Whirly, I didn't know that, I'd have to say in fairness it does put a slightly different slant on my third question. Thanks for the info. If I'm being honest, I suppose I do think it's rather a spurious achievement, rather like the "how many hours to go solo" type thing. But that's just my opinion and probably not that relevant. However, as you point out, he would have gained good consolidation in the subsequent air race.
The questions of suitable clothing and actions on loss of ground contact still remain.
