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TIME: Almanac of the 20th Century
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TIME, Almanac of the 20th Century.ISO
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1994-02-27
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<text>
<title>
(1920s) James Harold ("Jimmy") Doolittle
</title>
<history>
TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1920s Highlights
People
</history>
<article>
<source>Time Magazine</source>
<hdr>
James Harold ("Jimmy") Doolittle
</hdr>
<body>
<p>(OCTOBER 7, 1929)
</p>
<p> Totally blind flying, solely by the aid of navigating
instruments, became an accomplished fact for the first time last
week. Lieutenant James Harold ("Jimmy") Doolittle, 33, "best
Army Flyer," did it, at Mitchel Field, L.I. Thereby he completed
eleven months' experiments for which the Daniel Guggenheim Fund
for the Promotion of Aeronautics borrowed him from the Army Air
Corps, and which presaged the highest safety in flying through
no matter what weather.
</p>
<p> Blind flying, where nothing of the ground or horizon can be
seen, is the terror of aviation. At the speed of plane flight
(100 m.p.h., usually) a pilot loses his sense of balance. At
night or in fog, where he cannot orient himself against ground
objects, he flies to one side, his wings tilt, the plane goes
up, down or, happily, level. He does not know. His instruments
go "hay wire." He is helpless.
</p>
<p> Three new instruments developed during the eleven months' work
made Lieutenant Doolittle's work possible. Those instruments:
1) Visual radio direction finder consisted of two reeds
vibrating in consonance with a new short range radio beacon at
Mitchel Field. When the plane is directly in the path of the
beacon, the reeds vibrate uniformly. When the plane is off
course, one reed fibrillates faster than the other. The closer
the plane is to the beacon, the more intense the vibration. 2)
Artificial horizon showed instantly at what angle the plane was
flying in relation to the ground, whether and how the wings were
tilted, whether the nose was up, down or level, and to what
degree. 3) Barometric altimeter showed to within a very few feet
how far above the ground of a particular field, in this case
Mitchel Field, the plane was at all times.
</p>
<p> A two-seater, dual control Consolidated biplane was equipped
with these new instruments, plus of course the usual flying
equipment, and put on the field. Harry Frank Guggenheim, 39,
president of the Guggenheim Fund and Ambassador-nominate to Cuba
was present. He and Lieutenant wanted to fly the plane alone.
Mr. Guggenheim, a flyer himself, insisted that Lieutenant
Benjamin Kelsey, who had assisted in the research, occupy the
front seat, to take control in case accident happened. Piqued,
daring Lieutenant Doolittle consented. He crawled into the rear
cockpit, hauled an opaque cloth entirely over himself and
instruments, which were illuminated, gave the plane the gun. Off
were the two men, Lieutenant Kelsey with his arms resting on the
gunwales, Lieutenant Doolittle completely shrouded. Fourteen
miles in all he flew, seeing nothing but his instruments.
Certainly, assuredly, he made an excellent three-point landing
within a few feet of his take-off.</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>