Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

From the Smithsonian Channel

This Pressure Suit Helped Pilots Survive New Heights

Aviation pioneer Wiley Post needed an oxygenated pressure suit to survive a high-altitude transcontinental flight. Enter engineer Russell Colley - who sews together the material for the suit on his wife's sewing machine.

Smithsonian magazine   |   3:59