Skydiving Helmet
- Description
- Skydiving helmet with camera belonging to Charles W. Magee. The helmet is bright yellow and has a white fabric chinstrap and a sticker attached to the back with "SKYDIVE" printed on it. Label tape with "Charlie Magee | BKLYN N.Y." printed on it is below the sticker. The camera attached to the helmet is a Konica brand with Hexanon AR 28-mm F/3.5 lens.
- Historical Notes
- Brooklyn native Charles Magee lived with his wife, Janet, in Wantagh, Long Island. A parachute rigger during his military service in the Vietnam War, Charles went on to fly his own plane and skydive as a hobby. He was the chief operating engineer for Silverstein Properties with an office on the North Tower’s 88th floor. On September 11, he was seen helping evacuees on the 46th floor. He was 51 years old.
Curator's Comment
Charles Magee served as a parachute rigger in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. After the war, he remained interested in parachute jumping and was an avid skydiver for more than 10 years. He created this helmet-mounted camera rig, complete with a handheld button, so he could take photographs of other skydivers during jumps. Charles spent even more time in the sky after he and his wife, Janet, bought a plane. The two spent weekends flying up and down the East Coast. After Charles’s death, Janet also learned to fly.
- Accession Number: C.2011.1155.11
- Dimensions: 10 in X 10 in X 14 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 25.4 cm X 25.4 cm X 35.56 cm
- Source: Janet Wexler-Magee
- Credit Line: Gift of Janet Magee in memory of my husband Charlie Magee
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