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tbrown

Who's Jumped a Strato Star ?

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Just saw this thread. My first canopy off student status was a Strato Star. This was back in 1981. It did not have ropes & rings. I always had great openings and it flew great. This was back when we trash packed - although I remember mine had a strap.

Best part of it all was the color - GREEN & GOLD!
Go Packers!!!!!

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OK, I'm home sick and have time. In 1975 my friend Owen Quin made a jump from the world trade center, Knew him from jumping at Sha-wan-ga NY. I was in boot camp (USMC) at the time. We Sha-wan-gans thought he was nuts. He got arrested fined etc. Said he was doing it to draw attention to kids world hunger. Fast forward 5 years I have 600+ jumps watched Carl Boenish and crew jump El Cap. Now doesn't seem so nuts. So I planned it out, went in to the city 3 times casing the joint. I was the only jumper but had my crew of helpers. We started at my house watching cartoons cause we were waiting for the fog to clear. At one point Wiley coyote goes off the cliff and makes a crater. My friend Tom says hey Van thats you my wife starts crying. I try to reasure her that I will be OK.So the fog clears, I call to make sure the observation deck is open. We roll. We drive 2 cars, 1 will wait where I intend to land, it's a no stopping or standing zone. 2 cars so if a cop comes along and says move on, he will circle around the block and the 2nd car will move up to take his place. And if no cars are there I have a trash bag in my pocket to stuff my chute in and will meet 3 blocks away. So my wife and I get dropped off, I'm in jeans and a blue polo shirt that later witnesses in the paper will call a blue jumpsuit. I had my Safety Star reserve in a shopping bag, My regular rig minus main. I had it stapled shut with a sales receipt so it would look inconspicuous. We go up like the lovey dovy couple. On the roof we pass the security guard. If you have never been there the WTC had an elevator to the 110th floor then an escalater to the roof walkway. the walkway was about 10' wide about 10' above the roof going around the roof about 20' from the edge. I almost got busted when I was about to put on my rig next to an under cover cop. I was lucky I heard his radio. At this time I was behind the up escalator which was enclosed so the security guard couldn't see me. So I went around to the enclosed down escalator on the other side where the security guard couldn't see looking across. said goodbye to my wife, she was going to the floor below, the enclosed observation deck, where she can go right up to the glass and look straight down to take pictures, which she did. At this point I was having serious 2nd thoughts. This was my 1st base jump, and I was scared. Unlike jump run I had all the time in the world. My wife had said you don't have to do this but I did. I had told all my friends I was going to do this. I had one High school buddy basically tell me I was an asshole that will never do this. So I had to jump. I just gave myself the talk and to trust in myself. So it's Sept. 13th Sat afternoon at about 1:30 about 200 other people on the deck. So it's now or never. I open the shopping bag and slowly and calmly put on my rig and rubber gloves. No one pays any attention to me. I climb over the railing and drop down to the actual roof. In the process I bump into a tourist that say Vos is lous? don't know the spelling, german for what's up. I then trot over to the fence. Chain link with 3 strands of electrified barbed wire. I went to the gate that lets the window washing machine out. cause on top of the gate the wire goes up not angled like on the rest of the fence. So I figure it will be easier climbing thru where there is a 45 degree gap. I reach up and grab. Zapp!!!!! I feel the electricity going from one hand to the other thru my chest. Ouch!!!!!, Let go my stupid garden rubber gloves weren't thick enough. So now with adreneline flowing. I do NOT want to get caught before the fact. I reach up and grab the bar between the electrified barbed wire strands. I pretty much vaulted over the fence. I was 23 running 6 miles a day and at that moment a deer. I landed on the other side on a metal grate like the type they have on sidewalks covering the stairs to a basement. It made a big noise, this is when people became aware of me. I felt better cause now they can't stop me. I ran to the other side of the building to the corner I wanted to jump off. As I was taking off my rubber gloves I heard some kid say He"s Crazy. I leaned over the edge to wave to get ready with the camera. The cop started yelling at me to stop. I put my left foot up on the edge. I had thought of running and diving but the edge was high enough that I was worried I might catch the edge. I dove off, that instant is etched in my mind. I felt a great sense of acceleration as any base jumper knows. Nothing like jumping out of an airplane that's already going 80+ MPH. My plan was to get stable and track when it felt right. I pushed off as hard as I could, for one thing the first 20' is angled in that I had to get over. Plus I wanted to get away from the building. As I fell perfectly stable I could see I was moving away from the building. Maybe from my hard push off or jumping down wind. Either way I just fell flat and stable no need to track. About half way down opened facing about 45 degrees to the building. No problem plenty of room to turn away. Do a nice stand up landing not bad for 186 sqr foot and me 230 lbs. My get away car pulls up. I went about 1 block past him, thought that was better. Bundle up and hop in. I'm taking off my rig and shoving it in the trash bag when we stop at a light. A guy in the car next to me is yelling at me . I'm worried am I busted? He says I saw you land, where'd you jump from? I said the world trade center, He said "Great, I was in Army airborne in WWII that was great" Light turned green and we were on our way home. My friend in the other car got my freebag from a construction worker. Went home to party!!!!! Next day, must be slow news day, Headlines Daily news. Chutes from twin towers disappears, Who's the mystery person. WOW it was like Owen didn't do the same thing 5 yrs ago. I get the pictures back and think wow maybe I could sell these. Meanwhile several people said they did it. The last straw was a guy saying he did it with a harness his brother designed, like you would really test it on a building jump. So I called the port Authority police, the cop that answered the phone said about 20 people called to say they did it. I gave him some details ie leaving my THIN rubber gloves. He was like a of a sudden WOW your the guy. Put me thru to the Capt. of the Port Authority Police. Had about a 30 minute conversation. asking what would happen if I admited to it etc. He said they will not push the issue if I told them how I did it and how to prevent others. Sorry fellow Base jumpers I did. I had heard that Mayor Kotch wanted to make an example of me. So at the end of the very amicable conversation he said, well I just gave you about a half hour of free legal advise. And he had, I felt like I was talking to a friend. So I said how about I sent you an autographed 8x10. He said great and called to thank me and said it's on his office wall. So now I'm not so worried about having to talk my way out of Bellevue . I call my friend Owen Quinn and tell him I will go public. he has a news crew on his street doing a pothole story. He tells them, one hour later they are at my house. Melinda Nix interviews me, she talks to her editor over the phone. No not like the last guy, this guy has pictures! An hour later I'm the breaking news story on the 11 o clock news. Here I thought it's really not a hugh deal and I'm on TV and sell the pics to the NY post. Most money I made in one day. Tried to think of every thing that could go wrong and work backwards. only 2 things, 1. I should have said Hey look folks I am not committing suicide I have a parachute. I was told I scared some people. 2. Not that it mattered but I used a Bambergers shopping bag. There were no Bambergers in NYC.

