Scary stories from the old days?

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

THAT was a great story.

[Michele 1]

Mike

Quote

click again?

Nope. The first one scared me.

Airtwardo, thanks. Having been in the middle of the riots without ever having conceived of BASE-ing (let alone skydiving), I remember those days well. You have bigger balls then I do. (Well, you know what I mean....) first BASE into the heart of a burning city...man oh man...

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[airtwardo 6]

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Airtwardo,
Great story! Tell us another one......Steve1

You want another one?

I've been around since Christ was a Corporal, so I have a million of  'em!
This one's more funny that scary:

I've been jumping with a professional demonstration team for over 20 years.
We do a lot of airshows and special events all over the United States.
Our biggest 'feather' is being the opening act at EAA's AirVenture Oshkosh, every year since 1984 ....considered the largest airshow in the world.

We do the usual stuff...super large flag, smoke, banners, McGruff the Crime Dog jumps with us,  blah blah blah...

15 years or so back, we got the brilliant idea that in order to keep our act interesting and marketable....we should do something that no one else on the performer circuit was doing.

Keep in mind that these guys are some of the most seasoned and talented jumpers one could every hope to meet, but....  "ain't none of 'em wound real tight"   if you get my drift....that being said, it was really of little surprise to me that the agreed upon addition to our 'menu' of acts should be;

FIREWORKS!

...Oh yeah, that's a great idea!     ...Hey, does anybody know if F-111 burns, or just melts!

A considerable amount of time and expense went into the research - development and testing of what we just knew would be our showcase act.
After finding suitable products, designing and building somewhat user friendly systems...endless training sessions and discussions about 'what if '

...It's SHOWTIME!
We'd been doing the night act for over a year, and had refined it to the point that it proved to be as impressive as we'd ever hoped.

So...it's 9:00 PM, I exit at 6500 AGL....# 3 in a stick of 4.
We're dispersed in a line down the runway over some nameless airport near Atlanta.

The choreography of the act dictates a 10 second exit spacing between jumpers and a 3 second delay...we all open up and fire one of the three ' pull to light' signal flares in a steel bracket on the left foot.
This really illuminates the canopy, and allows us to easily move into our relative positions for the performance.
All four of us are over the centerline of the runway...facing into the crowd line, roughly 500 yards apart.
.....How the show generally progresses from there is...
On radio cue from the team leader, ( ground based ) we begin to fire the large silver & gold fountains mounted inside of these big, heavy steel brackets strapped to the right leg....
In slow deliberate order from left to right, down the show line...
After we're all " burning " we steer at each other,  2 guys on the left working together,
... 2 on the right doing the same. The idea is to make two big X's in the night sky with the trailing sparks from the foot-fountians....that takes a couple of minutes, and if done correctly, you've changed places with the guy you're working with.

Again, facing the crowd, we then lower down these HUGE fountains carried in a belly wart...the pyro is mounted on sections of log-chain, the stuff burns through steel cable!
Once lowered, the bombs are fired off all at once and we all start to spin down...the pyro burns in the air for a while and creates a beautiful candy cane effect.

But on this night...

" No Shit, There I Was"  
I'm in position....left foot signal flare burning away, I hear in my earpiece the radio comm. from Team Leader on the ground,
"Number 1,... fire!"
I look waaaay down the runway to my left at jumper #1, and see this bright flash...
followed some seconds later by a thunderous   KABOOOOM!!  which rocks the canopy so much...#1 looks like a rag doll on the end of a string.
I then hear from the ground...
" Number 2,...FIRE! "
another horrific flash...followed by an even louder KAAABOOOOMMM!
This time I actually felt the Shockwave.
" son-of a BITCH !!! " I hear coming from # 2
...and he WASN'T using his radio!

" Okay...Number 3.....FIRRRREEE ! "
I hear from our faithful leader....( conveniently on the ground I might again add )

Now remember...when you're doing all this shit in the air, it's gets ' real busy ' to say the least!
At this point, muscle memory and the adrenaline factor take over.

I have both toggles in my mouth...holding half brakes to keep from wandering over the crowd...
with the flashlight taped to my head I'm setting the arming switch to enable the firing system...
left leg is kicked back as far as it will go in order to minimize the blinding effect the burning signal flare has on my eyesight....
right leg pushed out in front of me as far as it will go to keep the bombs on THAT leg from catching an errant spark...
All of this is happening in a matter of seconds...it's practiced tirelessly both on the ground and with inert pyro in the air.

