New Britain herald., 1927-07-25
school and following his arrest here,
was returned to that institution.
NAVAL Filler IN
SENSATIONAL DROP
CONTINUE on Page 13)

breaking the world altitude record
his engine exploded and he pilote6
his powerless plane nearly sever
miles downward to safety in a small
weed-grown cornfield.
Goes Up Out OF Sight
He rose in a tiny Wright Apache
biplane from the field Jointly shared
by the Boiling Field army and Ana.
costa navy air forces, at $40 a. m
Within 10 minutes he was out oil
sight.
Within an hour his altimeter reg.
istered between 10000 and $4,000
feet, he said, whereas the previous
record was 4O,s1O feet, set by Cal.
lizo, of France. He started to de.
scend, but at about 36,o feet sever
Of his nine cylinders blew out. theil
heads ripping holes in his plane.
wings and knocking the oxygen tube
from his mouth. All nine piston
rods flew back through the plane
further shattering the wings and en-.
dangering his life.
DCENIlUCS Ills DCSNCul.
II fell like a plummet.' Cham.
pion described his descent. 1.-The
plane was powerless. and all could
do was volplane. l spied what look.
ed to be a garden near the Eleventh
street bridge. / didn't care much
where I landed, but luck was with
me and I brought her down safely
The patch where Champion land.
ed was less than two acres in ex.
tent. So skillfully did he manage
the plane that 1t Travelled less thar
80 feet on the rough, stubbly ground
before 1t stopped.
- An ambulance sent frtA Boiling
Field when officers saw his plane
hurting to earth found him strug.
Cling to get out Of his heavy flying
clothes, which he said were smoth.
ering him.
He was taken to Anacostia sta.
ton, but Immediately returned tc
supervise moving the plane.
Will Inspect Paragraphs
Whether Champion established a
new record is to be determined by
the bureau of standards In exam.
ing his two Paragraphs, which had
been sealed before the fight by Carl
F. Schory. secretary of the National
Aeronautical association.
Champion made previous at.
tempt for the altitude record in the
same plane yesterday. He rose tc
1880 feet but minor engine trou-
BILE forced him down.
Navy and army air experts said
it was miraculous" that Champion
wasn't killed. His goggles We're
frosted over so he could hardly see
His propeller, his metal struts and
his instrument board were glisten.
ing white.
Protected From Cold
Lieut.. Champion started on his
fight wearing several layers of gar
ments, all of which had been or
ice several hours to keep him from
smothering before he reached the
freezing upper air. He had on sew
eral suits Of silk underwear. a heavy
wooden suit. a suit lined with feath-
ers and then a fur-lined leather fly
ing suit with fur-lined boots and
gloves.
Cotton. covered with vaseline. was
placed in his nose to prevent the
chill air from freezing his lungs. A
newspap per was placed over his head
which was then encompassed in a
leather helmet with an oxygen at
tachment.
Boiling field officials. who saw his
plane drop, predicted certain death
for the f1ier, who previously had
broken his own altitude record for
seaplanes and was seeking to beat
the 40,S10-foot landplane altitude
record held by Calico of France.
Champion was up more than an
hour.
Longest Fall Ever
The nose Of the plane, which con-
tanned the engine, was loose when
Champion hit the ground.
The navy bureau Of aeronautics
said Champions fall was the long
est In history. beating by two miles
a drop by Major Schroeder at Day
ton, Ohio. several years ago.