Chet Poland

[jaymundo 0]

Dayum...He doesnt look so old now

[patmoore 14]

I remember Chet Poland fondly. I'm sure I have some color slides of him from the early 70s in my massive collection. I now own a slide scanner but can never find the time to sit down and digitize all those slides.

DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

[RogerRamjet 0]

Quote

>I'm not so sure Chet had to pay for those tandems in DeLand.

That sounds like something Bob would do. I had the pleasure of jumping in a 'several-way', with Bob taking Chet as his tandem passenger, on his 85th birthday. I still have the video, and enjoy watching it, remembering the great vibes of that day.
I still have the metric altimeter, bought from Chet, along a many T-shirts over time..... I never questioned the price of anything from Chet. He was always the first to open the hangar doors, and the guy that ran you out, in order to close them.... I saw him all over the country, enjoying the DZ life in the van..... A cool dude! And, as Bill Booth related those last few minutes with Chet, whatta nice way to exit this planet...

He always seemed to be at the Z-Hills boogie as well, great guy.

I also agree about that being something Bob would do. He's still a great guy, just turned 60 (and looks 45 damn him). Saw him last weekend at the Kittenger thing in Deland. I spoke about a recert jump with Carl Daugherty and Bob offered me the deal of a lifetime. Carl had no time for such things that weekend, so have to find an off weekend when he's not plane captian or doing POPS record attempts

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

[davidlayne 5]

Here's Chet doing a tandem with James Layne. This would have been 1989, Chet was 88, James was 18.

I don't care how many skydives you've got,
until you stepped into complete darkness at
800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs
of parachute, son you are still a leg!

[OWB 8]

3331

Thank you, now I can finish my email.

I remember Chet was talking to Bill Booth sitting in his Van when he died.

Not quite. Chet was living in a camper during the summers at what was then Skydive Lebanon in Maine. We were on a weather hold when Bill Booth flew in from somewhere on his way home. Someone went to get Chet. Chet came down from his camper just as Bill walked over from his plane. They met right next to the manifest office. Bill greeted him and Chet replied, "oh Billy, I feel terrible", then he collapsed in his arms. Booth looked at me, started to say something, and I took off running to the phone. (pre-cell phone days). We got him to the hospital in Rochester NH, where they lost him.

Don't worry about nuthin' cause nothin's gonna be okay.

[skyvan 0]

Sprite and Vodka at the end of the day.