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THE SKETCHER.A MIGHTY JUMP.WALLING rfiOM A B MI OUT OF I.COO WBMT.A novelty bu bten supplied to the lovers of excitement Whether ll fail* under the bead of aeronautics, gymoMtloe, or aim ply darina doe* not mm «uy to determine. It certainly Involves all three, although tbe man who sapplioa tbe novelty b as cool ie if bo were folding a napkin.Porhapo an explanation of tbo faat may enable tbo reader to appreciate bettor bow it thou Id be determined. A young fellow, tt yearn of ego, aecende, by meaoe of a balloon, eomotltnea ae high ae 6,000 feet, throw, him •elf over from the basket, and drope to the ground. Happily be ie ambled by apara-chute, or elee ha would bare dropped but once, and that onoe wonld have been too often.Tbomaa B. Baldwin, of Qulnoey, III, U the name of the young man. He travelled for revere! yean with a oiroue an a profeenioaal gymnast; then took to tigbt-iope walking and finally to ballooning. Hla firat jump from a balloon waa made In January of thte year, at dan Fmncieco. He jemped from abright of 1,000 fret. Thb wae enough * thrill 26,000 people, bat it wan only the mode at beginning. At Byrecoae, September I ait, he had attained an ebvatioo of 9,000 fret before be switched off on the penchate route.What be has to eay about thie feat wbbk be eo successfully practises may prove of intereet to the very large number who will never knOW» from experience what auoh * journey means.•'What led you into thb haaardoue kind of feet ! was quite a natural question to begin wltb. Well, I am fond of things that are daring, 1 have been a gymnast performer for some time, and aleo a tight rope walker. I wae very much Intorr.tod in ballooning, and account, which i read of several deacooto from them by mean, of parachutes took my fancy. \ Frenchman didie all right, bat an Englishman tried it and came to grief. Ha wae killed. The parachute collapsed. 1 gave the matter a good deal of thought, trying to work ont the thin*. Then 1 practised before attempting the very high jump. Thsre In scientific prlnoiple enough in the feat to sea what the affect ought to Le of snoh an experiment. But there la enough uncertainty about It to make It a little dangerous. There laalways the possibility of tbe parachute collapsing. and if it does that at any height, why It would be a miracle If a fellow etoaped death. He wonld get crashed to pieoee when he struck the ground.What sort of a parachute do yon nee T “I have ueed several kiuda. I have made them of Wamsutta moalin and without any libs. Sometimes they have seven or eight ribs. It ia about 18 feet to 18 feet la diameter. The cords wbioh are attached to it come down aud fasten to an Iron ring. The ring ie what 1 hold on to when I drop.“How is the psrachute arranged io the balloon?”*' It is fattened by the top to the side of the balloon so that the riog hang* somewhat below tbe top of the oar. It ia tied eo that the weight of my body when it bean on the fastenings breaks them loose, and the parachute ie free from the balloon.Well, tell me just how you make your arrangements.“ I get a good hold of the iron ring. That ia pretty important, you can bet It isn't easy to make any change on tbo way down, and if yon let so. why, then you won’t make any more jumps, that is all. Bat 1 am not afraid of losing my hold be cause 1 have not good enough grip. Hy hands are pretty strong, and 1 oao bold oq Well enough. The dangerous part of thte bolding on ia that my arms get strained eo through tbe wroncniog they got from the swaying motion, the oscillations, that sometimes tbe .train ia very great, and they become completely exhausted. After 1 have gripped on to the ring 1 get carefully over tho rim of tbo basket, and then drop. There Is no need to apricg out. It i. not so good, because the straighter down one goes the easier It is for the parachute to till out and be sustained by tbe air.”•' What are your sensations on tho way down r The firat 100 feet are the worst. TheBiachute dors not fill at oooo, aod so it ie o felling shier th.ough that And that ie another reasoo has to be made a little osrefully; might art turned ovor, end though, of oourre, if 1 bold on it will oome out all right; yet the wrench on my arms would be violent, and the thing would shake more. It shakes quite enough, 1 assure yoafc although 1 have Improved a little ora il in that respect. You can fancy what a fsM of ICO feet might be, though it h pretty barlt;k to imagine it if you have nevee been through, the thing. Tbe sensation is not altogether plraeant. It ie giddy stoking through the air. Tbe condensation of the atmosphere under tbe paraebnto, wbioh la shaped lias an nmbrella so ae to catch the air more readily, brings me up suddenly. It ia almost like a jerk, and to people looking at me f aaem to •top for a moment Aftos that the desoent ia more gradual, though It Is quite fast enough for ordinary pnrpoaes. Tbe rale of deeoeol ia about 1.200 feet a minute 1 have given the point of resistance wbioh tho paraohnte offers with a certain weight, aod when It le of a. certain diameter, a good deal oI study. 1 ha sensation is pleaeaal enough la summer.own through tbe Hr In that way I*l much apace, why the drop y: other wise IFloating down cool. It is something like ooming down a rapidly running elevator. Bat your legs are frte, and yon feel your bod? with nothingaround It The oscillations begin, however, end I am swayrd from side to elds Hk* a pendulum, Sometimes 1 have been swung out at an angle of 60 feet or 60 feet The top pert of tbe ptraebnto—tbo umbrella part-dora not sway in thia manner. If It Elk oat •II right there ie nothiog to fear there. But sometime* It does not, and then matters are liiklWt
Newspaper Details
Adelaide Observer
Adelaide, South Australia, AU
Sat, Jul 07, 1888
Page 1
Full Page
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Anonymous
DE 16 Dec 2023
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