A parachute is simply a big umbrella that creates air re+sistance. It is possible only with a parachute that man may drift down through the air slowly to avoid injuries when striking the ground. The first man to use a parachute is believed to be a Frenchman called J.P. Balanchard. In 1785, he attached parachute to a basket in with a dog in it and dropped it from a balloon high in the air. However, Balanchard himself claimed in 1793 that he descended from a balloon in a parachute, breaking his leg upon landing.
Another Frenchmen, J. Garneirn was the first man to use a parachute regularly. On 22 October, 1797 he successfully jumped from a height of more than 600 meters with his parachute in Paris. His parachute was made of white canvas, and was about 7 meters in diameter. There was about 25 centimeters across disk-shaped wooden piece in the centre of the canopy. There was a hole in it to allow air to escape from the canopy. Many short piece of tape were use to fasten the wooden piece to the canvas.
In 1912, Captain Berry at St. Louis, Missouri successfully used a parachute in a descent from a moving airplane. However, practical aspects of its utility to escape from airplanes were yet to be considered when World War I started in 1914. The associated problem included partly the size of parachutes used and the fear that the pilot wouldn’t be able to clear the plane and escape fouling of the parachute.
