NO LAXITY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 932, 30 November 1933, Page 11

NO LAXITY.

Training of Pilot* in Canterbury. MR J. c. MERCER'S COMMENT. “ I want to make it plain to the public that there has been no laxity in regard to the instruction of pilots of the Canterbury Aero Club,” said Mr J. C. Mercer to-day, when he was asked a question regarding the discussion that took place at the Aero Club’s meeting on flying in clouds “On the contrar3 r ,” he said, “it is only six months ago that some of the members of the club were up in arms because they thought I had too much authority and held them down too much. The attitude I took up then was that I had my job to do and that the trainees were under my control. “ It is pretty hard to lay down regulations about flying in clouds,” Mr Mercer said. “ For instance, in the Turiwhate accident 5 no one knows whether the pilot was flying in cloud or not. We are pretty certain that he was, but there is no definite proof of it. In that connection a suggestion was made some time ago that I should be relieved of soma of the responsibility and control of the pilots and that the committee should accept the responsibility. However, the instructor should have the full responsibility of saying how a pilot should fly. For instance, ‘A ’ may be capable an*i I may allow him to go out in a few clouds, knowing that he is to be trusted flying over or under them, but B may have a greater number of hours and may not be quite such a good airman and the conditions may be such that I would not let him take a certain trip, as he might not be able to combat the weather he encounters.

Dmngtrft Taught. “ It is very very difficult to lay down definite regulations in regard to fiying above clouds. I have always taught the dangers and have warned the fellows against them in some classes of country. The committee or the club could not be held responsible in any way for the last accident, however, and I myself think that the pilot was above the clouds all right, but owing to the atmospheric conditions prevailing that day he was really trapped. The same thing might happen to an older pilot who had not the experience of that class of country. People mayreply that if that is the case why let anyone fly over there. Well, actually it is quite easy to fly there in some weathers and yOu get experience in the process. “ One member of the committee thought that we ought to revise the rules and stop cloud flying. He himself got into a cloud and was lost for half an hour going from Wellington to Palmerston North while following me last year. There were just* some small hills, 2000 feet high, and that day we were flying about 4000 feet. There was a big bank of clouds on the side of us. I could see there was a big valley in the clouds and flew through it, but for some reason he thought he would go on the other side of the clouds and pick me up beyond but he failed to come through and was lost for half an hour. Fortunately, the clouds were not down on the hills. Another Adventure. “ There was another little adventure going to a pageant last year. I had two other trainees with me flying separate machines. After leaving Wellington we had to get over a bank of cloud between Wellington and Paekakariki. We had reached 6000 feet, when I knew I was well above the clouds and could see the sea coast on the other side. Without any warning I suddenly saw the clouds above me ; which meant that I had got into a downward current or down-pressure. I immediately turned away from it into the opening. The other pilots hung on to my tail and followed me, which was the right thing to do. We came at it a second time and got up to 6000 feet, but exactly the same thing happened again. I had to turn away, climb a bit higher again, and make right back to Wellington, and cross from there towards Mana Island. That trip demonstrated that just in that area there was a big downward pressure or down draught -which would act, you might say, just like a waterfall coming over on top of it. Had they been young pilots flying alone, they might not have realised the difficulty they were getting into and might have been forced down into clouds and lost.” More Upward Lifts. Discussing the necessary relation between power in the machine and ability to climb above a certain level, Mr Mercer instanced the time when in perfect weather flying north over the Lobufn valley above Cromwell it took him twenty minutes to get to a height of just over 3000 feet, and another thirty minutes to get up to just on 70()0ft. Then suddenly they went up to 10,000 ft in the next ten minutes. This was where experience came in, because a pilot could feel these upward lifts or downward pressures by his sense of balance and also by his altimeter, although the altimeter did not always give the exact altitude because of atmospheric conditions. “We are sometimes climbing like the devil, full bore, holding the machine up in a climb, and gaining no height. Then all of a sudden you perhaps get a bump and up she will go. Sometimes getting towards hills or mountains we find we are not getting height, so w-e turn back and keep on climbing until we get a bit higher and above that downward pressure.” Mr Mercer was asked at what height he flew over the Alps, and he replied that it varied from 10,000 to 11,000 ft. At that altitude he was within easy gliding distance either of the Teremakau River on one side or the Waimakariri on the other side of the ranges. But there were also two or threfe other fivers, the Arahura, the Wilberforce and the Taipo, on which a safe landing could be made with no damage be}ond, at the most, the bursting of a tyre.