usmcdannyboy 0 #1 October 3, 2002 so how many of us skydivers are either still military jumpers used to be????and whats the best and worst jump you had my best was on sicily dz just before dawn and the sun was comming up it was unusualy warm for that time of day and the ride was calm quiet and landing was soft. my worst was also on sicily dz and i had a bad exit due to the pitch and roll of the aircraft trying to maintain formation(just kind of fell out the door with my 150 lbs of gear) and when my chute finaly opened i had my head pinned down from line twists i tried to bicycle out and finaly got straight literaly one second before hitting the ground. i didnt release my gear but thankfully the sand dune absorbed the shock of impact. i shakely stood up and looked behind me and there was a back hoe not 10 ft. behind me that i passed over and more than likely just missed cus the wind was blowing pretty good. needless to say i fell to my knees and thanked god right then and thereI am the light my son...What you seek is fire Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #2 October 3, 2002 72 military static lines under T-10's and -1C's. Worst jump....Jump #71. Came in backwards, at night, with equipment, on Cicily. Tried as hard as I could but couldn't keep my head off the ground. The jumper pad smacked me in that soft part at the base of my skull. I puked immediately and realized I had just gotten a concussion. Best jump.....had two or three pretty cool ones. Favorite I think was into Sound DZ near Ft. Walton Beach/Destin area of Florida. Water jump out of an MC-130. Made our get away in a Boston Whaler!! Second favorite...My first view of Alaska. Out the door of a C-17. Butter soft landing on the matress-like tundra. The last one....Jumping right at dusk...800Ft off the ramp of an MC-130...Aux Field 6 on the Eglin complex....got under canopy and started yelling at the Ranger students standing in formation. Got to the ground, piled in our rental SUV's, and took off for a wild night at Kangaroo Jacks!!! Those Ranger students didn't seem to like us much.... Fun days...but I'm not sad I'm out of the military either. Moving on to bigger and better things. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #3 October 3, 2002 I am a current military freefall jumpmaster. Best military jump would have to have been one of the many jumps I did onto NAS Boca Chica, five miles north of Key West. It is an amazing view. Worst jump was either my last SL jump in February 1998 in the Dominican Republic (ramp, C-130, flaps not extended, severe whiplash, rendered unconscious), or the AJ/H/N/T/CE/02 jump into Bogue Auxilliary Airfield out on the North Carolna coast. I posted a lengthy story about it in another thread some time ago. There were some severe injuries to others and I could have been killed at least 15 different ways on that one. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cajones 0 #4 October 4, 2002 Former military jumper/jumpmaster. Best jump was also scariest. Night HALO from 38,000 feet. Full moon, completely overcast. Clouds below looked like a huge puffy landscape. So bright we exited with sun visors down. Last out, with huge separation. Started getting down to clouds, and saw jumper below me backing up straight towards me, falling slower than I was. Stuck my arms out, pulled my legs in to backslide away. He started speeding up, towards me... Adrenalin was pumping - could hear my own breathing - arms and body so tight, I thought I was teetering on a backloop - getting closer, and closer... Realized moments before I hit the cloud cover and other jumper that it was my shadow... Fraction of a second still in sensory overload as I entered the clouds - I could see them move in front of me. And pitch black in the next instant. Hands still swollen with adrenalin when I landed - thoroughly pumped. The laws of physics are strictly enforced. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cubster 0 #5 October 4, 2002 best s/l rogers dz. ft lewis wa. 1984 mt. rainier in the back ground worst s/l helomano dz. hawaii landed in pineapple field best halo all of them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmsmith 1 #6 October 4, 2002 In the early seventies, two of us who were first out of a UH-1H over Roger's DZ at Ft. Lewis landed on the heavily wooded hill between Roger's DZ and the C5A mock-up due to the wind. I hauled in on the rear risers of the 35-ft round to stop it from driving forward, and I dropped through the trees missing the treetops. On the way down, I heard a huge branch break loose. I landed on the ground in a nice PLF, and I stayed curled-up. The branch came down hard leaving a considerable depression in the soil less than three feet from my torso; I'm sure that would have been a serious injury if not fatal. The