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steve1

Scary stories from the old days?

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Take it as a compliment of the highest order.;) I'm sure that at the time, that proceedure seemed very practical and sane but, but .....but ..... well.... uh....God what were we thinking?:o:D

Edited to ask "where and who?":D

***
:)If only we knew then what we know now huh?!

If you'll notice...
I included the fact at the very BEGINING of the
story, I WAS 19!:)
Weren't we ALL bulletproof at that age?!:S

I wouldn't even attempt something like that anymore..
But at the TIME...sure SEEMED like a good idea! [:/]

Actually what we did following that clustermuck...
was to add a D ring to the back section of the static lines,
near the end snap...the idea was to clip a belly mount reserve to the line...grab the ripcord..and cut the static line!
Hoping the cross connectors...and the D ring would hold on and basicly 'teather' the student down under the spare reserve kept in the plane during student operations.

Looked kinda Rube Goldberg to me...
But I sure wasn't ever gonna Tarzan that rope again!! :o











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

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In twenty years of skydiving, the scarest thing I witnessed was on a demo I organized in downtown Enseneda, Mexico. I was on the first load of 50 skydivers because I was the only one who actually knew where the DZ was. In the attached picture the target was on the bottom right, a x'd circle in a parking lot across from the Corona Hotel. ( Its another story why I was the only one who knew where the spot as ). We flew 2 DC-3's and a single Twin Otter directly from Lake Elsinore crossing the border directly to Enseneda. Without my knowledge, a Mexican skydiver from Enseneda had managed to board one of the DC-3's in Lake Elsinore. He was on the last pass of the last airplane. Everyone on the ground was celebrating what an historical moment it was when all eyes became focused on the Mexican skydiver who had twisted his legstrap and wasn't able to pull out his pilot chute. Anyone there who witnessed this would tell you we could see him strugling for his pilot chute literally to the last second when he went for his reserve, which we found out later he had packed with mutiple line twist. When it came out 200 feet from the ground in a stall position he impacted on the roof of a car on the parking lot, slid down the hood and was standing up in front of the car as I arrived expecting to see a lot of blood. I ask him was he okay, he brushed me aside and said, " I'm okay, I have done this before?"
Then he walked over and began repacking his reserve on the dirt parking lot. A Mexican two star Air Force General who witnessed the event, not knowing it was one of his own, was very upset at me. The next day as we were preparing to leave, he requested to see me for an explanation. Every demo after that, I was required by the authorities, to prove that every skydiver had a "D" license.
Tony Brogdon
D-12855

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***When it came out 200 feet from the ground in a stall position he impacted on the roof of a car on the parking lot, slid down the hood and was standing up in front of the car as I arrived expecting to see a lot of blood. I ask him was he okay, he brushed me aside and said, " I'm okay, I have done this before?"

Sounds like a emergency procedure worth remembering;)

If your have to land hard in a parking lot, go for the trunck or hood of a large car and some of the impact will be absorbed by the inclined sheet metalB|.

The car owners might have collision or comprehensive insurance coverage:o the jumper could pay the owners deductable;) which would be less expensive than the ride to the hospital.:ph34r:

R.I.P.

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Maybe were just nutz:S..but here's another one I found funny.

Awhile back at the Herd. There was a full otter load at altitude on jumprun. My friend (John Doe) flicked the two switches and turned off the engines. The pilot panicked and ordered everyone out the plane. End result...everything was fine and nobody was injured.




i know this is a wayyy old post, but someone posted a link in a recent post, and its alot of good reads......

i was on that load........yer friend was with my group riding copilot. i was at the door......noone relayed pilot said get out, but when that engine sputtered, i had the door open before anyone even knew what the hell happened........had that plane not stayed level, i was outta there.........we were nowhere near the dz either.....


_______________________________
HK MP5SD.........silence is golden

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Hi Jim;

No, the one I was describing was in Enseneda, Mexico. It was our first event after reopening Elsinore. The one at Murretta Hot Springs was fun one though.

