MORE "CATERPILLAR CLUB" MEMBERS

MORE ” CATERPILLER CLUB MEMBERS

AMONG the many devices connected with aviation which have been brought to a high state of efficiency, during the past decade is the parachute,

and from being an apparatus which was looked upon at one time with distrust, it is now recognised as an infallible and highly-important part of the aerial wayfarer’s equipment. For several years the Irvin air chute has been used exclusively in the Royal Air Force, and to date over 80 members of the Service have saved their lives by means of Irvin chutes. By so doing they have become automatically members of that most distinguished body, the Caterpillar Club. This club was conceived by Mr. L. Irvin, and membership is open to all ; there is one stipulation however, and that is that those who are enrolled must have saved their lives by means of an Irvin. And now well over 500 fortunates are” Caterpillars” and possessors of the club’s emblem—a caterpillar tiepini

Hitherto parachutes have been used almost exclusively for military aviation, and while the ethergency, fortunately, seldom arises in private flying in which a jump is vitally necessary, amateur pilots are coining round to the view that to live up to the slogan “be prepared” they must carry a parachute.

To meet the requirements of the light aeroplane user, a new type has been placed on the market by the Irvin Company. Technically, this is almost identical with the Standard Irvin Pack model ; its rate of descent is 21 feet per second, and it opens in one and three-fifths seconds. The price is M.