Guru312 0 #826 April 7, 2007 Quote Yessiree they do! I 'balled one up' in the air with Pyro once over the Kentucky Derby! Great idea!!! Do it on purpose. Take a couple of gerbs with you. Set 'em off just after opening. Point them into the canopy. I bet you could incinerate a canopy in under a minute and the effect from the ground would be awesome. Gobs of hot, melted nylon falling on the crowd would add a 'reality show' sense of participation for the spectators. The thrill for you while hanging under the canopy even more so. Give it a try; get back to us with a full report. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #827 April 7, 2007 QuoteQuote Yessiree they do! I 'balled one up' in the air with Pyro once over the Kentucky Derby! Great idea!!! Do it on purpose. Take a couple of gerbs with you. Set 'em off just after opening. Point them into the canopy. I bet you could incinerate a canopy in under a minute and the effect from the ground would be awesome. Gobs of hot, melted nylon falling on the crowd would add a 'reality show' sense of participation for the spectators. The thrill for you while hanging under the canopy even more so. Give it a try; get back to us with a full report. Already GOT that Tee-Shirt! Wasn't on purpose and it was only one 5 inch gerb. The exhaust cone on #1 of 3 got blocked by the heavy duty wire on the electric match, all the pyro went off coming out the other (top) end, going past me like a sidewinder... straight up into the canopy! Kinda purdy, but the real dilemma was... What NOW?! I got 66 pounds of pyro and steel cable swinging below me, with the other two gerbs burning away as planned. There IS a Q~R, but I can't chop the pyro over the crowd, might be hard to claim it was a UFO that dropped all that shit and made the dent in someones melon. I can't chop the melting main...I wasn't cleared yet for night RW with a flaming steel cable...and most likely dumping the reserve as I caught up to the fireworks would just put me in the SAME predicament anyway... No Shit...There I was...fumbling frantically for the right page in the "Night Demos for Dummies" book.... ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrabGrass 0 #828 April 7, 2007 QuoteNo Shit...There I was...fumbling frantically for the right page in the "Night Demos for Dummies" book.... *** WELL??? What Happened?! ~ "Pack Fast, Pull Low... and Date Your Riggers WIFE!" ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #829 April 7, 2007 QuoteQuoteNo Shit...There I was...fumbling frantically for the right page in the "Night Demos for Dummies" book.... *** WELL??? What Happened?! What do ya THINK happend??? I Fucking Died!! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guru312 0 #830 April 7, 2007 QuoteQuote *** WELL??? What Happened?! What do ya THINK happened??? I Fucking Died!! NO WAY! You can't get away with *that* for an answer! Tell us what happened!!Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zing 2 #831 April 7, 2007 "No Shit...There I was...fumbling frantically for the right page in the "Night Demos for Dummies" book.... " Well, hell, Twardo ... there's yer problem right there. Ya shoulda been referring the the "Night PYRO Demos for Dummies." Sheesh ... I think you can order order a copy out of the ParaDeath Sport Skydieing Catalog ... it even comes with a handy-dandy "Compute Your Team's Frappe Factor" calculator.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #832 April 7, 2007 Quote Sheesh ... I think you can order order a copy out of the ParaDeath Sport Skydieing Catalog ... it even comes with a handy-dandy "Compute Your Team's Frappe Factor" calculator. I stopped ordering stuff from them a few years ago, after they quit sending the free calendar with the dogs playin' poker pictures. Now I get all my equipment through "Nick's Credit Parachute Gear & Donut Shop"...same stuff~same prices, and I kinda know the owner! I really DO miss those calenders though. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #833 April 7, 2007 Quote NO WAY! You can't get away with *that* for an answer! Tell us what happened!! Does the term 'Lawn Dart' mean anything to ya?! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #834 April 7, 2007 Threw a blown up Papillon into a fire we had going in a 55 gallon oil drum and after a few seconds it blew up like a 1/4 stick of dynamite.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #835 April 7, 2007 QuoteThrew a blown up Papillon into a fire we had going in a 55 gallon oil drum and after a few seconds it blew up like a 1/4 stick of dynamite. Don't say THAT! Next thing ya know, we'll need a permit to carry a Pap! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GrabGrass 0 #836 April 9, 2007 QuoteQuoteThrew a blown up Papillon into a fire we had going in a 55 gallon oil drum and after a few seconds it blew up like a 1/4 stick of dynamite. Don't say THAT! Next thing ya know, we'll need a permit to carry a Pap! *** Not as long as you have a plug in the spring...of the pilotchute! ~ "Pack Fast, Pull Low... and Date Your Riggers WIFE!" ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumper03 0 #837 June 5, 2007 Quote Hey Zinger!!!!, Why don't you tell us a few scary storys from the old daze????? Hell I remember them!! Have a few of my own!!