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| | RAF instructors taught the trainee parachutists how to exit correctly from an
aircraft, how to control his parachute in the air and how to land correctly. Fuselages of Whitleys and Dakotas were positioned
in the hangars at Ringway and from these trainees jumped whilst learning the correct position for an exit.
Other training aids included trapezes, in which the trainees swung whilst learning correct flight drills, and wooden chutes down which they slid
before falling and rolling. Not surprisingly the crux of the matter was developing a head for heights and the 'Fan', consisted
of a drum around which was wound a steel cable, the end of which was attached to a parachute harness. When the trainee jumped from a platform
twenty feet from the ground, his weight caused the drum to revolve; however, its speed was controlled by two vanes which acted as air brakes and
thus allowed the trainee to land with the same impact as he would when using a parachute.
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