ALTITUDE RECORD

Evening Star, Issue 22459, 2 October 1936, Page 9

ALTITUDE RECORD

PILOT’S DRAMATIC STORY FIGHT FOR LIFE DURING DESCENT * (British Official Wireless.} Pr»M Association—By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, September 30. A dramatic story was told of his‘ experience in the upper air by Squadronleader Swain, the test pilot of the experimental section of the Royal Air Force establishment at Farnborough, who has been personally congratulated by the Air Minister, Lord Swinton, on the success of his 3hr 20min flight, in which the world’s altitude record was captured on Monday. It was the Royal Air Force’s first attempt on the record, and by reaching a height of 49,967 ft, Squadron-leader Swain outdistanced the previous record, established last month by a French pilot, by 1,296 ft. This great achievement was accomplished by a specially-designed Bristol 138 open aeroplane fitted with a Pegasus engine. The fuselage is of monococque construction, rounded in front and rectangular in the rear. With a wing span of 66ft, it is one of the largest single-engined aeroplanes ever built. The pilot, who was encased and helmeted in a sealed flying suit to give him warmth and oxygen in the rarefied upper air, said that the most critical moment in the flight occurred during the descent, when he began to feel suffocated. He said: “I had the impression that I was getting short of oxygen. I was gradually feeling weaker, and I pressed the lever which should have opened the cockpit cover, but that failed to function. I tried the zip cord attached to my suit for such an emergency, but could not find the fastener. Over my suit I was wearing fighting harness and parachute harness. I had to get my head clear of the helmet, as I was gradually getting weaker, and the only thing to do was to cut open the window of my helmet with a clasp knife. I had great difficulty in doing this because I was feeling so weak, but with a final effort I thrust the knife through and slit the window, tearing it off with my hand. As soon as the fresh air got in I felt better. I found t was then 14,000 ft up over Yeovil.” Describing the view as he looked down from 46,000 ft, Squadron-leader Swain says: “ I could see the whole of the English south coast from Margate to Land’s End, and north almost as far as the Wash. London looked like a toy town, and the Thames like a piece of narrow ribbon. South I could see the coast of France and the Channel Islands, looking like small stones in the bed of a river._ I felt small and lonely, and had the impression that England was a very small place.”