Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-02-04
JUMPS FROM AIRPLANE
Marine Gunner AdaptS Very Novel
Diversion
TAKES SEVERAL High JUMPS DAILY

Il ls a Simple Matter to Jump Out OF
a SeapIane-All You Have to Do Is
to Let Go, and There is Nothing to
Stop You But the Ground.
Marine gunner John L. Mccoy is
one soldier who hasn't found his life
made fiat, stale, and unexciting by the
end of the war. Once day or so he
drops out OF an airplane, by way OF
trying out new parachute devices.
If the experiment is successful. he
lives to jump again another day. Thus
far it has been successful. In the
Marines Bulletin, published monthly
by that celebrated corps from offices
in New York city, gunner Mccoy tells
how. when. and why he does his jump
ing:
The idea of jumping out Of an air.
plane or seaplane isn't one Of amuse-
ment. It is one of utmost necessity.
The makeup of an airplane engine is
such that when an aviator is working
at an extreme altitude and starts to
glide downward. there is grave danger
of fire. During the glide the carbure-
tor is almost sure to food. with the
result that when the aviator turns on
the power again the consequent firing
of the cylinders often causes q back
fire which gives serious danger of en-
veloping the whole plane in flames. In
a case like that an aviator's only
chance it to jump. For that reason,
the efforts have been many to evolve
a system whereby a parachute can be
attached in such way that an avia-
tor can jump swiftly to safety no mat
ter how his airplane may be travelling.
The credit for evolving this system
goes to Capt. Arthur H. Page, In
charge of the Marine Corps Balloon
school at Quantico, Va. Capt. Harvey
B. Minis, officer in charge of aviation
at Marine Corps headquarters, and
Lieut.. Harold E. Kelsey. I'm only
Jumper, and, to tell the truth, have
to give thanks for the fact that they
found for me a new thrill in aviation.
When a man takes "hop" every day
or so, spends much of his time In the
air a lot of the zest of it departs. One
gets the feeling Of taxi-driver on
deserted street There isn't enough
difficulty in driving to interest him.
But making a jump in a parachute
from a seaplane going hundred miles
an hour-well, that's something else
again, as they say in the Marine Corps.
The system is yet so new that we
haven't taken the trouble to have regu-
lar harness for the parachute Jumpers
made. We make 'em ourselves by
tying ropes in such a way that when
the Jump is made, the knotted ropes,
which pass around both thighs and
about the waist, form a cradle.
To make the jump at all, and to
learn the best means OF making that
lump in the safest way, it was, OF
crude manner The thing to be es-
tablished was the fact that it was pos
sible to jump out of an airplane with
a parachute We talked it all over-or
rather, Captain Page and Captain
Minis did the talking-and decided
that the best way to arrange the thing
would be to wad up the parachute IN
container which would be fastened
Just beneath the fuselage Of the sea-
plane. From this would run a rope
which would be attached by snap
hook to the harness of the jumper. 1t
would be necessary to climb about
three thousand feet, so that the jump
er would be reasonably sure of the
parachute opening before the ground
got too close.
We therefore made our harness out
Of pieces of rope which we tied to-
gether in such way that they would
fit snugly, and at the same time he
stanch and safe. Then Lieutenant
Kelsey went up for the first jump.
The way to jump out Of a seaplane?
It's really simple when you know. You
Just let go. After that there's nothing
to stop you but the ground. The