Page 84 - Demo

In 1934, Post wanted to use Winnie Mae to test the limits of high-altitude flight, where there was less air resistance, and higher speeds were possible. But, he needed a way to breathe in the rarified atmosphere. So he invented the first practical pressure suit. It consisted of three layers%u2014long underwear, a rubber bladder, and an outer layer of rubberized parachute material. The distinctive cylindrical helmet was made of aluminum and plastic, and was equipped with earphones and a throat microphone. While in use, the suit was pressurized with pure oxygen, and he used it to reach a record altitude of 50,000 feet.In 1935, Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. hired Post to make the first non-stop air-mail flight through the stratosphere from Los Angeles to New York. When he landed in Lafayette, it was his third failed attempt to do so. He made a fourth unsuccessful attempt two months later, and hoped to succeed on a fifth try, but was killed on August 15, 1935. His death was just 4 months after his unplanned landing in Lafayette, and he was accompanied by his friend, and fellow Oklahoman, humorist Will Rogers, who tagged along to get material for his newspaper column. The fatal crash took place near Point Barrow, Alaska, where the 37-year-old Post had gone to survey a possible mail-and-passenger air route between the U.S. and Russia. Both men were killed instantly.Post carried a 50-pound mail bag, stuffed with 4,500 covers, aboard each of his four unsuccessful coast-to-coast flights. The plan was to have the envelopes cancelled in New York at the completion of a triumphant flight. But after 4 failed attempts, and Post%u2019s death, the covers made their way back to Los Angeles, their starting point, where they were cancelled on August 20, 1935, then forwarded to their destinations. Each cover was rubber-stamped on the back with a cachet listing the dates of the Wiley Post%u2019s pressure suit at four attempted flights (below).the Smithsonian Institution.Facsimile of back of cover on previous page.