Parachute

The parachute initially was a secondary device of Sécurité to evacuate in flight a Aéronef in perdition.

There exist four kinds of parachutes:

  • most known is the device made up of a veil intended to slow down the Chute of a person or an object, in order to be posed healthy and except on the ground. It is the fluid Frottement which Frein E the fall.

  • By extension, one also names parachute the device in fabric which slows down certain machines with the landing (see the article Frein).
  • By analogy with the shape of the hemispherical parachutes, is thus called the pockets which the underwater plungers carry sometimes to bring back to surface heavy objects: after having fastened the load with the pocket, one fills it with air drawn from a bottle while making fuse the pressure reducer, and the Poussée of Archimedes makes the remainder.
  • Lastly, one names as parachute a Crochet provided with teeth of support as Elisha Otis had the idea to go up on the guides of the cages of Ascenseur, equipping them with safety necessary to conquer the general public.

History

Antiquity and the Chinese culture mention cases of jump, in general starting from a tower, braked using ad hoc device (Cerf-volant, fabric supported by reinforcement, etc); Léonard de Vinci drew to him also a first outline of parachute. But the history of the parachute could truly start only starting from the development of Aéronef S functional: Montgolfier initially, then Plane S.

Louis-Sebastien Lenormand invents the " term; parachute" , by analogy with the " parasol" which its machine resembles, that it uses to jump from the observatory of Montpellier on December 26th, 1783. Its machine is provided with strong wood reinforcements.

Andre-Jacques Garnerin innovates by developing a device only made up of fabric. With him, he successfully springs the October 22nd 1797 since a balloon above the Parc Heap with Paris. Its initial parachute, like the machine of Lenormand, oscillated dangerously, problem that it résoud thanks to the invention of the central conduit.

March 1st 1912 takes place the first jump in parachute since a plane, carried out by an American , Alber Berry with the top of Saint-Louis, Missouri; its machine, heavy and cumbersome was fixed on the Gear landing of its plane, by chance, it lands whole.

The August 19th 1913, it was the French Adolphe Pégoud which, to the top of Châteaufort close to Versailles, jumped of its plane Blériot sacrificed for the occasion to 200 Mètre S of the ground. Running up against the empennage of its plane, it had fractured the shoulder and had finished its fall in a tree.

In February 1914, to Juvisy, Jean Ors jumped in parachute since a Deperdussin and lands healthy and except.

However, during the First World War, the parachute of help was of use only on the observation balloons, the crews sharing without remission the fate of their plane or disabled airship; only the German Empire equipped its pilot S with it, and only as from 1918. In addition to considerations of natures psychological - it was even written that unquestionable staff S was afraid which the pilots do not give up a little too quickly their planes in the event of danger -, this delay is above all due to the fact that the parachute was still a significant weight for the apparatuses of the time, light and of low power, and a gene for the crew.

German side, the official reserves had been swept at the beginning of 1918 and the German parachute of Heinecke type saved the life of many pilots of which Hermann Göring.

The military Parachutisme is an idea which can be implemented only as from the moment when carrying large planes are available. Experiments during the years 1930, in particular by German and Russian (which try even droppings at very low altitude without parachute, while counting on snow like shock absorber…), lead during the Second world war to ambitious military operations (invasion of Crete by German, allied unloading of Normandy then attempt at opening in Holland), often very expensive for the " paras".

After the second world war, war, the sporting Parachutisme starts to develop in the tread of military parachuting, but quickly the parachutes used and the practices adapt an appreciably different use (the military paras are released with low height, with a great weight in material, and with a device of automatic opening; the sportsmen launch out to more high-altitude, make figures with several, order them-even to it ouvertude parachute, sign a point very precise etc). In the years 1980, for this use, the traditional parachute starts to leave the place to the rectangular veil (developed, like the Parapente S, in the years 1970) and the vocabulary adapts: the " is distinguished; parachute rond" (the traditional one) and " ailes".

Today, only the soldiers remain faithful to the round form, and still only for the droppings of paras in group and " automatique" , but in all the other cases, the wing was essential, gradually: the round form, initially preserved for the initiation and the parachutes of help, with now yielded its place even for these uses. This, thanks to the handiness and with the possibility of better controlling the machine, to control its horizontal or vertical speed (one can fall like a stone then to be posed at almost null speed), to make figures (and even barrels and Looping). Wings can support without problem the weight of two people, with two-seater harnesses, used in initiation.

The parachute within the framework of sporting parachuting

In the first meaning, the parachute is generally composed:

  • of a Bag-harness: it is at the same time a bag which contains the veils and a harness in which to seat the parachutist takes;
  • of 2 veils, a principal aerofoil and an aerofoil of helps which are connected to the lifting S by the Suspente S, the elevators of help make parties integral of the harness and the principal elevators are connected to the bag-harness by a system of release known as Système three rings. This system makes it possible to disunite the principal aerofoil of the harness to allow the blooming of the aerofoil of help where necessary.
    • aerofoil known as " principale" is that which the parachutist opens normally. It is located in the low part of the Bag-harness and is folded by the parachutist himself after each jump,
    • the aerofoil of help is a second sail, used in the event of failure or of nonopening of the principal veil (broken suspending rod, torn veil, fast or different autorotation), or when one is too low to open his principal parachute (evacuation of the plane for example). Indeed, a principal aerofoil has a " depression " (difference in altitude between the moment or the parachutist makes the action-handle and the moment or the sail is completely opened out) of approximately 200 meters. The aerofoil of help must imperatively have a depression lower than 90 meters to be authorized of employment. The opening of the aerofoil of reserve can also be started by an automatic circuit breaker, in the event of loss of conscience of the parachutist (following a faintness or a shock for example), or of loss of the concept of altitude. The aerofoil of help must be folded by a qualified plior, because folding is very meticulous and technical, and must be made with the greatest care;
  • of a release of safety of which the goal is to open automatically the parachute of help in the case or the parachutist would be still in fall at a given altitude. With this intention, the release measures the speed of descent and altitude, thanks to a system of variobarometer mechanical (system FXC ) or electronics (system Argus , Cypres or Vigil ).

Contrary to the largely widespread idea in the general public, the parachutes being used for the " parachuting sportif" , in opposition to the military Parachuting, is not any more of parachutes of the hemispherical type (which are only means of setting on the ground of airborne military troops) but of the " ailes" , having a horizontal speed, being able to move and plane like a Parapente.

See too

Others

  • Parachute out of gold

Simple: Parachute

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