Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-01-29
CITY RESIDENT
TAUGHT Indy
Chute
Flyer Tells 1t In We;
Hardin VIII Aid In
Pro Show
Here

Charles w. Hardin, head Of q para
chute manufacturing company in the
east, and who makes his winter home
n the Valley, is the same Charley
Hardin who taught Col. Charles A.
Lindbergh the double parachute drop,
and gave that famous young man
n Of the greatest thrills Of his ca
reer.
Indy tells Of the experience him
self in his book eve"
Mr.. Hardin, Is now making his home
IN Brownsville. He had been pre-
paTed 20 spend a winter Of ease here,
but the lure Of the game became too
strong and when the American legion
"propositioncd" him with reference
TO a flying circus here he agreed TO
promote the event.
Plans alorg tnat line are now
working out beautifully, and the
show, which Hardin promises VIII be
the biggest ever held south of san
Antonio, VIII be staged on Feb. l..
I'll discussing his dealings with Mr..
Hardin, Col. L~indbergh goes into de-
tail Of his exploits IN learning the
double drop. Reference TO the event
may be found on page 70 81 his own
story of his life.
About that time Charlie Hardin,
well known 10 the ae~ronautical world
for his parachute work arrived in
Lincoln COL. Lindbergh says IN his
book.
Fascinated by Jumps
Il had been fascinated by the
jumps / had seen, and ! persuaded
Ray Page to Jet me make a double
drop with Hardin's chutes.
a double drop is made by fastening
two parachutes together with rope.
Both are then packed in q heavy
canvass bag; the mouth Of the bag
IS laced together and the lace ends
tied in a bow knot. The bag Is
dashed half way out on the wing Of
the plane, with The lace ends hanging
down.
when the plane has reached suf-
ficient altitude the jumper climbs
out ZIG the cockpit and along the wing
To the chute, tastens the parachute
straps to his harness, and swings
down under the wing. in this posi-
tion he is held 20 the wing Of the
plane bv the bow knot holding to-
rether the mouth az the Dag contain
ing his parachute, tie bag itself be-
ing securely tied to the wing. When
ready ID cut loose be pulls the bow
knot allowing the bag to open and
the parachutes Ia bc pulled out by
his weight.
Sounds Simple, But Is u?
I'm 4 double jump, after the first
parachute is fully opened, the jump
or cuts the rope binding the second
chute to the first. The first chute
upon being relieved of his weight,
~collanses and passes him On the way
down.
An o. which sounds perfectly
simple as the distinguished aviator
tells ii, but there Is an occasional
catch, as he goes on 70 tell.
II made my first jump ono evening
in June from an 1900 foot altitude
over the flying field.
my first chute opened quickly, and
after floating down fur " few Sec
onds, | cut 1t loose from the second.
expecting a similar performance. But
! did not feel the comfortable tug
az the risers which usually Gccom-
panfes en- exhibition jump.
Shoots Down Headfirst.
Gas had never made a descent be-
fore it never occurred to me- that
everything was not as it huuld bc.
until several seconds had passed and
] began 10 turn over and fall head
first. / looked around al the chute,
just in time To see I'D oren and string
out; then the harness ierked me into
an upright position and the chute was
open.
"Afterward I learned that the vent
of TIE second chute had been tied 10
the first. with grocery string, which
lad broken in packing the parachute.
and that instead Of %stringinC out
when ] cut III loose. ~ had followed
me still folded, causing "A drop cf
several hundred feet before opening
Hardin viii not have an active part
IN the circus here. Although he NC
held the worlds altitude record fer
Eas balloons, and was formerly a
parachute performer az nationwide
note, he has retired from the activs
end Of the game. and dcyoccs his time
entirely to the business angle.
He Is arranging for some az the
best known stunt performers in the
country, including the famous Shorty
Radack, To come here and perform
for the show III be staged By the
Iegion and the Border Anyways. Les
Mauldin. pilot Of that organization,
viii do q majority Of the flying for
che show here.