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...Here I thought it's really not a hugh deal and I'm on TV and sell the pics to the NY post. Most money I made in one day.....

1st jump and already Pro-Base-jumper :P congrats for the jump

I wanted to do it myself, but you and Jeb burnt the place :D:D:D
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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...Here I thought it's really not a hugh deal and I'm on TV and sell the pics to the NY post. Most money I made in one day.....

1st jump and already Pro-Base-jumper :P congrats for the jump

I wanted to do it myself, but you and Jeb burnt the place :D:D:D


Jeb burnt the Empire State Building.

vanair's jump was from one of the World Trade Centers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001.

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...Here I thought it's really not a hugh deal and I'm on TV and sell the pics to the NY post. Most money I made in one day.....

1st jump and already Pro-Base-jumper :P congrats for the jump

I wanted to do it myself, but you and Jeb burnt the place :D:D:D


Jeb burnt the Empire State Building.vanair's jump was from one of the World Trade Centers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001.


And anyone who doesn’t believe that ask yourself who called the press?

Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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I let owen call the press on mine, they were on his street and told him to give my # . This was huge in the media. NY Daily News Headlines, not page 42, some nut parachutes from the WTC, like I thought it would. But the headline. Also several people were saying they did it. One guy on Long Island was even interviewed in The NY Post. So yes I came forward, it's not like it was a quiet event. And yes I thought why not make some money. Can't say I burnt the place when 2 others did it after me.

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Forgive me for bringing this thread back on topic, but...talking about jumping a StratoStar...

Back in the 1970's I was off work on a WC claim, so I spent my weekdays skydiving with Steve Haley, Robert "Norton" Thomas, and others at Perry Stevens' Antioch DZ. Damn good times!!

