Evening star., 1936-05-10
GIRL FLYER SETS
ALTITUDE RECORD
Helen Richey Climbs 49, 900
Feet for New Mark in
Midget Plane.
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERToN.

Sucking oxygen through the stem
of dismantled briar pipe and stamp
ing her feet in their casing of three
layers of wool socks, bed room slippers
and flying boots, to keep them warm,
pretty little Miss Helen Richey coaxed
midget 440-pound airplane to an
altitude of $4,000 feet above the Shen-
andoah Valley yesterday afternoon to
gain the United States its fiftieth
world aviation record.
Miss Richey, wearing two heavy fly
ing suits, took off in 90-degree tenn
perature at Washington Airport
shortly before noon. Three hours later.
in the bitter cold more than miles
above the Virginia mountains, she
annexed a feminine world altitude
record for light airplanes of the fourth
category: a new national record for
the same category; probably estab-
liShed a new national altitude record
for men or women in planes of this
category, and a few moments later
landed on Endless CavernS Airport,
New Market, Va, to capture a 5000
prize offered by Maj. E. M. Brown for
the first woman to land there with
world record to her credit.
Miss Richey also may have exceeded
the new world altitude record for
fourth category airplanes established
April "a by Benjamin King, Washing
ton sportsman pilot, at Langley Field,
Va. but is believed to have fallen sew
eral hundred feet short Of the margin
required for an official new world rec
ord. Rules of the Federation Aero
nautique 1nternationale require that
an altitude record be exceeded by 200
meters, or Csc feet, before new mark
can be recognized. Kings record was
1890 feet, subject to final correction,
and she would have had TO reach 49,
596 feet for a new mark.
Flew Kings Plane.
She made the flight in Kings tiny
Aeronca airplane, lent to her by the
local sportsman pilot. King, who ac-
companied her during the flight in a
second Aeronca plane, told The Star
by long distance telephone last nigh.
that, from his knowledge of the be-
havior of the altimeter in the record
plane, he estimates Miss Richey
reached maximum altitude of $4,000
feet above Washington Airport. Two
paragraphs, installed by the National
Aeronautic Association and sealed at
Washington Airport. were removed
after the landing at New Market and
will be brought to the Bureau of
Standards tomorrow for celebration to
determined the exact altitude attained.
The girl flyer, only woman ever to
fly the United States mail in sched-
uled service, reported she had no diff
Guilty at any time during the flight
except from the discomfort of cold
feet. The special lightweight oxygen
apparatus designed by King for his
record flight functioned perfectly, she
said, the little 40-horsepower engine
never faltered and. except for a stiff
side wind, flying conditions were
excellent.
Her chief worry was that Mrs. Ben
jamin King who drove to New Market.
might be late getting there with Miss
Richeys clothes and that she might
flying suits, her three pairs of wool
socks and her two pairs of shoes. Her
worry was needless; Mrs. King reached
the airport before the two baby air
planes, and the flyer was able TO get
into conventional clothing before the
New Market festivities began in cele-
bration of her achievements.
Worried by Appearance.
Miss Richey apparently was worried
about her appearance in the two bulky
flying suits. When a photographer
asked her to stand beside her plane
for a picture just before the take-off,
she demurred a moment.
"Oh, you don't want to take me
looking like this" she said ruefully
The record plane, weighed in at
Congressional Airport yesterday by
Bureau of Standards experts, was only
22-hundredths of pound under the
F. A. I. allowance of 200 Kilograms,
or 1902 pounds, after King had taken
out the floor boards from the cockpit,
removed the baggage compartment
cover and substituted an improvised
lightweight tail skid for the regular
equipment. An extra fuel tank was
installed to increase the normal
8-gallon load to Is gallons. Miss
Richey landed with nearly gallons
remaining in the auxiliary tank.
To gain the advantage of more
than $50 feet in elevation between
Washington and Congressional air
ports. Miss Richey then flew to the
local air terminal for the take-off.
international rules provide that the
altitude must be measured from sea
level, minus the elevation of the take
off point.