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howardwhite

Ripcord

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For all you Ripcord fans...

Life Magazine (April 12, 1963) had an article about your favorite TV show. (Picture attached.)

One excerpt from the story:
"Another time the script called for a hero-type to lower himself from the good guy's plane onto the tail of the bad guy's plane. After several false starts our hero finally managed to latch on, whereupon the two planes collided in mid-air.
"The hero-type was able to retreat to the familiar wide-open spaces of the blue sky, pull his ripcord and descend to safety. One pilot jumped clear. But the other one, for some unfathomable reason, had brought along his chute but had neglected to put it on.
"As his plane began disintegrating he reached back, grabbed the chute, and jumped clear with the bundle of nylon in his hands.
"In a descent that not even a Ripcord writer could think up without dizzy spells, he fell thousands of feet, all the while trying to hook the chute to his harness which is roughly as easy as dressing for a white-tie dinner, studs, collar button, and all.
"While the rest of the cast watched from the ground and feared the worst, he succeeded in getting hooked up just in time."

HW

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O.K. Here's another.
It's a very big original, too big to fit on my scanner in one piece. I sort of glued together two pieces; one of these days maybe I'll spend a few more Photoshop minutes doing a better job of concealing the seam.:S

Gives new meaning to the term "handheld camera."

HW

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Those were the days when skydiving was dangerous and sex was safe.

I must see if I can really get a chance to check out if I can find a copy of the series, as ive never seen it. But listening to Bob Sinclair talk about those days gives me more respect for the founding fathers and mothers of our sport today.

Love the pics that you had posted.

Thanks,

Ken.
Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

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Quote

LOOKS LIKE THE CAMERA MAN IS MISSING A PACK OPENING BAND!


.....................................
I think it's there, but for whatever reason, two bands may be crossed and hooked in the wrong place. Maybe it was a way to get them a little tighter??...Steve1

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What was the date for the ad, Howard?
I know a couple jumpers, including myself, who made a set of "Death Gloves" at home in the 70s ... so named because the inserts between the fingers made fumbling for ripcords, Capewells and other stuff a bit more difficult, but they do work.
Zing Lurks

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So what exactly is this hand track? :D

I am guessing it was something perfected long before I was a twinkle in my father's eyes... when you guys were jumping with rocks !!! :ph34r:;)
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

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> when you guys were jumping with rocks

No, no, the stone parachutes were before this.

In the early 60s we were jumping wooden parachutes.

And I'm here to tell you that sometimes getting those
things into the box was a real bear!

My first jumpsuit was a pair of Sear's Carpenter
Coveralls, complete with loops for hammer and
saw and other stuff you needed.

Although the hammer was mostly needed in case
you had a nail-over, which was a particularly nasty
malfunction.

Gotta keep those historical facts straight.

Skr

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who are the jumpers and photographers shown?


I dunno. I'll have to dredge out the original LIFE and see if there are photo credits.
There are also some stories in Sky Diver about Ripcord after Lyle Cameron became part of it.
Meanwhile I have recently:
-Acquired DVDs of (I think) every episode of Ripcord produced;
-Spent a lot of time on the phone and in email contact with a person who was directly involved in the creation and early development of the program. He told me the other day how the series got its name.
(But I'm not saying anything else just nowB|.)

HW

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