Page 57 - Demo

55In the early days of aviation, aircraft safety primarily involved avoiding enemy machine-gun fire. However, as soon as airlines figured out how to monetise the enjoyment of rubbery food on plastic trays at 30,000 feet, they also had to consider what to do if planes fell out of the sky.This is where Australian Jack Grant came into play. In the 1960s, Jack was the Operations Safety Superintendent for Qantas (which sounds quite fancy), and he could foresee a time when people would have to pay handsomely for even a%u00a0packet of Pringles on a Jetstar flight. However, he%u00a0 realised there was stu%u00a0-all he could do about%u00a0that.YEAR 1965DESIGNER Jack GrantMANUFACTURER QantasJack came up with the nifty idea of combining the escape slide and the escape raft into one integrated unit.Setting aside his visions of price gouging in the skies, he turned his thoughts to safety and came up with the nifty idea of combining the escape slide and the escape raft into one integrated unit. It worked. After numerous trials by various aviation boards, the slide raft was approved. They are now standard on all major airlines and have saved countless lives over the%u00a0years.This is one piece of Aussie ingenuity we all%u00a0 hope never to use. But thanks to Jack and%u00a0all%u00a0those in-flight safety demonstrations, at least%u00a0we know to take o%u00a0 our heels before going down the slide.