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Jim Kelly wrote: snip ----------------- It was a bit like a game of star wars in some ways. Mandy may perhaps be amused, or possibly even distraught at my recollection, but here is the story from the perspective of this survivor. The apparatus consists of a large white hemisphere possibly 700mm in diameter. One eye is covered with a translucent mask and one's head is placed using a chin rest such that the (other) eye under test looks directly into this hemisphere at the centre (equator). A yellow light emitting diode is illuminated at this central point, and one has to focus on it at all times as the absolute centre of attention. (I didn't know a led could be so boring). A series of other points of light ( also leds?) then appear very briefly at a random spot anywhere on the inner surface of this "bowl", one at a time, and when one is seen, the test pilot has to press a small button which you hold in you hand. The whole process is driven by a computer which decides when the point of light will appear and where, and then records the response of the prisoner thus under duress. I estimate that it took about ten minutes for each eye but it could have been less - it might have been more. Time flies when you are having fun. If you are still breathing and more or less coherent at the end of this, the whole episode is repeated using the the other eye. It occurred to me at the time, and more so in retrospect, that this must present a faintly ridiculous spectacle to anyone who might stumble in on the scene. I mean, consider if you will, the sight of a somewhat senior citizen crouched on a chair or stool, complete with high tech pirate patch, rigid with concentration, his head seeming stuck inside an apparatus more than a little reminiscent of that seen on the walls of airport lounge toilets, and stabbing furiously on a button on a device much like a WW 2 bomb release ..... If it happened on the street, the police would there in a matter of seconds. At the end of the ordeal the computer plots a nifty diagram as a series of points where a response occurred. Those points where a light appeared and was not picked up by the victim show up as areas where a "blind spot" is present. I had forgotten that we all have a natural blind spot for each eye - sure enough, I was boringly normal in this respect. There was one small area of deficiency in the lower left area of the right eye. This was apparently not a major disaster, and no limitations were suggested, or action required at this stage. I should mention that the reason for this test was a slightly elevated pressure in the right eye during an earlier test. The subsequent field test was, I understand an additional precaution to check for early signs of glaucoma. Apparently things were still within acceptable limits, and it will be monitored more closely at future check-ups. I suppose after 59 years - nearly 39 of them in gliding, some wear and tear is to be expected. It occurs to me that perhaps I can sue GFA for all the hours spent on start and finish lines.... Then there is the strain of pouring over all of those fuzzy turning point photos in the 70's and 80's.... And I wouldn't be surprised if all that coffee consumed at Exec meetings as an antidote for the cheap red consumed the night before hasn't played a part in my downfall. Let me see.... I'll settle for ... Oh .... say five million - I'll write to the Secretariat as soon as I post this............ It was an interesting exercise, with potential implications not only for gliding, but also and perhaps more so for driving where "things out of the corner of one's eye" can be expected perhaps more often then in routine flying around the circuit at Balaklava. I now understand more clearly what the possible limitations and factors are, not only only for myself, but also for the person in the other aircraft. Perhaps we should have one in every pie cart as part of the annual check <grin>. It was also worthwhile and reassuring. Medicare and/or my health fund picked up the bill for the game as well - not a bad deal. I could have used a beer at the end of it though ... Can you make a recommendation for this to be considered as a standard part of the procedure at your next conference please Mandy? Regards, Terry |
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