Early history of Tandem parachuting

[wmw999 2,171]

OK. That's scary.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Droppedbomb 0]

Nick,

That was some good shit! That was more than I ever expected to get when I started this thread. Skydivers are the greatest!

[jdobleman 0]

NIck,

Great story. Glad to read that Metz remembered to put the gear down, which is more than he did when he bellied his Beech in at Antioch in the early 80's. Truly a memorable sound, but the runway was closed for the rest of the day and we didn't get to jump.

madjohn

Main goals in life: Be on the "Jumpers Over Eighty" (JOE) World Record and attend the Lost Prairie Boogie once after I'm gone.

[jonstark 8]

JESUS CHRIST ! !

What a story Nick.

I was in Deland when Mike and Bob took their kids on what we guess were the first dual harness "tandem" jumps. It wasn't until a few years later that the light went off in Ted's head followed shortly by Booth. Ted, I imagine, had ideas for strategic use for the military. Bill saw the possabilities for the sport as well. I made about 150 drogueless tandems using the first generation of Pioneer "High Lifter" canopies. These were so heavy that to pack them we hung them from hooks in the ceiling to "pro" pack. They held up amazingly well with the close to 200 mph fallrates. Two of them in a container was about the size and weight of a Kelvinator.

One day Bill Morrisey came to the DZ and asked me to come on a tandem with him. He deployed a drogue. The difference in fallrate was tremendous. It was actually pleasant. I had been hiding behind the heads of my passengers because it would cut the face off ya previously. I hit the ground and after telling Bob Nixon and Bob Hallett beat feet over to Booth's house. Ted's suspension point, in between the main and reserve containers, was ideal but I thought it led to a lot of complexity and extra flappy bits. Booth saw this too and opted for the less optimum suspension at the bottom of the rig. This kept the rig far cleaner and intact.

The collapseable drogue with all it's monkeymotion seemed too complex as well. We, Booth, started to experiment with drogues by merely deploying different sized pilot chutes that we would release later for main deployment. They were not collapsable. When I tell you that the openings were brutal I mean to tell ya they were mean. Snatch is when the canopy reaches line stretch and snatches you upright. That was just awefull with a non-collapsing drogue no matter how tiny the pilotchute. The experiments were shortlived, thankfully and Booth developed a drogue system similar to Strong's. Bob Nixon was closely involved with this entire process and I'm sure would be a great contribution to this discussion.

After Danny Cuocco went in down in Miami Booth's team came up with a secondary deployment system for the reserve. We think Danny was incapicitated by his student in some way and couldn't pull either ripcord. I forget if it was pre or post drogue but they added a reserve knob above the left shoulder of the tandem master just like a Steven's system.

I hope Bill Morrisey will pipe up here with his experiences as he is really the most experienced tandem certifier in the world. I guess he is also responsible for the development of handles for the student to use in student progression. The Booth system was wholly instructor controlled with the passenger along for the ride.

My memories of early tandem progression are not from a deep involvement as a developer, merely as a weekend tandem instructor. The guys you want to hear from are Ted, Bill, Niki, Morrisey, etc. I was just along for the ride.

jon

[bclark 0]

Bob Metz told me that story (drogue over the tail of the Twin Beech) about 10 years ago in Cedar Valley, UT. I was thinking about getting my tandem rating and he said, "why would you want to jump one of those DEATH RIGS?, they finally invented a way to kill 2 skydivers with one rig." It is interesting to hear the other side of that story. For once both sides of the story are essentially the same.

[riggerrob 562]

Just to insert a rumor ...

Circa 1985, Dave Davenport (??? now he works for Eagle Enterprises sewing holsters and ruscksacks and other gadgets for guys who pick fights with Al Quida).

Dave dropped a hint that he had made a few (2 or 4 circa 1981 or 1982) Laser 400 canopies for a hush-hush U.S.Army project. After the test drop program was finished, the 400 square foot canopies were destroyed.
DD concluded that Special Forces types were experimenting with inserting two soldiers under one parachute.
Heck! By the time you are comfortable jumping with a 150 pound rucksack, jumping with a small soldier cannot be that much different.

