The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-02-28
AIR HERO TO
CLIMB AGAIN
HE DECLARES
Major Schroeder, Test Pilot,
Climbs Six Miles in Air Over
Dayton Field-Breaks Rec
ord.
WAS ABOVE RICHMOND
(By Associated Press)


DAYTON, O., Feb. % - Major
Schroeder, chief test pilot at McCook
field, who. yesterday fell more than
five miles in two minutes, after shat
tering the worlds altitude record
miraculously escaping death, lies to-
day IN the Army post hospital near
here, recovering from partial blind
ness, and determined to make another
ascent into the heavens at the first
opportunity.
Major Schroeder climbed yesterday
to height Of 5000 feet, then plunged
downward more than five miles when
he lost control of his machine after
his oxygen supply was exhausted.
While still 1000 feet above the ground
the aviator, regaining his presence of
mind, righted the plane and sailed
down to make graceful landing on
McCook field.
Blinded When Landing
When attendants rushed to the
flyers machine after he had landed
they found him sitting erect in the
plane, blinded and unconscious. His
eyeballs had been frozen, the tempera-
ture at the height to which he had
ascended, by 67 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 10000
feet above the ground, his objective
when he took the air yesterday.
Tells Own Story
II was thinking only of my desires
to climb 10000 feet when suddenly my
oxygen stopped flowing" he said.
Il thought something was wrong,
so l raised my goggles, which were
coated with ice within and without,
just to see whether had fully opened
the tank containing the emergency
supply. 1t had exhausted itself.
"All at once it seemed as though
there was terrible explosion within
my head and l don't know what hap
pened. My eyes hurt terribly and
could not get them open.~ 1t just SEEM
ed like l was peering through crack.
There was terrible rush of air and
l seemed to realize that l was falling.
Il guess l pulled up hard on the
stick because knew / must straight
en- out for glide. That thought al
ways has been paramount in my
mind; it has been the safety-first idea
tnat guess became Il part of me.
Iane Rides Easily Again
Gnen the ship seemed to again
ride easy. Once more l opened my
eyes and apparently the ground was
nowhere about. Again l closed them
tightly, and once more opened them
that l was over Wilbur Wright field,
and close to the hangers. l couldn't
land there; / was afraid OF my eyes
going entirely back on me.
! tilted the machine for climb,
intending to make sure of good alti-
tude and then jump for it with my
parachute. But at that instant Nc
Cook field came in sight, and l guess
] became an automaton, and came
down all right. | don't remember
landing.
AS Far West as Richmond.
When | took off | headed west and
III the ascent think | got as far away
as Richmond, Ind, about forty miles.
The wind in the upper strata was
terrific, a sort of trade wind blowing
east. Still l kept the ships nose to
the west and continued to climb, but
by the time l had attained my great
est height the wind had pushed me
back to point possibly thirty miles
east Of Dayton"
Major Schroeder took the air yester-
day forenoon. He climbed above the
clouds, but the exhaust gas from his
plane, freezing in the frigid tempera-
ture caused a cloudlike formation re-
sembling the tail of comet to hang
in the sky.
Believe it Comet
AS the plane was not visible from
the earth thousands of Dayton citi-
zens who stood gazing at the format-
ion during the noon hour believed it to
be the tail of comet.
Some of the witnesses inclined to
the belief that a strange body was
coming to earth with message from
Mars. These beliefs were dispelled,
however, by Prof. VIM. Book, astrono-
rner at ST. Mary's college, who OBJ
served the airplane through a tele-
scope.
Thousands of persons massed in
the streets saw the airpiane appear,
Il mere black speck against the blue
sky. They saw it become larger and
larger, leaving a long white tail in its
v axe as it fell. When the machine
was bout 1000 feet above the ground
;he watchers saw the outlines of the
rlane as it hurled downward in a tail
spin. Then they saw the machine
suddenly righted. 1t was at this time
that Major Schroeder pulled the con-
troll stick.
81 Below Zero
The instruments on Major Schroe-
der's ma chine tell the story OF his
fight against the elements as he
climbed upward, foot by foot. His
thermometer recorded temperature
of 81 degrees below zero. The baro-
graph reading indicated an altitude
Of $4,000 feet, and when calibrated by
CAPTAIN Harrison w. Flickinger,
showed an official altitude of 36,020
feet, a new worlds record and a var
iation of less than l 900 feet.
The mark set by Major Schroeder
again gives him the record which
Roland Rohlfs won from him July 20,
1919 with an official altitude of $4,000
feet, and later increased in second
flight to $1,000 feet 1t also breaks
the record of Adjutant Casale, a
French pilot, who was credited with
mn unofficial record of 33,137 feet.
Modern Inventions, largely result
NontipuAd an Pane Ten