The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-02-13
JUMPS FROM AIRPLANE.
Marine Gunner Adapts Very Novel
Diversion.

one soldier who hasn't found his life
made fiat, stale, and unexciting by
the end of the war. Once a day or
30 he jumps out of an airplane, by
way of trying out new parachute de-
vices. If the experiment is success
ful, he lives to jump again another
day. Thus far it has been success
ful. In the Marine Bulletin, publish
Cd monthly by that celebrated corps
from Offices in New York city, gunner
Mccoy tells how, when, and why he
does his jumping:
The idea of jumping out of an air
plane or seaplane isn't one of amuse-
nent. It is one of utmost necessity.
!! The makeup of an airplane engine is
such that when an aviator is working
1t an extreme altitude and starts to
glide downward, there is grave dan
ger Of FIRE. During the glide the
sarburetor is almost sure to flood,
With the result that when the avia-
Tor turns on the power again the
consequent firing of the cylinders
Sften causes a backfre which gives
serious danger of enveloping the
Nhole plane in flames. In a case like
that an aviator's only chance is to
Jump. For that reason, the efforts
lave been many to evolve a system
whereby a parachute can be attached
in such way that an aviator can
Jump swiftly to safety no matter how
his airplane MAY be travelling.
The credit for evolving this sys-
tenn goes to Capt. Arthur H. Page,
in. charge of the Marine Corps Bal
loon school at Quantico, Va, Capt.
Harvey B. Minis, officer in charge Of
aviation at Marine Corps headquar-
ters. and Lieut.. Harold E. Kelsey.
I'm only a jumper, and, to tell the
truth, I have to give thanks for the
fact that they found for me new
thrill in aviation. When man
takes a thop" every day or so,
spends much of his time in the air
lot of the zest of it departs. One
gets the feeling of taxi-driver on a
deserted street There isn't enough
difficulty in driving to interest him.
Hut making a jump in a parachute
from seaplane going a hundred
miles an, hour-well, that's some
thing else again, as they say in the
Marine Corps.
The system is yet so new that we
haven't taken the trouble to have
regular harness for parachute jump
ers made. We make 'em ourselves
by tying ropes in such way that
when the jump is made, the -knotted
e0pes, which pass around both thighs
and about the waise, form cradle.
To make the jump at all, and to
learn the best means of making that
jump in the safest way, it was, of
crude manner. The thing to be es-
tablished was the fact that it was
rossfb1e to jump out of an airpjlane
With parachute. We talked it all
oyer-or, rather, Captain Page and
Captain Minis did the talking-and
decided that the best way to ar
range the thing would be to wad up
The parachute in a container which
would be fastened just beneath the
frselage of the seaplane. From this
would run rope which would be
attached by a snaphook to the har-
ness Of the jumper. It would be
necessary to climb about three thous-
and feet, so that the jumper would
be reasonably sure Of the parachute
opening before the ground got too
close.
We therefore made our harness
ont of pieces of rope which we tied
together in such a way that they
would fit snugly, and at the same
time be stanch and safe. Then Lieu
tenant Kelsey went up for the first
Jump.
The way to jump out of a sea-
plane? It's really simple when you
know. You just let go. After that
there's nothing to stop you but the
ground. The thing, of course, was
that neither Lieutenant Kelsey when
he made the first jump, nor myself,
when / made the second, knew any
thing about it. That added few
thrills. Of course, L don't know ex-
actly how the lieutenant felt, but as
to myself
With Captain Page at the wheel,
we climbed about three thousand
feet. The air was a little bumpy,
and there was strong wind blowing.
which with the 100-mile-an-hour
speed Of the seaplane seemed just
that much faster. Gradually the
eoptoin cfoa djo6 tho n1ano and then