Quote:
Originally posted by cletrac
The USAF tried dropping a D7 out of a Hercules in Vancouver in the 1960s and as the chutes opened they ripped off one by one but the Cat did make it to the ground, albiet in not too good of shape. They've perfected the technique since then!
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Back in the '70s the CAF used to demonstrate both JATO take-offs and LAPES drops from a C-130 at the Abbotsford International Airshow. The load dropped was a small bulldozer sans blade, but it was always VERY impressive to see. They stopped doing this about the same time as I heard through the grapevine that the JATO bottles were over stressing the airframes and that an aircraft was lost during an operational LAPES somewhere. I've included a pic of a LAPES: