New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1927-06-10
belt and was playing it down toward

belt and was playing 1t down toward
the top OF the fog when heard the
planes engine pick up. When I
jumped it had practically stopped
dead and had neglected to cut the
switches. Apparently when the ship
nosed down an additional supply OF
gasoline drained to the carburetor.
Soon she came into sight about
quarter OF q mile away headed In the
general direction Of my parachute.
Il put the fiashllght in q pocket Of
my flying suit preparatory to clip
ping the parachute out OF the way,
II necessary. The plane was making
a LETT spiral OF about a mile dame
ter and passed approximately 800
yards away from my chute. leaving
NE on the outside OF the circle.
i Was undecided as to whether
the. plane or was descending the
more rapidly and glidej my chute
away from the spiral path Of the
ship rs rapidly as could.
The ship passed completely out
OF sight, but reappeared again In a
few seconds. its rate of descent being
about tho same as that OF the para
chute.
II counted five spirals. each one
little further away than the last,
before reaching the top of the fog
bank. When l settled into the fog ]
knew that the ground VS. within L.
600 feet and reaching for the flash
light, but found it to DE missing. l
could see neither earth nor stars
and had no idea what kind OF terri
tory was below. crossed my legs to
keep from straddling branch or
wire. guarded my face with my
hands and waited"
Presently l saw the outline of the
ground and a moment later was
down in a cornf1eld."
Lindbergh was unhurt. He found
the wreckage of his plane two miles
away.
Lindbergh's next and his last drop
from a plane by parachute was on
the night Of November 8, 1925.
Near Peoria. ILL.,. he Encountered
snow and although he descended to
an altitude of only 200 feet. could
not see the ground. He circled and
explored, looking for a spot where
the weather might be favorable for
a landing, for more than an hour.
But shortage of fuel forced crisis.
What He Wrote
OF this Lindbergh wrote:
when about 10 minutes gas re,
manned in the pressure tanks and
still could not see the faintest out
line of any object on the ground, l
decided to leave the ship rather than
attempt to land blindly. l turned
back southwest toward less populat-
ed country and started climbing in
an attempt to get over the clouds
before jumping. The main tank went
dry at ISL and the reserve at $40
p. m. The altimeter then registered
approximately $4,000 feet, yet the
top of the clouds apparently was
several thousand feet higher.
Il rolled the stabilizer, cut the
switches, pulled the ship up into a
stall and was about to go out over
the right side of the cockpit when
the right wing began to drop. In this
position the plane would gather
speed and spiral to the right. pos
sjhay striking my parachute after its
first turn. ! returned to the controls
and after Fighting the plane dove
over the left side OF the cockpit
while the 4ffspeed registered about
10 miles, per hour and the altimeter
$4,000 feet, i pulled the rip cord i'm
mediately after clearing the stabili-
ger. l had left the ship head first
and was falling in. that position when
the risers whipped me around into
an upright position and the chute
opened. The last l saw or heard Of