The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-02-28
MAJ, SCHROEDER IS DETERMINED TO TRY AGAIN Fell In Airplane More Than Five Miles In Two
 Minutes BROKE RECORD
 FOR ALTITUDE Modern Inventions, Result of War, Made Feat
 Possible

Dayton, O., Feb. 28.---Major R. W, Schroeder, chief test pilot at McCooR Field who yesterday fell more than five miles in two minutes after shat tering ~ the worlds altitude record. rniraculousIy escaping death, lies to- day in the army hospotal, near here, recovering from partial blindness, and determined to make another ascent at the first opportunity.
 Major Schroeder climbed yesterday to a height of 36 900 feet, then plunged downward more thar five miles when he lost control of his machine after his oxygen supply was exhausted.
 While still 1000 feet above fEe ground the aviator, regaining his presence of mindb lighted the plane and sailed down to make graceful handling on McCook Field.
 When attendants rushed to the hy- CTS machine after he had landed they found him sitting in the plane, blind ed and unconscious. His eyeballs had been frozen, the temperature at the height to which he had ascended be- ing 6z degrees below zero, Fahrenheit
 At the hospital last night Major Schroeder told of the climb to heights never before attained, of his battle against cold, wind and lack of air, and of his determination to mount 4O,00d feet above the ground, his objective when he took the air yesterday.
 1T was thinking only of my desire to climb 10000 feet when suddenly my oxygen stopped flowing" he said. Then, all at once, it seemed that an explosion took place inside my head. My eyes hurt so that I could not open them and I knew I was falling. l geuss I pulled hard on the stick, for I knew I must straighten out for PTxI,z I1r T my eyes but could see nothing of the ground Then I closed my eyes again for a moment and when I opened them saw Wilbur Wright Field. l knew I couldn't land there because Of the hangars and tilted my machine for a climb, intending to make sure of a good altitude and then jump with my parachute. But at that instant 1 saw McCook Field and came down. Major Schroeder took the air yes terday forenoon. He climbed above the clouds, but the exhaust gas from his plane, freezing in the frigid tenn | perature, caused a cloud like forma- 1 tion resembling the tail of a comet l to hang in the sky. As the plane was not visible from the earth thousands l of Dayton citizens who stood gazing ! at the formation during the noon hour believed it to be the tail of a comet
 The instruments of Major Schroe- ! der's machine tell the story of his fight against the elements as he 1 climbed upward foot by foot His l thermometer recorded a temperature l of 67 degrees below zero. The baro- graph reading indicated an altitude | of 37,0OO feet, and when calibrated by Capt Harrison w. F'ickinger, showed an official altitude of 36,O20 feet, a l new worlds record. and a variation of less than 1000 feet
 The mark set by Major Schroeder | again gives him the record which Ro- land Rohlfs won from him July 30 1919, with an official altitude of 30,' 300 feet, and later increased in
 second flight of 31,00O feet. It alsC
 breaks the record of Adjutant Cacale
 a French pilot, who was credited witt
 an unofficial record of 33,137 feet
 Modern inventions, largely result ing from the war, made Majo
 Schroeder's feat possible. Througl
 the Moss Supercharger he was abl
 to get full 400 horsepower from hi Liberty motor despite the high alti
 tude.
 He was dressed heavier than an
 Polar explorer who ever set forth. H
 literally was wrapped in flexible cleo
 tric heaters. His flying suit was 1in>
 with the fur of Chinese Nuchwan . dogs, and between the fur and cute
 lining flexible electric heat units, con
 nected with the dynamo of the er
 zine, heated the entire suit. Hi
 headgear, gloves and moccasins wer
 heated in like manner.
 Captain F'lickinger, chief ca1ibratio
 officer at McCook Field, was arrang 1 +n1 +n altitude
 to War Department officials at Wash
 ington Later they will be sent |
 officials of the Aero Club of Americ;
 which will be asked to certify tt
 record to the world.