There was discussion on the radio today about the first parachute jump out of an airplane. I was intrigued so when I arrived home I sought more information from Dr. Google.
Apparently U.S. Army Captain Albert Berry was feeling quite the daring devil on March 1, 1912.
And I got to wondering just exactly what made the Captain think jumping from an airplane was a good idea... particularly in early March when the temperatures at ground level are enough to make the average person wish they had never left the house. And I emphasize jumping from the airplane because there was no in to jump out of. The plane in question very much resembled what the Wright brothers first used to hop through the air. There was a seat for a pilot and nothing more.
Think about it. Standing on the wing of a biplane and shouting Geronimo while pulling the rip cord of a device you hoped like hell was actually going to work. Who does that?
I can only assume the good Captain had recently been diagnosed with some life threatening condition and decided sooner was as good as a little less sooner.
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