On Sunday, December 29, 2019 at 6:51:44 AM UTC-8, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sat, 28 Dec 2019 18:03:02 -0800, Tom BravoMike wrote:

Glashier wasn't the pilot - Coxwell was. Coxwell did have major
problems getting the valve to open, but didn't climb to the top of the
balloon to do it. The also didn't cut away the basket to slow their
descent. Nonetheless, it was a very amazing flight by any standards.

Tom

Thanks for the link - a good, if minimal account of that flight.

I don't get it. Without oxygen, the time of useful consciousness (TUC)
at 35000 feet is 30-60 seconds according to this table:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_o..._consciousness

You'll notice that Glashier did pass out, reviving as the balloon
descended and Coswell almost passed out, presumably because, as a
practising balloon pilot, he was already somewhat acclimatised to high
altitudes.

Its also worth knowing that in WW1 fighter pilots regularly patrolled and
fought at up to 19-20,000 ft without using oxygen.

In mountaineering the region above 26000ft (365 millibars or lower
pressure) is known as the 'death zone', yet at least five climbers have
reached the summit of Everest and descended again without using oxygen.
This would involve a LOT more physical exertion and for much longer above
26,000 than seems likely for that balloon flight, but of course
acclimatisation would have helped the climbers to remain active for
longer than Coswell managed.

Alpinists spend weeks in successive camps to get acclimated to the
altitude; these guys blow all handbooks about hypoxia.

Plus, in 1862
gloves and hats had not been invented and used yet, right?

That is very unlikely: both would have been in use during the Little Ice
Age in the mid-1600s, when Europe was very cold. That was when fairs and
ox-roasts were regular winter events on the frozen Thames.

People were wearing hats and using gloves well before that. Any outdoor
picture from the mediaeval period onward shows hats aplenty. Gloves date
from at least Greek times: they are mentioned by both Herodotus and Homer.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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