Wiley Post, His Winnie Mae, and the World's First Pressure Suit
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A/'A 3M Number 8 SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT Wiley Post, His Winnie Mae, and the World's First Pressure Suit SMITHSONIAN AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM SMITHSONIAN ANNALS OF FLIGHT • NUMBER 8 Wiley Post, His Winnie Mae, and the World's First Pressure Suit Stanley R. Mohler and Bobby H. Johnson fssu t„ SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS City of Washington 1971 SERIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION The emphasis upon publications as a means of diffusing knowledge was expressed by the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. In his formal plan for the Insti tution, Joseph Henry articulated a program that included the following statement: "It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge." This keynote of basic research has been adhered to over the years in the issuance of thousands of titles in serial publications under the Smithsonian imprint, com mencing with Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge in 1848 and continuing with the following active series: Smithsonian Annals of Flight Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics Smithsonian Contributions to Botany Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology In these series, the Institution publishes original articles and monographs dealing with the research and collections of its several museums and offices and of professional colleagues at other institutions of learning. These papers report newly acquired facts, synoptic interpretations of data, or original theory in specialized fields. These pub lications are distributed by mailing lists to libraries, laboratories, and other interested institutions and specialists throughout the world. Individual copies may be obtained from the Smithsonian Institution Press as long as stocks are available. S. DILLON RIPLEY Secretary Smithsonian Institution Official publication date is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1971 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing: Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price $1.50 (paper cover) STOCK NUMBER 4706-0008 If* 2? Foreword Many rewarding and some unrewarding experiences evolve from being the brother of a world-renowned figure. All close relations are extremely proud of the accomplishments and contributions of near and dear kin. Yet, none desire to bask in reflected glory. Wiley Post, in a short span of seven years, rose from a laborer in the Oklahoma oil fields to a person of world prominence. He was acclaimed world hero by presidents, the man on the street, and all who knew of his daring achievements in the field of aeronautical science. Wiley was a barnstormer, speed flier, test pilot, globe conqueror, and a pioneer of pressurized flight. He was some twenty years ahead of the field in his thinking with regard to advancement of aviation. He envisioned the development of air trans portation far beyond any dream of his contemporaries. At an early age he flew into eternity, accompanied by a close friend—a man known throughout the world as a great humanitarian, the sage of Oklahoma, world citizen, one who had humble regard for the well-being of his fellow man—Will Rogers. It is difficult for me to think of Wiley as a researcher, a pioneer in a field of science, explorer in the realm of space. Rather, I remember him best as a companion on hot summer nights when we fished and slept on the banks of the Washita; during the golden-leafed autumn days when we stalked the white-tailed deer in the Big Bend Country of Texas; and on the windy wintry days when we hunted ducks on Lake Kickapoo. This is the way I best remember him, for he was my brother. GORDON POST m Statement of Appreciation The authors extend appreciation to all of the persons referenced in the book who granted time, documents, and photographs to the accomplishment of this undertaking. Especially helpful were the immediate family of Post and his close friends. Among these were Mae Post, Gordon Post, Winnie Mae Fain, Will D. Parker, L. E. Gray, Carl Squier, George Brauer, J. Bart Scott, Jimmy Gerschler, Fay Gillis Wells, Ernest Shults, and Edwin O. Cooper. The authors also would like to recognize the many pilots and technical personnel from the era of the 1930s who provided comments and information on the flight environment and equipment of that period. Also, they recognize Mr. Herbert Brawley, who expertly drew the various figures. Special appreciation is given to the four typists who successively typed and edited eight consecutive emerging draft manuscripts during the ten years required to prepare the final manuscript. They are Aline "Corky" Koch, Adele C. Donovan, Sharon B. Morley, and Marian