Up to 49,944 ft. over England last autumn climbed a big Bristol monoplane with Squadron Leader F. R. D. ("Ferdie") Swain at the controls wearing a complex airtight suit and oxygen pump. Before Ferdie Swain got down again from this world record altitude for heavier-than-air craft he nearly lost his life by suffocation, only saved it by slicing open his helmet with a knife just as he was losing consciousness (TIME, Oct. 19).
Last week another pilot in a bulky, air-tight suit climbed almost ten miles up into the stratosphere. He was Colonel Mario...
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