Parachute Museum tells the story of development of the free fall parachute from invention at McCook Field up to the role it plays in landing todays spacecraft.
To show the complexity of the Apollo parachute system. A total of nine parachutes were used to bring the crew home safely. All these parachutes were packed at the top of the capsule.
Test pilot George Aird narrowly escapes death by ejecting sideways from an English Electric Lightning F1 aircraft that nosedived in 1962, as a farmer casually watches from his tractor.
The photographer, Jim Mead, took the photo soon after the ejection, and as can be seen, caught the pilot inverted with his parachute still unopened and the Lightning plummeting earthwards close to him.
The tractor driver heard the bang of the ejection seat and is seen after quickly turning around to look at what was going on. The driver was 15 year old Mick Sutterby, who spent that summer working on the airfield. He wasn't posing for the camera. In fact, he was telling the photographer, Jim Mead, to move on, because he shouldn't be there.
Fortunately, the pilot George Aird survived after coming down through a greenhouse roof, breaking both legs. He was unconscious due to the impact of landing and was woken by jets of cold water from the greenhouse's sprinkler system. He later recovered to resume his flying career.
A close-up of the sleek and deadly Delta Dart piercing through the sky. Did you know that the F-106 was the #USAF's last dedicated interceptor? It's incredible to think that this jet first flew in 1956, only 14 years after the P-59, the AF's first jet fighter.
The first flights of the US Gemini capsule only lasted several minutes and were suborbital. These tests however did prove the functioning of all critical systems and led the way for later flights. This included the parachute sequence https://t.co/fMyDtUuq2J
A capsule escape system was developed for and installed in obsolete UH-25B helicopter test vehicles configured as remotely led drones.
"USMC 100758: Helo-Jo 1261"
🎞️📖 https://t.co/ruPrAn3FjX 👁🗨 @UofSC Libraries
Who thinks that 'airbags' are a relatively recent development?
I'm not sure which type of airship (blimp) this is, but it looks like it might be a Soviet design. Thoughts?
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has successfully touched down at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This marks the end of its flight, which lasted approximately 93 days in space.
Here's something super cool: the VA capsule (part of the TKS spacecraft) performing a pad abort test.
The VA/TKS never launched crew, but the FGB service module of the TKS spacecraft was the basis for four Mir modules and Zarya and Nauka on the ISS.
🧵#OTD in 2002: Sknyliv air show disaster (Ukraine). A Ukrainian AF SU-27 crashes during an Airshow at Sknyliv Airfield (Lviv). 2 crew ejected safely but jet hit spectators. 77 dead, 543 injured: deadliest airshow accident in history. Judicial inquiry pointed to pilot actions. #aviation
In 2005 the probe called Huygens landed on Titan. The landing marked the first time a human-made object landed on a body outside of the inner solar system. Due to the thick atmosphere, the probe took about 2.5 hours to land safely!
https://t.co/Pek6b0pulJ
The war with Japan ended the use of silk as parachute material. June 6, 1942, marks the day 24y/o Adeline Gray made the 1st test jump of a nylon chute. She was a barnstormer who began parachuting at 19; and also an advertising icon. @WomenInAviation#parachute@AviationHistGal