Talk:Malcolm Ross (balloonist)

Death of Lt. Commander Victor A. Prather
For a discussion of the death of Victor A Prather after the 4 May 1961 flight, see Death of Lt. Commander Victor A. Prather. Catrachos (talk) 02:02, 31 January 2008 (UTC) (John Mikesell)

Rank of Captain Confirmed
National Personnel Records Center, FOI request 1-7062411857, 1/21/2010; Branches of Service: USN/USNR; Dates of Service: Enlisted Service 2/22/1943-3/4/1946, Reserves 3/5/1946-9/10/1950, Officer Service 9/11/1950-12/26/1955, Reserves 12/27/1955-7/1/1973; Rank/Grade: Captain/06; Place of Burial: Arlington National Cemetary. Additional information requires written consent, next of kin. John Mikesell Catrachos (talk) 04:07, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

1961 Absolute Altitude Record for Balloon Flight Still Held by Malcolm Ross
I removed the Baumgartner content added to the first paragraph, as it belongs on the Baumgartner page. This particular topic covers different content (not Baumgartner nor aeronautic records, which are covered in other topics in the references). As I noted in the notes, both Nick Piantanida and Felix Baumgartner went higher than Ross and Prather did in 1961, but the Absolute Altitude record for balloon flight recorded by the International Air Sports Federation (FAI) wasn't affected by Baumgartner flight. Breaking the Absolute Altitude record requires the balloonist to return to the ground with the balloon. Nick Piantanida jettisoned his balloon at 123,500 feet (37642 meters) for an emergency descent, and Felix Baumgartner descended by parachute rather than with the balloon. Baugartner is currently recognized by the FAI for breaking the Maximum Vertical Speed World Record without a drogue or stabilization device. Apparently his two other record claims (Exit Altitude and Vertical Distance of Freefall) are still under pre-certification review as of December 2012. The FAI doesn't indicate any new claim for the absolute altitude record held by Malcolm Ross. References to the altitude record mentioned here should be worded using the FAI terminology, "Absolute Altitude record for balloon flight." (As an aside, record breaking was secondary to Malcolm Ross, whose primary goal was to use balloons as platforms for scientific research. The science often required going higher or longer.) Catrachos (talk) 01:17, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 4 external links on Malcolm Ross (balloonist). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090401152229/http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq124-1.htm to http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq124-1.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110507140407/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART08.PDF to http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PART08.PDF
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20030430070850/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/20th_cent_records-2/LTA12.htm to http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/20th_cent_records-2/LTA12.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080414105223/http://web.mac.com/bemidji2/iWeb/Site/About%20Man%20High/F5C72A92-F4FA-4C00-BCED-9F4D8A5B5F69.html to http://web.mac.com/bemidji2/iWeb/Site/About%20Man%20High/F5C72A92-F4FA-4C00-BCED-9F4D8A5B5F69.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 04:51, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Malcolm Ross (balloonist). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100117025505/http://www.dagemti.com/company/index.htm to http://www.dagemti.com/company/index.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 03:09, 14 January 2018 (UTC)

Helium?
All balloon flights listed from 1956 on have been based (only) on helium?

To be mentioned.

--Helium4 (talk) 16:21, 10 June 2019 (UTC)

Death reasons?
Are there any reasons why he died? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Clrichey (talk • contribs) 03:43, 12 January 2020 (UTC)

Who? Malcolm Ross? I recollect that he suffered heart attack, but not certain. --Catrachos (talk) 00:44, 26 April 2020 (UTC)

Death of M L Lewis
Occurred when a pulley block fell on him while he was performing experiments with a gondola for a 1959 flight for the US Naval Observatory project. The accident is detailed on the front page of Minneapolis Morning Tribune July 7 1959, so the accident may have occurred the day before, July 6. Requires a subscription to view the newspaper edition at Newspapers.com, so I haven't researched it yet.--Catrachos (talk) 00:41, 26 April 2020 (UTC)