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  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192*7 
  

  

  " 
  ceiling 
  " 
  and 
  then 
  taking 
  a 
  flat 
  glide 
  across 
  or 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  with 
  the 
  

   wind. 
  Later 
  we 
  learned 
  to 
  pick 
  up 
  altitude 
  under 
  way. 
  At 
  Rossit- 
  

   ten, 
  Herr 
  A. 
  Martens 
  managed 
  to 
  sail 
  all 
  along 
  the 
  chain 
  of 
  coast 
  

   dunes 
  for 
  some 
  15 
  miles 
  and 
  back 
  to 
  his 
  base. 
  The 
  plucky 
  Darmstadt 
  

   college 
  glider 
  team 
  finally 
  perfected 
  the 
  art 
  of 
  sailing 
  from 
  mountain 
  

   chain 
  to 
  mountain 
  chain 
  across 
  valleys 
  and 
  plains. 
  A 
  wonderful 
  feat 
  

   was 
  the 
  winning 
  of 
  the 
  Milseburg 
  prize 
  by 
  Herr 
  Nehring, 
  their 
  

   youngest 
  member. 
  The 
  task 
  was 
  to 
  start 
  from 
  Mount 
  Wasserkuppe, 
  

   to 
  fly 
  to 
  the 
  Milseburg, 
  an 
  ancient 
  rock 
  castle 
  some 
  7 
  miles 
  distant, 
  

   to 
  circle 
  it 
  and 
  to 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  starting 
  point, 
  without 
  a 
  motor, 
  of 
  

   course. 
  After 
  climbing 
  some 
  500 
  feet 
  above 
  the 
  crest 
  in 
  a 
  moderate 
  

   wind 
  blowing 
  about 
  across 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  his 
  goal, 
  he 
  crossed 
  the 
  

   valleys 
  and 
  intermediate 
  hills 
  and 
  arrived 
  near 
  the 
  castle 
  in 
  good 
  

   fashion. 
  Due 
  to 
  other 
  hills 
  surrounding 
  the 
  Milseburg 
  and 
  impairing 
  

   aerial 
  conditions 
  there, 
  he 
  lost 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  height. 
  Thus 
  it 
  looked 
  

   as 
  though 
  he 
  would 
  never 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  complete 
  the 
  return 
  trip. 
  How- 
  

   ever, 
  by 
  making 
  clever 
  detours 
  to 
  the 
  windward 
  slopes 
  of 
  various 
  

   other 
  hills, 
  he 
  managed 
  to 
  gather 
  enough 
  lift 
  again 
  to 
  negotiate 
  

   the 
  worst 
  gaps 
  and 
  valleys 
  and 
  finally 
  alighted 
  only 
  400 
  feet 
  from 
  

   his 
  starting 
  point. 
  This 
  flight 
  strikingly 
  demonstrated 
  what 
  tre- 
  

   mendous 
  possibilities 
  long-distance 
  soaring 
  in 
  hilly 
  country 
  presents. 
  

  

  Vertical 
  currents 
  are 
  not 
  entirely 
  confined 
  to 
  mountainous 
  regions. 
  

   Every 
  cumulus 
  cloud 
  is 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  one. 
  The 
  variations 
  of 
  solar 
  

   radiation 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  thermal 
  capacity 
  of 
  different 
  varieties 
  of 
  soil 
  

   cause 
  the 
  atmosphere 
  to 
  heat 
  very 
  irregularly. 
  Above 
  some 
  localities 
  

   hot 
  air 
  rises, 
  above 
  others 
  cold 
  air 
  descends. 
  In 
  tropical 
  regions 
  

   such 
  thermical 
  drafts 
  attain 
  formidable 
  velocities. 
  In 
  Guinea, 
  Central 
  

   Africa, 
  the 
  French 
  scientist 
  P. 
  Idrac 
  has 
  measured 
  vertical 
  velocities 
  

   ranging 
  from 
  2 
  to 
  5 
  feet 
  per 
  second. 
  By 
  means 
  of 
  kites, 
  he 
  lifted 
  

   wind-speed 
  meters 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  strata 
  where 
  vultures 
  were 
  soaring 
  

   at 
  the 
  time. 
  

  

  Airmen 
  do 
  not 
  like 
  to 
  fly 
  in 
  clouds. 
  However, 
  they 
  are 
  vis- 
  

   ible 
  indicators 
  of 
  the 
  rise 
  of 
  saturated 
  air. 
  To 
  glide 
  not 
  only 
  

   from 
  mountain 
  to 
  mountain, 
  but 
  also 
  from 
  cloud 
  to 
  cloud, 
  was 
  the 
  

   ambitious 
  goal 
  the 
  soaring 
  flight 
  pioneers 
  had 
  set 
  out 
  to 
  attain. 
  

  

  During 
  last 
  year's 
  Rhon 
  meeting, 
  the 
  German 
  pilot 
  Herr 
  M. 
  

   Kegel 
  was 
  caught 
  by 
  a 
  thunderstorm. 
  Threatening 
  clouds 
  came 
  

   rapidly 
  rolling 
  up 
  toward 
  the 
  Wasserkuppe. 
  Two 
  other 
  pilots 
  

   who 
  also 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  air 
  decided 
  to 
  land. 
  Kegel, 
  however, 
  drove 
  

   right 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  front 
  of 
  the 
  monstrous 
  roller 
  and 
  clung 
  to 
  it. 
  

   Soon 
  he 
  was 
  out 
  of 
  sight 
  of 
  the 
  amazed 
  spectators. 
  He 
  let 
  him- 
  

   self 
  be 
  carried 
  by 
  the 
  clouds' 
  upwash 
  as 
  high 
  as 
  about 
  4,000 
  feet, 
  

   and 
  thus 
  actually 
  traveled 
  a 
  distance 
  of 
  40 
  miles. 
  Eventually, 
  

   he 
  headed 
  leeward 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  disturbance 
  and 
  beat 
  

  

  