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On April 25, 1937 an excited crowd estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 (sources vary) people watched as 26 year old Michigan native Clements Sohn stepped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet above Vincennes France, then swooped and glided toward the earth using a wing suit of his own design and manufacture.
Sohn had a lifelong interest in aviation and was already an accomplished pilot before graduating from Lansing Eastern High School. He worked briefly at an airport in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, then began working with Arthur J Davis in the Lansing area, helping to modify and rebuild barnstorming and racing airplanes. He was also trained as a parachute jumper for Art Davis' air shows. While performing as a parachute jumper, he began to specialize in "delayed parachute jumping" in which the jumper performed a long duration free fall prior to opening the chute. For some time, Sohn held the world record free fall of 18,500 feet.
According to friends and family, he realized he could use his arms and legs to control his attitude during the fall, thus preventing the uncontrolled tumbling that often resulted from long free falls.
Sohn was the pioneer of wing suit flying. He drew his first plans for a wing suit while jumping at an air show in Ionia, Michigan. He hoped that by testing concepts on a smaller scale with his wingsuit he could contribute to devlopment and advancement of aircraft and aviation. As of the April 25, 1937 jump, Sohn was working on a new suit design which provided more surface area without adding significant weight.
Articles about him appeared in Popular Mechanics, Modern Mechanix and many other publications, including foreign journals and periodicals. He developed several audience pleasing maneuvers, including looping, which he later curtailed after some bad experiences. He was once quoted as saying: "Looping is dangerous. I don't often do it now unless I have to. As I reach the top of the loop I lose speed and losing speed is nearly fatal. The little airplane that is me decides to spin. Over I go, head downward, spinning round and round like a top. It is very difficult to get out of a spin. You must catch a spin as it starts. My first spin scared me stiff."
Prior to his jump in France, Sohn had performed all over America and in several foreign countries including England. To reach the Paris Air Show, Clem traveled via ship. Due to high winds and large waves, he was late arriving. As a result, the main and reserve parachutes may not have been laid out, inspected and repacked as usual. Some sources feel this was a critical error. Other sources indicate that Sohn was too meticulous to have skipped this step.
During the jump on April 25, 1937 Clem folded his wings at the usual altitude and pulled the cord for his primary parachute. The shrouds became twisted and prevented proper opening. He was seen trying to shake the parachute open, then deployed his reserve parachute. The reserve chute tangled with the primary parachute and also failed to open. Clem plunged to his death in front of a horrified crowd. His body was returned to MIchigan and buried in Fowler, near his birthplace and childhood home.
More information on Clements Sohn may be found at the Paine-Gillam Scott Museum in Clinton County and the Michigan Historical Musem.
The coordinates will lead you to the gravestone of this aviation pioneer.
To claim the find, contact us through the Geocaching.com website using e-mail or messaging with the answers to the following questions:
1) What is the first name of the person buried to the right (south) of Clements' gravestone?
2) Looking W/NW from Clements' grave, two markers are visible with bronze veteran's plaques on the back. Name the wars in which these veterans served and provide the names of the veterans buried there.
Please feel free to log this find after sending your answers without waiting for a confirming response from us
Reference Sources:
Lansing State Journal
Wikipedia
Daring Bird-Man Soars At 10,000 Ft. On Homemade Wings (May, 1935 Modern Mechanix)
Clem Sohn "The Birdman" by Cameron Lancaster
A Look Back: Clem Sohn’s Family, Career, and Fatal jump by Barry Bauer
The Man Who Flew Like A Bird by Homer Shannon
Michigan Aviation: Volume 36 No. 4 pages 5 & 6
Personal conversations on the topic with a former coworker who was Sohn's great nephew.
Images of Clem Sohn
Congratulations to Remspec on FTF honors
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.