The Caterpillar Club The silk worm is a caterpillar; until 1941, parachute canopies were made of silk. Aviators who used parachutes to escape disabled aircraft were awarded a small gold Caterpillar pin and were inducted into the Caterpillar Club. This presentation traces the origin of the Caterpillar Club and recounts the fascinating stories of people who were saved by a parachute. For example, you will discover how a future president of the U.S. was saved by a parachute in WW-II and how Charles Lindberg joined the Club four times before making his historic trans-Atlantic flight. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Club Dan Poynter is past president of the Parachute Industry Association, past chairman of the Board of the U.S. Parachute Association and past president of the International Hang Gliding Commission. He has written more than 120 books; seven on parachutes and skydiving. A pilot, skydiver and master parachute rigger, this Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) is a frequent speaker at aviation and other events.

1. with Dan Poynter, D-454
© 2010
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2. The Role of Parachutes in
Early Aviation

Aviation engineers helped people to fly
Most flights had one takeoff and one landing
 Aircraft accomplishments have been well
documented


Parachute engineers helped people to land
When the aircraft failed
 Parachute successes are documented by the
Caterpillar Club

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3. What is the Caterpillar Club?
Who is eligible?
Any person who saves
his or her life jumping
from a disabled aircraft
with a parachute.
Does it exist today?
An association no one wants to join
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4. First Save from a Plane
1922: Lt. Harold Harris saves his life jumping from an airplane.
He used a
manually-operated
parachute
He follows subtitle
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5. The Founders - 1922



Milton St.
Clair, Government
parachute engineer
Maurice
Hutton, Aviation
editor, Dayton Herald
Verne
Timmerman, photogr
apher, Dayton Herald
N: More. (Same slide)
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6. The Founders



Milton St.
Clair, Government
parachute engineer
Maurice
Hutton, Aviation
editor, Dayton Herald
Verne
Timmerman, photogr
apher, Dayton Herald
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7. Irvin
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8. Switlik
 Switlik
founded in 1920
 Began manufacturing
parachutes in 1927
 Founded their own Club
in 1943
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9. Pioneer


Began business in 1938
Caterpillar plaques
for the packers
not the users
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10. Club Growth was Slow at First
Parachutes could not be manufactured
fast enough to equip all pilots
 Pilots preferred not to use them




(Like AADs in the early days)
High-weight, high-volume.
Aircraft not designed for them
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11. Roster of the Caterpillar Club
No. DATE
1919
1 July 21
2 July 21
1920
3 August 24
NAME
RANK
PLACE
NOTE
Henry Wacker
John Boettner
Civilian
Civilian
Chicago
Chicago
Balloon
Balloon
William O'Connor
Civilian
Dayton
Balloon
-----------------------Caterpillar Club Established---------------------------1922
4 Oct. 20
5 Nov. 11
1924
6 April 23
7 May 13
8 June 5
9 June 13
10 June 18
11 July 11
12 August 29
13 August 29
14 Oct. 16
15 Nov. 4
Harold R. Harris
Frank B. Tyndall
1st Lt. Air Corps
1st Lt. Air Corps
McCook Field 1st Plane
Seattle, Wash.
Wilfred Bottomfield
Eugene H. Barksdale
Will W. White
Walter Lees
John A. Macready
A. R. Crawford
W. E. Goggin
L. L. Koontz
W. M. Coles
W. E. Lynd
Civilian, Demo Jumper
1st Lt. Air Corps
2nd Lt. Air Corps
Lieut. A C Reserve
1st Lt. Air Corps
2nd Lt. Air Corps
Private Air Corps
1st Lt. Air Corps
Gunner U. S. Navy
Captain Air Corps
San Antonio, Tex.
Fairfield, 0hio.
Kelly Field, Tex.
Dayton, Ohio.
Dayton, Ohio.
Kelly Field, Tex.
Bolling Field, DC.
Bolling Field, DC.
Coronado, Calif.
Kelly Field, Tex.
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12. Balloon
Jumpers
1,2 & 3, Wacker, Boettner and O’Connor, were grandfathered in 9 years later.
They had jumped from a blimp, The Wingfoot Express, over Chicago.
The record of their jumps had been forgotten.

Many jumped from balloons in WW-I; some jumped from planes.
Their records were lost.

