I suspect that most everyone that uses a chute pulls it at the 5 mile.
It does take a while for the sound to travel, and a car traveling in the
excess of 200 mph covers a lot of ground while the chute is becoming
full blown.
I remember working the nine mile during record runs in the past. We had
telephone communications between the starting line, timing tower, the 3,
the 5, the 7 1/2, and the 9 mile posts. When a car would clear the five,
the one on that post would announce that the car was shut off and
coasting. I could still hear the engine loud and clear for about another
20 seconds. After the noise subsided, then I could hear the tires
crunching the salt as it approached. It was eerie.
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/CC
John Burk wrote:
> Parachutes are noisy but you normaly cant hear them - In the morning from the
> long course time slip stand with the temperature inversion bending the sound
> downward you hear a boom and then a roar like a distant jet - It takes 6
> second for the sound to travel and the chutes are easier to hear than see so
> it seems everybody waits till the 5 1/2 to lift their foot and pull the handle
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