Scary stories from the old days?

[grue 1]

airtwardo

" I don't know who spotted that load, but he's good!"

Jesus christ. I pictured Curly from City Slickers, and i'll admit I laughed.

cavete terrae.

[airtwardo 6]

Ran into the Ranger I wrote about while jumping at the St. Louis Arch again...15 years after our first meeting!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[mr2mk1g 10]

airtwardo

Ran into the Ranger I wrote about while jumping at the St. Louis Arch again...15 years after our first meeting!

Reference this post from 10 years ago: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=749053#749053

[Krip 2]

propblast

No..the raiders on operation Ivory Coast did not parachute in. Frankly I have a hard time believing that story.

Hi prop

I actually read this story in a offical army mag.

Same beginning guys in airborn unit as a heavy equipment operator, goes to jump school and returns to his unit. At the wrong time

It was aound the time of panama, and the island with the college med students.

The equipment operator made his cherry jump onto the runway to move the piece of equipment that was blocking the runway to prevent our planes from landing. He heard the bees buzzing, saw the dirt kick up, exit altitude 300ft reserve opitional.

The soldier did his job, when he returned to his unit they presented him with jump wings with the star. Every one in his unit was in envy.

R

One Jump Wonder

[Krip 2]

Krip

***No..the raiders on operation Ivory Coast did not parachute in. Frankly I have a hard time believing that story.

Hi prop

I actually read this story in a offical army mag.

Same beginning guys in airborn unit as a heavy equipment operator, goes to jump school and returns to his unit. At the wrong time

It was aound the time of panama, and the island with the college med students.

The equipment operator made his cherry jump onto the runway to move the piece of equipment that was blocking the runway to prevent our planes from landing. He heard the bees buzzing, saw the dirt kick up, exit altitude 300ft reserve opitional.

The soldier did his job, when he returned to his unit they presented him with jump wings with the star. Every one in his unit was in envy.

R

I took my nap and remembered the name of the little Island with the med students. "Grenada"

Twardo thanks to your post about all that VN stuff I did a little research on C-130s in the nam.

Damn they didn't tell us all that crap was going on when we were there. Now I'm scared

Read about some poor loadmaster got trampled by 150 little people who wanted on the plane before the camp got overrun by Mcnasty's.

I would has just been a wet spot on the ramp. twardo your a big dude you would have just been a bigger wet spot.

One Jump Wonder

[chuteless 1]

Yes, they were the good old days....a thrill every time we took off in an airplane....even on 1 magneto. lol

[hcsvader 1]

Bumped from page 3

Twardo tell us a story Pleeeeease

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[SCS292 1]

This wasn't as scary as my 2 malfunctions and they wouldn't have been that scary if they hadn't happened on the same jump, but I posted this on the Galveston skydivers thread and thought it might fit in here too.

I've been having fun looking back at my logbook for the first time in a lot of years. Were any of you old timers, or as John Mincher more politely calls us "Pioneers of the sport", at Doc's on 3-12-'72? It was my first jump in Dickinson. Until then all my jumps had been at Angleton, V-Mills and a couple in Austin. We had a short spot with a 15 knt SE wind and I held as long as I could before I decided the pond north of the DZ was about to be in my future. I made a quick turn to the north, flew over the pond and a bunch of brush and made a hook turn onto a driveway that went to a little house north of the pond. It would have worked out OK but I didn't see the power lines going to the house along the south side of the drive. I went through the power lines and my PC collapsed on the wires causing them to cross and short out. I hit the driveway a little harder than planned and sprained my ankle (thank God for Frenchies). It was a good thing the wires just supplied the one house and were not any higher above the ground. The wires burned in half and fell in the brush starting a nice little fire. Fortunately my PC wasn't damaged by the wires or the fire but the power to Don Gay Pontiac and to the shopping center (which included a grocery store) across I-45 was knocked out. My friends came and got me and we made a hasty retreat. The police came out to the DZ to find me after the fire was out but some quick thinking skydivers told them that it was some guy from California, that nobody knew, was visiting and he was so embarrassed that the last time they saw him he was headed north on I-45 in a green Chevrolet. Thanks to whoever it was who put them off the scent!

[popeyeughugh 0]

my dad owned gift of wings in wny.we had a visting skydiver from some where,had a routine jump till he opened his main and it malfunctined,he cut away, opened reserve,that malfuntioned to, with a may west,he rode that in from about 1500 ft I know the area where he landed, a wooded area about a mile away. me and a buddy jumped in a truck and raced down several tractor paths to help, as we came to the open feild there he was walking with another skydiver (glen) that followed him down,being relieved he was ok, he told us his version. he saw the may west got his knife out started cutting lines then quit cause he was cutting to many,well he looked down spinning saw the woods. figuring,the branches would help his landing,he said he didnt hit a single branch spinnig throw the trees,he landed on the down slop of a steep revine that saved his butt.after telling us the story,we loaded up and as we came down the road there were more firetrucks ,ambulances ,and other rescue vehicles looking for him thinking the worst. well we pulled up to the chief, and said looking for him,he didnt believe us at first, with some convincing we got it straghtened out.that skydiver was flattered at the response of the fire department. but they were'nt looking even close to where he landed,needless to say he had more than a few beers that night. peter siclari

[jerry9461 0]

It looked scary from the plane, too. I don't think I ever brought the 180 down faster than on that jump. Great feeling when I saw Ben walking out of the woods!

