On December 7, 1934, a new first in human flight was achieved in the skies over Osage County. With support from Phillips Petroleum Company founder Frank Phillips, famous aviator Wiley Post took off from the Bartlesville airstrip on a test flight into the stratosphere, becoming the first human to ever reach an altitude of more than 50,000 feet.
To achieve this feat, he worked with engineers from the B.F. Goodrich Company to design the world's first pressurized flight suit. Made from rubberized parachute fabric, pigskin, and an aluminum deep-sea diver's helmet, the suit served as a prototype and proof of concept for modern astronaut spacesuits. During his record-setting flight, Post also discovered the jet stream, spurring advancements in aviation and meteorology which echo down to the present.
Originally built as the ranch retreat of Frank Phillips, today the galleries at Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve in Osage County house several artifacts related to Wiley Post's life and achievements. These include historic photos from the preparation for his record-setting flight, as well as a replica of the helmet from his pressurized suit (the original suit is preserved in the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum). Find more info on Woolaroc and plan your visit to see its one-of-a-kind collection at
https://www.woolaroc.org/