Leaky Gas Valve Ends Stratosphere Flight After Brilliant Start (1933)

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Chicago, IL: Remarkable scenes on Soldier Field as Lieutenant T. G. W. Settle, USN, starts his projected flight into the upper regions of the atmosphere and hectic scenes in a nearby railroad yard following the big gas bag's crash due to a leaky valve.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_G._W._Settle

In 1932 the board of the Century of Progress trade show, to be held in Chicago in summer 1933, invited renowned Swiss balloonist Auguste Piccard to perform a high-altitude flight at the fairgrounds. Auguste declined, recommending his twin brother Jean instead. Jean took the lead, but did not have a U. S. flight license, so the Piccards invited Settle to fly the balloon. Named for the show, Century of Progress was built in America with a gondola donated by Dow Chemical, a gas bag from Goodyear-Zeppelin, hydrogen donated by Union Carbide, and scientific instruments supplied by Arthur Compton and Robert Millikan .

The first flight from Soldier Field, with Settle alone on board, attracted thousands of spectators and ended in a flop. Moments after liftoff, an open gas release valve forced Century to fall in a nearby railroad yard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piccard

Piccard was the co-pilot for his wife Jeannette on the third and final voyage of the Century of Progress. The largest balloon in the world was conceived for him to fly at the World's Fair in 1933 but was flown there by US Navy pilots who were licensed. After this flight he created the liquid oxygen converter when the liquid failed to vaporize on descent after the cabin doors were open. Piccard developed a frost-free window, that was used on this flight and later by the Navy and Air Force in the B-24 Liberator or B-26 Marauder. He used blasting caps and TNT for releasing the balloon at launch and for remote release of external ballast from inside the sealed cabin. This was the first use of pyrotechnics for remote-controlled actuating devices in aircraft, an unpopular, revolutionary idea at the time. Later his student Robert R. Gilruth, who became the director of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, approved and used them in spacecraft.

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[kmg501]

Love the fact that you took the time to supply reference material in addition to the upload.

Thanks Airboyd! :-)