Franz Reichelt: The Tragic Tale of the Flying Tailor

Franz Reichelt etched his name into history with a peculiar and tragic experiment that would come to define him as "The Flying Tailor." Born on October 16, 1879, in Wegstädtl, Austria-Hungary (now part of the Czech Republic), Reichelt was a skilled tailor, and by the age of 20 he had moved to Paris to pursue a career in fashion.

He opened his own shop in an upscale neighborhood near the Palais Garnier, home to the Paris Opera.

But Reichelt harbored a fascination with flight and an unyielding desire to conquer the skies. In particular, he fixated on the idea of creating a wearable parachute suit.

The advent of the aviation era had led to a wave of accidents, prompting an increasing focus on safety measures and the quest for a reliable parachute. However, as of 1910, there remained a conspicuous absence of a parachute well-suited for jumps from airplanes or at low altitudes.

Reichelt sought to create a parachute that would be lightweight, easy to wear, and would open automatically when the wearer jumped from a great height.

Reichelt experimented with dummies thrown from his fifth floor apartment. Initially these tests showed promise - dummies outfitted with foldable silk "wings," landed lightly. However, translating this into a functional wearable "suit" was a challenge. The original design used 6 square meters (65 sq ft) of material and weighed approximately 70 kilograms (150 lb).

Reichelt persevered, aiming to reduce the weight and increase the surface area for the canopy. But his designs continued to fail and when tested on dummies dropped from his apartment, they landed heavily.

It was reported that Reichelt himself also tested his outfits, once jumping from a height of 8 to 10 metres (26 to 33 ft) where landing on a bed of straw shielded him from injury. Another attempt from a height of 8 meters (26 ft) reportedly ended with a broken leg.

Undeterred, Reichelt attributed the failures at least in part to the short drop distances over which he had conducted his tests. He was keen to experiment from a higher level at the Eiffel tower.

That fateful day arrived on February 4, 1912. Reichelt climbed to the first platform of the tower, which was 187 feet above the ground. His parachute suit consisted of a long cloak with a hood and two large wings attached to his arms.

After some hesitation Reichelt leaped off the tower, expecting his invention to unfurl and slow his descent gently.

But his parachute failed to open, and he plummeted to the ground, landing with a sickening thud. He was killed instantly. The man who aspired to conquer the skies became a victim of his own daring experiment.

In the aftermath of Reichelt's death, his parachute suit was scrutinized by experts who confirmed its flaws. The design lacked the necessary aerodynamics and structural integrity to function as a reliable parachute. It was too heavy and cumbersome, and it did not have enough surface area to slow his descent.

The police later said that they had only approved the experiment for dummies and did not greenlight a jump by Reichelt himself. Reichelt’s friends also said they were surprised by his plans, which he had concealed before the act, and they unsuccessfully tried to talk him out of it.

Reichelt's death was filmed by a news crew and became one of the most iconic images of the early aviation era.