74 Miracles Ahead! 



to the right. Controls are again returned to neutral as the ship 

 resumes its level flight attitude. 



If you own one of the new light planes of tomorrow you 

 won't have to worry much about the above information. 

 These planes including the Ercoupe, produced by Engi- 

 neering and Research Corporation, and the Skyfarer, built by 

 the General Aircraft Corporation provide a wheel control 

 which makes the ailerons and the rudder function together in 

 a coordinated manner. The problem of banking the plane is 

 solved by a simple twist of the wheel. This means that you 

 will be able to learn to fly with greater ease and with little 

 wear and tear on the nerves. 



The first rule of the air is to maintain flying speed. The 

 plane's wings provide lift, and if the plane slows down too 

 much the wings don't catch the air at the proper angle. This 

 causes the plane to stall (fall rapidly from lack of flying 

 speed). Many accidents are caused by a too-slow landing 

 approach if a plane stalls at an altitude of fifty feet the 

 pilot's chances of avoiding a crash are about zero. This danger 

 is largely avoided by the new light planes. They will be 

 equipped with wing flaps, which increase the lift of the wing 

 and also act as air brakes to slow the landing speed. Tricycle 

 and four-wheel landing gears will further reduce the chances 

 for accidents. They will provide better visibility for take-offs 

 and landings, keep the plane rolling straight on the ground, 

 and eliminate the danger of somersaults. 



Safety at Night 



One of the toughest problems faced by a pilot is that of 

 knowing the right height at which to cut his engine for a 

 landing. This is particularly difficult if he is coming in over 

 a darkened field. An invention on which a United States pat- 

 ent was granted in 1943 should permit landings to be made 



