A Heritage Moment


Embry-Riddle and Parachute Jumping in the Late 1920s

ParachutistIn 1927, John Paul Riddle brought an expert, F.G. Manson, from Wright Field in Dayton (today's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) to train members of his new company. The first to jump, Riddle said afterwards that it was "a thrill indeed, the highest dive I ever made." Although extremely nervous, T. Higbee Embry likewise jumped, feeling "comfortable all over, and perhaps a bit superior" after his parachute opened.

Soon after, the Embry-Riddle Flying School added parachute jumping to the students' curriculum. Manson instructed the students in the manufacture, maintenance and packing of a parachute. The next year, 35 students, 23 of whom had already parachuted, visited Wright Field for the first of what would become monthly visits to hear lectures on parachuting. Students with advanced pilot training flew aircraft with primary students as passengers. Their instructor was Milton St. Clair, who headed the parachute division. St. Clair told the students that tests revealed that a human or dummy attained a speed of "212 miles per hour no matter how long the drop." Thus, whether jumping out of aircraft at 10,000 or 20,000 feet, a person would not be injured when their parachute opened.

In 1928 and 1929, students from the parachute section performed jumps during special aviation events at Lunken Field in Cincinnati. In September 1928, when Embry-Riddle sponsored an air show there, students parachuted from a plane piloted by John Paul Riddle. Years later, he referred to this event as "one of the first mass parachute jumps in history." In August 1929, the Embry-Riddle Co. advertised an evening of exhibition flights by Flying School students, and "aerial excursions by moonlight." The night event included not only parachute drops, but also an attempt to set a world's record for a "delayed parachute jump." Rex Harker, of the Embry-Riddle Co., was to jump from 7,000 feet and not open his parachute until he was 2,000 feet above the ground.

-- By Stephen G. Craft

Help Embry-Riddle Preserve Its Heritage

"A Heritage Moment" is a series about Embry-Riddle's rich history, featuring memories, photographs, and mementoes submitted by alumni, friends, and others who have had a connection with the institution, from its earliest days as a flight school at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, through its emergence as a global university.

If you or someone you know has stories to tell or artifacts, photos, or documents to share for the Embry-Riddle Heritage Project, we want to hear from you today. Contact Robert Rockett at (386) 226-6026 or rockettr@erau.edu or visitwww.erau.edu/er/abouterau/heritage_project.html.