E. Davis. In addition, essential suggestions and technical editing were received from Dr. Richard K. Smith, Louis S. Casey, and David H. Scott. Also, appreciation is given to Mrs. Mary Frances Bell who provided editorial assistance and Boris N. Mandrovsky who assisted with certain Russian translations. IV Introduction He won the top awards in aviation. He was honored by two New York City ticker-tape parades and was given the keys to the city. He was received twice at the White House: by President Herbert Hoover in 1931 and by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. He became a recognized master aviator, noted for his flight conquests of time, distance, and altitude. These later achievements occurred primarily within a span of only five years, 1930-1935. This narrative provides the story of Wiley Post, his beloved Lockheed Vega, the Winnie Mae, and his pressure suit, which was the world's first, practical flight- pressure suit. It also includes Post's studies of biological rhythms in relationship to flight, which were the world's first such studies, his discovery of the jet stream, and his other experiments. All known details of the rich and exciting life of Post cannot be presented. We have selected pertinent points from those we know, but many, of course, are unknown. By mid-1935, Post had flown longer at ground speeds of 300 miles per hour than any other man and had more flight hours in the stratosphere than any other airplane pilot. Let us journey through the exciting life of this most unusual individual, whose indomitable spirit and faith in tomorrow should inspire all who come to know him. THE AUTHORS The Golden Age of aviation produced a number of famous pilots and aircraft. None were better known than Wiley Post and his Lockheed Vega, the Winnie Mae. The authors of this Annals of Flight monograph tell the story of the man and the machine as few persons could, for they have access to documents and the coop eration of persons most closely connected with this inseparable man-machine team. The Winnie Mae, one of the historic specimens in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum, is a prime example of the most efficient aircraft of its day. It set the fashion and the pace influencing the design of later and larger transport aircraft. This monograph, the result of several years' research and writing by Stanley R. Mohler, M.D., and Bobby H. Johnson, Ph.D., documents for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Annals of Flight series, the historical, technical, and biographical details of this world-famous aviator and his airplane. Louis S. CASEY, Curator Assistant Director Aeronautics National Air and Space Museum Contents Page FOREWORD iii INTRODUCTION v CHAPTERS : 1 / Oklahoma Prologue 1 2 / Globe Girdling with Gatty, 1931 17 3 / Epic Solo Flight, 1933 39 4 / The First Practical Pressure Suit 71 5 / Stratosphere Flights, 1934-35 91 6 / Point Barrow 107 APPENDIX : Post's Pilot Records 124 Post's Three Airplanes 124 Diagrams of the Winnie Mae 126 vu 1 / Oklahoma Prologue COVERED WAGON crept across the Wiley. Reports on his early life indicate that Wiley A treacherous Red River sand that sep had developed an intense dislike for school from the arated Oklahoma from Texas. William Francis Post very beginning. His childhood schoolmate, now Mrs. was coming back to Texas in the summer heat of 1898 G. R. Ingram of Rush Springs, reports that Wiley was after several hard months of itinerant farming in considerably more interested in playing than learning; Oklahoma. With him were his pregnant wife Mae "He was a lively, talkative and mischievous boy," she Quinlan and his young boys James, Arthur, and Jo recalls. Wiley, himself, stated that he had completely seph, oldest to youngest. In the hot summer air, Wil lost interest in school by the age of eleven. About the liam Post stopped at die Hardeman farm near Deni- only things Wiley really liked were mechanical son, Texas, where he took work for the rest of the devices, and during this period, he developed some summer, camping in the Hardeman's front yard. local recognition as a youth who was handy at repair At summer's end, the Post family proceeded slowly ing machinery. across the Texas prairie to their quarter-section (160- Then in 1913, one of those pivotal events in a per acre) farm near Grand Saline in Van Zandt County, sonal life occurred: Wiley saw an airplane for the first 65 miles east of Dallas. Here Mae Quinlan delivered time. He and James had gone to a county fair at her fourth son in the modest farmhouse on November Lawton, Oklahoma, where they saw a Curtiss Pusher 22, 1898. The Posts named their new son Wiley flown by Art Smith, the early exhibition pilot who Hardeman Post, his middle name a respectful was a contemporary in fame to the great Lincoln remembrance of the elder Hardeman.1 Beachey.