Emergency Egress Survivors Clubs
- Aviation Trail
- Aug 6, 2025
- 2 min read
The Caterpillar Club and More:
THE CATERPILLAR CLUB
Survivors of Emergency Parachute Jumps
Dayton McCook Field was the flight test center for the Army Air Service and did research and development of the parachute. Lt. Harold R. Harris was the first person to save himself by freefalling from a disabled airplane. He was also the first person inducted into the Caterpillar Club, for those aviators who save themselves from a disabled airplane by parachuting out of it. The Caterpillar Club is named for the insects that spun the silk fiber used in parachutes at the time. Members now include Charles Lindbergh, General Jimmy Doolittle, President George H.W. Bush, Col. John Glenn and many other pilots – over 100,000 to date. The Caterpillar Club was started by Leslie Irvin, the very first person to freefall from an aircraft by intent in 1919. (The Caterpillar Club is for those who have survived a parachute escape from a disabled aircraft, not recreational jumps). The Airborne Systems company of New Jersey continues the tradition of certifying members and awarding pins to this day.
Qualified individuals apply for Caterpillar Club membership by submitting documentation of their emergency parachute escape to the relevant parachute manufacturer (such as Airborne Systems' IrvinGQ or Switlik) for authentication. The required documentation typically includes a written account of the incident, details of the aircraft, date and location, and confirmation that the escape was genuinely in an emergency—not a recreational or training jump.
EJECTION SEAT EGRESS SURVIVAL
What about survivors of ejection seat events? Clubs equivalent to the Caterpillar "club" are offered by the ejection seat industry by two manufacturers – Martin-Baker and Collins Aerospace.
The Tie Club
Martin -Baker administers the Tie Club, with more than 6,000 registered members since 1957:
See a Parachute Museum video about Martin-Baker at:
The Grasshopper Club
Collins Aerospace has been accepting those who safely eject from an aircraft using SIIIS or ACES II® ejection seat
systems since 1979:
Ejection seats at the Parachute Museum
The Aviation Trail Parachute Museum has a large collection of ejection seats, some of which are on display. See these links for more information.
Keep up with Parachute Museum news at:
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The Aviation Trail Parachute Museum
16 South Williams Street
Dayton, OH 45402
(937) 225-7705
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The Aviation Trail Parachute Museum is Site #1b on the Aviation Trail
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