Page 25 - August 2015 Volume 9, Number 8

Two weeks later, Bobbi Trout broke Gentry’s record, and three weeks after that Elinor Smith set a new mark of 13 hours, 16 minutes. Women were increasingly setting and breaking each other’s records at what seemed like a breakneck pace. As more women began to fly and obtain state-of-the-art airplanes equal to those flown by their male counterparts, records tumbled in quick succession. Ruth Nichols, herself a widely recognized flyer known for her skill at the stick, commented, “More girls should get good ships and keep setting new marks. It has long been my theory that if women could set records often duplicating the men’s, the general public would have more confidence in aviation.” 2
Louise was quick to realize that setting records was her ticket to advancing her career in aviation. She began planning an endurance flight of her own, choosing one of Warren’s Travel Air Type 3000 biplanes powered by a high compression, 180-horsepower Wright/Hispano- Suiza V-8 engine. Louise worked hard with the mechanics to prepare the ship for the challenge that lay ahead. The engine was tuned to perfection, fuel and oil tanks were closely inspected for any sign of cracks or leaks, and the airplane’s rigging was checked and rechecked. Finally, the Travel Air was deemed ready.
Louise took off from Oakland and remained aloft for 22 hours, three minutes – a record! Unfortunately for Louise, her mark stood for only 30 days before 17-year- old Smith grabbed it back with a time of 26 hours, 21 minutes. Undaunted, Thaden set her sights on beating the existing women’s unofficial record for altitude, and to be successful she would have to officially exceed 20,000 feet. A barograph, sealed by a representative of the FAI, was installed in the fuselage to record the maximum altitude achieved by Louise. In addition, a makeshift
AUGUST 2015
Louise (fourth from left) posed with a group of friends and fellow pilots in Oakland, California, where she was responsible for a satellite branch office of D.C. Warren’s Travel Air organization. Note the wide variation of flying attire as well as Thaden’s favorite mount – the trusty Type 3000.
(EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION)
breathing system consisting of a hospital mask and an unheated cylinder of oxygen, would help her to remain conscious and alert during the flight.
Clothed in a thick winter flying suit and helmet, Louise took off on December 7, 1928, and began a slow, deliberate climb upward into rarified air. By the time she had reached 15,000 feet, the outside air temperature (OAT) had plummeted to zero. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe and Louise was feeling tired. Without hesitation she wisely donned her improvised mask and opened the valve of the oxygen cylinder with a pair of pliers borrowed from a mechanic. The flow of nearly pure oxygen revived her senses, and as the Type 3000 passed through 20,000 feet Louise opened the valve further. At that altitude it was about 16 degrees below zero, and she was flying in an open cockpit. Cold, wet moisture began to collect inside the mask and clung to her chin, but she continued to climb, struggling to hold the best climb airspeed in an effort to eke out every last shred of lift from the wings.
One hour after takeoff, one of two altimeters indicated 27,000 feet, the other 29,000 feet! The OAT had dropped to 24 degrees below zero. Thaden peered over the cockpit combing and looked down on Oakland, which had slowly shrunk to little more than a mere speck far below. Louise knew that altimeters were often notoriously inaccurate, particularly at those heights, and she gave little credence to its display. What the altimeter indicated made no difference, however, as the
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