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Story
December 25, 1925
The Winslow Mail
Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona
What is this article about?
Lieutenant John A. Macready plans a daring high-altitude flight from McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, to break the world record by reaching eight miles, facing extreme cold, low oxygen, and pressure changes, using specialized gear and plane.
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NOTED AVIATOR
WILL TRY HARD
TO BETTER MARK
Lieutenant John A. Macready who was a visitor in Winslow a few months ago, is preparing to gamble with his life on the proposition that he can get farther away from mother earth than any other man that ever lived.
In the near future the famous army flier will get into his airplane at McCook Field, Dayton, O. and try to fly eight miles high.
To say that this will be gambling with his life is not exaggerating. The perils of flight in such high altitudes are extreme.
He will ascend to a region where there is not enough air to support life. To meet this he must take tanks of liquid oxygen.
It will be many degrees below zero up there above the clouds. Fur-lined clothes, electrically heated, offer the only possible protection great enough to enable him to withstand the cold.
The change in air pressure in descending from such a high level to the ground is very marked. Four years ago Macready set a world's altitude mark, since surpassed, of 34,508 feet. In coming down the change of air pressure made him ill, drawing blood from his nose and ears.
Only a nearly-perfect plane and a nearly perfect body can withstand such a trip. Major R. W. Schroeder, in 1920, lost consciousness at an altitude of five miles. Down came his plane, with Schroeder's senseless body lolling in the pilot's seat. Five miles is a long way to fall.
By some providential circumstance Schroeder regained consciousness when only a few hundred feet from the ground, and managed to get control over his plane and land safely.
Such are the things with which an aviator must cope when he tries for an altitude record.
Macready wants that altitude record, and wants it badly. He had held it until a year ago, when the French flier, Callizo, went up to 39,586 feet. To get the record he must fly 400 feet higher than this. He thinks he can do it.
Fuselage Is Old
The plane in which he will make the flight is known as CXO-5. Its fuselage was built three years ago, but the wings - the important things in aerial work - are new especially designed for flying at high altitudes.
It has a 400 horsepower Liberty motor and a total wing area of 600 square feet. The propellers are of aluminum alloy, ten feet six inches in length.
Macready is now busy testing it. A weakness in a plane is bad enough at any time; but when you're trying to fly eight miles high it is simply unthinkable. Those altitudes call for the highest type of workmanship in all parts of the machine.
Will Use Camera
One of the uses of the proposed flight will be to determine the maximum altitude from which it is possible to take pictures. In war time it would be invaluable to have a plane from which pictures of enemy territory could be taken from an eight-mile height. Up there the plane could neither be seen nor heard from the ground.
McCook Field pilots are confident that Macready will break the record. And so is Macready. In fact, he's gambling his life on it.
WILL TRY HARD
TO BETTER MARK
Lieutenant John A. Macready who was a visitor in Winslow a few months ago, is preparing to gamble with his life on the proposition that he can get farther away from mother earth than any other man that ever lived.
In the near future the famous army flier will get into his airplane at McCook Field, Dayton, O. and try to fly eight miles high.
To say that this will be gambling with his life is not exaggerating. The perils of flight in such high altitudes are extreme.
He will ascend to a region where there is not enough air to support life. To meet this he must take tanks of liquid oxygen.
It will be many degrees below zero up there above the clouds. Fur-lined clothes, electrically heated, offer the only possible protection great enough to enable him to withstand the cold.
The change in air pressure in descending from such a high level to the ground is very marked. Four years ago Macready set a world's altitude mark, since surpassed, of 34,508 feet. In coming down the change of air pressure made him ill, drawing blood from his nose and ears.
Only a nearly-perfect plane and a nearly perfect body can withstand such a trip. Major R. W. Schroeder, in 1920, lost consciousness at an altitude of five miles. Down came his plane, with Schroeder's senseless body lolling in the pilot's seat. Five miles is a long way to fall.
By some providential circumstance Schroeder regained consciousness when only a few hundred feet from the ground, and managed to get control over his plane and land safely.
Such are the things with which an aviator must cope when he tries for an altitude record.
Macready wants that altitude record, and wants it badly. He had held it until a year ago, when the French flier, Callizo, went up to 39,586 feet. To get the record he must fly 400 feet higher than this. He thinks he can do it.
Fuselage Is Old
The plane in which he will make the flight is known as CXO-5. Its fuselage was built three years ago, but the wings - the important things in aerial work - are new especially designed for flying at high altitudes.
It has a 400 horsepower Liberty motor and a total wing area of 600 square feet. The propellers are of aluminum alloy, ten feet six inches in length.
Macready is now busy testing it. A weakness in a plane is bad enough at any time; but when you're trying to fly eight miles high it is simply unthinkable. Those altitudes call for the highest type of workmanship in all parts of the machine.
Will Use Camera
One of the uses of the proposed flight will be to determine the maximum altitude from which it is possible to take pictures. In war time it would be invaluable to have a plane from which pictures of enemy territory could be taken from an eight-mile height. Up there the plane could neither be seen nor heard from the ground.
McCook Field pilots are confident that Macready will break the record. And so is Macready. In fact, he's gambling his life on it.
What sub-type of article is it?
Adventure
Heroic Act
Personal Triumph
What themes does it cover?
Bravery Heroism
Triumph
Exploration
What keywords are associated?
Altitude Record
High Altitude Flight
Aviation Adventure
Macready
Oxygen Tanks
Electrically Heated Clothes
Plane Testing
What entities or persons were involved?
John A. Macready
R. W. Schroeder
Callizo
Where did it happen?
Mccook Field, Dayton, O.
Story Details
Key Persons
John A. Macready
R. W. Schroeder
Callizo
Location
Mccook Field, Dayton, O.
Event Date
In The Near Future
Story Details
Lieutenant Macready prepares to attempt an eight-mile altitude flight in his CXO-5 plane to surpass the current record of 39,586 feet set by Callizo, facing life-threatening conditions like low oxygen, extreme cold, and pressure changes, while testing the aircraft for reliability and planning aerial photography applications.