News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

CABBAGE AND X-C DON'T
MIX
World War I pilots who quieted their nerves
at the end of particularly hazardous flights
by rushing to the village estaminet and gulping
.huge glesses. of whiskey (a device not
considered sound practice for the pilot~ of
the high-speed aircraft of World War II) had
an excellent chance of becoming chronic alcoholics.
In fact, two of the Medical Corps' best
known flight surgeons write in a new book,
"flying is a hazardous and exh.e.ustingoccupation,
bu.tthe pilot will be wise who learns
to 'taKe it' without recourse to alcohol as
a benumbing drug ••••••military aviation in
our time requires both physical and moral
hardihood of the highest degree. Theneurotic
weakling, seeking escape from stress, or
the chronic alcoholic have no place in avi~
tion."
The authors moe Lieut. Col. )o1alcolmC.
Grow, M.C.! stationed a~ headquarte~ Southeast
Air D strict, Tampa, Florida, Capt.
Harry G. Armstrong, M.C., who recently was
in England on a War Department assignment.
Their new book iq "Fit to Fly,. a medical
handbook for fliers published byD. Appleton-
Century Company, with a foreword by Maj. Gen.
H. H. Arnold Cnlef of the Army Air :forces.
It is entirely possible that their book ~
prove to be as valuable a guide to young military
fliers seeking to maintain their efficiency
through vro-oerheal th as, for example,
Assen Jordanoff s .Your Wings" and "Througn
the Overcast" are valuable to embryo civilian
fliers.
Food Va. Altitude
Cabbage and cross-country don't mix at
least not at altitudes, Cel. Grow and ~apt.
Armstrong maintain. If you're going on a
cross-country, it would be a good idea to
layoff large quantities of cabbage, cauliflower,
~russels sprouts~ turnips and all
other coarse vegetables. The same thing applies
to all kinds of beans, highly spiced
or greasy food and "excessive amounts of tea,
coffee, sweets and alcoholic liquors."
Even beer or carbonated drinks, such as
the afternoon "coke," shOUld be avoided in
too grp-at quantities. That somewhat bloated
feeling you get after a large dinner, or too
!!Ian,Y car-bone.t.eddrinks, can become something
more than just bloated when y:lU get to altitli.d.E'S
end the gas begins to expend.
P1.o::leor transoceanic fliers who took along
a few candy bars instead of trying to live on
picnic lunches apparently knew their stUff,
whether they knew why or not. The authors
recommend that very thing, asserting that
"during a long or fatiguing flight a few candy
bar s are ideal as a means of allaying hunger
and pruviding energy to flying personnel
without, at the same time, overloading the
stomach."
More and Smaller Meals
!tIt is ,robable that small meals or small
amounts 0 concentrated and highly nutritious
foods at frequent intervals, say five times'
a day, during intensive flying activitywould
be highly desirable for flying personnel,.
they say. liThe importance of sufficient
-7-
fluids should not be overlooked. Good pure
water,containingsufficient necessary salts
and minerals is, after all, the best possible
form of liquid to be consumed prior to and
during flights ••
Col. Grow and Capt. Armstrong even tell
their flying readers what sort of exercise
to take and why they should take it.
"Young men," they say, .should engage in
competi tive strenuous exercise such as roving,
football, track, basketball and the
like •••••There are certain sports that increase
the capacity of the heart and l~s
to a marked degree. These are mountain
climbing, skiing and hunting in mountainau.
country.
Hill Climbing ~ine
-Climbing hills brings into play not only
the large muscles, but, as we ascend in altitude
calls on the heart and lungs for great
addi tional work due to the rarified air. Developments
of this type make for better performance
in the airplane at heights. 1I
Of course, for the exercise of the eyes
and to increase coordination they recommend
tennis, squash, handball and such shooting
as skeet. For men of forty and over, they
limit exercise to the general confines of
golf, fishing, swimming. cycling. bowling
and "even squash and tennis ••••in short of
the point of undue fatigue.1 Next time no
more than nine holes, with more congenial
partners, if the 40-year-old officer winds
up his last eighteen with a feeling of irritation
and fatigue, however.
How It Feels To Fall
Service friends of Capt. Armstrong, who
may recall that he attracted widespread attention
a few years 8€O by making aparachute
jump in order that he might maKe a profeeelonal,
medical study of his reactions while
falling free will recognize portions of the
chapter in .lIit to Flyllon protective device.
and equipment, ranging from winter f1y'1Dg
suits to parachutes and fire extinguishers.
In this chapter he describes the sensation
of faJ J 1 DR free.
IIFalling free, contrary to the fenerallde.
on the subject, is not a harrow ng experience,"
he and Col. Grow write. "The principal
reason for this is that until one Ce's
very close to the earth, there is no .ens~
tion of falling.
Floating With Ease
lOne feels as though he were simply suspended
in space. As one gets closer to the
earth however, and the eyes are able to detect
the shortening of the distance between
the body and the earth, the sensation of
falling appears.
"Itwas former ly thought (Capt. Arms trong ,8
leap seems to have been largely responsible
for scotching this belief) that a fall of 8llY
considerable distance through space would
cause unconsciousness and death.
"We now know that it has no effect on .1...