The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1935-02-01

house. the entire front of which could
be opened up.
A few days later another truck
brought in a huge box containing the
balloon bag, which weighed two and a
half tons, carefully packed in a water
proof container. The box was placed
on blocks in the exact center of the
level floor of the "bowl," protected
from sun and rain by a canvas tent
fly, there to remain until the day of
the imitation.
The largest truck of all to traverse
the winding road down into the basin
arrived the following week-the liquid
oxygen generator truck of the army
air corps. 1t supplied the essential
liquid oxygen used to make breathable
air inside the gondola during the fly
ers' stay in the stratosphere.
Several airplane loads of instruments
were flown to Rapid City; and daily
freight and express packages arrived,
their contents varying from machine
shop tools to delicate vacuum tubes.
For many weeks the gondola house
was the center of activities that start
ed sometimes as early as four o'clock
nine at night. Numerous instru-
ments and pieces Of equipment had to
be assembled, tested, some of them al
tered, and all of them firmly fixed in
the places assigned to them ON the
gondola shelves or hanging from the
gondola roof.
The last Of the preparatory work
was completed on July 8. From that
time on the flight could have taken
place any day, so far as the equip
ment was concerned. But it was es-
sential that the flight be made during
very special-and, unfortunately, rare
weather conditions, covering the
area for seven or eight hundred miles
east.
Photography was to play an impor-
tant part in the work during the pro-
posed twelve hours aloft; and for sat
isfaetory photography there must be
cloudless skies and good visibility.
Only broad area of high atmospheric
pressure could assure such conditions
and the flyers determined to wait for
such "high' if it took all summer!
None of the crew of officers was
willing to mark time lazily. They
opened up the gondola house as usual
every morning and busted themselves
in making tests and In figuring out
minor. and sometimes major, improve
ments to the instruments.
Scientists elaborated during this
waiting period in building dehumidi-
flying apparatus to "wring" surplus
moisture from the air of the gondola.
At last, on July q, the long-await-
ed high-pressure area had drifted in
from the west and promised for the
next day the conditions wanted both
at the Stratocamp and to the east.
When. at noon, Major Kepner an
nounced officially that the weather was
satisfactory for the flight and that the
imitation would begin that evening, the
camp was galvanized into activity.
Off for the Shakespeare.
Guests were barred from the floor Of
the bowl; only men with definite
jobs to perform were permitted in the
camp. The balloon box was opened
and the huge billowy mass of fabric
was spread out on the circular saw
dust-covered canvas-protected bed that
had been prepared for it.
Bus load after bus load Of soldiers
arrived from Fort Meade. They were
the men of the ground crew who were
to hold the balloon in leash while the
hydrogen poured into it.
At the gondola house, those con-
eerned with the instruments were ex-
tremely busy. A definite schedule was
worked out minutes were allotted
and, one after the other. specialists
climbed into the black and white ball
to install batteries and to give their in
struments final tuning up.
On all sides the preparations moved
ahead like clockwork. At dusk the
fioodlights in the great ring that ex-
tended around the floor of the basin
were turned on and a little later the
hydrogen gas was started through the
canvas tubes into the vast NAV of the
balloon
By shortly after FIVE o'clock there
remained only few last-minute tasks
to be performed-the careful placing
of rope ends for valve and rip-cords;
the flashing on of a small mail sack;
the loading of warm flying clothes and
parachutes.
Captain Anderson and Captain Stew
ems climbed into the gondola; Major
Kepner to it's rope enclosed top, the
better to direct the take-off.
The outer ropes were dropped; only
the gondola and ten small hand ropes
attached to it held the gigantic bag of
gas to the earth. Major Kepner d.
rected the final ground activity of the
flight before the ascent-the weighing
off. Ropes were slackened to test the
balloons lift. Ballast was adjusted
until the upward pull seemed just right.
Then came the order. "Cast off p
the balloon was away for the
shakespeare.