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steve1

Scary stories from the old days?

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My father was in the British Military in the early 60s and put many, many jumps on PCs back then. He hasn't jumped since then, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get him back in the air. Anyway, here's a story he told me as he told it to me...

Well, my buddies and I were in Kuala Lumpur and when we were there we would usually jump a few times a day... in the morning and at night when the weather wasn't too hot. These were mostly training jumps for accuracy and such, we did a lot at night too, but one day we decided to have a little fun. This crazy Aussie pilot we knew suggested that we try and take the helicopter as high as it would go and jump from there. So, three of my buddies and I got our gear, got in the helo and off we went. (can't remember what kind of helicopter) We got up to about 15000 feet and the chopper just started boucning around, but not going any higher. time to gear up...
I'm sitting on the edge doing up my legstraps when the guy next to me says "OK!" and suddenly I'm in freefall! That fucking crazy pilot dumped us! Oh my god... are my leg straps done, am I strapped in... I frantically check everything and in the process pull the ripcord... WHAP... I'm under a fully inflated canopy at 14000 feet... I was strapped in... Ugh, it was SO cold. After what felt like an hour under canopy in those goddamn uncomfortable legstraps, I finally land only to find that my buddies and the Aussie were sitting drinking a beer watching me go baaaaaack and forth baaaaaaack and forth...

"So Rodney... What took you so long?"

I am telling the story second hand but I thought you all might like it anyway
Blue Skies,
be careful out there...
-R
There is an art, or rather a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, and try it. - Douglas Adams

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The recent Parachutist had asked the question - What was your scariest off dz landing (or something to that effect).

Wednesday afternoon jump at Spaceland, around 1988. Way out, I pick my landing area, start setting up when I realized I was on the target side of a shooting range (i.e., downrange). Too late, I'm committed. I start screaming "Cease Fire! Cease Fire!". Then, it dawned on me, everyone was wearing hearing protection. I managed not to get shot, but those folks were not very happy with me. Only one of them spoke to me, and he said "Exit that way". :D

We are all engines of karma

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Good thing they weren't having a skeet shooting competition that day!;)



Wasn't there a story about a night demo jump at Z-hills where they started shooting fireworks up past the canopies as they came in?

Anyone?
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

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An RC model club flies their planes at the end of one of our runways so if you open up deep it can be a bit of a surreal experience heading back to the LZ with little planes flying around you. Mind you they have also been known to overfly the dz particularly when they are flying some of their model jets.

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this one time at band camp. oh no I'm wrong it was at ft. campbell back in the 80's. i was tracking away from a formation. and the slider stuck at the top of the cascades. on my cruiseair 7 cell f-111 square and it would not come down. no matter how hard it pumped the brakes and beat on lines. till 1300 feet. then when i cuttaway and my round res. opened i was flying to a gravel road in the distence. looking for an lz any lz. over some open rifle ranges and start hearing gun fire and realize i'm over a hot m-16 range and the targets are bellow and behind me and the firing line is bellow and in front btween me and the gravel road/ intended lz. i was tucked into a ball and trying to get all the downwind speed i could out of a strong 26 ft. lopo. made it over the firing line landed on the access road. they never quit firing. is that scary enough?
i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .


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Man you guys are killing me.
It's taken a few days, but I made it thru.
Ran late for more than a few things. I couldn't stop reading.
Some really great story tellers here. I'd love to spend some time around the bonfire with some of you.
Wish I could have been around for some of the scary times back then. I knew I was born a few decades to late, these stories confirm it. Still trying to find some rounds to jump actually.
Just stopped jumping my Sweethog and Clipper a few months back for some new gear. No more flat packing.
I know that stuff is high tech for some of you old timers, but everyone wants to puke seeing walk to the plane with that gear on.

I'd love to hear some more stories. I'm kind of sad I've made it all the way thru this thread.
Come on.... some of you stated that there were some stories for later..... well it's later. We're waiting not so patiently. Haven't you learned what happens when skydivers have nothing to do? It's like we're on a 4 day weather hold on a jump vacation. Last time that happened I tried kiting a 194 square foot canopy in 48 MPH(constant) winds. Yes there is video to prove it.
There has to be more weather hold stories.

