He had an Airspeed indicator and an altimeter..and the concrete arrows and beacons below him...
When the weather was good.. it was a joy to fly especially through the clear night sky beneath the stars overhead going along from beacon to beacon...
It was when the crap weather came... that things got interesting.... he had no instruments like an artificial horizon or turn and bank indicator even... but he knew his airplanes dynamic stability.. he knew for instance if he took his hand off the stick and did not mess with the aileron input the old girl would just sit there...and if he reduced the power she would descend and if he increased the power she would climb.. and if he lowered the nose with elevator the airspeed would increase and and if he pulled up the nose the airspeed would decrease... those were the freakish times to fly blind.. in those days they just punched through thunderstorms generally... the updrafts seem mostly to outweigh the down drafts.. there was no need to even try and bother to descend just go up with it... Whee.........
That cold rain could be a bitch.. he was glad for his leather cap and googles .. and scarf.... they were not just for looks you know?
The aircraft was the instrument you see... the inherent stability of it ... one big gyro scope enveloped in the soup moving forward.......
He knew about what later came to be know as the grave yard spiral and spatial disorientation...
They called it 'Don't Loose Your Marbles'
Trusting sensation with no visibility was not good for your health for long ... Never Drop a Wing.
So what Forrest Byron did was simple enough though a bit unnerving upon the first times ... especially when the cold and Ice were involved... sometimes the engine would sputter.........
Byron trimmed the plane and kept his head very still and centered... he controlled Pitch on the longitude axis with engine power more or less and relied on the wings dyhedral for lateral stability and of course kept the compass heading with rudder around the vertical axis... often he would opt to climb.. versus ducking under.. trying to see the ground , always chose up in the mountains...... it was the lesser of two evils.... so to speak.... He knew about how high the mountains and terrain were below him... and had no urge..... to see it up really close...
sometimes it lasted in that nasty weather as he called it... for a few hours even... before he busted out the other side... in his flying gyroscope.
He never Snatched the Controls it was all a gentle, deliberate smooth motion.
Byron the Airmail Pilot.
Some of Byrons old routes...
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