Timing in ' show business ' is everything...and after all, I AM A PROFESSIONAL!
Just as my thumb is about to press the 'Fire' button....
I hear that little voice in the back of my head....
That same little voice that has helped me along so many countless times...

" What are you DOING ! ? .... what are you...
A FUCKING LEMMING !?! " - my voice said.

I pinched my throat mike,
" I...ahhh......it......ahhhh......hey ground,
...this thing won't fire...I must have a short...
...hey # 4.......GO AHEAD....."

From the team leader I hear, Okay....# 4....You Fire!

I look over to my right...waiting for one of my airshow mentors to either show us all 'How it's done ' or turn into yet another fireball in the sky...

Just as I was starting to feel those pangs of guilt for being such a pussy, letting the team down,
...the shame of defeat.

I hear ole L.B. ( jumper # 4 ) come back on his radio...
with a 'Letterman like' whinny giggle;
"Heeeheeeeheeeeheee, ahhh...hey ground-- mine won't fire either...."

The show isn't working, ...team leader stressfully asks " Do you have a short too # 4 ?"

" No...........YOU DO!
........A SHORT FUCKIN' MEMORY!
....DIDN'T YOU JUST SEE THOSE OTHER TWO GUYS? "

There was no immediate answer from the ground....the only word that came across the radio was a whispered, sarcastic; "Asshole" !
To this day I can't say who said it...or to whom....

I was laughing so hard...I blew snot all over my altimeter !

We all opened the bellywarts, fired up the 'candycanes' and started to spin!

Later...while signing autographs, this older whuffo type guy asks me...
" Who were the two guys with the dynamite charges? "
" Oh...that's them over there," I pointed....
"The two with the LIMP!"

Take a look at the attached PICS for a better illustration of what I'm talking about...that's me or the far right.

www.libertyteam.com

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

[steve1 5]

You tell the best stories, Artwardo! Keep them coming.....Steve1

[AggieDave 6]

Dude, that's freak'n awsome!
Tell us more, tell us more!

I want some stories of Christ when he was a mess cook!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[airtwardo 6]

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You tell the best stories, Artwardo! Keep them coming.....Steve1

...Then there was the time we were doing a show using the "Red Baron's Pizza"
Srearmans as jump platforms.

The four Stearman airplanes make a low pass over the crowd...castor oil smoke ON.
They climb up to 3500' and get into a circular formation over our exit point....
On cue all four simultaneously go inverted....the jumpers falling from the forward cockpit to do 10 second delay, then going into our 2nd act of the show.

So there I am...all 6 foot 4 inches of me, two 270 sqft canopies on my back...big bulky smoke brackets on each foot...3 military M-18's on both....

Damn near had to use K-Y and a shoe horn to get IN the thing....Now I'm rather anxiously fidgeting about....trying to figure out how to get OUT!

I hunched my shoulders together....pulled my knees up and tried to center them away from anything in the way.
Looking back at the pilot...I tilt my head like a confused puppy dog...as if to ask,
" This look all right to you? "
He gives me that confident ' fighter jock ' nod that ALL them airshow pilots must practice for hours....

In the next instant...we're upside down...and I'm hanging there, by one leg....hung up on something inside the old bird.

My custom made, super duty, professional grade, smoke brackets are factory equipped with a quick-release system specifically designed to safely get it away from me...or in this case me from it....

Only problem is....I'm hanging upside down at an indescribably uncomfortable angle...twistin' in the wind at 150 MPH !!!

Pushing against the side of the fuselage to try and steady myself...
I see the pilot....still stone faced and remarkably cool, considering....
Reaching forward toward the toe of my boot....can't tell from my vantage what he's doing, but suddenly his hand quickly pulls back....his eyes now much larger and intense than a moment before.

Looking back now, it was truly a sight to behold....something right out of the 30's
His soft helmet, Fly-man bugeye goggles, handlebar mustache blowing in the wind....
Even upside-down it was cool...

He cut the power way back....it's almost quiet now...and the twisting around is lots less violent......" If you wanna keep that leg as a matched set, he yells to me....
Get it the fuck outta my airplane!! "

And with that he punches the stick forward....diving the airplane...and floating me back 'up & in" ....freeing the hang-up and floating me " Zero G " away....

I learned two very valuable lessons that day....
( 3 if ya count that redhead in the bar )

# 1...never try anything in the air you haven't thoroughly practiced on the ground.

# 2...never eat ' Tombstone ' Pizza....

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

[chuteless 1]

Thats a great story, you sure know how to recruit base jumpers who havent had that thrill yet. You should work for the recruiting office of the US Army. GREAT STORY. Keep em coming. those are what I call stories to charge your battery.

