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Aviation History
1928
1928 - 0406.PDF
and conforms to the United States Government specifications. Their silk fabric is specially woven of imported material of high tensile strength and light weight. The cords, of which there are twenty-four to each parachute, are woven of high quality silk, each having a tensile strength of 400 lb. It is said that they do not exhibit picked threads after usage. The silk type is recommended by the company for use with any class of aircraft and particularly for machines with a high speed performance where severe usage is demanded. With the cotton type, the material is of light weight, yet with a high tensile strength and specially woven to meet the official conditions. A 250-lb. tensile strength is credited the silk cord used with the cotton parachute, and it is durable. The latter is recommended with slower types of aeroplanes, such as those used for bombing, photography, observation, training, and commercial purposes. In America the prices quoted for the Russell products are 350 dollars for the silk type and 250 dollars for the cotton type, each complete with carrying bag. Unless otherwise ordered, the seat pack type is always furnished. Back packs and special packs are manufactured to meet special conditions. Each sort is entirely manually operated, a jerk on a large release ring freeing the parachute and also ejecting it from the pack. There are no elastics, springs or pilot parachutes involved. Packs are made of 12-oz. double-fill O.D. duck, with •080 music wire pins. Joints are wrapped, soldered and tested, and the rip cord rings are made of seamless steel tubing, cadmium plated, and are 4 in. in diameter. Ring and rip cord are so arranged that it is practically impossible to rip the pack other than by actually manually pulling the ring after it has been removed from its pocket. The harness can be worn loosely and comfortably whilst flying, as it automatically tightens when the wearer stands. It is made of woven 3-ply linen web having a tensile strength of 2,750 lb. All hardware is dropped forged, nickel steel, cadmium plated to prevent rust, and is stated to be tested to 2,500-lb. load before used in construction. Total weight of the Russell " Lobe " parachute, harness and pack is 19. lb. Demonstration At Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware, a demonstration of the Russell parachutes took place on May 10. Mr. H. R. McClintock, the General Manager, recently landed from America with an exhibition jumper, Mr. John Tranum. The MAY 17, 1928 latter, familiarly called " John," speaks like an American, but is actually a Dane. He made three successful jumps at Stag Lane before representatives of the Air Ministry and the press. Picturesquely and suitably dressed in clean white overalls, rubber boots, tight-fitting flying helmet and goggles, he went up in fair clear weather in a D.H.9, piloted by Mr. C. A. Pike, one of the De Havilland School instructors. He dropped from 1,000 ft. in a bilk seat type, which seemed to spread its lobe white canopy very quickly and bring " John " down very straight in a corner of the aerodrome. On the second occasion he again jumped from 1,000 ft., but with a cotton parachute. On each occasion, after the brief effect of the sudden opening, the descent looked very straight or had the minimum of swing. The landings seemed fast, but that was possibly because one has not witnessed many parachute landings. " John " pulled the cords attached to the centre of the canopy immediately he touched the ground and the parachute instantly collapsed, thus preventing any dragging along the ground. His third descent was not quite carried out according to the programme, for which he could not be blamed. He pro- posed to drop from 3,500 ft., and not open the silk parachute until he had fallen 2,000 ft. He was using a back pack, which is most convenient for moving about in a machine, such as gunners and observers have to do. As the D.H.9 flew steadily across the aerodrome going away from the buildings the spectators could observe the preparatory movements of " John ", but it was a second or two after he had fallen that one could discern his bent white figure against a distant blue sky. The white canopy then suddenly shot out to its full diameter much before it was expected and everyone naturally wondered why. Experts among the spectators immediately advanced the theory that " John's " goggles, which were not his own and had been borrowed for the occasion, had slipped over the back of his head, so that water had blinded his unprotected eyes. Therefore he had naturally, in conditions which were not comfortable and possibly not safe, pulled the ring after falling only 800 to 1,000 ft. This theory was magically true as " John," after landing with remarkable accuracy in the same spot as twice before, apologetically explained. He was unnecessarily penitent, too, and declared his intention of performing the promised demon- stration if he could borrow a pair of suitable goggles. Whilst (Concluded on page 373) [" FLIGHT " Photographs PARACHUTE DISPLAY AT STAG LANE AERODROME—In both pictures is Mr. John Tranum, an exhibition jumper, with the American parachute known as the Russell " Lobe " Parachute, with which he made three descents at Stag Lane on May 10. The 4-in. diameter ring, which is pulled after the jumper is clear of the machine, is indicated in the left picture by Mr. R. H. McClintock, the general manager"of the Russell Parachute Company. The machine is the D.H.9 from which the demonstration was given. 370
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