Steve had a double-spectrum Rainbow Strat; and Norton had one that was orange and black (Harley colors, since he was a bonafide Hells Angel). These were the chutes they started doing CRW with; and Steve's rainbow was at the top of the World's First 8-Stack and First Night 5 Stack. (Check it out in the opening scenes of Carl Boenish's movie Sky Dive! )

Steve needed money to go to the Turkey Meet in Florida, November 1977, so he sold me "his baby" (the rainbow Strat) for $400.

Steve always told me to "roll the nose" when I packed it, so the Strat snivveled disconcertingly on just about every opening. But that sucker would riser turn like a ground-seeking missile!

Landing on a windy day was fairly easy; but when the winds were down, it could be very unforgiving. I hammered a bunch of times.

I finally figured out I could not ride the brakes at all on the way in. What worked was let it fly in at full speed, and flare it at just the right point. Too late and you augered; too soon and you did the "stall and fall" thing. The "sweet spot" was very narrow, and only found by hard-earned experience. But when it was flared just right, it landed nicely.

I've still got the rig. Last I heard, Guthrie "Gus" Evans bought Norton's orange and black Strat. Don't know where it might be now.

If the photo-insert gadget works, I'll attach a pic of the chute with this post.

VBR,

Pat
SCR-8872; USPA-JM; CFIASME; Jump Pilot; Bare-Handed Wolf Chokers and Pterodactyl Breeders Association (Retired)

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I had about 100 jumps total when I bought my StratoStar, which was the newest thing at the time. It was the start of summer vacation from SUNY B, I had my first credit card, and I maxed it out to buy that square and so I could jump it all that summer.

Owen Quinn was nice enough to teach me how to use it, and that was my canopy for years and years. It was reliable as could be. The rings and ropes worked just fine, if you could live with an occasional burn on the canopy ... I just kept a bit of F111 patch tape around :-). Until I got them all cut off and went to a slider, like everyone else did eventually.

One time I opened it high some miles from the DZ (cross-country jump), with nothing but woods below and between (this was Shawanga, out in the sticks), and found I had packed it with one line wrapped around all the others. After debating making my first cutaway, I realized it flew ok though a bit near stall with one toggle 3/4 of the way down. So I rode it all the way back and landed it fine like that.

Great canopy for the time, though for a heavy guy (190lb) it was a bit tough on the landing gear sometimes :-)

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This is ancient...; but jumped the TU, ParaCommander, the Strato Star and the Strato Cloud. The Strato Star was my favorite ram-air.

I had 3 cutaways with the Strato Star and have survived to contribute this note. The ParaCommander was memorable too, because i broke a right fibula with it on my 33rd jump.

The hardest to fly was the ParaPlane. Opening shocks can definitely give one a stick neck.

I had very fond memories skydiving. Do they still have in their 60s jumping these days? I would like to get back before turning 70. hehehehe... Thanks for the bandwidth, guys...

Chito Kintanar
Philippine Islands

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Hi Peter!

...for a long while i thought it was Russian, i guess it was; but now, i know the origin was Greek. Did some research. We got our T-shirt then from the Para~Commander manufacturer. Thanks for noticing it.

Chito Kintanar
DU1CK / 1S1CK ~Spratly Islands

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This is ancient...; but jumped the TU, ParaCommander, the Strato Star and the Strato Cloud. The Strato Star was my favorite ram-air.

I had 3 cutaways with the Strato Star and have survived to contribute this note. The ParaCommander was memorable too, because i broke a right fibula with it on my 33rd jump.

The hardest to fly was the ParaPlane. Opening shocks can definitely give one a stick neck.

I had very fond memories skydiving. Do they still have in their 60s jumping these days? I would like to get back before turning 70. hehehehe... Thanks for the bandwidth, guys...

Chito Kintanar
Philippine Islands



Three cutaways from Strato-Stars??? Why? I put 650 jumps on mine, about 150 on the rings and ropes and the rest on a slider. Also shortlined it 6 feet. It never even hinted at malfunctioning. I always felt a properly tuned, properly packed, slider equipped Strato-Star was about as reliable as a canopy that ever existed (probably still true).

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

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Hi Roger,

Let me qualify these three malfunctions. The first was my fault. Rigging error. I had the bad habit to detaching the capewells after each and every jump, so i could fold the *Star faster for the next jump; aircraft fuel was so expensive back then. :-( The left capewell was not seated well; yet the cover closed somehow; and popped out during deployment; ...streamer; cutaway; and the reserve.

