Parachute

It was decided by Colin Nicol BC to dispose of some of the older pyramid tents. By sewing 3 tent inners together I made a parachute of sorts, the unlikely idea being to paraglide behind a skidoo. Once the job was done I tested it out by attaching it to the front of a toboggan, made from old skidoo runners and wood, (also used for great sport by towing it behind a skidoo which was then driven at high speed). It was a breezy day but not too blowy, I sat on the toboggan, lifted the risers of the 'chute so it caught the wind, inflated and.... away went the sled at great speed leaving me sat on the bondu and the sled and chute about 100yds away. Other efforts were rewarded with high speed short distance bursts before the chute would deflate. Tried tying it to a skidoo to see how it behaved but it was not stable enough to stay airborne, despite cutting holes in it for stability and lift, so left the idea on 'hold' until I could ponder on it some more. Pete Cavanagh said at the time he would have a go at being hooked up and towed behind a doo, but common sense prevailed and we gave up on the idea. Don't know what happened to the chute after that, but it was fun for a while. The pictures below show testing outside the garage.

[26 August 2006 ]