The Modern Parachute

In 1919, the forerunner of the modern parachute was tested in the United States by a group of jumpers, including James Floyd Smith, Leo Stevens, and Leslie Irvin. The new parachute had a circular canopy and a smaller parachute called a pilot chute. Both parachutes and their lines were folded and stowed in a cloth pack. The pack was held closed by three metal pins attached to a wire rip­cord. When the jumper tugged a handle on the harness, the ripcord ripped the pins free, and the pack opened. The pilot chute flew out, acted as a brake, and pulled out the main canopy. On April 28, 1919, Leslie Irvin tested the parachute after jumping out of a plane over McCook Field in Ohio. In 1922, came the first use of a parachute in an emergency when an American military pilot, Lieutenant Harold Harris, bailed out of a test plane over North Dayton, Ohio. Throughout the 1920s, barnstormers and show jumpers made parachute jumps to entertain crowds at flying shows.

Most jumps were from low level. Doctors warned that parachuting from great heights, or falling at high speed before the parachute opened, would kill the jumper. In fact, such fears were proved wrong. In 1945, Lieutenant Colonel William Lovelace jumped from a B-17 bomber at a height of 40,000 feet (12,190 meters). Although he wore breathing apparatus, Lovelace became unconscious, but his parachute opened, and he landed safely.