The Whole Nine Yards

Posted by M V Flores on August 10, 2009 at 12:49

In Reply to: The Whole Nine Yards posted by Victoria S Dennis on August 09, 2009 at 07:07:

: : : The Whole Nine Yards.

Thanks for the additional information which helps document the reference or 9 yards for the "lines" use to make the rope in Surviver Training. Mentioned that I was "Not sure... parachute line length" was that was used.

As for length of the rope. We would cut it up and make rope (3 twisted lines) for use going off cliffs (which we did not know about and other uses). You bond 3 lines together at one end (rap threads and heat) then you start twisting the 3 lines which will form a single rope that will not separate. When you get a few feet from the end you cut one of the lines and bond a new line to the rope. A few feet later you do the same for the second line. The third, which you used the entire (or whole nine yards) line would be continued with a new line. This overlap would help keep the rope acting as a single continuous rope that would not separate (you hoped). From then on you just add a line (whole nine yards) until you got as long a rope as you wanted (or were instructed to make). Think we were to told 150 to 200 feet, which would be 6 to 8 times this process.

No mention of static line, that was Army Airborne. In the Air Force we got flight pay for staying in the plane not jumping out of. So parachutes were something we all had and most of us never used.

: : "A standard military training chute (T-10) is 35 ft in diameter. Area = 1/4 * pi * diameter so the area is about 962 square feet or about 107 yards of fabric". If this is true and I take your word for it, then l is ~ r, (or exactly = PI (r/3)). Therefore if diameter is 35 ft then r ~ l ~ 17.5 ft. Now taking the following from Parachute Constructions web sites: "Add the chute lines the same length as the gores (1.5l) zigzag stiched at the places where the gores were sewn together". So one calculation will get you 1.5 times 17.5 = 27.47 feet or about nine yards.

Thank you. But still the question was: Why is there no reference to parachute lines on any of the uses of this term??

• The Whole Nine Yards David FG 10/August/09
  • The Whole Nine Yards M V Flores 11/August/09
    • The Whole Nine Yards M V Flores 11/August/09
      • The Whole Nine Yards R. Berg 11/August/09
        • The Whole Nine Yards RRC 12/August/09
          • The Whole Nine Yards M V Flores 13/August/09
            • The Whole Nine Yards ESC 14/August/09