static line

American  

noun

Military.

1. a line attached to a parachute pack and to a cable in an aircraft for the purpose of automatically opening the parachute after it is dropped.

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static line British  

noun

1. a line attaching the pack of a parachute to an aircraft, so that the parachute is opened when it has fallen clear of the aircraft

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Etymology

Origin of static line

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

“I always take my camera with me, and I learned how to ascend a static line to be able to shoot on the side of cliffs,” she said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 5, 2023

I called him on a fuzzy static line with a strange echo in the background and told him our very wanted baby-boy-to-be didn't have a heartbeat anymore.

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2021

Aron, Danny, Christian, Simon and I were in a hotel room in LA watching this rough footage with a weird static line through it.

From The Guardian • Jan. 1, 2011

One paratrooper's static line failed to release him, and he dangled behind the aircraft until he could cut himself loose with a knife.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mai Duff s Sherpas had anchored a static line of rope that extended from the bottom of the Icefall to its top.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer