"Hullo, there below"

[howardwhite 5]

From TIME Magazine, Jan. 5 1925
Maybe this should be in "Incidents."

Quote

The U. S. Air Mail started its night flying service July 1, 1924. In spite of pessimistic predictions, its pilots managed to fly 1,200,000 miles without the loss of a life. A fatal parachute jump has now broken the record of safety. Clarence O. Gilbert, a onetime flying Army sergeant, was in the Air Mail pilot's reserve and was pressed into service during the holiday rush. He flew away from Maywood Field, Chicago, at 7:10 one evening and, sailing westward, encountered a blinding snowstorm near Kaneville, Ill. His motor failed. A pilot under such conditions is helpless. He cannot tell where there is a spot to land; he cannot guess whether the earth is thousands of feet away or grazing the wheels of his landing carriage. Sergeant Gilbert, moreover, was not familiar with the route. He decided that a crash was unavoidable. He jumped!

Early prejudice against parachutes has entirely disappeared, since they are now as nearly fool-proof as possible. The members of the Caterpillar Club (men who have escaped a catastrophe by means of the chute) now number hundreds. Every Army and Navy pilot and many flying civilians are instructed in its use. The great Lieut. John R. Macready himself owed his life to this device. When his motor failed over the city of Dayton, his ghostly warning cry of "Hullo, there below!" frightened the men seeking his remains in his wrecked airplane.

The pilot or observer sits encased in a web harness, firmly adjusted to his body by straps and buckles. Above is a small container of canvas duck in which the great silken fabric, of 24-ft. diameter when open, is cleverly packed. A "pilot chute" —an umbrella-like contrivance with spring release—rushes easily out of the container, catches the wind and hauls the main chute out in a second or so. The great supporting surface opens up in an instant. Carefully arranged silk shrouds, made of Japanese silk (the strongest and lightest of textiles) pass continuously from a ring on one side of the harness to the parachute itself and back to the harness again. The pilot sits, then, as if in a swing. He can prevent oscillations, can steer to a certain extent, can avoid trees, buildings and can be almost comfortable. He can, experience has shown again and again, drop 600 ft. without losing a particle of consciousness. He has indeed to rehearse his movements, but the pulling of the conveniently placed "rip cord"—a flexible cable which releases the pilot chute—is the easiest and most natural thing to do.

But he must jump, wait and then pull the rip cord. Otherwise the parachute may become entangled in the tail surfaces of the plane. This is undoubtedly what Sergeant Gilbert failed to do. The instinctive impulse to pull the rip cord prevailed over careful training and the shrouds were cut by the sharp cables of the plane's rear end.

Pilot R. L. Wagner, who had been flying above him, reported the wreck.

The service shuddered but carried on.

HW

[377 21]

Surprisingly good written description of parachute construction and deployment. Wish modern journalists did as well. I didn't know those old canopies from the 1920s had the lines continuous through the apex and down the other side, like the C9. I wonder if one survives in airworthy condition?

Beatnik would jump it.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[jimjumper 25]

Rigging Innovations used to have an emergency rig that had an original silk canopy they used for rigger training. I have it listed in my rigger log as an "Army Back, 24' Silk Canopy, made by Irvin". Don't know if they still have it or not, but Sandy isn't known for throwing things away. It is probably a continuous lines canopy but i packed it in '98 so i don't remember.

[skydiver30960 0]

Wow. Over eighty years later, and we could only HOPE that today's media could do as well with such a report.

Small bit of confusion: did he holler before exiting the aircraft, and folks on the ground heard because the engine wasn't running (and presumably too close to the ground for opening)?

Elvisio "nearly as fool-proof as possible" Rodriguez

[Douggarr 6]

So who is the most famous member of the Caterillar Club?

Charles Lindbergh
George H.W. Bush
Neil Armstrong

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353

[JerryBaumchen 1,076]

Hi Doug,

Quote

So who is the most famous member of the Caterillar Club?

Charles Lindbergh
George H.W. Bush
Neil Armstrong

Give me your definition of 'famous' & I'll give you my answer.

JerryBaumchen

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

So who is the most famous member of the Caterillar Club?

Charles Lindbergh
George H.W. Bush
Neil Armstrong

Lindbergh has the lowest number, so I'd give it to him.

[wmw999 2,167]

Speaking of the Caterpillar Club, I just got a copy of Jump! Tales of the Caterpillar Club, and it's absolutely wonderful. It's chock full of no-shit-there-I-was stories, as well as a decent number of look-Ma-no-hands stories
Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[obelixtim 103]

Quote

Speaking of the Caterpillar Club, I just got a copy of Jump! Tales of the Caterpillar Club, and it's absolutely wonderful. It's chock full of no-shit-there-I-was stories, as well as a decent number of look-Ma-no-hands stories
Wendy P.

I recall in the mid 70's a "reserve caterpillar club" was initiated for people who had saved their lives using a reserve. Recipients got a small badge with membership. Don't know if it continued, but if it did there would be thousands of eligible members.

Effectively its the same thing, except you are swapping a parachute that doesn't work instead of an aeroplane that doesn't work.

Either case sees you in the last chance saloon.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[piisfish 136]

a pilot at a swiss DZ not far from where I jump had to jump out of the Porter, and he must have one of the great "NSTIW" stories...

After uneventfully dropping skydivers at an italian DZ, during the descent (at approximately 1k ft) and above the small town, suddenly a blade of the prop breaks. Immediately the pilot is left with nothing in front of him. All the nose of the plane was gone.

He just unbuckled his belt and did a forward dive.

Parts of the plane were scattered through the town, the turbine finished in a football (not handegg) field, one wheel was find approximately 1.5km from the rest, after hitting several cars...

The great thing is nobody was hurt, it was early afternoon in Italy, siesta time
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=32129

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[simonxml 0]

I got my Reserve Caterpillar Club membership back in 1973 or so (I can check my logbook) after a horseshoe malfunction that damn near killed me. I vaguely remember seeing an advertisement for it in a 1975 copy of the (Dutch) Sport Parachutist magazine but I think it folded shortly after that. It was a fun badge (see the attached photo) and I occasionally wear it alongside my real Army wings lapel badge on Remembrance Day (Veterans Day).

Simon

[obelixtim 103]

Yeah, I got one of those as well, also after a horseshoe on my first FF that nearly killed me. 1974 I think. Haven't seen the badge for many years.

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[377 21]

I wonder how many of us could have successfully dealt with a horseshoe malf on our first FF jump?

Thank goodness I didn't face that on my first FF. I was happy just to find the main ripcord as I was tumbling wildly over Livermore CA on my first FF in the late 60s.

Tell us more. What happened, how you dealt with it, what was flashing thorough your mind?

Very cool on that DDD (Double Digit D license).

Congratsl!! Well done.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.