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13. 1925
16
March 5
C. D. McAllister
2nd Lt. Air Corps
Kelly Field, Tex.
17* March 5
Chas. A. Lindbergh Cadet Air Corps
Kelly Field, Tex.
18
March 20
Frank O'D. Hunter
1st Lt. Air Corps
Dayton
19
April 6
C. V. Mix
Sgt. Marine Corps
Quantico, Va.
20
April 10
J. Thad Johnson
1st Lt. Air Corps
Eaglesmere, Pa.
21
May 29
C. H. Schildhauer
Lieut. U. S. Navy
Lakehurst, N. J.
17* June 2
Chas. A. Lindbergh 2nd Lt. A. C. Res.
St. Louis, Mo.
22
June 28
Mrs. Irene McFarland Civilian
Cincinnati, 0.
23
August 17
Kirtley J. Gregg
2nd Lt. Air Corps
Lavernia, Tex.
24
October 1
F. 0. Rogers
Capt. U.S. Marines
Langley Field, Va.
25
October 10
Fred C. Nelson
1st Lt. Air Corps
St. Louis, Mo.
26
Nov. 11
Leonard S. Flo
2nd Lt. A. C. Res.
Wright Field, 0hio.
27
Nov. 11
John McGlynn
Private Air Corps
Wright Field, 0hio.
* = When they qualified again, they kept their original ranking numbers
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14. 1926
28
(Date ?)
J. T. Coburn
Machinist Mate U.S.N.
San Diego, Calif.
18*
March 5
Frank O'D. Hunter
1st Lt. Air Corps
Selfridge Field, Mich.
7*
March 2
Eugene H. Barksdale 1st Lt. Air Corps
McCook Field, 0.
29
May 10
Horace M. Hickam
Major. Air Corps
Langley Field, Va.
30
May 10
Harold Geiger
Major Air Corps
Langley Field, Va.
31
June 2
S. E. Ingersoll
Lieut. U. S. Navy
Pensacola, Fla.
32
June 17
J. T. Hutchison
1st Lt. Air Corps
McCook Field, 0.
33
June 17
Paul Stanley
Civilian Observer
McCook Field, 0.
34
July 5
Walter M. Williams Capt. Nat'l Guard
Nashville, Tenn.
35
July 5
John W. MacKenzie 2nd Lt. Nat'l Guard
Nashville, Tenn.
36
July 24
Victor E. Bertrandias 1st Lt. Air Corps
Baltimore, Md.
37
August 8
John I. Moore
Georgetown, Tex.
17*
Sept. 16
Chas. A. Lindbergh Air Mail Pilot
Ottawa, Ill.
38
Sept. 17
C.L. Williams
Hawaii
17*
Nov. 3
Chas. A. Lindbergh Air Mail Pilot
1st Lt. Air Corps
1st Lt. Air Corps
Covell, Ill.
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* = When they qualified again, they kept their original ranking numbers

15. Charles Lindbergh


N: More
Made demo
jumps to pay for
flying lessons.
As a test
pilot, he jumped
twice
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16. He Flew the Mail and
Joined the Club 2 More Times
Lindbergh (in the cockpit) and
Frank Robertson (in his flying suit)
taking the mail to Chicago in 1928. PIA

17. Fay Gillis Wells
 Second woman Caterpillar, 1929.
 Co-founder of the Ninety-Nines
 Passed away at 94 in 2002
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18. The Club Grew
1922: 5
1925: 27
1926: 40
1927: 78
1928: 120
1930: 210
--WW-II-1946: >100,000 (estimated) saved.
34,000 joined the Irvin Club.
1950: 80,000 in the Irvin Club.
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19. Jimmy Doolittle’s Membership
 Four emergency bailouts.
 The last: April 18, 1942 over China when his B-25 ran
out of fuel after his historic raid over Tokyo.
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20. The Best Silk Came From Japan
Silent Film Caption
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21. Weaving Silk Fabric
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22. George Bush (41)
 Switllik QAS. Canopy made
of silk from Japan.
 This Caterpillar jumped
again
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23. Nylon
1938: DuPont announces nylon
1941: Japan cuts off silk supply
1942: Other countries tried linen,
hemp, Rayon, etc.
U.S. switched to nylon
Betty Grable
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24. Worm Spit or Coal?
Should the pin be changed?
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25. The Sport of Parachuting

1950s: A Sport is Born


Rapid growth
Question?
Are sport parachutists eligible to join?
 Pilots use a plane and a parachute.
 Skydivers use a main and a reserve
Each has two means of escape:
One primary and one secondary
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26. The Skydiver’s Handbook
Not Just a How-to Book
A Have-to Book for a
Must-do sport
(Commercial message)
N: Everyone is reading
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27. Everyone reads
The Skydiver’s Handbook
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28. Do Skydivers Qualify?

Jumped from aircraft (balloons) not airplanes


2. John Boettner 1919


1. Henry Wacker 1919
3. William O’Connor
1920
Demo jumper using a reserve parachute

6. Wilifred Bottomfield

1924
Neither a pilot nor member of the crew
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29. What is the
Membership Criteria?
Any person who saves his or her life jumping
from a disabled aircraft with a parachute.

Life must be “saved”


Deploying a reserve from a minor malfunction of
the main does not count
Is a parachute an aircraft?

If a balloon is an aircraft, isn’t a canopy an
aircraft?
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30. Don’t Skydivers Qualify?

The skydiver of today who must use a
reserve has as much right to membership
as:


Stunt jumpers in the 1920s
All airmen who have bailed out since
(Old Skydivers Never Die. They go to a Higher Plane)
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31. 8 July 03
Dear Dan
Irvin does still run the Irvin Caterpillar Club and maintain their records.
We do still accept new members (they must provide proof of bail out)
and we provide replacement pins and cards for existing members.
Records for North America are maintained here at our offices in
Belleville, Ontario, Canada, and the rest are located at our UK offices.
Hope this helps.
Let me know if you require any more specific information.
Yours Sincerely
Eileen Carlton
Secretary
Irvin Caterpillar Club
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32. Do We Care?

The original purpose was to
bring attention to the value
of a parachute
Is there a need now?
 Does recognizing that
reserves work demonstrate
that mains can fail?

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33. The Role of the Parachute

Saved many of the pioneers


Allowed them to continue their work
Still saving aviators today
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34. Tough Ways to Join the Club
A: 1930
B: 1962
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35. Thunderbird F-16 Ejection
Sept 2003, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
Once-in-a-lifetime photograph
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36. Split-S
AGL v MSL. 2,500 v 1,500 (1,670’)
“Knock it off” = code for big problem
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37. 250 mph, 140’ high
8/10th second from impact
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38. From Inside the Cockpit
Watch for the end
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39. See Ejecting Pilot
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40. —100 feet—
See Photographer on Tower Catwalk
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Plane stopped 100’ short of tower

41. Thunderbird F-16 Ejection
Let’s look at that ejection again
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42. 1945
N: End
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43. Caterpillar Club
Membership for Life
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