16. The Stubborn Would-be Parachutist
There is a line between being crazy about something, and just being plain crazy. Austrian-born French tailor Franz Reichelt (1879 – 1912), who was fascinated with flight since childhood, crossed that line. After the invention of the airplane, he wanted to invent a device that would allow pilots to return safely to the ground in case of an emergency. His determination grew in 1911, when the Aero Club de France offered a 10,000 Franc prize to the first inventor of a successful parachute. Reichelt’s design took the form of a suit featuring a cloak with a big silken hood. It weighed about twenty pounds, and had a surface area of around 340 square feet.
Reichelt tested his design several times on dummies that he threw out of his fifth-floor apartment, but without success. Despite the repeated failures, he petitioned the Paris police for permission to test his invention on a dummy from the Eiffel Tower. When he got the permit, he proceeded to drum up interest among journalists and the public to witness the test at 8 AM, February 4, 1912. On the appointed day, Reichelt arrived wearing his parachute suit to be met by a crowd of onlookers gathered at the Eiffel Tower, and a cordoned off drop zone.