Something else for you old farts to sit around Ft Bragg watering holes and bitch about. :>)
lindybill@backintheday.com
New Parachute for Airborne Soldiers [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]
Those of us who've attended "jump school" at any time since the Korean War (I actually went through the three-week, five-jump program in 1980) are familiar with the static-line T-10 parachute. All Airborne-qualified soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines cut their teeth on the T-10 (also for me, the MC1-1B).
According to the U.S. Army's website, that's about to change:
Beginning in 2008, all T-10 parachutes in the Army inventory for more than 50 years will be replaced with the Advanced Tactical Parachute System (ATPS) T-11. Although the T-10 is a proven system, today's paratroopers face increased requirements beyond the T-10's design.
The new T-11 parachute will support more weight (soldiers today carry more equipment than they did in the 1950s). The chute will deploy more smoothly, and its slower rate-of-descent will mean fewer incidents of "crash and burn."
Under the current fielding plan, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the Rigger School and the Airborne School will receive the T-11 in 2008-09. The 82nd Airborne Division will receive the new parachute in 2009-11 and T-10s will be replaced Armywide by 2014.
The Army provides basic parachute training for all services at the U.S. Army Airborne School, Fort Benning, Georgia.
tank.nationalreview.com |
