Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-28
IL M Dl Tales From the Caterpillar Club
No 3Fro lee Fire
Lieut.. Haddon Loses Senses
at High Altitude as Plane
Falls.
Receivers to Find Ship in
Flames--Leaps to Safety
in Parachute.
There was a shin.

There was ship.
harnessed TO a 3o.horsepower en-
CINE and navigated by Lieut.. Julian
=. Haddon, the ship embarked from
Wilbur Wright Field on the morning
Of January 26, 1929.
She was a feet-winged pursuit and
could lufT on the lee of a storm and
command the wind, They were hardy,
doughty pair, the ship and helmsman.
Haddon's mission was to ascend
$4,000 feet at speed of so miles per
hour and determine the best climbing
rate and maximum speed at service
ceiling when equipped with a SUPER
charger He already knew what the
ship could do without q Supercharger.
The climbing power and ceiling were
greatly advanced by this aid to me-
chanical breathing.
While supercharger nourishes the
lungs of ship. the pilot, too, demands
an accessory for respiration. Hence,
fight surgeons prescribe the oxygen
tank and tube, through which an air.
man imbibes life-fluid like an infant.
AS hc reaches $4,000 feet. he mouths
a rubber nipple and controls the oxygen
with valve.
RiderIess Plane.
Besides these aids, Lieut.. Haddon wore
a blanket-lined flying suit, moccasins,
fur lined helmet, goggles and parachute.
After passing 1000 feet he started
writing entries on a pad fastened to
his leg, describing atmospheric tempera-
ture, engine temperature and perform
ance.
In 35 minutes he assembled $4,000 feet
Mercury cleared the glass to - SO.
Breathing difficulties began. His mouth
watered copiously as oxygen pressed
out of the nipple. Saliva dribbled from
his lips and solidified into ice; The
nipple troubled him most. 1t had turn
ed into a slippery icicle and he could
hardly retain 1t.
He might have succeeded If nebu-
lous curtain had not blotted his sight.
Hypnotic browse and leaden eye-weights
connived to overwhelm him. Needing
instructions, he fought frantic revolt
and drove his ship to $4,000 feet. The
tides of sleep rolled over him and lulled
his senses.
Half-conscious, torpified, he felt the
icy nipple slip from his mouth.
Hope sank with the nipple. He CROPPED
for it aimlessly, half-wittingly. 1t was
beyond recovery. A powerful opiate
locked light from his eyes and he re-
lapsed into somnolent peace.
No human hand steered the D-12. She
sailed unattended. A riderless plane, 1t
seemed, but she flew with the grace
and instinct of feathered bird.
CIanking FaIsettO.
A poorly balanced craft would have
reeled into a vertical bee line. The
rayenouS clutch of gravity and racing
motor would have crumbed her parts
and scattered the entrails like seeds
over a field. But she f1oated on
staunch, stable keel, a tribute to her
designers.
The swishing propeller, pumping
cylinders and air wash serenaded the
wind. Her human manager, slept, mead
thrown against the cowling. The oxy-
gen nipple lay on his knees, vomiting
gas into the vast cosmos. @
The derelict cruised over VIDE arcs
and gathered momentum as she In
vaded denser atmosphere. Nobody saw,
but probably she heeled at steep
angle and whisked through space like
a meteor. Her velocity was startling.
For about 5 miles she galloped, reeled
and tacked-from 81, 900 to 5000 feet.
At the lower level the ,shpstream's
freshet of oxygen resuscitated the pilot.
Revived, his f1rst sensation was that
he had been dragged from coma.
Nausea swelled his head, stomach and
eyes; he painted for oxygen. Retriev-
ing the nipple he gulped long whiffs OF
the fluid while his heart raced. He
was bewiidered on seeing the altimeter
registering 1000 feet.
Then Lieut.. Haddon heard his motor
humping unevenly. Ordinarily, at an
altitude of 5000 feet, 1t would turn
1900 revolutions per minute; now the
dial indicated only TOO. A clanking
falsetto note rose from the crankcase;
he feared broken connecting rod.
From Ice to Fire.
A forced landing might be necessary
and he searched the airscape for Wright
Field. It lay 20 miles to the south. He
helmed his ship for port and buoyed
by a ripping breeze she dropped 5000
feet In a gentle glide. A new qualm
seized him as he saw flames burst out
of the motor compartment, forward OF
the fire wall
Even simmering heat could not drive
him from the cockpit. Engineers had
insured the ship against fire with an
emergency sprinkler system. He pulled
the automatic extinguisher. The fire
was In the crankcase and had not