First Square Parachute

[TrickyDicky 0]

What was the first square, and what year was it released?

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[chuteless 1]

After reviewing page after page of Para Commander jump, I finally hit on a jump with a Para-Foil. That was made onApril 4 1970, but there may have been something around before that date.

I recall it was very hard to turn the canopy...the toggle pressure was like lifting a concrete block with your small finger. I didnt like that chute at all.

The nextsquare I jumped was a Volplane, and the opening was so hard my helmet came off, the date Sept 29 1973.I also had two para-Sleds at that time, which except for the deployment sequence which always came close to a malfunction, was the best square ever invented. It should have been adapted for a skider, It flew extremely well. and was very small.


Bill Cole D-41

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Barrish Sailwing? Maybe the Volplane. The first square I ever personally saw as a young child was an original ParaPlane. I know that was the first square my dad (D-597) ever jumped.

[markbaur 0]

Quote

Barrish Sailwing? Maybe the Volplane.

The Sailwing was a three-lobed gliding parachute, but not square, nor a ram-air.

From Poynter's: Jalbert made a literally square parachute in 1952, but it was a decellerator (like a round), not a gliding wing. Poynter continues: "Jalbert devised the multicell glide canopy in 1962, which was triangular in shape and flew nose forward. In 1964, he developed the ram air inflated wing which he named the 'Para-Foil.'"

The accompaning diagram for the triangular model shows what looks like ram-air inflated cells. The photos of early Para-Foils in flight show trailing pilot chutes, indicating they were jumped, not towed.

Before they was used for skydiving, ram-air wings were used as kites. Do I recall reading of one truly gigantic one (~3000 square feet?) was used to lift instrument packages into the upper atmosphere?

Mark

[AirCav 0]

Quote: The Sailwing was a three-lobed gliding parachute, but not square, nor a ram-air.
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True, here is a picture of the Barrish Sailwing taken in 1967. Sorry for the poor quality but it was scanned from an article in DZ USA a 1960's skydive magazine. This was the first hook turn I had ever witnessed, probably the first Hook turn ever. He did make the peas though.

GW685,D3888,C5052,SCS843

[PhreeZone 15]

ACK! I know those woods and where that picture was taken at! I'll have to ask Jim about that canopy this summer to see if he remembers how it flew.

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