(search the thread with my handle on the posts and you'll find em'!!) Rufus and I were talkin here at Raeford about the Gulch and Ghoulidge daze and the best was the 29 way Scull and Bones dive without digin into my log books it was Halloween in the early 80's??? """"Zing, talk to us man!!!!"""" We were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PS, just dug out my old skylog#9 and the jump was really a 30 way on 10/29/83 at Ghoulidge out of the DC-4 from 14K and my jump # 1648. Those were the daze!! Somewhere someone has a picture of it?? It was outta Jim and Connie's DC-4 and from the ground the eye winked and the teeth chattered!!! The things you read on here! When I moved to Eloy back in 2003, I met one of my neighbors in the rv park on the dz - a crusty old dude that grumbled about everything. I learned more about rigging, skydiving and life in general through discussions and drinks on his deck. He told me a story about doing a skull and crossbones dive in Coolidge where he was doing grip switches to make the eye blink.... I guess Mahoney wasn't full of crap! Scars remind us that the past is real Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zing 2 #838 June 5, 2007 Errr ... Mahoney is too full of crap, but he knows it. As for the rest, it was all done with lines and mirrors, and I'm pleading the Fifth Amendment, however, the teeth did chatter, the eyes did blink and the crossbones tracked away on the break. Afterstars meet over the water tower!Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #839 June 5, 2007 Quote Errr ... Mahoney is too full of crap, but he knows it. As for the rest, it was all done with lines and mirrors, and I'm pleading the Fifth Amendment, however, the teeth did chatter, the eyes did blink and the crossbones tracked away on the break. Afterstars meet over the water tower! S'hrooms had some involvement too IIRC.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinkfairy 0 #840 June 14, 2007 Quote Yes, that colonel had succeeded in resetting the Sentinal. I'm just lucky I wasn't above him when it fired. There were many stories of Sentinals firing at inappropriate altitudes back then. Many big RW loads would not allow them, just because of the chance of firing early. Kevin Well, you can get results just like that with the modern, reliable Airtech Cypres. I wasn't there, but this is what I'm told: Freeflier on the way to altitude finds out that he forgot to turn on his Cypres. No way is he gonna jump without it on, skydiving is dangerous, and espescially freeflying, so there, at 6000' in the unpressurized jump aircraft he turns it on. There. Ready for a safe skydive, with all safety gadgets turned on. No need to tell the rest, but I'll just finish: Out he goes at 12500', and gets a little surprise at approximately 6750'. And that wasn't a misfire, just as that sentinel fire probably wasn't a misfire. It just did what it should. Oh, and this is definetely from the old days. It happened a couple of years ago.Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #841 June 14, 2007 Quote ...And that wasn't a misfire, just as that sentinel fire probably wasn't a misfire. It just did what it should. That's the bad thing about computers - they do what you tell them, not necessarily what you want. Ya know what they say, "Garbage in, garbage out".Kevin_____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyMongilly 0 #842 July 17, 2007 Back in about 1978, I was jumping at Sky Sports in Hutchinson Kansas from a C-185 that belonged to Dave Snyder (RIP) and the DZ owner Dale Boyer who now works at NASA making banners I think (LOL!) hired this stand-in pilot from South Africa named "Hosea" (pronounced Hose A). He claimed to have 2000 hours as a bush pilot and his resume looked good, so DB hired him. On his first flight which I was not on, he took about 45 minutes to climb to 7500 feet, gaining altitude then losing, then gaining and losing. That load went uneventful except for the lack of basic flying skills. The second load which I was on never made it off the ground. Eddie Saurmann who designs Pitts now was sitting next to the door, I was seated behind the pilot and this chick named Julie was sitting beside me behind Eddie and I don't know who the forth jumper was. As we began out takeoff roll, we got to about 50 knots airspeed then the pilot looked down and discovered he had forgotten to fasten his seat belt. So what does the idiot do? He chops the power and locks up ONE BRAKE! This was a C-185 taildragger mind you. By the time he had cut power, the tail had already lifted, so the tail then set back down and the entire plane did a 450 degree ground loop! That's one complete revolution plus another 90. As the plane is turning, I could hear this South African pilot say "Oh Sh**!" The amazing thing is it never struck the wing or the prop and the plane was undamaged. So now the plane is sitting on the runway, and the pilot shuts the engine off, climbs out, does a brief walk-around and says "It's OK, no damage, everyone back in!" Well, by this time, Julie was almost in a panic and climbs out of the plane and starts walking back to the DZ. Dave Hrdlicka (Dark) was suntanning at the pool and he was running out to the plane wearing swim trunks and tennis shoes screaming "I saw the whole thing!" The pilot climbs in, seats himself and proceeds to try to start the airplane again. At that time, Eddie climbs in and orders the pilot to taxi back to the DZ, and the pilot arrogantly says "I am the pilot, I make the rules." Eddie then says, "yea but this is MY airplane (it wasn't) and I tell you what to do with MY airplane!" The pilot then reluctantly says "ok" and we taxi back to the DZ less Julie who by this time was about half-way back to the building and I believe she was having a few words with God. We all get back to the building and DB decides to end the jumping for the day since everyone was breaking out the beer. The dumbass pilot had the audacity to ask for a beer, so the nice guys we were we gave him a beer, then kicked him off the DZ and told him to never return. After he was gone and a few beers later, we nicknamed him "No Way Hosea."How high are we going? Oh about 9000. Oh Mr. Pilot! How high are we going? Oh about 12000! That's the ticket! