:The assignment yesterday was to go out and get accurate and first band information on how it felt to fall 21),-iOOO feet, and than come back in time ’to describe it for the first edition.The terrifying aspects of the job were anoderated by the fact that iha fall tug isonsatious were to be obtained I through a devise firmly fastened to 1 .the floor of I)r. Charles Tvl. Robertson’s ofilco in tho policlinic hospital.Only iDevJso of Kind*Dr. Robertson, a captain in tho Medical .Reserve Corps, completed tho ma-:chiue recently, and donated it to M10 air service ot the United States gov-inenL Outwardly ft lookffUlcc an office •safe. In one side if? a window of plate [glass. Jt is attached to a two cylinder electric vacuum pump.inside is a scat and a crossbar, to •which the. subject clings while being ;given a simulated drop of 5,000 or •6,CfO icet in thirty seconds.The purpose of the daviso ir to test the illness of aviators for ascents abovo the clouds.Government experts pronounce it the only device by which such tests con Id bo made, and doclnred it would he the moans of saving hundreds of dives.Dr. Robertson assured me my fears of a weak heart wore unfounded. Io also overcame hints of other ailments.4} near Sojisntiiui .V'elf. 1Into the sliUlonary flying machine I wont.!\r star led the gas engine, and gradually I ^ecamo sold. I L‘elL a whirring sensation in my head, unrl my heart began pounding so loud I could almost hear it. There was a huzing in both ears, but I could still hear the exhaust of U10 engine.The mercury in the tube that records iuy height began to climb evenly At L-r.OHO leet I lost thp sound of tho engine exhaust. When J placed my hand over my heart it was boat (nr, it seemed to me. i\bout 100 miles a minute.Props '.1,000 V’eeUThen up to 3,000 and *1.001) foot J ex-iporicnced no chango either in heart laction. or hlood pressure, tiL vhou I igot Lo 15,000 feet ray hands and faceturned white ami my head telt light.1 took a deep breath and my heart bent bo fast It fluttered like a rJbbnn in a strong wind.Suddenly Dr. Robertson touched a stop cocfci I experienced a drop of 1,000 feet The air seemed to pound against my eardrums and my heart slowed down,. I fear I missed a few boats. Thim bo stopped my descent and started me up again and my heart began to race again. He repeated these dips and ascents several times, ft iron a Thriller.Then he got me past G,000 feet again and gave mo a regular thriller*, He let rne drop from this altitude elcar to sea level at a speed of .100 miles j an hour. Tho air rushed in and about j my ears with a roar that deafened \ me* It tett as 1C someone was press- \ in# hard against my eardrums while.; squeezing my head in a vise*At sea level Dr. Robertson opened; tho door and helped me. to a chair. My eyes were starting and T could not hear a word he said. Slowly the nob a in my eura and head disappeared and my heart began beating normally* I?ut for nn hour I had a sensation of lightness about my head. Dr. Robertson explained that until the machine had been perfected the government had no way of determining tho fitness of an aviator in operating a machine at various heights. He attributed more than 50 per cent of the fatal falls to constitutional defects, which cannot be ascertained by ordinary toats.The man who can pass all the ground tests may still havo a blood pressure or Heart action that will tail when n.000 or 10,000 feet in the air, according to Dr. Robertson, Other aviators, ho said, can go 3 0,000 feet in the Kir without a reaction, ‘ but at a! greater height they will get dtasty, lose control and fall.
Newspaper Details
Muscatine Journal
Muscatine, Iowa, US
Thu, Feb 28, 1918
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Musser P.
IA, USA 28 Feb 2018
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