No Visible Horizon by Joshua Cooper Ramo

Patrick Huston reviews a book that had a similar impact on him to a failed parachutist hitting a beach.

How many times have you been unable to put down a book until it has been read and then instantly re read it at a slower rate, so that it can be savoured?. I found this to be that sort of book, it is equally the sort of book a son with a degree in psychology would give to a father who has developed a practical interest in flight. How is this of interest to those participating in motor racing? The link is the psychology, the general public perceive our hobby as uncomfortable, dangerous and exorbitantly expensive. Our addiction to the activity defies logic, why pay more for a wet weekend at Silverstone than for a week's holiday package in Benidorm? After reading this book one may be able to argue the case for motor racing more cogently because anybody participating in competitive aerobatics has to make the case with appreciably more determination. When flying aerobatics the risks are far greater, and until recently the rewards comparable with the lower echelons of motor sport.

In this, his first book, Joshua Cooper Ramo proves himself to be a writer of remarkable virtuosity and knowledge. The book starts by discussing the fifteenth century Japanese art form of haiku, a seventeen syllable, three line stanza to be written at the point of death. It would appear that the Japanese raised famous last words to the status of an art form. The author contemplates starting an aerobatic manoeuvre that requires 800' just 600’ above the ground. The pilot will then have the option of pulling more g than the human body can tolerate, result blacking out, or composing & possible transmitting his own haiku. However, the author does not anticipate that his response to such a situation would qualify as great poetry!

This book commences with death, and death stalks its pages. Unlimited and display aerobatics are dangerous and even when they don't kill outright they probably cause long term physical damage. The body count is high and this author restricts himself to discussing only the deaths of those he has know personally. The rate of attrition is probably greater than that experienced in GP racing in the 1950s and 1960s. But like the drivers from this era the topic is hardly worth discussion. The philosophy is that, if the plane is bolted together correctly and flown perfectly, accidents will not happen. But conspiring against safety are the ambitions of the pilots, intent on flying ever more difficult figures and steadily eroding margins of error and pushing beyond what the body can tolerate.

This is a remarkable book on many levels, but the reader must concentrate as various topics weave throughout the book. At the basic level it records Ramo's progress from novice to competent competitor. The account of his first competition may revive some painful memories. A fraught flight to the competition venue, aerobatic planes are small, overpowered, thirsty, unstable, uncomfortable and stripped out, lacking most aids to navigation. They are usually flown to competition. It must be as uncomfortable as driving a race prepared Caterham to a race meeting, with the additional problem of navigating in adverse weather. When required to compete, Ramo's plane refused to start, a flat battery, thanks to a dud alternator. Other competitors rally round and hand swinging starts the engine. He gets into the air only to find when he inverts the plane to check his seat belts that there is a loose object rattling around his plane. At this point the only prudent course of action would be to land and abandon the competition before the loose object has chance to jam the controls, instead he rides his luck. I think that many of us can identify with several aspects of this story, even if we don't fly acrobatic planes, or drive our race cars to meetings.

Another thread running through the book is the evolution of the aerobatic plane over the last forty years. You will be aware of the current generation from their performance in the 'Red Bull Races' and the previous generation, the tiny biplane Pitts Specials are probably on view at an airfield near you. Points of interest are that the best of the current generation of planes retain space frame fuselages but carry carbon composite wings. Eastern Block planes and the French planes are the products of large concerns, others usually have their origin in an individual’s one off design. Until recently it was quite common for pilots to design and build their own planes. It is all quite reminiscent of the Cooper, Lotus and Lola situation in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Stressed to withstand forces in excess of +10 & -10g, current planes can comfortably exceed the pilot's physical ability. One feels that the long term effects of constant exposure to such forces must be detrimental, the pilots admit to it being both painful and dangerous, they start to blackout at 6g. So the question remains, 'why do it'?

The rewards do not appear to be financial. Red Bull may have changed the financial playing field recently but in the west the sport seems to be the province of the ‘affluent’, gifted amateur. Many American aerobatic pilots make their money as commercial pilots. With acrobatic planes costing $250 000, high running costs and considerable time being needed for practice, it is not an activity for the impecunious. Experience is important and as a result the age profile of aerobatic pilots more closely matches that in Monoposto than in some more aspirational formulae.

