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A parachute tower is a tower used for parachute training, often by members of a military
paratroop unit. A mixture of tower heights are used at different stages of training. Trainees typically begin on towers around in height in fall-arrest harnesses before progressing onto parachute descents from towers that can be in excess of . The use of towers allows trainees to practice their landing technique before jumping from an aircraft.
Use
Parachute towers are used to train people, particularly military paratroopers, in parachute jump technique. Towers are typically divided into low towers of approximately and high towers of around or higher. The shorter towers are used by trainees jumping in harnesses with a fall-restraint cable to simulate the exit from an aircraft and safe landing technique.
Trainees then pass onto the high tower jumps with parachutes.
[ The high tower typically has one or more arms at the top from which the trainee is winched up into the air and released to descend by parachute.] The parachutes used are specific variants developed for training and were originally modified commercial systems, though the US military later developed the Type J-I parachute specifically for high tower jumps.[
The high tower allows trainees to practice the "body landing" (or ]parachute landing fall
A parachute landing fall (PLF) is a safety technique that allows a parachutist to land safely and without injury. The technique is performed by paratroopers and recreational parachutists alike. The technique is used to displace the energy of the b ...
) technique, which is essential to avoid injuries such as broken legs or ankles.[ The high tower can also be used to carry out "shock harness drills", intended to simulate the initial shock of a parachute canopy opening. The trainee is hauled up into the air and dropped to free fall approximately before being brought to a complete stop.][ After high tower training is passed troops proceed onto aircraft jumps from an altitude of approximately .][ In the ]United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, five jumps from aircraft were sufficient to complete the course; the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
required trainees to undertake an additional two jumps from tethered balloons prior to jumping from aircraft.[
]
Military history
The first parachute tower in the United States was a tower in Ocean County, New Jersey, built by Stanley Switlik and first used by Amelia Earhart on 2 June 1935. The Parachute Jump
The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a , open- ...
ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair (later moved to Coney Island) was a parachute tower, though the United States Army parachute training centre at Fort Benning had only towers until 1941. Major William Lee of the United States Army, in charge of the training of the first 48-man platoon of US paratroopers, saw the Parachute Jump ride and constructed a similar tower at Fort Benning.[ Three further towers were later erected. Each stood high and had four arms—each of which could hoist a single paratrooper—that spanned .][
The ]Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
used the Parachute Tower Katowice for training. The tower was used as a vantage point on 4 September 1939 during the defence of the town from the German invasion. The story of its defence by Polish boy and girl scouts has been described as a "heroic myth". Some of the Polish Army escaped to the United Kingdom after the fall of Poland and was based at Largo House, Scotland.[ Here they constructed a parachute tower, the first to be built in the ]British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, which was used to train the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the Polish Armed Forces in the West under the command of Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, created in September 1941 during the Second World War and based in S ...
. The British military later constructed their own parachute tower (with capacity for two paratroopers) at RAF Ringway
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, which was moved to RAF Abingdon
Royal Air Force Abingdon or more simply RAF Abingdon was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps.
History
The airfield was opened in 1932, initially as ...
in 1950.
The USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
had a large number of parachute training towers, with 559 in operation by 1939. Japan had at least four in operation during the Second World War. The Turkish Aeronautical Association
Turkish Aeronautical Association ( tr, Türk Hava Kurumu - THK) is a non-profit organization with an aim of increasing public awareness and participation in aviation related activities and the national body governing air sports in Turkey. The asso ...
constructed two parachute towers in İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
and Ankara between 1935 and 1937 based on a Russian tower in use at Gorky Park. Rhodesia also had a parachute tower at New Sarum Air Force Base.
Fairground rides
As well as the original Parachute Jump at the 1939 World's Fair, there have been several other fairground rides based on a similar premise. The Pair-O-Chutes ride operated at Chicago's Riverview Park but was demolished in 1968. Parachute towers, known as "Parachute Drops" were developed by Intamin for the Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any a ...
theme parks. The Texas Chute Out
Texas Chute Out was a Intamin "parachute drop" ride that operated at Six Flags Over Texas. It closed on September 3, 2012.
History
When Texas Chute Out opened on April 10, 1976, the ride was a major engineering innovation at the park dominatin ...
operated at Six Flags Over Texas
Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre (86 ha) amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth and west of Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attractions. The park opened on August 5, ...
from 1976 to 2012; Great Gasp
The Great Gasp was a Intamin Paratower, a "Parachute Drop" ride, that towered over Six Flags Over Georgia for almost 30 years. It became a beacon for the park during this time. The ride was dismantled and removed from the park in 2005.
History
...
operated at Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located in Mableton, Georgia. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961.
Six Flags Over Georgia is one of three park ...
from 1976 to 2005 and Sky Chuter was at Six Flags Over Mid-America from 1978 to 1982. Sky Chuter was relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure, where it reopened in 1983 as Parachuter's Perch, and , it is still operational under the name "Parachute Training Center". Intamin also produced a "Parachute Drop" for Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...
in California in the late 1970s, which was named "Sky Jump". The parachute jump portion of the tower was removed but its observation tower remains in operation. Tokyo Dome City Attractions
is an amusement park located next to the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, and forms a part of the Tokyo Dome City entertainment complex. It opened in 1958, and was formerly known as until April 2003. It was one of the most popular amusemen ...
, Japan, has an Intamin parachute drop ride named Sky Flower.
References
External links
* {{Commons category-inline
Airborne military equipment
Military parachuting