Evening star., 1927-10-02

Then pull the ring and by the time
the chute begins to open you will be
vertical, there is a quick jerk and
your speed is checked.
"As you fall down through the air
before opening the chute. there is a
sense OF speed and falling. made more
evident as the seconds go by owing
to the rush of wind, which seems to
come in gusts"
Clark has jumped about Is times,
he believes. He never kept a close
check on the number of drops, be-
cause he is superstitious. Not that
by doing so will have any bearing on
future jumps, but he. has q general
dislike to recording them, and he be-
leves his reasons, although possibly
not clear to others, are perfectly
reasonable to him.
The longest drop Clark has made
before pulling the chute is 1000 feet.
This was done about a week ago
'just for the fun of it," he said. He
dove over the side Of a De Haviland
observation plane at 1900 feet. and
plunged madly downward for 9 As
seconds, during which he covered
1000 feet of space. Then he pulled
the ring and all was well.
Can Guide Parachutes.
Experienced parachute jumpers have
a certain amount OF control over the
parachutes with respect to guiding
them. BY pulling down on the right
skirt" or edge of the parachute. a
jumper can skid to the right, the same
applies to the left, and by pulling
down the forward part the rate Of de-
scent can be increased. This Is often
resorted to when but q small space is
available for the jumper to reach,
and as he nears the ground he allows
the chute to retain it's normal shape.
Shortly before his feet are due to
strike the earth Clark grabs the
shroud lines and gives quick tug.
breaking the speed and making gen.
tie landing.
Normally Clark falls about 800 feet
before pulling the cord. He uses no
counting system. but recommends to
beginners that they count 'one thou
sand and one. one thousand and two,
one thousand and three" and then pull
the ring. This will guarantee that
they are clear Of the ship If making a
voluntary jump. In emergencies like
the spinning Eaglerock, however, no
rules will apply.
Clark declares the parachutes now
used in the United States Air Service
are the best that can be developed for
a long time. We'll have to go a
long ways before we can get some
thing better" he said. OF course
there are always some minor improve
ments being made, but the seat or
back type remains the same in prin-
ciple.
Has Lots of Confidence.
The parachutes under Clark's com.
mand at the air station are opened,
aired, inspected and repacked every
80 days. Once every six months they
are taken UP and dropped from 500
feet with a 200.pound weight.
Clark has unlimited confidence in
the efficiency Of the parachutes, ex-
planning If he did not have, he would
not Jump as often, as he does. He
estimates that about 10000 voluntary
parachute jumps have been made
since the device was perfected. The
life Of a chute. with good care, is at
least four years to his knowledge.
Clark holds the distinction Of be.
ing the first jumper to give to the
public a vivid description Of what a
parachute jumper sees and does. With
a 17-pound motion picture camera
strapped on his chest, Clark went
aloft and jumped out. AS he jumped
clear Of the plane, he pressed a but.
ton which started the camera. Then
he fell for few seconds and pulled
the cord. The moving pictures were