[drjump 0]

You are welcome! I remember the transformers popping, and the small grass fire. Made two jumps that day myself, in between trips to Sam's club.

[Niki1 1]

popeyeughugh

as we came down the road there were more firetrucks ,ambulances ,and other rescue vehicles looking for him thinking the worst. well we pulled up to the chief, and said looking for him,he didnt believe us at first, with some convincing we got it straghtened out.that skydiver was flattered at the response of the fire department. but they were'nt looking even close to where he landed,needless to say he had more than a few beers that night. peter siclari

Whoffos.
I was driving up Marsh Rd. in DeLand and happened to see a cutaway canopy comming down. A few seconds later I come around a bend and lo-and -behold there it is, Right in the middle of the road. (I should have been so lucky with any of my cutaways.) I put my flashers on and get out and start to pick up the canopy. A pickup come screeching to a stop and out jumps a guy about early 20s. He is SCREAMING, "Get away from him. I know CPR." I drop the handful of canopy and back away. The look in this guys eyes said he was going to be the hero here if anybody was. He starts looking under the canopy and is mystified as where the victim went. I told him this was just the canopy and the jumper most likely landed at the DZ. He seemed kind of miffed that there was no one under the canopy.
Whoffos

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[skypuppy 1]

popeyeughugh

my dad owned gift of wings in wny.we had a visting skydiver from some where,had a routine jump till he opened his main and it malfunctined,he cut away, opened reserve,that malfuntioned to, with a may west,he rode that in from about 1500 ft I know the area where he landed, a wooded area about a mile away. me and a buddy jumped in a truck and raced down several tractor paths to help, as we came to the open feild there he was walking with another skydiver (glen) that followed him down,being relieved he was ok, he told us his version. he saw the may west got his knife out started cutting lines then quit cause he was cutting to many,well he looked down spinning saw the woods. figuring,the branches would help his landing,he said he didnt hit a single branch spinnig throw the trees,he landed on the down slop of a steep revine that saved his butt.after telling us the story,we loaded up and as we came down the road there were more firetrucks ,ambulances ,and other rescue vehicles looking for him thinking the worst. well we pulled up to the chief, and said looking for him,he didnt believe us at first, with some convincing we got it straghtened out.that skydiver was flattered at the response of the fire department. but they were'nt looking even close to where he landed,needless to say he had more than a few beers that night. peter siclari

on a broken-down runway
a week ago Sunday
just as we climbed in our plane
there by a car bumper
there stood a strange jumper
he seemed to be almost insane.

He said with a shout
can I follow you out
but he sure had a strange=lookin rig
it was a front mounted pretzel
an eddie grimm 'special'
while the rest on the load wore a pig....

well after the jump
when it came time to dump
and the ten man had finally split
after cutting away
from his first mal today
this new guy was starting to shit

his reserve wasn't working
after lots of hard jerking
and just when we thought he was dead
in a voice that was splitting'
from the bricks he was shitting
he looked at his poptop and said

you picked a fine time to fail me reserve
400 feet and I'm losin my nerve
I've had some sad ones
lived thru some bad ones
but this one I just don't deserve
You picked a fine time to fail me reserve

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[mccurley 0]

Most people here wouldn't know Eddie Grim was a manufacturer of gear.
I owned a few Niagara Parachute (Eddie Grim) rigs

Watch my video Fat Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

[lodestar 0]

Met Eddie on a trip up to Niagara, his workshop was humming with activity and Eddie was hopping around like a grasshopper doing this and that. He was, at the time, one of the few if not the only one producing gear for the Canadians....my being a rigger and having almost non stop reserve packing while I toured Canada, I appreciated the fact that he was a forerunner in Canadian equipment and obviously an innovator of gear and techniques....nice man...

[mccurley 0]

And he gave a shit about his customers. I never had a problem with his service' always turned it around in quick time and didn't overcharge.
I was on the load with him and his wife Anne when she went in. A great loss to her family and the skydiving community at the time.

Watch my video Fat Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

[patworks 5]

Riggers Delight-- '61 my first rig was a B4 crew bailout rig with reserve rings hand sewn to the Out Side of the harness. A sensitive lad, I glued a wrap of webbing over the stitches so as not to perturb sensitive types. Never did use the reserve 'tho I packed every 60 days in my driveway best I could. No problem, I sold it to my best friend Tommy Foster for $50. It was an all white 28' ripstop with a Double "L" & the cut out gores were trimmed in gold satin ribbon, hand sewn. Pretty.

