Evening star., 1935-02-09
POST TO HOP SOON
ON HIGH AIR DASH
Hopes to Prove Altitude OF
10000 Feet Practical for
Transit. S. Route.
BY WILEY POST.

bI "1LE1 ocA'
LOS ANGELES, February 9 (N.A.
NA3.-In about three days, weather
permitting, I'll De off on flight IN
nv rickety old airplane, which, in all
probability, will revolutionize the air
transport industry.
I say weather permitting" ad-
yisedly: although the altitude at which
I will fly there are no weather prob
lens. MY only weather problems will
be at take-off and landing. | plan
to f1y between 10000 and 10000 feet
above earth.
My one idea is to prove what avia-
ton has accomplished and can accom-
pliSh in the upper reaches.
I shall make this tranScontinental
flight in seven or eight hours, God
willing, and with my equipment func-
tioning as it should-and with an air.
plane five years old actually and whose
basic design is eight or more years old
Its high wing design is virtually
obsolete.
To Drop Landing Gear.
I am dropping the landing gear OF
the old Winnie Mae, which has be-
come as much a part Of me as the
hunting dog is to the hunter, imme-
diately after my take-oft at Union
Air Terminal.
I am landing the old lady on hel
stomach, so to speak, when / reach
Floyd Bennett Field in New York
on a skid made of spruce wood.
Dropping the landing gear will bt
done to bring up to the equal of mod
ern airplanes the speed of the Win
ME Mae.
Much has been said about whert
stratosphere begins. There is, as 1
matter of fact, no such thing a
stratosphere. StratoSphere is theor,
of scientists as to where the air cease
to be affected by the movement of th'
earth or its radiation of temperature
My object in the high-altitude fligh
is primarily to gain valuable data OF
the possibilities for greater Increase
in speed in the low-resistance al
region.
The strain Of flying at such grea
alLlGuQeS. O0CduS0 VI AZ" PLCSSu1C oll'
lack of oxygen, requires special sui
and helmet which will enable human
being to apply a pressure commen
surate with pressure found at an alti
tude lower than the one at which
will fly.
Hints New Development.
In my opinion, my garb will prov
to be a forerunner of the sealed-cabil
era in air transportation for flight
either across continents or over oceans
in so far as passenger carrying is con
cerned.
have been asked how will holt
the Winnie Mae true to her course
On the instrument board are to b.
found merely ordinary flying instru
ments augmented by remarkabl
radio.
BY means of this radio, can tun'
in on q station 1000 miles away ant
fly directly to it. Along with thi!
aid I have only an altimeter. gyro
scopic direction indicator, an ali
speed indicator-which means abSo
lutely nothing in such high attitudes
because one must add 10 per cent o.
more to what the instrument actuall!
reads in order to even guess at wha
his actual speed is-and not even 6
tuYn-and- d-bank indicator. since there
will be no necessity for blind flying
through snow or fog at such attitudes
also shall be looking at a COM
plicated set of instruments showing
the compression and temperature de-
veloped by the two Super-chargers
which enable my engine to develop
sufficient horsepower at that altitude
If I reach Floyd Bennett Field
N Y. ahead of schedule or even
in advance of the schedules of regu-
larly operated airlines, I'll feel amply
rewarded. I shall have demonstrated
that American aviation has taken and
can continue to take forward steps.
Year of Preparation.
have spent more than a year in
perfecting my equipment. Now I am
ready to go up there and determine
Just what the possibilities are for
extremely rapid transportation be-
tween our coasts.
NV vision In this connection has
exceeded the confines of this Nation.
I hope by my flight to demonstrate
what can be accomplished by COM
mercial air transportation over oceans
as we'll; it stands to reason. if we can
span our own continent in less than
eight hours with a great degree of
safety, the ocean lying between us
and other continents can be crossed
with similar speed and safety.
This, of course, is predicated on
the fact that the Winnie Mae is cross
ing our continent unhampered by any
load in excess of that required by
Department Of Commerce specif1-
cations.
(copyright 1895. by North American
Newspaper Alliance. Incl