[airtwardo 6]

Come on Liz!
You've got more stories than even I do!!!

Lets hear 'em!!!

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

[indigoSkye 0]

Oh, I blush, Twardo... What would you like to hear about?

How about Plugging-In?? Does anybody remember that??? AKA "Indoor Reverse-SpeedStar Boogie"

It is a stormy day at the DZ... the plane is all tied down and the manifest window is very desolate...
the pilot has gone home to his wife & kidz. There is NO hope of jumping any more... and nobody will volunteer for the next beer run. Yet.
Let's Plug IN!

First, you take an extension cord, and cut off the female (sorrry Ladies, I am one also) end, separate and then strip the two wires, leaving 2 bare ends. Then, get everybody into a circle, holding hands. The person next to each of the bare ends of this wire is the conductor. One will plug in the cord now. The circle of people complete the circuit... and volia, you are all Plugged-In!

This exercise has been known to strengthen many different muscle groups, while also being entertaining. And, like many exercise programs, the dropout rate is high. But this one still feels pretty good, until the next-to-last person hands the other bare wire end to the only one left in the line...

Yeee-Haaawwww! Someone please please pull the plug, all this juice has just made me...


... OOh ooh oops, gotta go cant wait seeya


Ah, DISCLAIMER: Don't try this at home, folks... it requires an ex-Strato-Star jumper to survive that last big Zap.

Or were you hinting about the story of Chuck Yeager in his sweaty jogging attire?? Some SHORTS, all right!!! ...next time. Maybe. Bribe me.

Perfect speed is being there at the goat roast.

[indigoSkye 0]

Okay, Okay, here's the last one for tonight; I have a hot date:

Pete M. of Tahlequah, Oklahoma: "Help me, Help me, there's a bug in my ear!"

Another no-jump windy day. We were all sitting around the packing table when Pete suddenly jumped up and started totally losing it! He was foaming at the mouth, raving and jumping all over, running in circles and screaming, "Help me, help me, there's a bug in my ear!!!," and he was really wild. So I tackled him and sat on top, and got two guys to sit on his legs and hold him down, and another guy to go and fetch some water in a cup.

We got him with his head sideways and I poured a little water in his ear... and the thing flew out in such a hurry, we all jumped back.

Ya, it was a bug, all right. About 2 centimeters, with long, hard wings that buzz. AN EARWIG!!!

Pete's story continued. I moved to another state, joined a jump club there, and became a parachute rigger. Every September, the club hosted the Labor Day Boogie. As a club member I was expected to perform some work for this meet, so I volunteered for the Rigger's Check-In. Before anyone can buy registration tickets to jump there, they must have their gear checked by a rigger. We make sure that it is safe, and to see that the reserve parachute is sealed, and has the proper packing dates on it.

I saw Pete, waiting in my line. This was about 20 years ago, hard to believe it's been that long, but I am still laughing about it, every time I think of it.
When he came up front, I said to him, very quietly, "Pete M___ of Oklahoma?" He agreed, and I said, "I'm Lizard, your ex-jump-student... from Tahlequah. He said, "You're a R-rrrigger now???" and I said
"Pete, twenty dollars, right here, right now, or I will jump up on this table and take this microphone, and tell every person in five miles about that Giant Cock-A-Roach you had in your ear a few years back, and how we had to hold you down to get it out."

Pete whispered to me that it wasn't a cockroach, it was an earwig. (true). I just said, "It's a cockroach NOW, and it's fifty dollars now, too." That money would almost pay for 4 jumps from one of the larger planes, or for one from the helicopter.

Pete tore his pocket half off, getting his wallet out, believing that he really did have to pay me for not telling. It turned out that he had a guilty conscience anyway, because his reserve was out-of-date.
Guess who got paid to re-pack it?

Perfect speed is being there at the goat roast.

[airtwardo 6]

Quote

Dude, that's freak'n awsome!
Tell us more, tell us more!

I want some stories of Christ when he was a mess cook!

Back when he was a mere mess cook...
his favorite line was-
"Don't load up on bread...we got fish coming"
I think he used it later in his career as well!

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

[airtwardo 6]

Quote

You tell the best stories, Artwardo! Keep them coming.....Steve1

Well.... Okay, If you insist.

I was looking through some old pictures, trying to find one of my trusty old Para-Plane for another thread in this section.
When I came across some old pics that reminded me of a jump that was less scary for me than everyone else there.

