General Information

Serial #

62226

Part Number

1

Total Parts

1

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

An object made of nylon, metal and wood elements.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

650.0 cm

Width

398.0 cm

Height

25.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Personal gear

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Irvin

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Fort Erie

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

This artifact was used between 1966 and 1967.

Canada

This parachute is an experimental steerable parachute designed in Canada between 1962 and 1963 by Irvin Chute. It is number 28 out of the 32 that was made for field testing in 1966. The Department of National Defence issued a contract to the company to replace the non-steerable parachute used at the time by the military. Faults in the nylon fabric were identified as the cause of tears in the parachute and the whole batch was taken out of use around 1967 and sent to the NRC laboratory for testing.

Function

This artifact was used to bring a person safely to the ground after jumping out of an airplane.

Technical

This experimental steerable parachute has a hemispherical canopy with slots that can be operated by the jumper. As such, it is representative of the research conducted in the 1950s and 60s in various countries to develop parachutes that would allow paratroopers to better control their landing spots. The parachute opens to a diameter of 26 feet when fully deployed. The parachute on its own without the body harness or chute pack weighed 13 kgs or roughly twenty pounds. The colour of the chute is named “International orange”.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

On one of the feet of the parachute canopy/Sur un des pieds de la voilure de parachute:"28", On another foot of the parachute canopy/Sur un autre des pieds de la voilure de parachute:"2". Number found beside each thread attached to the feet of the parachute canopy/À côté de chaque fil attaché aux pieds de la voilure du parachute:"On the white side of the parachute/Sur le côté blanc du parachute:"PROTOTYPE NO. 2/ MANUFACTURED BY IRVIN AIR CHUTE LTD./ SERIAL NO. 62226/ DATE 7/66/ IAC 3".

Missing

The artifact is missing its body harness and chute pack.

Finish

An orange and white parachute made of nylon. It has metal D rings as well as white nylon cording lines. Some wooden fasteners also slide into metal rings. A white nylon fabric is also visible on the feet of the canopy that could possibly go towards the risers. Some numbers have been written in ink on the canopy feet.

Decoration

N/A