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drewboo

The man looked like a freaking comet..

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A long time ago, im guessing 1972-1973..i was spending a weekend or two at a DZ called Pope Valley,Calif.
Here is the story as i remember it. It may contain a few errors as it was a long time ago.
One day, I believe it was Curt Curtis, but could easily be wrong. Decided to do a smoke jump. I was present so i know something like this did occur.
So this person attaches 9 smoke grenades to each arm...9 smoke grenades to each leg..36 total. Goes up in the cessna and climbs out on the step...another jumper inside the plane starts pulling the pin on all the grenades on the inboard side, while the jumper himself pulls the pins on the outboard side.
While this guy was in freefall, there were no arms or legs visible outside the smoke trail...the man looked like a freakin comet!
Does anyone remember this...and more importantly correct my story for errors.

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This is one mean smoke jumper - not only did he light 36 smoke canisters, he probably set himself alight in the process as well!;)

I had a good laugh imagining this guy under his recently opened (and newly dyed) canopy, trying to fly and breathe his way through thick clouds of smoke!B| B|

Would be great to find out how it all ended. Also - if he did carry it out safely, how were so many canisters attached so that they could burn without burning him? (36 smoke brackets???):S

I would guess that this was one of those "once is enough" kind of jumps!

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Sorry I missed that one. I was jumping at Pope Valley during the early 70s.

I remember one weekend we had 2 DC 3s and a Lodestar flying jumpers out of that little strip. Good times. Sure miss that place. It was the best.


377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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