Improvisation is the key.

[Sokol1]

?

"The new course was set by calculator strapped to the pilot’s knee and we began to climb in order to get above the cloud and rain. Soon it was obvious that we could not gain further height. To get above the cloud was impossible. Next the flying instruments began failing, beginning with the air speed. Next the artificial horizon collapsed. The altimeter was stuck at 33 000 feet. Even the turn and bank indicator failed. The situation was now dire and very dangerous. A crew member quickly produced a pocket watch suspended on a piece of string. He was applauded by the crew. We had a pendulum to show the flying attitude of the aircraft."  

 

http://thecasualobserver.co.za/mission-destroy-u-boat-240-miles-south-cape-recife/

 

 

 

[vonGraf]

Good read. How do you get your altitude with a pendulum?

[DD_Arthur]

?

[SCG_Tzigy]

16 hours ago, vonGraf said:

Good read. How do you get your altitude with a pendulum?

 

very long string

[vonGraf]

Maybe the pendulum is meant in a figurative way, I don't know. English isn't my first language too.

[ITAF_Airone1989]

On 10/19/2020 at 8:57 AM, vonGraf said:

Good read. How do you get your altitude with a pendulum?

It's attitude, not altitude. 
(But at the beginning I was surprised too.. ?)

Edited October 20, 2020 by ITAF_Airone1989

[vonGraf]

2 minutes ago, ITAF_Airone1989 said:

It's attitude, not altitude. 
(But at the beginning I was surprised too.. ?)

 

Oh, god.. I need new glasses. ? 

 

Thanks.

[Bremspropeller]

The pendulum doesn't show the attitude at all - it just shows the net gravity-vector, which might be any direction if your attitude goes down the sink.

They were lucky they lived.

[ZachariasX]

10 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

The pendulum doesn't show the attitude at all - it just shows the net gravity-vector, which might be any direction if your attitude goes down the sink.

They were lucky they lived.

That for sure. However, if you start out in a trimmed out horizontal flight, it shows you deviation that is *either* a roll or pitch departure from current attitude. If they had both, this would eventually show on the compass. But that might well be too late then. The pendulum is better than nothing, but really not much. They better have their chutes ready. If they have to pull back on the yoke to maintain speed, they have maybe one try to push it forward to „neutral“ position (muscle memory is such a great thing) and while the plane gets faster, they can check to which side the the pendulum is pointing, then try to correct for that, and then pull to get airspeed back to cruise.

 

On the whole, the pendulum might have just been the difference between the crew facing their dim chances in outright panic or somewhat calmly. That difference is not to be underestimated.