steve1 5 #26 February 27, 2007 Thanks for the great Thread, John! I'm also enjoying the debate on this issue. We had a neighbor who died last year. He told us the following story....He was an airforce crew chief and was flying on a cargo aircraft during the 40's. They were flying through a severe snowstorm somewhere in the Southwest U.S. There was extreme turbulance when one of the wings came off. Most of them were chuted up and were scrambling to get out the door. The only problem was that there were so many G's being put on everyone and everything that noone could get out. They were litterally bouncing off the walls, ceiling, and floor. Everyone figured they were doomed. About then the back of the plane litterally broke off exposing a white world of wind and snow. Some of them got out in time to open their chutes, but some of them also perished when the plane hit a mountain. The ones that made it out were scattered over a big area and were unable to regroup in the snow. It took a few days to hike out to any kind of road or civilization. You had to admire the courage people like that had. They made a TV documentary out of this a couple years ago....Steve1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #27 February 28, 2007 "The sheriff from Ottawa arrived, and we took the mail to the Post Office to be entrained at 3:30 a.m. for Chicago. Quote Ottawa Illinois, A meca for skydiving long before Roger Nelson was even a glint! The field where Lindy came down was only about 8 miles from the home where I was born & raised, and for a fledgling jumper, kind of a neat place to drive by an show others where a piece of history took place. "History" being that close to home so to speak, sparked a lot of interest in me and I read everything I could find about Charles Lindbergh...including how he taught WWII P-38 pilots how to conserve fuel in the Pacific. I even got to meet one of the fighter pilots, a local gentleman my father knew, that Lindbergh 'taught' back then. 20 plus years ago I was on vacation in Maui, disregarding all the warnings from the rental car company about not taking a certain road because of the hilly and rough terrain, up the mountain we went. For some reason, I stopped at a small home near the top and got out of the car walking straight to the small, humble grave of Mr. Charles Lindbergh...it's not on any maps and I don't know what made me stop there. I walked up to the grave, read the name and thanked him for his contributions to aviation and the 'Spirit' that I found motivation in. A woman came out of the house onto the porch, looked, nodded and went back in. Being there reminded me of all the times back in Illinois that I'd looked over that field...a few days later back in San Diego, (the city who's international airport is named Lindbergh Field) I signed up for flight lessons. Politics not withstanding, a true American hero, and one of the few that always has and will hold a special place in MY heart! Thanks John! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zing 2 #28 February 28, 2007 As long as we're being historical ... many jumpers attend the WFFC at Rantoul, Ill, formerly an Army aviation base and the place where Chas. Lindberg recieved his flight training. The museum located on the airport is well worth the couple dollars it costs to get in.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SwampThing 0 #29 March 1, 2007 QuoteTo millions of one-time admirers, Charles Lindbergh's luster had been fatally tainted by his words and associations during the 1930's and early 1940's. Quote Obviously not. The Pessimist says: "It can't possibly get any worse!" The Optimist says: "Sure it can!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 8 #30 March 1, 2007 I've seen this (below) attibuted to Charles Lindbergh as well: ---------------- I watched him strap on his harness and helmet, climb into the cockpit and minuets later, a black dot falls off the wing two thousand feet above our field. At almost the same instant, a white streak behind him flowered out into the delicate wavering muslin of a parachute - a few gossamer yards grasping onto air and suspending below them, with invisible threads, a human life, and man who by stitches, cloth and cord, had made himself a god of the sky for those immortal moments. A day or two later, when I decided that I too must pass through the experience of a parachute jump, life rose to a higher level, to a sort of exhilarated calmness. The thought of crawling out onto the struts and wires hundreds of feet above the earth, and then giving up even that tenuous hold of safety and of substance, left me a feeling of anticipation mixed with the dread, of confidence restrained by caution, of courage salted through with fear. How tightly should one hold onto life? How loosely give it rein? What gain was there for such a risk? I would have to pay in money for hurling my body into space. There would be no crowd to watch and applaud my landing. Nor was there any scientific objective to be gained. No, there was deeper reason for wanting to jump, a desire I could not explain. It was that quality that led me to aviation in the first place - it was a love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty. It lay beyond the descriptive words of man - where immortality is touched through danger, where life meets death on equal plane, where man is more than man, and existence both supreme and valueless at the same instant. -- Charles A. Lindberg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 2 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0 Go To Topic Listing
