FELL 27,000 FEET

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11954, 26 May 1933, Page 5

FELL 27,000 FEET

PARACHUTIST LEAVES PLANE . FIVE MILES ABOVE EARTH.

DROPS AT RATE OF 144 MILES ? AN HOUR. "4 tL

HEAD OVER HEELS THROUGH THE CLOUDS.

SAFE LANDING. (U.P.A. by Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Receviod May 25, 7.10 p.m.) LONDON, May 24. Diving head * first from an- Air Force bomber at a height of 27,000 ft. Force bomber at a height of 27,00 ft. a parachutist, John. Tranum, is believed to have ereatc-d a world’s record at Netheravon.

Ho delayed pulling the cord, falling like a sto no for 18,000 ft., before expanding the parachute,, thereafter drifting for five miles and narrowly escaping a tree in landing. The previous record was held by an American, who jumped from 15,000 ft. Tranum said:

“I fell nicely through a Jiole in the clouds, tumbling head over

lids, but .my brain worked clearly. After tumbling a mile I straightened into a beautiful dive, with my body a l an angle of forty-five degrees, but the mist clouded my goggles. I began to fall at the rate of 144 miles an hour. I pulled the ripcord .when my stopwatch showed the falling rate at 144 miles an hour. The effect was a terrific shock, hard to describe. I felt as though my body was leaving my head behind in the clouds, when it suddenly popped back again and I floated tranquilly and bit the grass at the rate of about thirteen miles an hour.