Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-11

oSliiCNSIiltul.
Just Resting"
1t was not as spectacular as flights
to follow. At 81, 600 feet he became I'M
conscious from the exhaustion of heav-
ing sand bags oversize. But the craft
had already started down, and the gush
Of movement revived him in time to
direct the envelope to a landing in a
field near Ashley. Ill.
Swathed in black leather garments,
he lay helpless in his basket, awaiting
the arrival of fellow officers in pursuit
planes. AS one rescuer TAXED to a
landing, he shouted to farmer:
There's man in that basket"
Hes hurt" replied the farmer. mo
hes dead"
Capt. Gray opened his eyes. He
smiled.
Just resting" he said.
flight to 28,510 feet taught Capt.
Gray what to expect at higher levels.
Between his first and second sallieS, his
balloon, the S-80-24I. was groomed for
further cosmic exploration. At :33 he
rose. gentle western breeze blew
from the Mississippi River. At 500
feet he dropped the first 5o-pound
sand bag.
A oeafening whirr dispelled tranquil
lily as the pilots of two planes gunned
their motors. They zoomed off almost
at right angles to Capt Gray's line OF
flight. Soaring, they buzzed around him
in loose spirals. plane demands skill
full control when flying close to rising
balloon. Capt. Harry Young and Mai.
c. w. Cummings. flight surgeon, few
in one ship. The other carried Lieut..
Leslie Holcomb, pilot. and an Army
moving picture photographer.
Without discharge OF ballast" noted
Capt. Gray in his Caterpillar diary, THE
balloon hoated to 5000 feet. Desiring
to increase the rate of ascent TO 500 feet
per minute, pulled a knob device and
dropped bag of ballast. The rate-of-
climb indicator soon showed the effect
Of unballasting. The dial sprawled to
800 feet
by keeping an eye on the instru-
ment and pulling strings to drop sand,
controlled my ascent at between 500
and 300 feet up to $4,000 feet"
At this level the plane escort was
forced to leave. The flying was too
thin" for heavier than-air craft But
the pilots had orders to remain near
their charge until he came down; for
come down he must. no matter how
high he sailed. They kept sight of him
as long as possible, then started high
altitude patrol. from which they might
witness his descent.
Dangerous Rate of Fall.
AT $4,000 feet" the diary continued,
my rate of ascent decreased to 500 feet
per minute. 1 was getting real cold and
put on my heavy fur gloves. Shortly
after I felt a streak of cold down the
back Of my head, directly beneath the
zipper-closer of my helmet, which was
not protected by fur. That was my
principal discomfort during the fight, and
1t became quite severe at the maximum
altitude
About this time my goggles frosted
with condensed breath My vision was
impaired and finally possible only
through a space the size of a Scent
piece. This condition did not allow me
to enjoy the splendid view; it made
reading instruments difficult and pre-
vented inspection of the balloon during
critical moments.
After pulling all the ballast knobs,
my ascent began to slow down At 40
900 feet I walked around the basket,
shaking each sand bag to see that it
was empty. One or two had not opened
properly when the strings were pulled.
I wanted that extra thousand feet
badly
After finally managing enough effort
to throw overheard the 20-pound CYL
Under which had been supplying oXy-
gen all ule way up, Ielb the pdlOoIl
push up slowly The altimeter showed
thousand feet below the altitude re-
corded by the sealed Paragraph"
Eight miles up the S-80-241 clawed
thin air and wavered, a glazed sphere
in the May sun. In her basket the
mariner mutinied against numbness and
the unyielding tug of gravity. He looked
up; blue sky was the dome to space.
Metallic fingers scratched telltale
lines on the Paragraphs smoked paper
cylinders.
Momentarily balloon and pilot hung
at AZ 40 feet.
Having accomplished my mission
and being nearly exhausted, my next
problem was TO start down.
ITO pun the valve open against the
rubber elastic closers and seals of
grease was the hardest job on this
flight. After that I craved only rest
But my rate of fall was dangerous My
velocity varied from l 400 to 1900 feet
per minute. l was racing at breakneck
speed. Loss of gas. Tapping Of the slack
balloon and its failure to parachute
added to my momentum.
A Spinning Chute.
Il knew this rate must be reduced
to 700 feet per minute to effect safe
landing. ! must eliminate weight. ms
I did by dropping the sand bag rack.
radio batteries, oxygen heating battery.
radio horn and two remaining oxygen
cylinders. each attached TO its individ-
usl parachute.
when these articles were thrown
over. they appeared to Jump up and
past the balloon. since it was travelling
down so much faster.
with all ballast gone. the balloon
| looked like a dish rag, falling too last
| for my safety
THE only thing left was to step off
with the old faithful parachute and
/ walk home
"As I climbed to the edge of the
basket ! heard Lieut.. Holcomb, pilot OF
| the photoplane, shout to his camera
man:
"Oh. Cod He's going to jump!'
| "At 8 600 feet l waved my hand TO
| him-and jumped.
Il counted three and pulled the
ring.
While watching swamp come to-
ward me the chute opened with a tug
on my shoulders that Strengthened me
up
Then commenced a voyage over the
| choppiest air waves I've ever ridden.
! The parachute did everything but loop.
| Once or twice I thought 1t was going
to do that. 1t side-slipped, spun and
rolled