The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-04-19
An Epic of the Air
-By-
Col. Charles
Lindbergh
Copyrighted

Copyrighted

scents with 'chutes were made from
balloons, but the first jump from a
plane was by Capt Berry at st.
Louis, Missouri, in 1912. His par
achute was a comparatively crude
affair and of no use in an emer-
gency. Ten years later service
type parachutes had been perfect
ed which were strong enough to
stand any strain the weight of a
mans body falling through the
air could place on them, no mat
ter how many thousand feet he
fell before releasing the parachute
from it's pack; and today, fifteen
years after Capt. Berry made the
first jump from an airplane, every
army and air mail pilot is required
to wear a parachute.
The test flight over we dashed a
five gallon can of gasoline on
each wing and followed along the
Gulf of Mexico to Pascagoula, Mis-
sissippi. There was small crack
half way down the back of the
Canuck's gasoline tank and when
the gas no longer oozed out through
the crack we knew that the tank
was half empty. By carrying the
two gas cans we obtained an extra
hours cruising range, and when
the main tank became low I would
pour their contents into it through
a short length of steam hose. In
this way we expected to make long
er flights between landing fields
and partially make up for the time
lost at Pensacola.
From Pascogoula we went to
New Orleans, landing in the race
track north of the city. Then to
Lake Charles and from there to
Rice Field at Houston, Texas. At
Rice Field we installed three fuel
tanks under the top wing and CEN
ter section, which gave US twenty
seven gallons extra capacity, or,
in addition to the five gallon cans
lashed on the wings, a cruising
range Of about four hundred miles.
The field was covered with water
and as our next stop was to be
Brooks Field, which is just a few
miles south of San Antonio, we
only filled the wing and main
tanks, leaving the five-gallon cans
empty.
At Brooks I obtained definite in
structions to report not later than
March fifteenth.
1t was then the end of February
but we decided to push on as far
west as the intervening time would
allow. Then I would return by
rail and Klink would continue
alone.
We filled all of our tanks and
after running along the ground for
half mile, stalled into the air;
but after three circles of Brooks
Field We're completed and the plane
was less than fifty feet high we
landed and left one of the cans.
Klink held the other in his lap in
the rear cockpit.
We had no more trouble in at
tanning several hundred feet of
altitude with the lessened load and
greatly lessened resistance, which
counted for much more than the
weight of the gasoline, but an hour
later, when the elevation of the
ground below us increased as the
mountains were approached, we
were again just Swimming the
mesquite and cactus. At last it
was necessary for Klink to heave
his. gas can over the side and for
me to turn the ship down ravine
to keep from striking the ground.
1t was disappointing enough to
leave the first can at Brooks Field
but l do not believe Klink will ever
forget the sight of the second as
it burst on the ground below us.
Sometime later we came to the
West Nueces River and, mistaking
it for the Rio Grande, turned
north. We had been cutting across
country but had hardly flown long
enough to have reached the Rio
Grande. The Rio Grande was the
only river, according to my map,
with a railroad running along the