Learn to be happy. You can't be there for anybody else in life if you can't learn to be there for yourself.

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Did anybody else happen to notice that several stories of "back in the day" specifically called out it was a Wednesday?

Learn to be happy. You can't be there for anybody else in life if you can't learn to be there for yourself.

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talk to me at richmond 08 and i 'll tell you the " high wind useing a truck and a paracommander as a parasail and a boat on a windy day story" and the " t-10 backed into the powerlines and shorted out power allover post story from ft. campbell back in the 80's. and the "no shit thought i was gonna die" story of my res. over the taill of a 182 from archway back at sparta illinois. when dave verner ran the drop zone. and his son kirk verner had the " magnet men" team. well before the arizona airspeed days.
i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .


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oh and i have a " that evil clipper broke my arm story" too if you come to the labor day boogie at richmond look me up. seriously
i have on occasion been accused of pulling low . My response. Naw I wasn't low I'm just such a big guy I look closer than I really am .


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Yessiree they do! :)

I 'balled one up' in the air with Pyro once over the Kentucky Derby! :o:S



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. ;):P


Great Balls Of Fire.

The Jerry Lee Lewis of skydiving.
" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

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Well,
You're right about the fireworks...the night jumpers were all wearing caylume light sticks and someone on the ground, who shall remain nameless, decided that the bottle rockets he had might be fun....it was....nobody got pissed everyone had fun.
Another time someone had discovered (mike patterson i think) the beer can/tennis ball shooter and it was put to use the same way except in the daytime....although a few got hit by the balls it wasn't a big deal and a lot of fun for those on the ground....the hills were crazy in those days...for sure...
Tuna...Pilot/rigger zhills....

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Don't remember what year it was but I think maybe 70-71, we were in the middle of a Thanksgiving "Turkey Meet" and were using several DC-3's and a couple of twin beeches and the lodestar to do large star formations...
Anyway, I can remember this old battered pick up truck pulling up in the parking lot, I was in the loft at the time, packing and doing rigger stuff, and this old farmer sticks his head in the door and wanted to talk to the owner, I quizzed him and it turns out he was out ploughing his field on his John Deere and this tail wheel slammed down in front of him...he calmly loaded it up, dragged it back, got it into his pickup truck and brought it to the obvious place....
This generated some pretty terse radio messages to the pilots, there were three DC-3's up at the time, until we actually had each aircraft go back and visually check to see if the tail wheels were in place...sure enough...one was missing! I think It was a guy named Eagle....flying...(for those of you who don't know, the tail wheel assembly is held in by one huge circlip that keeps it restrained and in the frame of the tail wheel assembly. This must have been the cause as we later figured out.)
The load of jumpers went on out and Eagle brought the three down for a landing....he did a great job and the aircraft ended up doing a gentle ground loop in the soft sand adjacent to the runway...so there we were with an unsteerable aircraft in the middle of the meet.
Heads were put together and a call went out over the PA system for everyone to come out to the aircraft....and then...believe it or not, the entire crowd picked up the tail, and pushed the aircraft down the runway, over to the hangar where a jack was put under the tail. I might add, three's have a skid on the tail for just that reason, there was no damage at all to the tail. Bob Porter somehow got the tail wheel back in place since we desperately needed the aircraft and within hours it was back in service.....
If anyone remembers this, please correct any innacuracies about it, that was 35 years ago.....
Tuna

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I echo Beer's comments. Found this and could hardly stop. Took a few days to read it all, and have now sadly reached the current end.

Being a relatively new guy, I got nothing to contribute. (I do have a few driving/racing tales; and other endeavors for which the SOL has not run out), but that is for another place.

Mostly just want to express gratitude and genuine appreciation for the guys that paved the way to the improvements we enjoy today. Hats off to ya old guys.;)

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

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I concur...I think we're about due for another Twardo story...;)






:o:ph34r:

An ole jumper buddy and I did an hour long interview last week~

...I about broke my elbow jammin' it into his ribs tryin' to get him NOT to tell some of the stories that the statute of limitations hasn't run out on yet! ;)










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

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I concur...I think we're about due for another Twardo story...;)






:o:ph34r:

An ole jumper buddy and I did an hour long interview last week~

...I about broke my elbow jammin' it into his ribs tryin' to get him NOT to tell some of the stories that the statute of limitations hasn't run out on yet! ;)


but... if the names and places are "changed to protect the innocent" (and not so innocent)....
hell.. unless it was in the past 7 years I doubt you have to worry about the statue of limitations.... :D
The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...