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonybrogdon 0 #843 July 19, 2007 Thanks Billy I made my first jump in Septemeber 1977 at Hutchinsin, Ka. Dale Boyer was my instructor. He and his wife lived in the old military barracks on the base. I first had the privilage of meeting Smitty that day also. Tony BrogdonTony Brogdon D-12855 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyMongilly 0 #844 July 22, 2007 QuoteThanks Billy I made my first jump in Septemeber 1977 at Hutchinsin, Ka. Dale Boyer was my instructor. He and his wife lived in the old military barracks on the base. I first had the privilage of meeting Smitty that day also. Tony Brogdon I made my first jump there in October of 1977. I bet we could share some old time names. Danny Sutton, Steve Lezner, Rick Richards, Bob "Lucky" Wheaton just to name a few I've lost track of. Dale's kid Spike was 11 years old then. He was killed in a car wreck. Chuck Powell hadn't made his first jump yet but I was fortunate enought to see his first jump. It, like, wasn't supposed ot happen but did.How high are we going? Oh about 9000. Oh Mr. Pilot! How high are we going? Oh about 12000! That's the ticket! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeC 0 #845 August 5, 2007 This is a great thread and I intend to read all the stories, which will take some time. I had a couple of scary experiences in my jumps, but this one I observed from the ground. A Beaver took up a load of jumpers during an accuracy event at a circuit-meet at Seneca Falls, NY back in the late 70's. After the first jumper exited, the plane banked and went into a stall. It happened so suddenly, and the engine was coughing and sputtering as the plane was spiraling rapidly toward the ground. 4 or 5 jumpers managed to to get out at very low altitide and all opened either reserve or main OK. As the plane seemed about to impact at tree-top level, it suddenly righted itself, and climbed back to altitude and the 3 remaining jumpers exited and landed safely. Apparently the pilot was trying to get out of the plane after it stalled. It's an incident I'll never forget. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveJack 1 #846 August 19, 2007 This Thread is supposed to be Scary Stories from the Old Days but I want to tell you a funny one. I had forgotten about this for a while but maybe my gray matter is having a revival! It might seem scary to you but to me it was just another day living the dream, back in the day. In 1985 I was working for George Kabeller down in Z-Hills. He flew his DC-3, Southern Cross, to the Freak Brothers Convention and 100 way attempts in Freeport, IL. I went along as a boogie organizer and ground support personnel (read- gofer). It was a pretty cool trip, to ride in a DC-3 with just two pilots up front and two other employees in the back, from Florida to Illinois. But in reality it was just another day on the job. Yeah, right. We arrived in Freeport in the early afternoon. Roger Nelson greeted us when we arrived. He was supposed to have a motor home on site for us to stay in. As I found out later, this was standard for all the DC-3 crews that flew in for the Convention. Well… there was a little problem. Roger explained that although he had a motor home set up and reserved for us, he hadn’t been able to get someone to drive it in from the dealership. My boss George Kabeller remained unusually calm about this (don’t bite the hand that feeds you) but clearly pointed out that he expected it on site for that night. I was standing right next to them during this exchange and Roger said something to the effect that “I will arrange for Jack (that’s me!) to go pick it up.” OK, fine by me. I figured that someone would drive me into Freeport to the local RV dealership and I would drive the motor home back in a few minutes. No problem and it would help justify me being there to George. Even though the Convention hadn’t officially started yet there were lots of people there and I began to party. Yahoo! We’re having fun now!! I was having a blast seeing friends from around the country. About an hour later Roger Nelson walks up to me and tells me to get my rig. Duh, what? Roger repeated “Jack get your rig and go over to that C-182 parked by the ramp”. Well anyone around at that time will tell you that if you were at the Convention and Roger told you to do something, you shouldn’t ask questions, you just did it. I can be a very good soldier! I grabbed my gear and marched out to the Cessna. Up walks Jim Bohr, the pilot. He told me to get in. Now those that where there