Lt. John H. Wilson, Parachute Record Holder, Visits Charlotte Family, July 1921

Record-Holder Here on a Visit. . . John H. Wilson, Charlotte Man, Jumped from Airplane at 19,800 Feet Up.

Lieutenant John H. Wilson, of the United States Army, who holds the world’s record for jumping out of an airplane at a high altitude, is at home for a short visit to his mother, Mrs. Teresa Wilson, and other relatives on East Oak Street, Dilworth.

Lieutenant Wilson won national fame in July, 1920, at Kelly Field, Texas, by jumping out of an airplane at a height of 19,800 feet and coming safely to the ground in a parachute. Several other aviators have since that time essayed to beat his record, but according to the Aero Club of America and the official opinion of the aviation section of the United States Army, the record has not been beaten.

It was to ascertain if a parachute would open at a great height, or whether the air was too thin at a great height to open the parachute that Lieutenant Wilson made his daring jump. He had to obtain special permission from the war department at Washington to make his hazardous leap. He went up in a plane with Lieutenant Duston, and when the barometer showed an altitude of 19,800 feet Lieutenant Wilson stepped out of the cockpit into space and waited for his parachute to open. He in the meantime dropped, according to his estimate, about 300 feet before the parachute opened. He had another parachute ready to open in case that one failed to work.

Wind currents carried Lieutenant Wilson about 20 miles from Kelly Field. One of the phenomena of the higher regions of upper air, Lieutenant Wilson found, was that strong gales may be blowing in one direction at one altitude and in another direction at another altitude.

Lieutenant Wilson enlisted here with the Brenizer Hospital Unit shortly after the United States went to war with Germany and went with that organization to Fort McPherson, Ga. Later he was transferred to the aviation service, flying a while at Langley Field, later going to Princeton University and later getting into the full-fledged flying service at Kelly and other Southern fields. He has been stationed for some time at Arcadia, Fla., where he has been one of the officers at the U.S. Army flying field.

From The Charlotte News, Monday, July 25, 1921