FIRE RESISTANT MATERIALS FOR PERSONNEL PARACHUTE PACKS

Escape from burning aircraft has been extremely uncertain because of intense that damage to personnel parachutes. The ability of various heat resistant materials to withstand 1200 deg F for 10 to 12 seconds was investigated along with their weights, strengths, abrasion resistance, and ease of fabrication. After several unsatisfactory tests of available materials, a solution to the problem seemed to depend on a breakthrough in synthetic fibers. In fire tests of a new experimental temperature resistant polymeric fiber, HT-1, the outer layer of HT-1 was burned or charred away, but the inner layer was completely intact. The nylon canopy had two small fused spots, no darkened areas, and no damage to the suspension lines, and has been satisfactorily drop tested twice since the fire test. (Author-PL).