File this one under: Better to be Lucky than Good!

A little background-
It was 1979 and I was the Captain of the " Jumpin' Dawgs"
Southern Illinois University Skydiving Team.

A few of us on the team had the credentials and skill to do demos, and we'd worked out a deal with the university to perform at many of the home games as a warm-up to the festivities.
At different times I'd brought in the 'Game Ball' , dog biscuits for the school mascots,
the head coach's 'missing' game plan....
Rah Rah stuff.

It got our club attention, which increased membership...which fattened my wallet, since I'd worked out a deal with the local DZO for a nice cut of all the static-liners I brought in a taught.

The game in question was a most special opportunity for us as a team
...and me in particular.

It was the Home coming game for that season, and despite the lousy team we had.
It was to be a monster event in town.
It was also Parents Day, meaning not a lot of empty seats in the stadium.
And...for the first time ever!
We would be jumping at half time instead of as the warm-up monkees.

The day of grand expectations had arrived...
I'd gone to what for me at the time, were extreme measures to;

"Pull off a crowd pleaser"

-My folks had driven 350 miles to check out where all the money was going...
Got them front row seats for the game.

-Stayed up most the night prior to see that the pilot buddy we convinced to 'borrow' a university plane was suitably lubed to follow through.

-Utilized my by then well honed skills with whiteout and a copier to make all pertinent paperwork in order.
(is there a statute of limitations on USPA insurance fraud?) ....ahhh just kidding.

- Re packed my reserve in the trunk of my car.

- made DAMN well and sure that this Tall, Blonde, Bumpy in all the right places....
(get this) CHEERLEADER type, pixie babe...
...that I had met at a party two nights before,
and played slap & tickle with most of the early morn with... before being thrown out sliding into third...
...whom, I quite slyly I should add,
agreed to...
'drop it on' for part of the game and watch her cheer on the team,
...was still expecting me to come see her steal the show with her new routine.

...3rd base my ASS!
I had some show stealin' to do myself!!

-A lotta guys don't like to jump smoke...it can be messy and is a little dangerous.
I'd jumped a lot of smoke...even back then,
with the demo team from my home DZ.
Problem was, the club was 350 miles north and so were my smoke brackets.

A fellow team member and engineering student, had contrived the smoke bracket to end all smoke brackets... and agreed to lend it to me for the day.

The thing was beautiful; stainless, aluminum, heavy nylon webbing...
....and safe!

Three separate ways to cut it away if there was a problem.
You could even set it up to fire the 2nd smoke with a kick from the other foot!
( these engineer guys are something, us undeclared dudes just party and chase babes)

All pretty much going to plan...
If you don't count that odd color the pilot face keeps turning.
...And why's he keep askin' to borrow my helmet?

We had some trouble strapping him in the plane,
so now we're a bit late, no time for a wind drift.
I can see the flags on the stadium and they're still...

The 1/2 time whistle has blown, the band is beginning to form into the diamond shape that it will hold until we touch down within.

At 3500 feet ...
Dead nutz over the 50...CUT!...C-YA!!
And we're off-
5 second delay... ripcord out...
(yes, a ripcord!)
...canopy check,
The other two guys begin to form up on me...
I "am" the Captain after all!
I reach down to fire one of the two yellow smokes...and...

HOLY SHIT!!!!

...There it goes! The bracket to end all brackets has performed flawlessly!
....pull the grenade pin, it and figures your in trouble
...breaks apart into the 3 purposely designed, masterly machined, close tolerance matched pieces.

And with the burning M-18 showing the way...
Is now screaming down toward a statuim full of waiting to be impressed people.

My initial emotion was terror...
- All demo jumpers know rule #1 : don't hurt anybody!

To religion...
-God I hope it doesn't hit anybody....That I know!

To the skydivers standard, Gallows Humor...
-It'll smack the blonde pixie right in the melon,
..no real threat of damage there!
...but it will ruin her 'routine' and I'm never gonna get a chance to break Roger Marris's record!
(remember, this was '79...Mac was still in rubber pants)

I'm drifting way out of position watching the end of my career unfold
...the other two guys blissfully unaware of my minor mishap, are yelling to me to "spin it down!"...

...spin it down...
..hell I might as well just cutaway and track for a soft spot on the blonde.
...nobody would even mention the smoke bomb if I did THAT!

At around 1800 feet I'm right over the goal post.
...south side of the field.
A yellow cloud seems to be emanating from near the wall behind the posts,
It's definitely inside the stadium
...but looks like nothing going on in that area...

