SIX-MILE FALL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 136, 25 June 1937, Page 19

SIX-MILE FALL

J ■ 111 • 11 Parachute Jumper's Pian A British pamchutist is preparing for ah attempt t6 Wrest from Kussia the world's delayed-drop record, which that eduntry has held for the past scven years. In ofder to place the record Woll beyond the reach of ahy rivala he iptends to drbp S4,000ft^ about 6 miles, before pulling the rip* cord of his parachute. He is Mr Reginald Kavanagh. famous as a parachutist and tegt pilot. "The attempt Will take place over Salisbury Plain in a few Weelcs' timi and I shall make * humerous practice drops first, increasing height each time," he said. "The longest delayed drop I havfe done is 19,800ft. Th« present unofficial record held by Russia is approximately 81,000ft. "A stop-watoh is being made for me which checks my rate of fall in unite of 5000ft. for the first 20,000ft., then in hundreds Of feet. For 150 second? I ehall fall at about 200 miles §n hour, deCreased to about 170 mileis an hour in the denser atmosphere nearer the ground. "A new kind of oxygen mask hap been desigiied fdr me, afid I will carry my own oxygen cylinder. There will be Only sufficient oxygen to last me for about two ahd a-hhlf miniites, is6 t mu»t take the greatest ckre no,t te npen my parachufe too soon."