Zing 2 #28 February 28, 2007 As long as we're being historical ... many jumpers attend the WFFC at Rantoul, Ill, formerly an Army aviation base and the place where Chas. Lindberg recieved his flight training. The museum located on the airport is well worth the couple dollars it costs to get in.Zing Lurks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SwampThing 0 #29 March 1, 2007 QuoteTo millions of one-time admirers, Charles Lindbergh's luster had been fatally tainted by his words and associations during the 1930's and early 1940's. Quote Obviously not. The Pessimist says: "It can't possibly get any worse!" The Optimist says: "Sure it can!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ZigZagMarquis 8 #30 March 1, 2007 I've seen this (below) attibuted to Charles Lindbergh as well: ---------------- I watched him strap on his harness and helmet, climb into the cockpit and minuets later, a black dot falls off the wing two thousand feet above our field. At almost the same instant, a white streak behind him flowered out into the delicate wavering muslin of a parachute - a few gossamer yards grasping onto air and suspending below them, with invisible threads, a human life, and man who by stitches, cloth and cord, had made himself a god of the sky for those immortal moments. A day or two later, when I decided that I too must pass through the experience of a parachute jump, life rose to a higher level, to a sort of exhilarated calmness. The thought of crawling out onto the struts and wires hundreds of feet above the earth, and then giving up even that tenuous hold of safety and of substance, left me a feeling of anticipation mixed with the dread, of confidence restrained by caution, of courage salted through with fear. How tightly should one hold onto life? How loosely give it rein? What gain was there for such a risk? I would have to pay in money for hurling my body into space. There would be no crowd to watch and applaud my landing. Nor was there any scientific objective to be gained. No, there was deeper reason for wanting to jump, a desire I could not explain. It was that quality that led me to aviation in the first place - it was a love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty. It lay beyond the descriptive words of man - where immortality is touched through danger, where life meets death on equal plane, where man is more than man, and existence both supreme and valueless at the same instant. -- Charles A. Lindberg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Prev 1 2 Next Page 2 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
ZigZagMarquis 8 #30 March 1, 2007 I've seen this (below) attibuted to Charles Lindbergh as well: ---------------- I watched him strap on his harness and helmet, climb into the cockpit and minuets later, a black dot falls off the wing two thousand feet above our field. At almost the same instant, a white streak behind him flowered out into the delicate wavering muslin of a parachute - a few gossamer yards grasping onto air and suspending below them, with invisible threads, a human life, and man who by stitches, cloth and cord, had made himself a god of the sky for those immortal moments. A day or two later, when I decided that I too must pass through the experience of a parachute jump, life rose to a higher level, to a sort of exhilarated calmness. The thought of crawling out onto the struts and wires hundreds of feet above the earth, and then giving up even that tenuous hold of safety and of substance, left me a feeling of anticipation mixed with the dread, of confidence restrained by caution, of courage salted through with fear. How tightly should one hold onto life? How loosely give it rein? What gain was there for such a risk? I would have to pay in money for hurling my body into space. There would be no crowd to watch and applaud my landing. Nor was there any scientific objective to be gained. No, there was deeper reason for wanting to jump, a desire I could not explain. It was that quality that led me to aviation in the first place - it was a love of the air and sky and flying, the lure of adventure, the appreciation of beauty. It lay beyond the descriptive words of man - where immortality is touched through danger, where life meets death on equal plane, where man is more than man, and existence both supreme and valueless at the same instant. -- Charles A. Lindberg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
