Air Force the Official Service Journal - Air Force Historical Studies ...

Man picked up in photos above wears winter flying snit, parachute.
and spcCl:Il harucs» .rtt.uhcd to rope between poles. I Ie doubles up
The 1\.\J.' h:ls perfected a "luunuu pick-up" svstcm ".hich
oller, rnuucrou-, possibilities in the aerial rescue of men
in inaccessible tcr r.un .md behind cnrrnv lines.
The s:.stenl, resulting from extensive cxpcr iiucntut ion at
\\'right luk], enables a pilot to S\l.()(IP 10\\. over the grouJld,
hook a 11\.1on loop and pick up a man with less strain than a
p.uuch utc jump. ]':arh. experiments were conducted wit]:
duunu ics which frequently smashed hack ag:liJlst the ground
before the pick-up plane could g:lin altitude. l'crfcetioJl of
flight procedure finally eliminated the danger of the ground
s\ling.hack, and sheep were tried in later tcst-,
The ground equipment used ".as similar to that used for
glider snatches: two poles that supported a 11\.1on rope loop
wh ich \I.as attached to the strap harness of the sheep.
On September :;, I 9-f), Lt. Alexis Doster \las v.mkcd from
the grouJld, h nrtlccl through the air and safeh. pulled into a
Stinson Rcl i.mt. Licutcu.mt Doster thus hcc.un« the first
.rirliornc pedestri:1lI in history. lie reported th.it his seusa.
t iou ".:IS "a smooth wh ir of air around me and then the
ground disappeared undcnu.n th. If I h.ulut heard the wind
I woukln '! h.ivc kuown r \I:IS mO\ing."
l\lthough initial tests on cluuuu icx revealed a force of from
1() to 1-: (;s, changes in the to\l rope .md harness cut this to
., 12 to / Cs for less th.m two seconds. wcl] with in phvsical
safety nurgllls, :Ifter which the hraking system drops the C
force to 1./. As soon as the subject's bodv reaches the speed
of the to\ling pl.mc. the C drops to I ..,.
,\t the plTe.nt time, luun.m pick-up is limitecl to light.
wcigh t, Iliglil:. muncuvcrublr- airplanes although experiments
arc heing conducted to develop techniques for the usc of
this cquiprncnt witl: high speed combat planes, U
DECEMBER,1944
1
..
as plane hooks pick-up loop with gnidc pole hinged to fnselage and
hoists him .rt :;:; degree angle, thus prelTnting ground s\l.inghaek,
Pick-up plane uses nylon rope on clcctricnllv driven reel equipped
with automatic braking device to pull subject lip to plane's door.
When early tests prO\TCIthat chest tvpc pnr.ichutc-, caught on the
edge of .urplanc'« door sill, simplified back hpe chutes were adopted.
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