ENGLAND THRILLED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 226, 23 September 1936, Page 11

ENGLAND THRILLED.

GIRL PARACHUTIST. YOUNG AUSTRALIAN'S STORY. i (Special.—By Air Mail.) * LONDON, August ."28. Miss Margaret Gilruth, a Melbourne girl, has been thrilling the aerodrome crowds in England by her spectacular : pany:hute;? jumps. She is one of the few women in this country who lia\e taken up the sport. Blonde, blue-eyed, Miss Gilruth is the daughter of a former Administrator of the Northern Australian Territories. It is only a few weeks, since she made her first jump, and this is the account she gave of it: — 8 "Just before I jumped I felt really frightened, and then, when I climbed on to "the wing of the aeroplane, I was absolutely calm and serene. I fell into space, and still I was not frightened. 1 pulled the ripcord of my parachute. After an age the dome of canvas bellied out above me and puiied me up with a bound. I sailed gently down to the around. ... My first parachute jump had not been alarming at all; instead, it was an extraordinarily pleasing experience. "When I did my first jump I did not realise until a few minutes before entered the aeroplane that I had to crawl along the wing of the machine when it was 2000 feet up. I had to crawl along the wing and sit on an insecure, uncomfortable perch, _ feet dangling into space and hands tightly clutching the struts, until it was time for me to fall backwards.

"The formalities which have to be undertaken before one can make a jump in this country are enough to cause one's courage to ooze away long before the crucial moment. First it was necessary to be medically examined to prove that heart and lungs are normal. One of the three types of machines approved for parachute, work has to be hired, and a pilot wlio.se record satisfies the authorities must be found. After all that, one has to obtain the written permission of the licensee of an airport to land on the ground hp controls. Finally, a parachute lias to be hired. All that takes time. In >mv case it meant days of telephoning, 'writing, interviewing and visiting airports. "The parachuting amateur needs a pilot who is used to coping with 'firsttimers.' Men who have seen 30 or 40 people flap their wings for the first time have had some hair-raising experiences. Some of the would-be jumpers have panicked and pulled the rip-cord they have left the aeroplane. Then the parachute has opened and has caught on a strut or wire of the machine. Only an exceedingly skilful pilot can avert a serious accident when that sort of thing happens. Another variety of amateur disliked by pilots is the one' who becomes too frightened to jump after receiving the signal. Veteran pilots generally shake their heads when you ask them "to take you up for your first jump."