Word: skysail
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Supersonic Parachute. To rescue pilots from a supersonic bailout, Radioplane Co., a Northrop subsidiary, has devised a special parachute called the Skysail, packed tightly in a container that an air blast cannot tear open. When the pilot jumps, his hunched body slows down quickly. When his speed is subsonic (and the pilot is probably unconscious), the chute is designed to open gradually, distributing the shock over a longer interval than the standard parachute. Moreover, a special harness spreads the deceleration forces over a larger area of the pilot's body. If he is able to survive the hammer-like...
...Yonai was amazed and wildly happy. He had been aloft in giddy rigging before-had climbed to power (as Admiral of the Combined Fleet, beginning in 1936) and into politics (as Navy Minister in three crucial Cabinets, 1937-39). But seldom had he dared dream of touching this uppermost skysail of influence...
...Original meaning: a triangular skysail, of small utility and perhaps mythical existence, hoisted by U. S. skippers to make good their boast of the world's tallest chips...
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