AUGUST 15,

1935.

FLIGHT.

(Right) Widely employed in the R.A.F.. especially by air gunners, the Irvin "quick connector " equipment shown here allows the pack to be quickly attached to and detached trom the harness

LOCKING PINS ONE AT EACH CORNER

LUGS ENGAGE O N LOCKING P I N 1

The Irvin quick release used on Service parachutes. To unlock the box it is necessary to turn the disc, and when it is necessary to release the harness completely the disc is pressed inward. This was produced originally for the use of Fleet Air personnel, but was eventually adopted throughout the Service. A parachutist equipped with this harness is able to release himself from his parachute and its attendant gear just prior to his hitting the water. One important difference between the quick release harness and the standard type is that, in the latter, the suspension straps, or lift webs as they are sometimes known, form a loop beneath the body. This means that there must be a considerable amount of auxiliary webbing to keep the loop in the correct position relative to the wearer's body. In the quick release harness the suspension straps themselves support and position the body in relation to the parachute. From the seat pack each pair of lift webs pass up the back of the wearer, but separate after being led through an adjustment buckle near the shoulder. The outer straps of each pair are brought downwards over the chest to b the special quick release attachment situated just above the stomach. Passing to the rear of the wearer's arms the inner straps go to form one thickness of the suspension loop: the second thickness is a strap whose ends pass up over the thighs to the release forming the lower suspension straps. Buckles are incorporated for adjustment. Separate leg straps are provided in the standard harness, but the modern quick release harness embodies in their place two pieces of strap connected through adjustment buckles arid forming a loop which is kept in place by the front 1 -ver suspension straps previously mentioned. The quick release box is secured to this loop by a length of light webbing. For purposes of comfort and rigidity when the harness is being worn in an aeroplane, a back pad of fabric, filled with felt is incorporated. A pocket for the rip cord ring, with an elastic mouth, is located between the front lower and rear suspension straps on the left side of the body. A pair of auxiliary straps, one at the shoulders and the other at the lower portion of the back, complete the harness. The quick release box receives the four front suspension straps by means of eye fittings at their ends. Each of these is forced into a slot in a corner of the release box, clipping over a spring-loaded plunger and thereby being locked in position. In order to unlock the quick release gear a large press button is turned. To release the parachute entirely this button is pressed inward The purpose of this dual action may be of interest.

Let us suppose a parachutist is making a descent over water. At a height of, say, iooft., he turns the button on the release box, thus unlocking the gear. Just before he hits the water he presses down on the button, allowing the four front straps to become disconnected and freeing himself completely of the parachute, the sodden and deflated canopy of which might otherwise keep him beneath the surface. The canopy is contained in a pack which is permanently attached to the bottom of the suspension strap loop. Aeroplanes whose pilots carry the seat type parachute are fitted with a special bucket seat to receive the parachute. A small cushion is provided between the wearer and the actual pack. The pack itself has six elastics which ensure opening when the rip cord is pulled. Opening is further aided by the springy nature of the silk canopy ; it is claimed that the average time required for an Irvin to deploy completely and assume normal descent is about one and three-fifths seconds after the rip cord has been pulled. Four of the elastics previously mentioned open the sides of the pack and the other two operate the end flaps. Following the rip cord from its handle on the left side of the harness one finds that it travels through a flexible housing to terminate in two pins which, when the parachute is in its pack, pass through holes in two cones, thus holding the complete pack together.

The Pilot 'Chute

Stowed within the pack and connected to the apex or peak of the main canopy is the small auxiliary or pilot parachute, the purpose ol which is to lead the main parachute away from the body of the wearer and to increase the speed of opening. The Irvin pilot chute is of octagonal shape, 33m. in diameter, and cut from one piece of silk. It is mounted on a spring steel frame which forms four ribs and has spring coils at the centre. To relieve the silk at the apex of some of the opening shock and to reduce oscillation of the parachute and wearer, a circular hole, 18 inches in diameter, known as the vent hole, is left at the apex of the canopy Were this not provided the air would escape from beneath the periphery of the canopy, giving rise to severe oscillation. To eliminate possible entanglements during the opening of the parachute the shroud lines are stowed in loops in pockets within the pack. The quick connector parachute, also widely employed in the R.A.F., is carried when not in use, detached from the harness. It is standard equipment for personnel not engaged in piloting an aircraft, and, in certain large machines for the pilot also. The pack, which contains a standard 24ft. canopy, is somewhat smaller than the seat pack, and when connected is attached to two snap hooks at the ends of the suspension straps on the front of the body. It is usually stowed during flight, in an easily accessible tray. Specially designed parachuting outfits are also produced by the Irvin company for use from airships and balloons. A certain number of training outfits, which embody a 28ft. parachute, carried on the back, and an auxiliary 22ft. 'chute, are used in the R.A.F. Either of the two