So this is where we return to parallels with motor racing and all other extreme sports. It occurs in a chapter rather splendidly titled 'The summer of 77 was a kind of Palaeolithic era for extreme sports'. As Ramo suggests; those advocates of survival of the fittest have a damn hard time explaining parachute jumping (or any other high risk sport). When addressing this topic, participants in extreme sports seem to start from a position of denial. As one researcher discovered, the participants in any given sport will usually insist that their sport is effectively risk free. ‘Yes, they appreciate that that riding a motorcycle round a race track is dangerous but cars are safe’. They emphasise: regulations, safety measures and protocols intended to render their activity safe, regardless of reports and statistics to the contrary. Given this evidence, it will no doubt please you to know that Sigmund Freud's theory that participants are neurotic and enjoy anticipating death is now discredited, but then old Sigmund never really looked like a participant in extreme sports (though some list sex as an extreme sport). Skipping many pages, and a few theories, more recent research suggests that thrill seekers have innovative characters and 'strong' nervous systems. I trust that you find the recent theories more acceptable.

The chapter referred to above goes some way to explaining why we chose to drive real cars, in real races, on real circuits, instead of being satisfied with the ersatz experience provided by a computer game.

By nature the pilots are competitive. Like ice skating competitions results are decided by panels of judges and like such competitions results can be biased, An interesting story about the nature of the competitive instinct involves a television spectacular that took place after an aerobatic competition in China. Chinese Television decided to put on an flying spectacular that involved flying through a short tunnel in a cliff, the entry being known as ‘Heaven's Gate’. Think about it, flying at a cliff with a black hole in it at 200 mph. Presumably all pilots were paid a flat rate for their flight, there being no aspect of competition. However, these were competition pilots, and when the aircraft preceding him rolled as it entered the cave, Kirby Chamberliss decided not to be upstaged but to fly through the tunnel and then loop into a second run through; presumably, he was not upstaged. The Chinese repeated the formula the following year but on this occasion the obstacle was an ancient bridge with 23' clearance, Kirby attempted a repeat performance, but hit the water on the loop, to everybody’s surprise he was rescued from the wreckage.

Remo covers the development of aerobatic competition with particular emphasis on how Americans had to play catch up with the Europeans and East Europeans. Starting with a splendid story from 1960 of how Frank Price, an American pilot, had his dismantled Great Lakes biplane flown from New York to Munich, where it was reassembled. Using roadmaps he flew on to Bratislava to participate in the World Championship. Only when he arrived did he realise that his plane was obsolete and his technique wholly inadequate. He returned to America as an evangelist for the new order in aerobatics..

In the four wheeled (& two wheeled) world we are used to considering the eastern block countries as purveyors of primitive, sometimes crudely manufactured obsolete machinery, so it comes as a surprise to realise that the Czechoslovakian Zlins and Russian Sukhoi were and continue to be amongst the best available. The Sukhoi in particular has a reputation for strength. But regrettably communist quality control during manufacture, is/was inconsistent (it is described as: lay-up, vodka, lay-up, vodka, etc). Whilst the design is strong, manufacturing faults literally caused the wings to come off some planes. The clip linked by clicking here is probably fake but at least one pilot managed to save himself and the plane when his main spar broke and he achieved a similar landing. Others had both wings break off and were less fortunate.......

I found this book fascinating, there is far more psychology in it than I am able to include in this review. However, the book is not perfect, at times the English (American?) is so colloquial that you don't know if you are reading an unknown vocabulary or a typo. Printed as a cheap paperback, one really feels the lack of any illustrations or photographs, and some references would also be useful. These deficiencies detract only slightly from a text that contains plenty of food for thought.

Patrick Huston
December 2008

Jurgis Kairys Taking Off - video powered by Metacafe Just another day at the office....
Looks like Wanaka Airfield to me?

Book cover, and below some aerobatic pictures from Google Images

An "old fashioned"(?) Pitts Special at RIAT Fairford 2005. (TC)

Zlin50F flown by Rob Harrison (richard-seaman.com)

5 times World Aerobatic Champion, Russian Ice Queen Svetlana Kapanina, Sukhoi SU31. Click the pic. (madskies.com)

Zivko Edge 540, Mike Mangold. The website says this is at takeoff. (richard-seaman.com)

A cropped wing Taylorcraft BC12 (hulettairshow2008.info). This is the aircraft equivalent of a turbocharged V8 slick shod Morris Minor.

madskies.com is a website of people doing dangerous things with planes, from the video left, to Boeing rolling a 707 prototype, to daredevil cropdusters.