VL-IV 1: The Cucumber Lounge, pgs 9/10

[Robin Landseadel]

Exxxxcelent. . .

On Dec 5, 2008, at 8:58 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:

> One Van Meter:
>
> Who is Solomon Lee Van Meter, Jr.?. . .
. . .His self-contained device featured a revolutionary quick-release  
mechanism—the ripcord—that allowed a falling aviator to expand the  
canopy only when safely away from the disabled aircraft. In 1916,  
based on drawings and models, Van Meter was granted two patents on  
“inventions for saving the lives of aviators by the use of  
parachutes.” . . .