Silk Parachute, made by Charles Broadwick

Georgia “Tiny” Broadwick donated this parachute, which was handmade by Charles Broadwick and consists of 110 yards of silk, to the Museum. Broadwick said that unlike modern parachutes, which are shaped from bias strips to give them the strength to withstand jumps from speeding aircraft without tearing, this parachute is shaped from straight pieces of material as the back-pack parachute was used for exhibition jumps in the early-1900s.