A little more than 100 years back, parachutes were way different than what we are accustomed to now. These parachutes, known as the “attached” or “static” type, consisted of a pack that was fixed to the aircraft by a cord or rope that pulled the pack open and released the parachute as the jumper dropped from the plane.
As you might have guessed, such parachutes were bound to fail if the jump wasn’t completed perfectly. If released too close to the plane, it could get tangled. And the chances of failure were higher if the one using it employed it while escaping a damaged or out-of-control aircraft, thereby defeating its purpose. It was American aviator Floyd Smith who invented the manually operated parachute that has gone on to save many lives.
Joins the circus
James Floyd Smith, known more commonly as just Floyd, was born in Geneseo, Illinois in 1884. He moved to California as a young man and found work as a trapeze artist with the Flying Sylvesters, a circus troupe. It was during this time that he met Hilder, who joined the act after they were married.
The Smiths switched to aviation after five years in the circus. With money they had saved during their circus days, they studied aeronautics on their own and set about building a plane in 1912, less than a decade after the Wright Brothers had tasted their success.
Perform aerial stunts
When they returned to California a few years later, Floyd became a test pilot for Glenn L. Martin, an aeroplane designer and manufacturer of repute. Their circus experience meant that they got involved in barnstorming – travelling around the U.S. to perform aerial stunts for the gathered ground-based spectators.
Parachute jumps were one of the attractions and Hilder had a near-fatal experience during a jump over the Los Angeles Inner Harbour in 1914. On a windy April day, Hilder panicked when about to jump after looking down and seeing the ocean. Martin had piloted the aircraft beyond the harbour to ensure that the drift she would experience on the way down would be more manageable, unaware of the fact that Hilder wasn’t a swimmer.
A member of Major E.L. Hoffman’s research team makes a test jump at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, in May 1919. | Photo Credit: Batch upload
Lucky escape
Hilder reached back to grab the cockpit rail, but fell in a fast spin that twisted the lines of her parachute. Without a perfect jump, the parachute didn’t open properly. Spiralling downwards, Hilder somehow managed to get it open and had a lucky escape as she just about managed to reach land.
Her terrifying experience got Floyd thinking about a better parachute design. In addition to the safety aspect, Floyd was also aware that the increasing use of aeroplanes would only mean that better parachutes would also offer good business.
Simple design
He formed the Floyd Smith Aerial Equipment Company and filed for a patent in July 1918 for what he called “Floyd Smith Aerial Life Pack.” The first parachute to use a manually operated ripcord, it had a simple design: a single piece of waterproof fabric was wrapped around a silk parachute that was held together by rubber bands, which could be released when the jumper pulled the ripcord.
Floyd’s invention caught the attention of Major E.L. Hoffman, who was tasked with forming the parachute research team at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. in December 1918. After testing several designs, a slightly modified version of Smith’s invention was finalised.
Successful test jump
Following testing with dummies, they were ready for human trials. On April 28, 1919, Leslie Irvin, Floyd’s colleague and a member of Hoffman’s team, volunteered to make the first jump. Floyd, who was piloting the plane, levelled off at 1,500 feet and flew straight across McCook Field at nearly 100 miles per hour. Irvin jumped, pulled the ripcord, and landed safely to the delight of the gathered crowd.
Leslie Irvin | Photo Credit: Batch upload
Floyd applied for a patent for what he called the “Type A” model on the very same day. It served him well as the competition to commercially manufacture parachutes quickly heated up. Irvin himself became a rival as he set up Irving Air Chute Company (the “g” was mistakenly added to the name of the company when it was registered) and together with a silk manufacturer won the orders from the U.S. War Department.
Patent war
Images from the patent that Floyd filed on April 28, 1919, the day the first successful test took place. | Photo Credit: Batch upload
When Floyd sued Irvin’s company, the judge ruled that his patent indeed was valid and Irvin was an infringer, but there would be little in compensation as it was a government contract. Just when Floyd was preparing a suit against the U.S. itself, the government paid him handsomely, after which Floyd assigned the patent to Irving Air Chute Company.
Images from the patent that Floyd filed on April 28, 1919, the day the first successful test took place. | Photo Credit: Batch upload
Floyd spent much of his life innovating and inventing in the same field, coming up with the “Floyd Smith Safety Pack,” another parachute, and the “Floyd Smith Safety Seat,” which was a seat with a parachute that could be ejected during an emergency. When silk became difficult to obtain during World War II, it was Floyd’s company – Pioneer Parachute Company founded in 1938 in Manchester – that adopted nylon instead.
Along with his son Prevost, who also made important contributions in the world of parachutes, Floyd set up the Smith Parachute Company in San Diego in 1947. The company changed its name to Prevost F. Smith Parachute Company following Floyd’s death in 1956. Floyd, who had earned the nickname of “Mr. Parachute” during his lifetime, was inducted into the U.S.’ National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.