Surely if id beaned a customer, there would be some frantic activity there... right ?!

Maybe, with all this clean livin' I dodged a bullet....

We all three landed safely, on time and on target
...just as advertised!

The crowd went wild...the band was relived!
( looked nervous as we pounded in among 'em)

Dragging our gear to the sidelines, I curtly explain to my fellow skygods just how well the jump REALLY went.

When... off in the endzone...POP!

...smokebomb # 2 starts burning...
( Hey!...the auto-kick start really works! )

Maybe if we ignore it, it will just all go away...

...I'm packing on the track that circles the gridiron.
...gotta suck out every bit of glory you can ya know!

My Dads standing next to me just beaming
...behind him I see this doughnut warehouse with a badge, carrying the remnants of my bracket & bomb combo in his paws...
being escorted toward me by Southern Illinois University's director of athletics...
Old number 40 for the Chicago Bears....Gayle Sayers!

Though always a big fan, I'd never met Mr.Sayers...( I cried during 'Brian's Song' )
...and wasn't really looking forward to our impromptu introduction.

Maybe if I ignore him...he just go away!

"Hello, I'm Gayle Sayers...are you enjoying the game?" # 40 asked my dad.
" It's great" pops answers, " But I really came to see my son jump in."
"Yes, they do put on quite a show for us"
Gayle says looking at me...

I'm on my knees trying to close my container, putting on the best Brian Piccolo
impression I can...
playing the 'sympathy' card.

Mr. Sayers then hits me with more cool than 'Shaft' could ever touch...
"I was explaining to officer "krispycream" here,
...that you drop these in as wind indicators for landing direction...
and that you ordinarily pick them up after the game."

Err Ahhhh....YEP! That's right! ...Ahhh, After...
But I can take it right now...Thanks!

My dear old dad, knowing every bit of what's going on here...never misses a beat...

Gee Gayle, mind If I get a picture...
hands me his camera...and puts his arm around Sayers.

...Hell, at that point, even "I" almost wanted to hug Mr. Gayle!!

I stayed for the rest of the game
...hey, ...front row seats!

The folks took my friends and I out for a great dinner, before they hit the road for home.

The Cheerleader came along too...
Couldn't get over how I wasn't kidding when I said I'd "drop-by."

...Oh Yeah,
Remember that legendary time when "The Babe"
...pointed out to left field?

.....YEP!

... YARD!
A Long Distance DINGER!!!

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good!

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

[wmw999 2,114]

You write really well -- I'm sure I've had interesting stuff happen, and I don't think I could ever make it sound that cool.

Of course, it's never been quite that interesting, either...

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[chuteless 1]

this is an unusual story that happened, I believe, near or at Orange Mass, about 25 yrs ago. A Cessna took off with two students and jumpmaster. The JM dropped the first student on static line, and made a second pass for the next student, also on static line. He thought he'd make a separate pass for himself after dispatching the student, but he failed to notice one of the static lines was wrapped around his foot. The line was attached to the rear leg of the pilot's seat, and whern the JM dfove out the door, he went 15 ft and stppoed. The static line was firmly around his foot, and he had no knife, and likely couldnthave reached his foot while swaying back and forth anyhow. The pilot thought the guy was long gone, and began his descent. The JM realized he was going to be dragged along the runway, and his only chance was to open his chute, and possibly lose his leg as it pulled out of the socket. Nevertheless, thatwas better than being killed in a long drag. He pulled the ripcord, and the chute opened, but pulled the seat right out of the aircraft, and from under the pilot, who found himself flying while sitting on the floor. The pilot managed to land the plane, but the jumpmaster drifted down to the DZ with the pilot's seat hanging 15 feet below him. The seat hit the ground, and the JM landed on it and broke his leg. Alls well that ends well. A true story. Bill Cole D41

[mjosparky 3]

Jim,
The guy on your right in the second picture, what is his name,
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[howardwhite 2]

Well, it was Turners Falls, MA, not so far from Orange. It was not the jumpmaster (Marc James) but another jumper (George McCulloch) who got the static line entangled. George was probably in his mid-70s at the time. Otherwise, roughly true.

HW

[airtwardo 6]

Wasn't there a picture in one of the mags. back then showing the seat hanging below the jumper prior to touchdown???

I seem to remember a poor quality black & white with a brief explanition of the incedent...

Had to be that one...couldn't have happened more than once could it??

