Also, a canopy (made
of natural silk in those days) that drags the ground usually collects
snags.
I'll always remember chasing a descending parachute that touched down
in a sudden gust that dragged, rolled, twisted, and bounced the dummy
along a grassy field we were using for the drop zone. I was closest and
gave chase. Finally, with a lunge, I landed on the dummy, wrapped both
legs around it, and grasped and hauled back one of the risers. I managed
to spill enough air to deflate the canopy. Controlling a dummy that is
being tossed around by a sudden gust is akin to riding a lively pony.
Back at the shop after the tests, we inspected every part of a repaired
parachute closely to see how well it had withstood the test. Some years
previously, apprentice parachute riggers were not certified until they had
jump-tested a parachute that they, themselves, had inspected, repaired and
packed. The requirement for certification of riggers by 'jumping their
chutes' was suspended in 1941 because of enormously increased shop
workloads shortly before the U.S. formally joined its allies in the war.
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