PARACHUTE’S SAFETY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 9 January 1936, Page 8

PARACHUTE’S SAFETY

“■ IMPRESSIONS GIVEN BY JUMPER " ' REACTIONS OF FALLING INTO SPACE To ;i public which regards paracnute "'jumping as..something of a mystery ait and, in demonstration, a pastime for men advanced beyond their time, there is' much of interest in the reactions and im- ' pressions recorded by one who is making Fit;a career. One of the only three expert parachute jumpers in New Zealand, Mr, "G. W. Sellars, Auckland, arrived at New Plymouth this week. Mr Sellars was the second man in the Dominion to qualify as • a highly trained and skilled parachute jumper and this year passed final examinations completing months of train--1 ing at Wigram. His practical parachuting has been done under the supervision of i lie New Zealand Air Force and Air ’Bernard W. Skinner, formerly a United ■ States Army parachutist- and a member oftlio Byrd Antarctic expedition. • In-making a jump it is not wise to fly under 800 feet, although a safe jump has been made at 150 feet, said Mr Sellars to a “Daily News” representative. The parachutist before his fall has on Heaving the shelter, of, the cockpit of tjie machine to enter a slipstream which may have a velocity of from 80 to 100 miles all hour, amt to counter this, terrific .force the jumper has to brace himself and light the wind.by clutching a strut ' on the central section of the ’plane, lean out over the edge and loose his hold to

fall into space. VVlicn Mr. Sellars was making a jump at Wanganui last week the parachute became loose on bis back and the blast from, the propeller threw it under an armpit and displaced the straps on his shoulders. Such a happening on a narrow strip of footboard half a mile above the earth made the jumper’s position extremely hazardous. Although two hands were needed to grasp the strut Mr Sellars let one go and, fighting the wind, managed to secure the parachute on liis shoulders again and made the fall about two seconds later. In the opinion of Mr Sellars the hardest part of the procedure is letting go the strut for the fall, but when the step has been taken and the parachutist knows there is no going back the instinct of life preservation keeps the brain clear. One. has to steel oneself for a sheer fall for a few seconds before pulling the ripcord to avoid the danger of the opening parachute becoming caught by the tail of the machine, and after about three seconds the handle is grabbed. It had been suggested that this action might be the most difficult, but in Mr Sellars’ experience the handle was seized in fhc same manner as a drowning man might clutch a straw. After pulling, the ripcord tile feeling was one of expectation and hope that the expectation was going to be fulfilled, and, as Mr Sellars drily pointed out, lie bad not been disappointed so far. The margin of safety in a parachute is so large that the possibility that anything unforeseen might happen is very remote. For instance, each of 24 shrouds lias a breaking strain of not less than 400 pounds, and this strength is needed to support in the air, in. Mr Sellars’ case, a body of about 11 stone. The silk is

tested to withstand a pressure of 15 pounds to the square inch, while the pressure that a- parachute receives is something like .176 pounds to the square inch, figures which give a good idea of the tremendous safety margin. The sensation when the parachute opened was wonderful, said Mr Sellars. Swinging in the air half a mile high) the parachutist obtained a view of the ground which could not be given in any other way. For a time there seemed to be no fallng motion at all but as the ground was neared the movement downward appeared to be much more rapid until the landing, made at a speed of from 20 to 25 feet a second, gave a fairly hgavy bump, countered by the relaxation of the muscles and the preparation to take the weight. Mr Sellars had never landed outside a field, and he considered such an occurrence impossible if reasonable judgment was used.