National Geographic : 1938 Jul
THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE AP Photograph from Pictures, Inc. WITH GLIDERS AS CARS AND AN AIRPLANE AS LOCOMOTIVE, A "SKY TRAIN" HEADS FROM NEW YORK FOR PHILADELPHIA AND POINTS SOUTH On this experimental flight in 1934, a three-glider train, strung out behind the towing airplane (upper right), carried mail from New York's Floyd Bennett Field to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. As each city was reached, a glider was released and landed safely by its pilot. thirty or forty feet from the ground and go up until nearly out of sight without once flapping its wings," said one seasoned pilot, admiringly. The soaring pilot gets an excellent chance to study the birds' flight habits, one silent flyer observing another and picking up hints on flying technique. "Once," Lewin Barringer told me, "I was even able to climb up past that wonder ful soarer, the turkey buzzard. However, he soon showed that his far superior ma neuverability and flying technique more than make up for his greater sinking speed." "We've exploded the popular belief that whenever you see a lot of vultures circling they're flying over something that's dead or dying," the same observant pilot remarked. "In some cases, of course, this is doubt less the reason. But often the thing that brings them together is the existence of an extra-good soaring condition. One bird has spotted a vigorous thermal and the others have gathered around to ride it, too. "I've soared with vultures and hawks four or five thousand feet up where they couldn't possibly be looking for food, even though they have remarkable eyesight. "From my own observations at fairly close range, I'd say they spend as much time in lazily riding the currents as they do in looking for their next meal." 132