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Smitty The Jumper
H. Truesdell Smith—known variously as "H. T. Smith", "Henry Truesdell Smith", "Harold Truesdell Smith", or "Daredevil Smitty" but best known as "Smitty the Jumper"—was an American exhibition parachutist and skydiver of the 1920s and 1930s. He made periodic returns to skydiving starting in the late 1950s, jumping in every subsequent decade until his death, becoming widely known as "the oldest living skydiver", a title he claimed until his death in 1995 at the age of 96.Powell, Chuck"Remembering Smitty" article photocopied from unknown magazine (possibly ''The Wichitan'') dated October 1995, on the website ''Skydive Kansas'', as downloaded November 17, 2014Garrity JohnThe Vault: "Things Have A Way Of Falling Into Place For A Jaunty Octogenarian" Originally posted April 21, 1986, '' Sports Illustrated,'' as downloaded November 17, 2014 U.L. Gooch, pilotLetter: "Smitty the Jumper" ''Flying Magazine,'' May 1960, page 8Billam, Thomas D., United Press International (UPI), Wichita, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachutist
Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For human skydiving, it may involve a phase of more or less free-falling (the skydiving segment) which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity. For cargo parachuting, the parachute descent may begin immediately, such as a parachute-airdrop in the lower atmosphere of Earth, or be significantly delayed, such as in a planetary atmosphere where an object is descending "under parachute" following atmospheric entry from space, and may begin only after the hypersonic entry phase and initial deceleration that occurs due to friction with the thin upper atmosphere. History Common uses Parachuting is performed as a recreational activity and a competitive sport, and is widely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who can exit from an aircraft at height and descend safely to earth. A parachute is usually made of a light, strong fabric. Early parachutes were made of silk. The most common fabric today is nylon. A parachute's canopy is typically dome-shaped, but some are rectangles, inverted domes, and other shapes. A variety of loads are attached to parachutes, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and bombs. History Middle Ages In 852, in Córdoba, Spain, the Moorish man Armen Firman attempted unsuccessfully to fly by jumping from a tower while wearing a large cloak. It was recorded that "there was enough air in the folds of his cloak to prevent great injury when he reached the ground." Early Renaissance The earliest evid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maize, Kansas
Maize is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,735. The name Maize, derived from a Native American word for "corn", was named because it is located within the Corn Belt. History The Maize Town Company, led by N. F. Neiderlander, founded Maize in 1886 at the first stop outside of Wichita on the Wichita and Colorado Railway. The post office opened that same year as did the town's first church, having relocated from nearby. Maize's first school opened in 1887; its first newspaper opened in 1895. Maize State Bank, the town's first financial institution, opened in 1901, and, by 1908, a business community had emerged. In 1915, the Maize Town Company dissolved, and Maize was incorporated as a city. Several natural disasters struck Maize in the 1930s and 1940s, including the Dust Bowl in 1934–35, a plague of grasshoppers in 1936, and a flood in 1944. Maize began to grow rapidly in 1950 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River. Wichita began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and was incorporated as a city in 1870. It became a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to Kansas railroads, earning it the nickname "Cowtown".Miner, Prof. Craig (Wichita State Univ. Dept. of History), ''Wichita: The Magic City'', Wichita Historical Museum Association, Wichita, KS, 1988Howell, Angela and Peg Vines, ''The Insider's Guide to Wichita'', Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing, Wichita, KS, 1995 Wyatt Earp served as a police officer in Wichita for around one year before going to Dodge City. In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and aeronautical engineers established aircraft manufacturing companies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sky King
''Sky King'' was an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. King usually captured criminals and spies and found lost hikers, though he did so with the use of his airplane, the ''Songbird''. Two twin-engine Cessna airplanes were used by King during the course of the TV series. The first was a Cessna T-50 and in later episodes a Cessna 310B was used till the series's end.Godlewski, Me"Flying ''Songbird III''" ''General Aviation News'' (September 22, 2009). The 310's make and model type number was prominently displayed during the closing titles. King and his niece Penny lived on the Flying Crown Ranch, near the fictitious town of Grover, Arizona. Penny's brother Clipper also appeared during the first season. Penny and Clipper were also pilots, although they were inexperienced and looked to their uncle for guidance. Penny was an accomplished air racer, rated as a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville is the tenth-largest city in Arkansas, United States and the county seat of Benton County. The city is centrally located in the county with Rogers adjacent to the east. The city is the birthplace of and world headquarters location of Walmart, the world's largest retailer. It is one of the four main cities in the three-county Northwest Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ranked 105th in terms of population in the United States with 546,725 residents in 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau. The city itself had a population of 54,164 at the 2020 Census, an increase of 53% from the 2010 Census. Bentonville is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in the state and consistently ranks amongst the safest cities in Arkansas. History Early history The area now known as Bentonville's first known use by humans was as hunting grounds by the Osage Nation who lived in Missouri. The Osage would leave their settlements to hunt in present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reserve Parachute
Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For human skydiving, it may involve a phase of more or less free-falling (the skydiving segment) which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity. For cargo parachuting, the parachute descent may begin immediately, such as a parachute- airdrop in the lower atmosphere of Earth, or be significantly delayed, such as in a planetary atmosphere where an object is descending "under parachute" following atmospheric entry from space, and may begin only after the hypersonic entry phase and initial deceleration that occurs due to friction with the thin upper atmosphere. History Common uses Parachuting is performed as a recreational activity and a competitive sport, and is w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing-walking
Wing walking is the act of moving along the wings of an aeroplane (most commonly a biplane) during flight, sometimes transferring between planes. It originated as a daredevil stunt in the aerial barnstorming shows of the 1920s, and became the subject of several Hollywood movies. An early exponent was Ormer Locklear, who was killed performing a dive on film. Charles Lindbergh began his aviation career as a wing walker. Early development The earliest known instance of standing on the wing of a powered aircraft was an experimental flight in England involving a biplane built by Colonel Samuel Franklin Cody on 14 January 1911. At Laffan's Plain, Cody took his two stepsons for a flight, with them standing on the lower wing. In August 1913, Commandant Felix locked the controls of his "Nieuport-Dunne" biplane over France and climbed out along the lower wing, leaving the plane to fly itself. An early wing walker who performed daring stunts was American Ormer Locklear. In November 1918, Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage language, a Dhegiha Siouan language, and referred to their relatives, the Quapaw people. The state's diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U.S. Interior Highlands, to the densely forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 34th most populous state, with a population of just over 3 million at the 2020 census. The capital and most populous city is Little Rock, in the central part of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, including the Fayetteville� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by both List of U.S. states and territories by area, area (after Alaska) and List of U.S. states and territories by population, population (after California). Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, states of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest; and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Houston is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas and the List of United States cities by population, fourth-largest in the U.S., while San Antonio is the second most pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New Mexico on the west, and Colorado on the northwest. Partially in the western extreme of the Upland South, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-most extensive and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 28th-most populous of the 50 United States. Its residents are known as Oklahomans and its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City. The state's name is derived from the Choctaw language, Choctaw words , 'people' and , which translates as 'red'. Oklahoma is also known informally by its List of U.S. state and territory nicknames, nickname, "Sooners, The Sooner State", in reference to the settlers who staked their claims on land before the official op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. The tribe's name (natively ') is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. The first Euro-American settlement in Kansas occurred in 1827 at Fort Leavenworth. The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery deba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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