Parachutes have to be made from a light strong material otherwise the considerable amount of cloth required to provide the necessary retarding area when open. will make a cumbersome pack, and space in a military airplane is at a premium, Experiments have been conducted with materials to supplant the use of silk for this purpose, among which was a special grade of linen that gave fairly satisfactory results. More recently. nylon has been under test, but the result of this experiment has not been made public. If the claims set forth concerning the use of this material for other Purposes are authentic. it would seem to have possibilities as material for parachutes.
Silk has long been the accepted material for parachutes, and when one has to launch himself into space, he wants the best obtainable parachute, hence the disinclination of aviators to accept another material is quite understandable, Tt seems fairly obvious, however, that the immense number of parachutes being used abroad at the present time cannot all be made of silk, and suggests that a satisfactory substitute has been developed.
Probably the Army and the Navy have accumulated large stocks of silk for parachutes and powder bags, but stores of this character which appear stupendous in time of peace. variably fall far short of war-time requi ments, The responsible authorities unquestio ably are fully aware of this fact. and undoubtedly are prepared to make substitutions for silk should the need arise. There has been no intimation that the Government is command deering all imports of Japanese silk, and until such a move is made, there would seem little Yeason to believe that the need for silk is exerting any influence upon the diplomatic policy of the United States.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.