Nov 8, 2006, 8:28 AM
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I recently learned that jumpers years ago used to use oranges as skyballs. I was particularly amused to learn that sometimes watermelons were used. Any thoughts?
I've heard that when a watermelon goes in it just leaves a big wet spot. No seeds, no rind...just a big wet spot. Don't know how true that is but finding out sounds like fun to me!
unless your like the guy's in the 80's who loss one in FF and it hit a two story house, let's just say it exploded in the dinning room on the first floor, and left a hell of a lot more then "just a wet spot"
If I remember correct this was in KCMO 81-82 -83 time frame.
My experience with pumpkins is that they don't make good sky balls. For one thing, they fall too fast. And secondly, they're not symetrically round, so they zigzag around the sky as they tilt first one way and then another. They're hell to catch in freefall.
But of course, that doesn't mean that it's not fun!
(This post was edited by JohnRich on Nov 8, 2006, 10:54 AM)
We used to just bomb the DZ with watermelons from a 2000 foot jump run. Was hard getting them to land near the peas, but after some practice we got good at it.
So if there's ever a war here, and they need someone with experience just tossing bombs out the door of an airplane, I'm their man.
We used to just bomb the DZ with watermelons from a 2000 foot jump run. Was hard getting them to land near the peas, but after some practice we got good at it.
So if there's ever a war here, and they need someone with experience just tossing bombs out the door of an airplane, I'm their man.
I can't decide if you're ahead of your time or behind it.
We used to bomb the student landing area at Ghoulidge with bowling balls, watermelons, old televisions and assorted other junk. I managed a dead center on the wooden arrow, used for directing students into the wind, with a sixteen pound bowling ball. Some one else put a major divot in the main runway with the same ball and Wierd Wayne dropped a large pumpkin that hit the ramp between the trailing edge of the right wing and the horizontal stabilizer of a DC-7. Aaaaaaaah ... the good old days.
Hey, that's me! It was 1973, in Star, Idaho. That watermelon wanted to fall way faster than us. I'd recommend a smaller melon if you try it. We were in a very clear area, so no threat to people/property. Photo by Crazy Ed Pancoast (May he rest in peace).
I note that you, 460, are a physicist too, like me.
Just his jumpsuit. Probably a white block on the knee for contrast. You'll notice that there's also a contrasting knee on the white leg; it's just dark. The white strips running under the boots are just elastics to hold the bottoms down.
We were planning on doing flower bombs one day at the DZ until one of the DZO's/pilot showed up and informed us that it was illegal to drop anything from the air. I think he thought we would be dropping them from the plain and not from under canopy. Either way the only thing allowed to fall from the sky according to him is skydivers and a cutaway main.
There are some guys on the video "Crosswind" who are doing 2 or 3-way BASE and tossing oranges to each other. The oranges fell to slow.
I was told that you could drop stuff as long as you dont create an undue hazard?
True or false?
FAR Sec. 91.15 Dropping objects
No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.
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