howardwhite 5 #1 March 24, 2008 For those who think parachutes have always been square.. This was a publicity shot from Parachutes, Inc., taken in the bowl at Orange, MA, probably 1962 or that time frame. Kind of a good perspective on what canopies looked like up close and personal. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #2 March 24, 2008 Hey Howard, What are those canopies? Bias constructed, "normal" type modifications but seem to have a whole lot of gores. And the skirt seems wierd. ?I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #3 March 24, 2008 Not a clue. Before my time.I'll ask someone who might know. Here's another that seems to be the same canopy; it was apparently used for a cover on Dodge Magazine, whatever that was. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WGore 0 #4 March 24, 2008 Quote Not a clue. Before my time.I'll ask someone who might know. I think I've got another picture somewhere of the same/similar canopies. HW 1.6oz LO-POs. That was a little before my time but 1 of the guys that taught me had one. Probably just used a military pattern and used a lower porosity fabric and had the modifications already worked in. IIRC they were still right at $200, a lot of money back then. The PCs were $250 when they came on the market.GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 6 #5 March 24, 2008 In some respects we've gone full circle with the gear...notice the dual internal audio altimeter ports on the state of the art helmet in that Dodge picture! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wdy_bnckr 0 #6 March 24, 2008 1.6 LO-PO is right, Bought one from a student who decided he didn't like skydiving. They did come out right before the PC...Woody Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #7 March 24, 2008 Hi Terry, As others have said, 1.6 Lo-Po's. I am not sure what you mean by 'wierd' skirt. When we modified cheapo's, we usually cut them right to the skirt; whereas Pioneer usually left about 12" of fabric right at the skirt. They were available from Pioneer with mods or you could order them uncut and mod them yourself. That tan color does not look correct in the first photo as I do not remember any 'tan' color. It might be white or the yellow from the 2nd photo. You were some hot-sh*t jumper if you had a 1.6. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #8 March 24, 2008 In the first photo it looked like the skirt had some kind of "balloon" or "domed" fabric in the bottom panel. It may just have been the moment the photo was snapped. I think the color pattern also created that optical effect for me. Kind of does in the second photo too. But it's also been 20 years since I saw a partially inflated bias constructed canopy. The one I jumped 3 years ago was block constructed. And all but one of the military ones I have don't have lines. As best as I could count in the first photo it looked like it might have had something like 40 gores. Must have been counting more than the half I thought was. The second photo I do remember seing before. I also think one of Poynter's books has a photo of one of these from above going into the bowl. Hmm, I want one. But I'm too poor at the moment to buy more antiques even if I could find one. I'll have to settle for the 28' Phantom I hooked up as a main. I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #9 March 24, 2008 QuoteThat tan color does not look correct in the first photo as I do not remember any 'tan' color. It might be white or the yellow from the 2nd photo. I didn't attempt to use my Photoshop wizardry to match the colors in the two pictures. Use your imagination. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
poppenhager 1 #10 March 25, 2008 Howard,We were already using 7TU's in 1962.I don't remember any LOPO double gores w/a single gore seperation however I did cut one like it in a 28'C8 and it was a KILLER!!! Pop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #11 March 25, 2008 Pop Yeah, I was surprised at how "conservative" these modifications were. Attached is a picture identified as Nona Pond and probably at the '62 World Meet or maybe '63 at the latest. Nona (now Nona King) still lives near Orange-- I saw her at the DZ a couple of weeks ago. The other picture is another version of the original one I posted. It was a postcard published by PI and this one also includes a cheapo. I'm inclined to think the black and gold canopy on the right is a Golden Knights canopy. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drjump 0 #12 March 25, 2008 Howard--Wern't the 1.6 LoPo's mfg. by Security? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #13 March 25, 2008 Hi drjump, No, Security's Lo-Po canopies were made of a 1.1 oz. fabric. Howard, I do not think that is a Golden Knight's canopy because theirs were black with a gold 'keyhole.' Do you remember what the keyhole descriptor was for? JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #14 March 25, 2008 Prolly right. Here's the Knights at the VI World Meet in Orange in '62. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,048 #15 March 25, 2008 Hi howard, Well, that is probably before they went to the keyhole pattern; that is a typical diamond pattern; very popular back then. The 'keyhole' pattern was that the entire canopy was black except for the very top panels ( all around the canopy ) were gold and then the entire rear gores ( where the mod would be at ), in their case 7 gores, were also all gold. If you were to look at it from the bottom or jumper viewpoint, the gold looked like a keyhole; as in very old-timey keyhole. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #16 March 25, 2008 Oh. You must mean something like this? HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
