The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-02-28
next time SURE
Record High Flyer Determined
to Make 10000 Feet.
Lies Today in Hospital, His
Eyeballs Frozen.
HIS PLANE FELL FOR FIVE MILES
Instruments Recorded Tempera-
ture of 81 Degrees Below Zero.
Started Return to, Earth When
Oxygen Gave Out.

Dayton, O., Feb. 2S.-"Tn make it
the next time"
Undaunted by the narrowest of mar
row escapes from death when his air
plane fell five miles after breaking
all altitude records, Mai r. w.
schroeder. test pilot at the McCook
experimental field here, today said he
was only waiting for his frozen eye
balls to return to normal before again
attempting to reach height of 10000
feet
Schroeder lies today in the army
post hospital near here. recovering
from partial blindness and determined
10 make another ascent into the
heavens at the first opportunity.
Major Schroeder climbed yesterday to
n 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 stiIl 1000 feet above the ground
The aviator. regaining his presence OF
mind, righted the plane and sailed
Gown to make a graceful landing on
McCoo6 field
When attendants rushed to the fly
ers machine after he landed they
found him sitting erect in the plane
blinded and unconscious. His eye
balls had been frozen, the temperature
IT the height to which he had ascend
cd being 81 degrees below zero. AT
the hospital last night Major Schroe
der told of the climb to the 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 too the air yesterday.
Tells His story.
'I was thinking only of my desire
ta 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.
NV ewes hurt so that I could not open
them and l knew I was falling. l
guess l pulled hard on the stick for
/ knew | must straighten out for
glide. The plane rode easy. 1 opened
my eyes but could see nothing of the
ground Then l closed my eyes again
for moment and when ] opened
them saw Wilbur Wright field L
knew 7 could not land there because
s. nf the hangers, and tilted my machine
for climb intending to make sure of
a good altitude and then jump with
my parachute. But at that instant
saw McCook and came down.
Major Schroeder took the air yes
teriav forenoon He climbed above
the clouds. but the exhaust gas from
p his plane, freezing in the frigid tenn
parature. caused a cloud-iike forma-
? tton resembling the tail of comet to
hang in the sky. As the plane was
NOT sible from the earth, thousands
NJ the formation during the noon hour,
believed it to be the tail of comet.
Souc Of the witnesses inclined to
the belief that a strange body was
coming to earth with a message from
Mars. These beliefs were dispelled,
however. by Prof. William Beck,
astronomer ut St. Marys college. who
observed the airplane thru tele-
scope.
Looked Like Comet
Thousands of persons massed in the
streets saw the airplane appear a
mere speck against the blue sky
They saw it become larger and larger
leaving q long white trail in its wake
AS il fell. When the machine was
about 1000 feet above the ground the
watchers saw the outline of the plane
rs 1t hurled downward in a tail spin
Then they saw the machine suddenly
righted. 1t was at this time that
Major Schroeder pulled the control
stick
The Instruments on Major schroe-
der's machine tell the story of his
flight against the elements as he
climbed upward. foot by foot His
thermometer recorded a temperature
of 81 degrees below zero. The baro-
graph reading indicated an altitude
of $1,000 feet and when calfbrated by
Capt. Harrison W. Flickinger showed
an official altitude of 5000 feet, a
new WOrlu record ana 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 on July
30. 1919. with an official altitude of
80. 500 feet, and later increased in a
second flight to $1,000 feet. 1t also
breaks the record of Adjutant Casale,
French pilot. who was credited with
an unofficial record of 33,137 feet.
New Inventions Helped.
Modern Inventions largely result
ing from the war. made Major Schroe-
ders feat possible. Thru the moss
supercharger he was able to get full
400 horsepower from his Liberty mo-
tor. despite the high altitude.
He was dressed heavier than any
Polar explorer. He literally was
wrapped in flexible electric heaters
His flying suit was lined with the fur
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