NEW BALLOON RECORD

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16377, 27 June 1927, Page 5

NEW BALLOON RECORD

U.S. AIRMAN BETTERS MARK SET 26 YEARS AGO Scott Field, Belleville, 111., May 5. A new world’s altitude record -for free balloons apparently was established by Captain Hawthorne C. Gray, who descended at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Golden Gate. 111., after his altometer showed a reading of approximately 41,000 ft. The previous record of 35,433 ft, was made 26 years ago by two German aeronauts.

On the descent, Captain Gray, who depended on Ins balloon to '‘parachute - ’ itself, found that he was falling 1500 to 1800 ft. per minute at a height of 8000 ft. Me immediately climbed over the side of the basket and made a parachute jump, landing about 200 yards from a creek m a muddy field. Although making a complete somersault while landing; lie was uninjured. Gray, upon his arrival at Scott Field in one of the two military planes which escorted him. was greetead by a group of nearly 100 persons. Upon his announcement that he. had reached 41,000 ft., n cheer went up. The aeronaut acknowledged it with a smile. Asked about sensations while at a, height of nearly eight miles from the earth. Gray said; he felt normal until he reached the maximum height when a pain m his chest occasioned some discomfort- Medical officers had cautioned him to go no higher in event lie felt any ill effects, and lie started the descent, The batlomst encountered a temperature of 60 degrees below zero Fahrenheit at 41,00011.

“The only part of my body that felt cold was the back of my head,” Gray rotated, whereupon Colonel Baeglow,, commandant of the field, observed humorously that tins was due to Gray’s bald head. Gray said tie rose to 40.000 ft. and remained stationary, The sand ballast had been discarded by this time, and he attached one of the two oxygen tanks to a parachute and dropped it.