Height x Width x Depth (folded): 12 1/4 × 10 1/4 × 1 1/2 in. (31.12 × 26.04 × 3.81 cm)
Type:
Employee Gear
Place:
United States of America
Date:
1923-1927
Description:
Pilot Clarence Lange used these aviation goggles while flying mail for the Post Office Department’s airmail service from 1923 to 1927. The fabric straps of the goggles helped Lange achieve a good fit, which was critical for his safety. The Department’s biplanes had open cockpits and the postal officials required their pilots to fly in almost every type of weather in order to keep the mail moving on time. The airplanes’ compasses were often unreliable, so pilots often made their way navigating by visual clues on the ground—following railroad tracks, rivers, and other landmarks to find their way. Goggles such as these helped the pilots see the ground more clearly.
Pilot Clarence Lange flew 2,800 hours for the airmail service covering 260,251 miles on western routes out of the Omaha, Nebraska and Cheyenne, Wyoming airfields.
References:
National Archives and Reference Administration, record group 28
https://postalmuseum.si.edu/airmail/pilot/pilot_rest/pilot_rest_lange.html (Accessed September 22, 2017)
