Page:The Fun of It.pdf/47

Rh The rudder bar, upon which one’s feet rest, sim­ply turns the nose of the ship left or right, a move­ment to be coordinated with the action of the stick. Today, by the way, especially in larger planes, a wheel much like the steering wheel of a car is used instead of the simple stick.

In addition to the stick and the rudder, the novice must become familiar with certain instru­ments placed before his eyes, much as does a driver with a speedometer, gas gauge, etc., installed on the dashboard of his automobile. These instru­ments include a compass for direction, as well as others which show speed through the air, height above ground, revolutions per minute of the motor, and pressure and temperature of the oil. On planes equipped for all weather flying, several more are necessary.

To get back to my own lessons. After learning as much as I could possibly absorb on the ground, I was taken aloft. For what seemed a long time but was actually only about twenty minutes, I watched the movements of the controls as the pilot, in the rear cockpit, made circles around the field. Finally we landed and she, for my primary work was with a woman, talked with me some more.

The next time I went “upstairs,” I was per­mitted to try to make the plane fly level—and that was very, very hard, indeed. I did exactly what a novice in an automobile is apt to do—overcontrol and wobble about the road, no matter how he en­deavors to steer straight.