Tony



***

Tony-

You invited my room mate 'Mark' and I on
one sometime around then...
(another Elsinore reopening) ;)

We took the DC-3 down and jumped into
some newly built hotel right on the beach.

I remember the jump well, as it was the
2nd jump on my new...
Red-White & Blue, * 21 cell * 'Excalibur'
and it being just the 2nd time I'd ever
'PRO' packed...

SURE! :ph34r::$

Why NOT do a demo over the
Pacific Ocean!? :o

The spot was well off shore...
After our 8 way, I turned, tracked & dumped...
only to watch my new 'investment'
flutter away for 1500 feet before opening!

Easily making the beach...
I did get some flack about opening low... :)

I just wanted to be sure that if I chopped
it, I would be close enough to recover it and
swim everything back in...( cough cough ) :S










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

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This doesn't count as a skydiving story either but it reminded me of something.My dad joined the Army in 1936 and served 4 years.When his hitch was almost up in 1940,he and his buddy were watching the 101 st Airborne train at Fort Benning.He and his buddy talked to the recruiting officer who told them to be back in the morning to sign up.They both wanted to reenlist but weren't sure what branch they wanted.
Both my dad and his buddy ended up getting roaring drunk that evening and picked up a couple of hookers.They forgot all about the 101 Airborne,instead my dad opted for the Coast Guard and spent D Day skirting the North Atlantic on the Destroyer Escort USS Savage.This was hazardous enough duty as had he had gone and joined the paratroopers,he probably would not have survived.My sister 's and my own existence are due in part to alot of alcohol and some hookers who happened to be in the right place at the right time.

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Katieangel,
I started jumping in Missoula in about 72'. I'm terrible with names and may have jumped with you. I also jumped at Sheridan at times and recall Ted Mayfield and Elevator well. The jumping is shut down in Missoula now. Everyone in the area jumps at Stevensville, which is owned by Hod Sanders. He started jumping in 72 in Missoula. B.J. Worth started in about 70 there also. Bring your rig if you get back to the area. It'd be fun to see you again...Steve1

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I spoke with Gary yesterday and, although he was initially evasive, he stated that he had indeed jumped the eye of Hurricane Donna, but said "Kinda, we only went to 2000 feet though."
He still works on aircraft around the DeLand airport.
He asked why I wanted to know & I told him about the thread. He laughed & said " Don't tell anybody, I dont want people to think I'm crazy"
Lemme know if you wanna know more & I'll ask him.
___________________________________________________

Whatever

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I don't know if Gary is married, but if he is I know his wife sits in the back of the car, as his balls are riding shotgun.

If you can get the whole story from him (or get him here to post it himself) I'd be indebted.

"Nothing is written"- T.E. Lawrence

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BEST THREAD ever. Newbie here and some of these stories scare the crap out of me. Especially the mexican dude one and the other one where Air has to slide down the S/L. JESUS. Also I'm learning at Elsinore and until recently was not aware of the history of that DZ, also didn't know it was reopened back in the 70's.

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From a newspaper clipping about 1971

"Who put that plane there?"

Wolverhampton, England

Two men and a woman leaped from a plane at 10,000 feet yesterday, only to discover there was another plane immediately below them.

The two men - Michael Bolton, 33, and
Michael taylor, 30 - both hit the plane and had miraculous escapes.

Bolton crashed through the fabric body of the de Haviland Rapide and landed on the floor of the passenger compartment. Both his wrists were broken.

Taylor landed on the tail of the plane and parachuted to safety, landing with leg injuries.

The woman, Sally Caine, 26, using a free-fall technique, managed to steer clear of the plane as hundreds of air show spectators watched the drama.

End of article.

As I remember, this was an early British large star attempt, 15 or so, and there were three aircraft in formation. These three lucky folks ( or unlucky, depending on your point of view) exited an Islander which had drifted out of formation on exit.

