ripcord para center in n.j.

[nitrochute 2]

anyone on here ever jump at ripcord paracenter in lumberton new jersey? just looking for some of the old crowd i used to hang with .

[szorosy 0]

who are you? man! My name is ken szorosy and one of the many boyskydivers from lakewood,n.j. Myself, phil chiochio, bobby freit and sandy anderson went there in '64 and i returned there in '79. however , more off than on. Than steady prior to their closing in 86? Liked the 206, hated the twin beech. At Parachutes incorporated someone started a web site and others contributed. Feel ambitious? Ken[email]

[philly51 0]

Nitro... I was never ay Ripcord, but 2 guys I jump with at Cross Keys, Al Kanetsky and Pete Warner are Ripcord vets.

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, Shouting "...holy shit...what a ride!"

[DBCOOPER 1]

I did a couple in 76,then took 22 years off looking for my balls.Anybody know George Sharp?He put me out on my first jump at Lakewood.

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[clowry 0]

I was a 17 yr. jumpmaster at Lakewood and we used to go to Snyder's on Tuesdays - our day of from PI. Did a hop & pop from 12K once, landed in farmer David Seamans back yard, freaked out his horses, got arrested, Lou Brooks bailed us out. Went to court charged with tresspassing and juvenile d[email]elinquency.
Plenty good stories about the geo dome, 206, Snyder, and those days in general.
I'm retired USAF and still jump in Massachusetts area.
Chris Lowry

[airtwardo 6]

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from lakewood,n.j.

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Thought you might get a kick out of this..

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

[binkster 2]

okay heres some history for ya. In the early 70's i was a kid hangin out at ripcord. remeber don baker i believe his name was. how about doug angel? there was elek pushkas president of paraflight , disco don, herb Eskelson(my dad), bruce chapman (he is at the ranch in gardiner new york), jim pollard, Mike mcnamara, jimmy mack, fang or richard fenimore died years agon in a plane crash. Mark mark( mark pollack). Remember the blue hut.( geodesic dome) . I remeber alot about it. I am a second generation skydiver and live on west coast now and jump at kapowsin air sports.

[binkster 2]

i lived in brick during all that
my brother dino jumped there with mark pollack and bozo. My dad worked for paraflight

[poppenhager 1]

I think you mean Jon Baker not (DON).He lost a leg in a bike wreck and lives in Lake Wales Fl.now.I sold him a D-18 that he used at Ripcord in 1979.

POP D-47

[nitrochute 2]

i remember the d-18.we flew in it from ripcord to the nationals in richmond indiana in july of 1979.and you are correct. its Jon Baker,not Don.lost his leg when he was riding his harley and got hit by a drunk driver on fathers day 1976.i'd love to hear from him. i havent seen him or jan since 1983!

[drjump 0]

I made one jump there in April of 1969! Ted Strong was demonstrating the "Mattress", that he had built. Several of us from Taunton, Ma. went down there for the weekend. Jumped a C-205, on a 7-TU, 28' canopy and landed closer to the target than Ted did with his square!
Blue Skies-Don D-2785

[nitrochute 2]

yeah i remember that. lew brooks now lives in las vegas ,e mailed him about ayear ago.do you keep in touch with bobby freit?
i also fondly remember bill"lucky" hammill.

[killler 2]

I used to jump at lakewood 79'& 80' then went to the ranch.... I remeber jumping the Islander(sp) and you old timers should remeber the 1956 C-182 N5659b that was flying jumpers back in the 60's there.... Was owned by the navy parachute team at one time....

I owned 5659b till last year, She is still flying jumpers at skydive statesboro,ga.... I think its the oldest flying jump plane (C-182) around... Has over 5000hrs of hualing jumpers....

Anyone have a story to tell about it? I know it was the plane that the main gear fell off with jumpers standing on it on jumprun.... Love to hear about it?

Killer......

[poppenhager 1]

N5659B was first brought into the jump world when Bill Ottley bought it in 1963.I flew several loads in it 1/64.It was a good flying ship back then.the gear came off when Mac MacGraw (retired navy) owned it.

I owned a 57 182 N3817D that had more than 7000 hrs. flying jumpers (mostly carrying 5) when I sold it to The Williston Skydivers in 6/86 for 9 more yrs. of hauling jumpers and was then sold to another DZ in texas. POP D47

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[killler 2]

Thanks pop.... I haven't seen you in years... I talk with paul jr, once or twice a yr.... Glad to hear you still have a foot in the door....

What ever happened to the beaver???? I loved that plane.....

Killer.....

[poppenhager 1]

Killer,I sold the Beaver 10/86 to a Canadian charter outfit in North Bay,Ont. My son delivered it to them.Wish I still had it.It made more money flying jumpers than any other airplane I ever owned!!
POP D47

[alg 0]

Wasn't that the D-18 that crashed ~ 1982?

[nitrochute 2]

i dont believe it was. we never had a crash at ripcord.jon baker ,i'm thinking, took the beech to florida in 1982 and was running it at haines city (ripcord south) i think.

[nitrochute 2]

i believe you are thinking of the twin beech that crashed at lakewood,which is not ripcord.that was "ferd's" d18(from SHA-WAN-GA n.y).it crashed and burned on the lakewood golf course after everyone had jumped.interesting story. seems that they would have made the runway but had to abort their landing when some dipstick instructor and his student started their takeoff roll in front of him.put it down in the golf course instead with a passenger on board.after landing the aircraft exploded.both passenger and pilot made it out by the skin of their teeth.

[markmark 0]

Charlie, how the hell you doin? I stil talk with allot of the old guys from the Poor Indian Parachute Club. Give me an e-mail and I can forward some names.

[Skyu4ia 0]

I knew George Sharp... Real good guy... he started jumping in his fifties, i think... He died about 25 years ago.

[mrburble 0]

Yup...you used to chase me off the lz ,,I was a snotnose kid amazed with skydiving and parachutes! ,,you were takin landing pics with this cool ass camera on a long pole..Yo Chal!
What the Hell went on in that armored car anyway?? I remember parawings,,5 cell long lined ramair wutchacallits,and such! Dont die in the powerlines! feet an knees together eyes on the horizon,prepare fo landin,,,,

[AirborneJr 0]

I basically grew up there. My Dad worked there for a few years in the early 80's. (Steve Fisher a.k.a. Airborne) I was around 8 or so, and my brother was maybe 12 or so. It was some of the best years of my childhood. I know its been gone for a while, but I was planning on going back to visit the old airport. Anyone have the address? Since I was so little I can't remember the details.

[winsor 185]

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I basically grew up there. My Dad worked there for a few years in the early 80's. (Steve Fisher a.k.a. Airborne) I was around 8 or so, and my brother was maybe 12 or so. It was some of the best years of my childhood. I know its been gone for a while, but I was planning on going back to visit the old airport. Anyone have the address? Since I was so little I can't remember the details.

This is the link to the place.

The geodesic dome was there into the early '90s, but now not even the slab remains. The airport bears only a slight resemblance to the way it was when Ripcords was open.

If you're in the neighborhood you may stop in, but it might be hard to figure out what was where from all the remodeling.


Blue skies,

Winsor

[Jumperintheair 0]

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I owned a 57 182 N3817D that had more than 7000 hrs. flying jumpers (mostly carrying 5) when I sold it to The Williston Skydivers in 6/86 for 9 more yrs. of hauling jumpers and was then sold to another DZ in texas. POP D47

Here is a pic of 17D taken late 1990's in Oregon