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

[chuteless 1]

Thanks for the update Howardwhite: If it wasnt tghe jumpmaster, who dropped the static line jumpers, and wouldnt it likely have been the jumpmaster to be last to leave the aircraft. However, as I said, I had heard about it, I wasnt there, and my memory genes are now 71 yrs old....and it seems some of them are still working reasonably well. Bill Cole D41

[howardwhite 2]

I think there was only one static liner. The other two were jumping into the Old Stone Lodge, an after-jumping watering hole a few miles away. I don't remember any pictures and doubt that there were any, but The Spotter, a regional newsmagazine, certainly published an account.

HW

[chuteless 1]

I once knew of a dropzone in Ohio, where they had a farmer close by who hated jumpers and jumping, especially when they landed on his farm. It was referred to as "shotgun alley" because the old man would sometimes fire one just to let them know he hated them. One day a jumper landed on the farm while the old man was riding his tractor doing what farmers are supposed to do. The farmer saw him and drove over ( as thejumper thought) to have a talk with him about the landing on the farmers place. The tractor putted right up the jumper while he was stowing his lines in a daisy chain, and the tractor stopped right on top of his Paracommander canopy. The farmer turned the key off, and put it in his pocket, climbed off the tractor, an walked towards his home...diappearing from the amazed jumper's sight as he stood there in his harness, holding the lines to the trapped PC. Eventually, the jumper left his gear and got back to the DZ and called police. The cops came, and talked to the farmer, but he wasnt interested in giving the guy his PC back. After many hours of on again-off again negotiations and agreemenst that the jumpers would stay off his land, the farmer backed his tractor up, releasing the canopy. The jumpers made sure they didnt land there again. I imagine the old farmer had them worried for awhile though. BILL COLE D41

[jbrasher 0]

A little further back (late 60's?) there was a picture of an airplane hanging below a jumper in Russia or England.
Check one of Poynter's books circa 70-80.

Canopy hung up on the plane and the jumper deployed chest mounted reserve (no cutaway) and lowered the whole thing including a pilot and at least one other jumper (maybe 2). Only injury was to the pilot.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky.

Red, White and Blue Skies,

John T. Brasher D-5166

[mikeat10500 9]

I have that pic...and it is one of the reasons I jump a round reserve!
.....mike

-----------------------------------
Mike Wheadon B-3715,HEMP#1
Higher Expectations for Modern Parachutists.

[skydiver52 0]

My first two jumps took place in the canal zone in 1972. the majority of ground school was, as you can imagine, plf. At this DZ the north end of the runway was used by TTC (tropical Testing Center) and had land mines planted to determine the life in the tropics. Leaving the plane, static line, you could look one way and see the Pacific, and the other way and see the Atlantic, all you had to do was hit the ground in the middle, except the land mines. My first jump went fine, the second one, the next weekend, I jumped a chute packed by a fellow student. Left the cesna and went fetal, hit the side of the plane, chipped a tooth, and opened under severe line twists. Came out of the twists and realized I was going downwind, started to turn, way too low, and hit the ground hard, next to the only tree in the entire DZ. Upon landing, my belly mount reserve deployed dragging me for a distance. I picked up my gear, dropped it off and left the sport. In 2002 I took a friend for her first tandem, for her birthday, not to look like I was afraid, I decided to try the sport again. She was the first one out, good thing because I would have never jumped except I would have been too embarrassed not to after she did. Scared the hell out of me. But, the next week we started AFF, we both are flying cameras and loving every weekend. Sometimes I regret not staying in the sport, but, am glad that I got back in now that the equipment is so much safer.

[Kinaa 0]

Quote

A little further back (late 60's?) there was a picture of an airplane hanging below a jumper in Russia or England.
Check one of Poynter's books circa 70-80.

Canopy hung up on the plane and the jumper deployed chest mounted reserve (no cutaway) and lowered the whole thing including a pilot and at least one other jumper (maybe 2). Only injury was to the pilot.

It was in England. They actually made TV movie whit use of real footage from actual accident. I watched it 2 years ago.
It was so unreal to see skydiver under the round canopye and the cessna hanging below him. And they all were injured except the guy that deployed reserve.
I'll try to dig out the movie, I have a friend working on local TV station that showed the movie.

[airtwardo 6]

***Sometimes it is better to be lucky.
Red, White and Blue Skies,

John T. Brasher D-5166

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Yeah John,

It is OFTEN better to be lucky!
Don't know if you remember me...
We're shared some air together way back when.

Air Trash Rules!

Red, White & Blues to you 2 !

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

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