Taking it all apart
Published Fri, Mar 14, 2008 4:00 PM
By BOB SOFALY
bsofaly@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5516

As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. But at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, if it comes down unexpectedly, it had better have a parachute attached to it.

And those parachutes, about 50 each year, are taken apart and every square inch of fabric and every millimeter of suspension line are inspected. Even the explosive buckles on the parachute harness are X-rayed to make sure they can automatically release their small charge when they come in contact with water.

The small charge releases the parachute from the pilot and activates an inflatable life preserver in case the pilot is unconscious, according to Sgt. Keith Lagasse of the Aviation Life Support Systems at the air station.

"These parachutes are on a 2,190-day inspection cycle. That's about every five and a half years," he said.

Lagasse said it takes three Marines about two and half days to inspect and reassemble the parachutes. If they can't be repaired or have reached the end of their service life of about 15 years, they are replaced.

"We used to launder the parachutes and hang them up to dry," Lagasse said. "But now we just replace them as they are needed."

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local...ry/220733.html

Ellie