and knew Jim will confirm that he was one of Rogers Lieutenants. In fact, he was known to wear a fully automatic MAC-10 machine gun during the 100 way dirt dives and rip off a few rounds if people weren’t paying attention. It was actually very effective. Kind of made you pay better attention to where your slot was and where any ricochets might be going. In truth Jim was a really great guy, but if Roger sends you over to an airplane that Jim was going to fly, you did exactly what Jim told you. I got in the airplane. “Where are we going Jim?” “To get your motor home” he says. Oh this is cool I thought! We are going to fly into Freeport and get the motor home. I have my rig on so I must be jumping into town! Off we go into the wild blue but I notice that Freeport is fading behind us and we are heading East-Southeast. “Hey Jim, where are we going?” “I told you, we’re going to get your motor home.” “Yeah, but Freeport is behind us.” “It’s not in Freeport.” “Where is it?” “Chicago.” “Chicago?” “Yeah, you fucking deaf or something.” Off we go into the wild, wild blue. Now in writing this I took a quick look at Map Quest and it tells me that it is just over 100 miles from Freeport to Chicago. Well I really never knew where we were in Chicago but I know this. We were close to downtown. Very close to downtown. The skyscrapers were right out there, less than fifteen miles away it seemed to me. OK, it’s been many years so go ahead and add a few miles to my story. Years later I did a baseball demo into Kaminsky Park and it seemed just as close as I was with Jim. So I’m looking out the window, full of awe at downtown Chicago and starting to think about waivers and FAA stuff. Fortunately the next thing I know Jim pops the door open at about 2500 feet and I forget about all that. We start into a tight right turn and he points down to my DZ. “You see that RV dealership down there?” “No.” We are over the city and it was nothing but urban sprawl. Square city blocks everywhere you looked. “There, right there. You see all the motor homes parked together?” “Uh, OK, I see it.” Finally I picked out the dealership. “You see that little grass lot across the street from the all the RV’s?” “Uh, yeah.” “That’s your landing area.” “Uh, OK.” “There are lots of power lines around where you’re landing. When I finish this turn you’ll be on jump run” “Uh, OK” Well I was sent to get the motor home and that’s what I was going to do. When we finished the turn I stuck my head out the door to check the spot (I had to have some control of the situation), hopped out and opened. It’s always strange to be under canopy over a populated area. I noticed the traffic noise and the sounds of the city. I also had a big ego trip going on. I mean, hey, I was really going to impress these people by jumping in to pick up a motor home. How cool is that! The jump went fine. Jim was sure right about the power lines. They were all around my tiny landing area but I managed not to get fried. I had a nice landing in the small grass lot across the street form the dealership. I was buzzed! As I was gathering up my canopy I noticed people on the street and at the RV dealership looking at me. I knew I really impressed them! I was so cool! It was a busy street and I had to wait a bit to cross. A few people came up to me on the sidewalk to ask what happened. In my coolest skydiver manner I told them that I was just dropping in to pick up an RV. After the traffic finally cleared, me and my swelled head walked across the street and into the show room. I knew I was hot shit! They never saw anything like this before. I was strutting my stuff with my canopy over my shoulder! Hope I can get my big head through the RV door! I walked up to the counter and knew that the guy was blown away with me. I mean, who in the world has ever jumped into Chicago to pick up an RV? “Hello sir, can I help you?” “Yes, I’m here to pick up a motor home for Kabeller.” “OK Sir, let me get the paperwork for that” He stepped away from the counter to get what he needed. A few employees were standing around looking at me. I was sure they were almost as impressed with me as I was! He soon came back with the necessary forms. “Please sign here, here and here sir.” “OK.” “You know sir, this is really interesting.” “Oh, what’s that?” “Well you’re the third person to jump in here today to pick up a motor home.” Well, that was the fastest ego deflation I think I ever had. I signed the papers and had no trouble getting my head through the door of the RV. The drive back to Freeport was un-eventful and we had a great Convention. And I had another interesting day at the office. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d123 1 #847 August 20, 2007 Great story! It really put a smile on my face Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #848 August 20, 2007 I got a kick out of the "you fucking deaf or something" line... People ask me that ALL THE FUCKING TIME... By the way, awesome story. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #849 August 20, 2007 GREAT story! BTW....my wife says to say hi to your wife. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveJack 1 #850 August 20, 2007 Quote GREAT story! BTW....my wife says to say hi to your wife. My wife says hi right back. Hope you are being Faithful! Our best to you both! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