other jumper snagged the treetops, and he bounced off the branches before being suspended above ground. It was some time before he was cut loose; he was in terrible pain too. As usual, I came close, but learned another lesson at someone else's expense. --RMS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hakuyu 0 #7 October 4, 2002 Over 150 here....best....each and every one that I didn't have to be carted off the DZ by someone else...I'd have to say that the Int'l Military Parachute Competition in RI every year is a blast though...accuracy jumps on -1c's from CH-47 tailgates...and the party afterwards! Worst...Tocumen-Torijos C/N/CE...the tracers sure did add to the ambianceDon't sweat the small stuff.....remember, it's all small stuff Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pd190 0 #8 October 4, 2002 Still current jumper..... Best... water jump into Onslow Bay NC from 4500' out of a Heuy..... Summer time, ladies on the beach, beautiful canopy ride. Worst jump..... MFF into DZ Plover 10,000' winds gusting 30mph plus at alt. I've gotta set this one up..... winds on the ground were under 7. This one is surrounded on all sides by 80ft plus trees. It's not a very big zone, and the tracks use this place for training. So it's got stakes, and ruts out the butt. It had rained fro four days prior so all of the ruts were about three feet deep. Got out of the 46, pulled at 4,000, flew the thing holding for entire ride. Came in over the trees just above the "x", got to the same level as the trees, canopy went to shit at 65 ft (est from guys on the ground). Thank the big guy for the rain. I went from Military freefall to scuba school in about 2 seconds. Needless to say the rig and AAD were just about ruined, but I'm alive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #9 October 4, 2002 QuoteI'd have to say that the Int'l Military Parachute Competition in RI every year is a blast though I so almost went to that in 2000. It was choice between that and going to Alaska for 2 weeks though. I picked Alaska.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #10 October 4, 2002 I made about 50 military jumps back in the 70's. Back when they had steel pots for helmets. I think one of my worst jumps was a jump in Jump-master school. We had to jump a PAE bag. (I think that was the correct name.) It had a red ball with a pin you pulled out to drop the damn thing. Anyway they took this big wooden ammo box, filled with gravel, and crammed this inside the PAE bag. I could barely walk with it to the door of the C-130. Things went pretty well once I was out the door though...... I also had a couple of night jumps when I never saw the ground. I just crashed into it with full equipment.........Someone mentioned Cisilly drop zone. It rings a bell. Is it at Ft. Bragg? We also used to jump at St. Meregelise and Normandy DZ. My memory is about shot. Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #11 October 4, 2002 QuoteIs it at Ft. Bragg? Yep...that's the biggest one on Bragg. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #12 October 4, 2002 Yes, uh, but it's SICILY, not cicily. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #13 October 4, 2002 QuoteYes, uh, but it's SICILY, not cicily. What do you expect, Chuck? He was Air Force... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #14 October 4, 2002 Maybe he got the clap from someone named Cicily... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jfields 0 #15 October 4, 2002 QuoteMaybe he got the clap from someone named Cicily. Reasonable guess. Or one of the off-limits establishments identified only by alias and grid coordinates. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bill2 0 #16 October 4, 2002 How high can military jumpers go when they're doing HALO? at what point do you start using oxygen? do you jump with scuba gear, and if so how the hell do you move with so much gear on? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #17 October 4, 2002 Quoteat what point do you start using oxygen? do you jump with scuba gear, and if so how the hell do you move with so much gear on? Oxygen goes on above 15000. I know they do bail out bottles from 18 just for training purposes. Scuba gear....well yeah!!! Just strap the tanks onto your legs and fins onto you calfs. Although....I can't say I remember seeing anyone doing HALO with scuba gear. Seen it done with S/L all the time. How do you move? Carefully..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #18 October 4, 2002 QuoteRealized moments before I hit the cloud cover and other jumper that it was my shadow...BWAHAHAHAHA!! pretty exciting story though! Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bill2 0 #19 October 4, 2002 Thanks for the info Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
