golfier experimented at Annonay before he constructed
his first hot air-balloon, and in 1783 a certain Lenormand dropped from
a tree in a parachute. Blanchard the balloonist made a spectacle
of parachuting, and made it a financial success; Cocking, in 1836,
attempted to use an inverted form of parachute; taken up to a height
of 3,000 feet, he was cut adrift, when the framework of the parachute
collapsed and Cocking was killed.

The rate of fall is slow in parachuting to the ground. Frau Poitevin,
making a descent from a height of 6,000 feet, took 45 minutes to reach
the ground, and, when she alighted, her husband, who had taken her up,
had nearly got his balloon packed up. Robertson, another parachutist is
said to have descended from a height of 10,000 feet in 35 minutes, or
at a rate of nearly 5 feet per second. During the War Brigadier-General
Maitland made a parachute descent from a height of 10,000 feet, the time
taken being about 20 minutes.

The parachute was developed considerably during the War period, the main
requirement, that of certainty in opening, being considerably developed.
Considered a necessary accessory for kite balloons, the parachute was
also partially adopted for use with aeroplanes in the later War period,
when it was contended that if a machine were shot down in flames, its
occupants would be given a far better chance of escape if they had
parachutes. Various trials were made to demonstrate the extreme
efficiency of the parachute in modern form, one of them being a descent
from the upper ways of the Tower Bridge to the waters of the Thames, in
which short distance the 'Guardian Angel' type of parachute opened and
cushioned the descent for its user.

For dirigibles, balloons, and kite balloons the parachute is an
essential. It would seem to be equally essential in the case of
heavier-than-air machines, but this point is still debated. Certainly
it affords the occupant of a falling aeroplane a chance, no matter how
slender, of reaching the ground in safety, and, for that reason, it
would seem to have a place in aviation as well as in aerostation.

PART IV. ENGINE DEVELOPMENT

I. THE VERTICAL TYPE

The balloon was but a year old when the brothers Robert, in 1784
attempted propulsion of an aerial vehicle by hand-power, and succeeded,
to a certain extent, since they were able to make progress when there
was only a slight wind to counteract their work. But, as may be easily
understo