Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Donald A. Hall Sr. in Flight Gear and Parachute Boarding Test Aircraft (Circa 1928)

An action photograph documenting Donald A. Hall Sr. preparing for an experimental flight evaluation. Dressed in a wool suit jacket, leather aviator flight helmet, goggles, and an emergency seat-pack parachute harness, Hall places his foot onto the lower wing step to climb into the cockpit. As an aeronautical engineer who personally validated his designs in flight, Hall wore this gear during flight test runs to observe aerodynamic loads, vibration characteristics, and engine performance firsthand.