4:00
* * * * * The bomber pilot was a fresh-faced youngster who chewed gum and claimed to have been the second-ranking tennis player in Des Moines , Iowa . He shook hands gravely with me , eyed Wetzel and his strange garb and out-size rifle with blank-faced wonder , and mentioned that it was a nice night for flying . The plane took off at 1:27 . We were due over our target by 4:00 o'clock Eastern Standard Time , or 2:00 Mountain Time . The plans called for the bomber to fly at a high altitude , then come in on Burdette with jets off and drop us by ` chute . Wetzel had balked for a while at the idea of stepping off into space , but a brief but patient explanation of how a parachute worked finally brought him grudgingly around . The trip seemed to take forever .