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From: unx.sas.com!sasdvp@mcnc.org (David V. Phillips)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Airborne operations
Summary: New equipment for military jumpers
Message-ID: <1990Jul11.025428.23572@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 11 Jul 90 02:54:28 GMT
References: <1990Jul6.032802.27798@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul8.053437.7936@cbnews.att.com> <1990Jul9.023743.9581@cbnews.att.com>
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From: unx.sas.com!sasdvp@mcnc.org (David V. Phillips)
In article <1990Jul9.023743.9581@cbnews.att.com> jpulliam@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Jacqueline Pulliam) writes:

>Barring the return of gliders :-), paratroopers have five means of
>getting their equipment to the battlefield:  

>1.  Strapping it to themselves.  This works for the soldier's personal
>combat equipment (weapon, basic load of ammo, food and water, personal
>gear, etc), as well as some larger hand-held weapon systems, including
>machine guns and dragon missle launchers.  As an engineer, I've seen
>some pretty heavily-laden jumpers; but I've never seen anyone carry
>more than his own weight in equipment on a jump.

In the July 1990 issue (Vol. 10, No. 1, Issue #109) (how's *that* for a
reference! :-))  on page 34, there's a picture of a skydiver carrying a
large bundle.  The caption reads as follows:

    Jim Teters tests a SOVEC parachute system designed and built by the
    Relative Workshop in Florida.  SOVEC stands for "Special Operations
    Vector."  The system is derived on the company's Tandem Vector and
    allows a military parachutist to carry several hundred pounds of
    equipment or personnel.  

A couple of definitions.  'Vector' is the name brand of a parachute
container system built by the Relative Workshop.  'Tandem Vector' is a
system for two people, and one (VERY BIG) parachute.  With this system,
the 'pilot' carrys the main and reserve parachutes on his back,
and the passenger/student wears a harness that attaches to the pilot's
shoulders and hips.  

I've only seen pictures of military freefall jumpers, and with all of
the extra gear they are carrying, their terminal velocity is going to be
rather high, making for uncomfortable openings.  The tandem systems have
a drougue chute that is deployed soon after exit from the aircraft.
This chute reduces the terminal velocity of the two jumpers to that of a
single jumper (about 110 mph).

Now for a question about HALO operations.  If you've every been on the
ground when a number of parachutes open above you, you'll know that it
is not quiet.  Is this a factor that concerns the HALO jumpers?  Also,
do HALO/HAHO jumpers use ram-air parachutes, and if so, do they try to
stand up on landing or just do a parachute landing fall?  I presume that
most of these operations would be done at night...do you want a nice
moon or a moonless night?  On a moonlight night, you might be able to
stand up, but I don't think I'd want to try to flare to a stand-up on a
dark night.