My first experience - with tandem - was during the 1984 Canadian National Championships, when I did a tandem strapped to Rob Laidlaw's chest.
Then - in 1986 - I earned both Strong and Vector Tandem Instructor ratings.

[steveorino 7]

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Dave dropped a hint that he had made a few (2 or 4 circa 1981 or 1982) Laser 400 canopies for a hush-hush U.S.Army project. After the test drop program was finished, the 400 square foot canopies were destroyed.
DD concluded that Special Forces types were experimenting with inserting two soldiers under one parachute.
Heck! By the time you are comfortable jumping with a 150 pound rucksack, jumping with a small soldier cannot be that much different.

I doubt that .. no serious reason to do that, but I was on a SADM team and we were jumping "other heavy things" if you know what I mean

steveOrino

[bozo 0]

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Dave dropped a hint that he had made a few (2 or 4 circa 1981 or 1982) Laser 400 canopies for a hush-hush U.S.Army project. After the test drop program was finished, the 400 square foot canopies were destroyed.
DD concluded that Special Forces types were experimenting with inserting two soldiers under one parachute.
Heck! By the time you are comfortable jumping with a 150 pound rucksack, jumping with a small soldier cannot be that much different.

I doubt that .. no serious reason to do that, but I was on a SADM team and we were jumping "other heavy things" if you know what I mean

Dont doubt it.....I knew one of the guys on the test program, deceased now. He was a MSGT. He told me they were playing with the idea of inserting non jump qualified elements into AOs with tandem.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[JohnRich 4]

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DD concluded that Special Forces types were experimenting with inserting two soldiers under one parachute.

I doubt that .. no serious reason to do that...

Remember those scenes from the movie "D-Day", where the U.S. paratroops were landing in the middle of a German occupied town, and getting shot while still under canopy, before they even had a chance to fight?

When I used to jump at Indiantown, FL, in the 1980's, rumor had it that Ted Strong had done some tandem test jumps there, with the tandem passenger carrying and shooting a machinegun, while descending under canopy.

[psychoswooper 2]

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JESUS CHRIST ! !


After Danny Cuocco went in down in Miami Booth's team came up with a secondary deployment system for the reserve. We think Danny was incapicitated by his student in some way and couldn't pull either ripcord. I forget if it was pre or post drogue but they added a reserve knob above the left shoulder of the tandem master just like a Steven's system.

No. It wasn't Danny Cuocco. It was Danny Batchelor. I was there. And it was post droque. This was before the rigs had secondary droque releases. The 3 ring on the droque release was hooked up wrong & the droque handle could not be pulled even on the ground. The cutaway & reserve handles had been pulled & were never located. This was back when Vectors had the upside down reserve pilot chute that did not launch very far, especially if you were still face-to-Earth. Those of us that were there believe they had a reserve pilot chute caught in their burble, or on their persons, and/or a too low reserve pull. But once again, the handles were not to be found anywhere in the vicinity indicating a "high" pull.

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[jonstark 8]

Thanks for refreshing my memory. The two Dannys were pretty much inseparable and I was good friends with both. Got mixed up.

Read about Danny's death in Stars and Stripes on my way back to the States from a Europe trip with the Army. Gutted me. We had been on a ten way team the year prior.

Wasn't there a similar incident in Australia before Danny?

jon

[feuergnom 22]

any updates from bill morrisey?

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[airtwardo 6]

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Dave dropped a hint that he had made a few (2 or 4 circa 1981 or 1982) Laser 400 canopies for a hush-hush U.S.Army project. After the test drop program was finished, the 400 square foot canopies were destroyed.
DD concluded that Special Forces types were experimenting with inserting two soldiers under one parachute.
Heck! By the time you are comfortable jumping with a 150 pound rucksack, jumping with a small soldier cannot be that much different.

I doubt that .. no serious reason to do that, but I was on a SADM team and we were jumping "other heavy things" if you know what I mean

Dont doubt it.....I knew one of the guys on the test program, deceased now. He was a MSGT. He told me they were playing with the idea of inserting non jump qualified elements into AOs with tandem.

Yup...and now Ted has the ATV that does it with several.

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