The 2nd was when a friend and i were still learning RW on our own. Rene hit the right corner of the *Star canopy and collapsed it by 50% on a low-opening. Right toggle popped out, and got entangled with the right riser; difficult to untangle; violent downward spiral; too low to recover; so decided to cutaway and use the reserve. All these under 20 jumps of the new *Star.

The 3rd was the same as the 1st, haste on the capewell again, but this time still young and foolhardy, i did not rig my own, but by our designated rigger during a demo jump.

The new *Star rings, ropes, and new slider system came much later; after a hundred jumps with the unmodified- long lines. We shortened the lines, installed the new pilot chute pocket on the harness; all these by our rigger, at a much later date. After the latest modifications, we did not have any problems ever since. Logged 900+ jumps thereafter.

I was also able to jump the seven-cell *Cloud for about 100+ jumps; but felt it was too big and turned too flat for me. The *Star was more agile, fast and highly maneuverable. Somehow, I got attached to the *Star, a lot, till I was reassigned, stopped jumping and got married. But I think I can still jump, and absorb the opening shock given a chance again. Who knows, one of these days, again. Thanks for the inquiry and comments, Roger.


Chito Kintanar
Philippine Islands

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Hi Roger,

Let me qualify these three malfunctions. The first was my fault. Rigging error. I had the bad habit to detaching the capewells after each and every jump, so i could fold the *Star faster for the next jump; aircraft fuel was so expensive back then. :-( The left capewell was not seated well; yet the cover closed somehow; and popped out during deployment; ...streamer; cutaway; and the reserve.

The 2nd was when a friend and i were still learning RW on our own. Rene hit the right corner of the *Star canopy and collapsed it by 50% on a low-opening. Right toggle popped out, and got entangled with the right riser; difficult to untangle; violent downward spiral; too low to recover; so decided to cutaway and use the reserve. All these under 20 jumps of the new *Star.

The 3rd was the same as the 1st, haste on the capewell again, but this time still young and foolhardy, i did not rig my own, but by our designated rigger during a demo jump.

The new *Star rings, ropes, and new slider system came much later; after a hundred jumps with the unmodified- long lines. We shortened the lines, installed the new pilot chute pocket on the harness; all these by our rigger, at a much later date. After the latest modifications, we did not have any problems ever since. Logged 900+ jumps thereafter.

I was also able to jump the seven-cell *Cloud for about 100+ jumps; but felt it was too big and turned too flat for me. The *Star was more agile, fast and highly maneuverable. Somehow, I got attached to the *Star, a lot, till I was reassigned, stopped jumping and got married. But I think I can still jump, and absorb the opening shock given a chance again. Who knows, one of these days, again. Thanks for the inquiry and comments, Roger.


Chito Kintanar
Philippine Islands



Thanks for explaining :)
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The new *Star rings, ropes, and new slider system came much later



Not sure what you mean by that comment. The Strato-Star was introduced with rings and ropes. It had the rings on the bottom surface unlike the previous Para-Plane and Para-Cloud and opened incredibly soft (and reliably). When the slider was (re) introduced, it made the openings more similar to a Paracommander and of course kept the reliability (probably increasing it). I had the first Strato-Star sold in Florida as I was working for Bill Booth at the time and he had pre-ordered it for another Miami jumper who couldn't come up with the funds when it arrived, so I took it since I had just blown up my C9 cheapo the previous weekend (line over). The rest was history for me; I loved that canopy.

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

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You are right, Roger. The rings and ropes came with the new *Star which I mistook it for the ripcord, slider and pilot chute system modifications that came later. I was looking at my old picture during deployment.

Come to think about it, yes, the *Star did open smoothly, but there was a very "slight" uncomfortable delay (about 2 seconds) from the Para-Plane that always gave me a stiff neck. The *Cloud opened so smoothly, too.

Thanks for the reminder, Roger...
Chito

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You are right, Roger. The rings and ropes came with the new *Star, which I mistook for the old ripcord, slider and pilot chute system modifications that came later. I was looking at my old picture during deployment.

Come to think about it, yes, the *Star did open smoothly, but there was a very "slight" uncomfortable delay (about 2 seconds) from the Para-Plane that always gave me a big thud and stiff neck. The *Cloud opened so smoothly, too.

Thanks for the reminder, Roger...
Chito

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