» GEAR MUSEUM

A look at some of the equipment South Australian jumpers have used over the past 50 years.

Please send us photos and details of any old gear you used.  And if you still have it stored away somewhere, let us know – we'd like to mount a display of equipment through the years at the 50th anniversary celebrations.

The first piggyback

These days "fore and aft" has reverted to being a purely nautical term.

But for early jumpers, before the arrival of the piggyback, it referred to the standard rig – main on the back and reserve chest-mounted on the front.

When the Security Crossbow was first developed in 1964, it was a radical departure. Although accommodating a round main and a round reserve meant they were a hefty item.

The "ripcord stop" (shown in this photo), a sphere of lead cast around the ripcord cable between the first and second pins, was a common home-made addition to many rigs in those days, designed  to prevent the loss of the ripcord after opening.

However, the dangers of having a floating ripcord trailing behind during a reserve deployment persuaded most jumpers to eventually give the idea a miss.

In SA Col Parsons was one of the first to jump a pig in the late 60s, along with Peter O'Neill. Other early adopters who followed soon after included Bernie Keenan and Barry Maciness, a frequent visitor from Broken Hill. The four are pictured here showing off their rigs at the pig farm just north of the Lower Light DZ in the early 1970s. Note the low profile "blast-handle" reserve ripcord. The system also included a reserve static line.

Old aircraft altimeter

Before purpose-built skydiving altimeters came on the market jumpers needed to be resourceful in how they kept track of time in the sky.
Stopwatches were a popular tool but old aircraft altimeters, like this Pioneer, were frequently adapted.

Appropriate alert zones were hand painted onto the instrument face and the unit was usually fitted into a metal “dashboard” secured to the chest-mounted reserve container using the bungee pack opening assist bands.

These dashboards frequently carried a separate, adjacent hole suitable for fitting a stopwatch, which was handy as a back up to the alti, useful for self-timing your own style set in freefall, or as an aid to spotting (used to time the descent of drifters.)

Softer landings, ankles intact 

Flares were something on the end of your pants in the 1960s and 70s – not a technique designed to soften your landings.
When round canopies ruled, something more substantial than sneakers was called for as parachuting footware.

The so-called French boots (they were made in France) were a must-have item for the serious jumper.

Paraboots, selling at $29.50 a pair in 1970, were available in two styles. The “accuracy” version (pictured) had a thicker, cushioned sole to absorb vertical impact. The “style” model was a slightly lighter looking boot with a thinner sole. You’ve got to wonder why though – arriving on the ground under an old round canopy was just as hard, whether you’d just done a style set or not.

Both boots featured excellent ankle support – and they looked a hell of a lot cooler than the army surplus stuff otherwise in use.