The Coolidge examiner., 1935-02-01

Rapid City. Thanks 10 the generous
co operation % the National Guards
men 81 South Dakota and their fleet
~ trucks. those tons of v1eel werc
soon neatly piled along one edge of
The camp
Collecting the Equipment
The gondola rolled 10 by truck.
after a journey OF more than
thousand miles. from Midland.
MIeh.. and was Installed In the com
modlous gpndola house. ihe entire
front ~ which could be- opened up
A few days later another truck
brought ia auEc box containing
the balloon hns. which weighed tive
and a haif tons
The largest truck ~ all 10 trs.
verse the winding road down into
the basin arrived the following
week-ihe liquid oxygen generator
truck % the army air corps II
supplied the essential liquid oxygen
used 20 make breathable mir inside
the Eoudola during the flyers stay
In the siratospherc.
Several nlplane loads % ius;ru.
ments were fiown Ia Rapid City:
and daily freight and express pach
aEes arrived. their contents vary
ing from machine shop tools 10 dell.
cate vacuum tubes.
For many weeks the gondoia
house was the center 81 activities
that started sometimes as early ns
four o'clock IN the morning and
often lasting until nine O'Clock 81
night Numerous instruments and
pieces of equipment had 10 BE- as
sembled, tested. some ~ them al.
tered and at % them firmly axed
In the places assigned Ia them on
the gond0la shelves or hanging from
the gondola roof
The lasi Of the preparatory work
was completed on July q. From
that time on the fiight could have
taken place any day. so FAR as the
equipment was concerned. But 4
was essential that the tilghf be
made during very special--and. un.
fortunately, rare-wenther condi
ilons. covering the area for seven
or eight hundred miles east.
At last. July -. on the long
awaited high-preSsure area hal
drifted in from the west and prom
Ised for the next day the conditions
wanted both al the Stratocamp AMI
10 :s.e east. When. al noon. Ma Io-
kepner announced officially that the
weather was satisfactory for the
ilght and that the Imitation would
begin that evening. the camp was
galvanized into activity.
or for the s,ra,osphere.
Guests were barred from the door
~ the bowl: only men with defi
Llte Jobs 70 perform were permitted
In the camp. The balloon box WAS
opened and the huge. billowy mass
OF fabric was spread out on the cir.
cular sawdust-coyered canvas pro
teeted bed that had been prepared
for Il.
Bus load after bus load Of sol.
diers arrived from Fort Meade
They were the men OF the ground
crew who were 10 hold the balloon
In leash while the hydrogen poured
into Il.
on all sides the preparations
moved ahead Ike clockwork. Al
disk the iloodlights In the great ring
that extended around the floor ~
the basin were turned on and a III
tie later the hydrogen gas was
started through the canvas tubes
info the vast nav OF the balloon.
BY shortly after five O'Clock ther.
remained only "A few last-mlmute
tasks 10 be performed-the careful
placing of rope ends for valve and
rip-cords: the lashing on OF a small
mail sack: the loading of warm ay
ing clothes and parachutes.
Captain Anderson and Captain
Stevens climbed into the gondola
Major Kepner to its rope enclosed
top. the better TO direct the take-oT.
The outer ropes were dropped:
only the gondola and ten small
hand ropes attached 10 II held the
gigantic bag of gas 10 the earth.
Major Kepner directed the final
ground activity of the flight before
the ascent-the weighing of. Ropes
we're slackened to test the balloons
lift. Ballast was adjusted until
the upwerd pull seemed Just right,
Then came the order. Cast of -
rhe balloon was away for the
stratosphere