[patworks 5]

Hinckley Dz. Too Windy to jump. Open, I'm running downwind at Mach 3 to the DZ. Clear the Highway; just clear the high tension lines; crank a hook turn. Cough up my gizzard as i swing back into the 80' power lines my open mouth body slithers between two of them and here comes the ground! WhoooBoy! But for luck i'm fried crisp and fall far. My spread lines retard my descent. (High voltage lines are about 3-4 ft. apart); my PC gets squeezed betwixt em. The friction retards my 80 ft. fall. I tip toe land. Awed and twice blessed. (Thinking No One saw my dumb shit stunt). Alas. A car smokes to a stop on the highway and the skydiver driver howls curses at me for a time. I field pack to walk back. However, he didn't rat me out. I kept quiet. Stupid ain't fashionable, but luck is good.

Pat Works nee Madden Travis Works, Jr .B1575, C1798, D1813, Star Crest Solo#1, USPA#189,

[Krip 2]

Hi pat

A lot of us know it not just the high tension lines that can get you.

Even those power lines that run next to the roads are bad news.

After I left a dz in ks after jumping there for two yrs we had never gave a thought to those little lines on the wooden poles.

Later We heard a fj student and her sister also a fj student and their children were at the dz.

The first sister made it over the power lines fine, the second sister landed on both wires, and before the electric company could shut of the power the dead students hair caught on fire than her rig.

All of this was witnessed by her sister and the little kids, that saw mom laying on the wires and the aftermath

I'm a very happy camper that I didn't have to witness that, but I probably would have turned around and walked away after her initial landing.

When the power company finally cut the juice, the town down the line was blacked out, until they could remove the remains safely and restore power.


I'm not sure when the sport started to require waivers, but the jump master got sued. To bad he didn't own anything. Not sure how far that went once the lawyer realized the jm didn't own anything.

Second hand info from the JM.

One Jump Wonder

[steve1 5]

The only jumper, that I ever met, who went through the power lines and survived, was Fred Sands. On the old power lines there were three wires. Two were closer together and there was a little wider space for the third wire. Fred went right through that bigger opening under a flat reserve.

The spot may have been a little long. Fred had a malfunction and cut away his paracommander. It was just about dark when Fred hit the power lines. The lights went out in the club house and everyone ran outside. He touched one wire but not the other. It shut the power off on one side of Kalispell. Fred survived to jump another day.

That's the way I remember it. It's been about forty years. Fred is known as Cosmobuddy on these forums. In the old days most jumpers called Fred "Ferd". I haven't heard that name since.

Fred has always been one of the jumpers I looked up to. Fred and Dave Tousey were the first jumpers to break the 1,000 jump barrier in Montana. There's a reason jumpers often didn't survive to make a thousand jumps back then.

Maybe Fred can tell what happened better than I can. I'm sure he remembers the details a lot better than I.

I knew another guy who went into the power lines. He wasn't so lucky. He was blinded for quite a while from all that electricity. His watch even burned a hole into his wrist. Everyone called him Sparky after that......

[Krip 2]

Hi Steve

I consider it a honor to have met Fred on a few occasions, no skysnob attitude just someone who's, been there done that.

I dont have a clue what theor training students these days, but we were taught about how to minimize contact with powerlines in the worst case scenario.

The large steel tower high tension power lines are a differnt kind of a situation.

I'm not even sure if a jumper has to actually come in contact with the lines. I think due to the amount of power going thru the lines they can arc to anything that gets close enough.

The same jm mentioned in the thread abovementioned yours was jumping with a group in missouri, where there were was a high tension power line close enough that if a jumper tried very hard they could come in contact with the lines.

The jm watched in horror from the air as his girl friend had some kind of a incident with those power lines and wasn't moving after she landed.

He landed as close as possible to his girlfriend ran over, and found she wasn't breathing. He immediately started cpr and brought her back to life, and felt ok.

When she got to the hospital they hound a small entry point where the electricity had entered the front of her leg and a large exit wound just below her butt. She almost lost the leg.

The young lady had been wearing long johns and the elastic waste band on the bottom half had melted, and she had some scaring, above one of her breasts.

Second hand info she was not aware of the extent of her injuries until she got to the hospital.Maybe she was in shock (no pun intended)

When I talked with her, later she was glad to be alive and really could care less if she couldn't wear a bikini any more.

Maybe a high power electrician or a electical engr, can explain the dangers of the really high voltage power lines.

Time period mid 70's, most second hand info. Probaby jumping a round.

Be well.



R.

One Jump Wonder

[SCS292 1]

The more I read about it the more thankful I am to have survived my encounter with power lines with only a sprained ankle and a bruised ego.

[ldk 2]

Steve...You having me laughing so hard...I have to pull.

[Stumpy 256]

This thread must need a bump. How's that statute of limitations Airtwardo?

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[hcsvader 1]

Fucker, you had me excited.

Twardo, tell us a story

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)