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Steve, you've obviously done or been involved in far too many scary things.... But this is pretty scary:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=271512#271512

------------------------------------------------------------
Also:
While I missed it, the pilot at Turners Falls SPC in the late 1970's flew the Beech under one of the bridges, legend had it. He was definitely crazy enough and physically skilled enough to have done it, too...reply]

Three of the people on the plane said "go for it!" The fourth was not amused, and turned him in to the authorities.

In the hearing he was asked if he would do it again, and he responded "yeah."

Wrong answer - they pulled his ticket for life.


Blue skies,

Winsor

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Turn the clock back to 1970 ... maybe '71: I was hanging off the strut of our club's 180 as the rest of a three-way (we called 'em a "3-man" back then) got positioned in the door. Otto, our jump pilot, was always good for an occasional thrill. This time, for reasons unknown, he really lost it -- pitching up hard and rolling to the left. Everybody got tossed out or off. Once I rolled face-to-earth I was stunned to find the jump plane directly below me in a fully developed spin. I was still way sub-terminal, so the closure rate wasn't breathtaking. But I grabbed a hard track and watched anxiously as the horizontal separation slowly kicked in and took me out of immediate danger. (No RW this jump!)

I KNOW there was some follow-up discussion with Otto but, for the life of me, I can't recall the specifics of what was said. What I do remember is that it took a LONG time for everything to unpucker.

Bravoniner

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With a name like OTTO he probably flew ME 109 or Fock-wolf 190 during the war. LOL

A very dear friend of mine died a few years ago, he was the last surviving German pilot of W W I, 102 yrs, 10 months.

I have two other friends (still alive who flew ME 109 and Focke-Wolf 190 aircraft, both great guys.




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Naw, Otto was just an ol' beerdrinker from Milwaukee. He flew like a maniac, but it was lung cancer that finally took him some years back.

We have a licensed, active member of our glider club (still sits in back and instructs) who flew a Fiesler Storch for the Luftwaffe. Gunter is well into his 80s and way too tough to hang it up.

Bravoniner

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We were jumping rounds on a farm in Ks and someone decided to locate the pea gravel pit 100 yds or so from the road and power lines that ran next to the road. Due to the prevaing winds are approach would be righ over the power lines.

We were young and dumb and didn't understand how bad those little lines on the wooden poles could be. We probaly lucked out some by missing the DZ. But we did have some close calls no injuries but did shut off the power to the next town once. After I left the area a s/l student landed in the lines and got hurt "very bad" in front of her kids and family.

Once were were drivng from the same DZ to another one that had a twin beech and passed by Big transmission lines steel towers etc. Damn they were close to the DZ and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know they were very bad. This was around 1970 and most of us were vets, the army guy in the car a ex LRP SP? guy says no problem want me to blow it?.:S.

LMAO couldn't tell if he was serious or not uh no thats ok will just have to miss them or die.

The few jumps we made there we never got close to those lines. Wish I could have said the same for those little sissy looking one's at our home DZ.

Young and dumb. Of couse we were trained what to do in case we went thru the lines but I think that was wishful thinking.

R.i.P.

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Hi, I know Mike quite well (he put me out of the Rapide as when I was a student in the 70's). Apparently, the Rapide pilot's reaction was "Where the f**k did you come from!".

Mike still jumps, he was CCI at Redlands (UK) until last year.

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I made a lot of jumps out of that plane...

Hey Pops, since this is scary stories thread, I heard one while I was jumping at Z-Hills in the 70's about your plane losing a whole landing gear with jumpers and having to land at McDill (foam). Was that a tale, or did it really happen?

-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

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your plane losing a whole landing gear with jumpers and having to land at McDill (foam). Was that a tale, or did it really happen?



I remember reading the article in Parachutist, complete with pictures -- I'd say it was real. But I thought it was Tampa Bay skydivers (of course, that may have been Pop's plane). I remember the Tampa Bay because when I next went to visit my grandmother in Clearwater, I looked for the DZ in the phone book. Couldn't find it.

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)

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