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MILLING, T. DEWITT, BRIG. GEN. USAF. - BIOG FILE - FOLDER NO. 3 ITEM NO. 8

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
NATIONAL AIR MUSEUM

AERO COMPASS FAILS

Lieut. Milling Lost in Clouds With New Invention. 

DOES NOT KNOW OF TURN

Starting South From College Park, U.S. Army Aviator Lands on Way North. Device the Product of Capt. Chambers, of the Navy-Means of Determining Directions Badly Needed. 

Although low rain clouds hung over the aviation field yesterday afternoon, Lieut. Thomas DeWitte Milling endeavored to ascend into the murk and try to lose his bearing for the purpose of trying out a new aviator's compass, invented by Capt. Chambers, of the navy.

Milling made two flights into the higher levels, but the attempts were not as successful. Later Lieut. Arnold took out the new army biplane and conducted some experiments for the purpose of ascertaining the climbing facilities of the machine. He was timed for 1,000 foot climbs, and the result, although details were not given out, was said to be very satisfactory. 

The attention of Capt. Chambers was first directed to the necessity of an aviator having some method of guidance when Capt. Paul W. Beck, lost in the clouds a few days ago, landed in a strange place, and with disaster. 

Cords Tell of Turns. 

 At present, on every one of the army machines, there is a tell-tale, made of cord and attached to the horizontal dash-rail of the main skid. With this cord-like affair the aviator can tell whether or not he is making just the proper kind of turns, but he cannot tell whether he is going up or down, unless he happens to be in sight of the ground.

The idea of Capt. Chambers, who is in charge of naval aeronautics, is to keep aeroplanes and dirigibles on their proper courses by means of a device similar to the mariner's compass. The ordinary mariner's compass is of little or no use to the aviator in the air, for reason that the aviator cannot tell the extent of his drift after he loses sight of the earth. 

When Milling went into the clouds on his first trip yesterday his aeroplane was headed in a southern direction, and when he emerged from the same clouds he was traveling exactly north, although he explained when he landed that he was unaware of the change. The army is very anxious to obtain a compass that will overcome the present difficulty.