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An ole jumper buddy and I did an hour long interview last week~

...I about broke my elbow jammin' it into his ribs tryin' to get him NOT to tell some of the stories that the statute of limitations hasn't run out on yet! ;)



My little sister is bad for that. Sitting round the fire and she gets pretty loose lips after a "few" beers.

"Come on bro, tell em bout zhat time . . . . . , come on man, tell it, tell it!"
" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

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My stuff is 1/2 electrically fired...so I ground myself to the airframe. I have to pull a safety pin to even arm the two electrical switches.

Some other is friction matches, which are taped securely so as not to snag, and last but not least are the ones I have to hit with a hammer handle to fire the percussion cap to get the going.

Called 'job security'...not a whole lotta people waitin' in line to do it!



Where do I sign up?:P
----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

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My stuff is 1/2 electrically fired...so I ground myself to the airframe. I have to pull a safety pin to even arm the two electrical switches.

Some other is friction matches, which are taped securely so as not to snag, and last but not least are the ones I have to hit with a hammer handle to fire the percussion cap to get the going.

Called 'job security'...not a whole lotta people waitin' in line to do it!



Where do I sign up?:P


here B|
1) Always the right time but you are asking a Guy - go figure...
2) Hopefully all your girlfriends
3) Depends on (2)
4) Yes
5) Tongue is nice

G
----- Original Message -----
From: marietjiedp
To: 'GRAHAM FIELD'
Cc: [email protected]
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2008 4:45 PM
Subject: FW: FW: FW: [Fwd: first kiss]






So, it's your first kiss and several questions might come to mind:


Is it the right time?


Is anyone watching?


Does your partner even want to?


Is your breath fresh?


AND,---Should you use some tongue?


Then you say, "What the heck!" and
just go for it!!!












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Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com
Version: 8.0.169 / Virus Database: 270.6.14/1643 - Release Date: 8/30/2008 5:18 PM



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---------------------------------
www.skydiverustenburg.co.za
www.skydiveqatar.com

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this is an actual true story. tho small details may have been forgotten over the years due to aging braincells....
this happened back in the mid 70's at a very large ,well known corporate drop zone in new jersey(no longer in existance)
a jumpship,carrying 9 or so jumpers,was climbing out after take off.at something less than 700 feet the aircraft is losing oil pressure. the pilot turns and orders everybody out.first jumper (a student)makes a hasty exit and deploys his reserve .second jumper (also a student) exits and gets stable then deploys his main.he impacts during deployment .next jumper refuses to go and so the rest of the load stays with the aircraft .the pilot manages to limp the plane back to the airport and land.

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BUMP!!

Here's one from about 10 years ago. I love night jumps! I guess I have about 30~40 counting military.

My 1000th was a night 10 way from 13.5 at Skydive Houston. It was also Dan the Treeman's 1000th. I convinced Dan to wait in the plane with me for a 10 - one thousand count after the other 8 exited. This is one of my favorite things to do on SCR/SCS loads. I had never done it at night. I had a similar night jump experience years earlier when the base funneled on an 8 way. I really wanted to do it on purpose. After 10-one thousand, we exited together and dove side by side like F-16s. Treeman was holding a Chem-lite in his mouth.

We caught them at about 7~7.5. I looked over at Treeman and he still had the Chem-lite in his mouth! He was so amped that he had bitten through it and was streaming Chem-lite juice in freefall!:)
Mike Smith was the senior jumper and had decreed that we will break at 5K and pull high. I guess 8 other people felt felt like me. Pull high at night with 9 other jumpers? Fuck that!! I smoked it down to 2k and pulled, only to have someone lift their feet to avoid a head on collision! Mike was the only jumper to land on the DZ. We all had the same idea and all landed in the same small field at the end of the runway. Funny as hell!

For me, it was 3 night jumps in a row that month that I had landed out. My girlfriend was getting a little pissed. It took a lot of beer to smooth things over!B|

____________________________________
I'm back in the USA!!

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