howardwhite 4 #1 January 18, 2009 This is taken from (and much cleaned up from) the Google collection of Life magazine pictures (so if you're terminally curious, you can find it.) There's a lot of history wrapped up in this one picture -- both the place and the jumper. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 0 #2 January 18, 2009 Is that a freebag (or something like it) as a deployment system for a round canopy? What is that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveJack 1 #3 January 18, 2009 Quote Is that a freebag (or something like it) as a deployment system for a round canopy? What is that? It's an early sleeve, used to help reduce opening shock on rounds. When they first came out they wern't attached to the canopy. You had to go chase it down every jump. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fastphil 0 #4 January 18, 2009 I donno, but it looks awful close to the ground... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #5 January 18, 2009 Quote When they first came out they wern't attached to the canopy. Or sometimes the line broke. But in this case, I think it wasn't attached. It's part of the time/place/people part of the story here. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #6 January 18, 2009 Could it be Nate Pond's cornfield and airstrip down near New Milford, CT? Is it Nate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #7 January 18, 2009 Nate Pond's cornfield and strip is in Vermont.It's not Nate. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nitrochute 2 #8 January 18, 2009 Jacques Istel at Goodhill Farm CT. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #9 January 19, 2009 Nah thats not low..... Its not low till you are getting ground rush... and you are still on the step or strut or just out the door Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #10 January 19, 2009 QuoteJacques Istel at Goodhill Farm CT. Bingo! Goodhill Farm in Woodbury, CT. is the Pond family place; Nate's brother Larry lives there now. There are still reunions there each August, although there hasn't been jumping into Goodhill for the past several years. Goodhill Farm was the site, in May, 1957, of the first Collegiate Nationals. And the picture (according to the Life info) is Jacques Istel jumping a Russian rig; I'm guessing he brought it back from the World Meet in Moscow in 1957. As to the sleeve, Istel and Lew Sanborn hold the patent for a sleeve attached to the canopy. In the patent, they note an unattached sleeve "is undesirable because of the difficulty in locating the sleeve after the jump and the expense incurred in replacing lost sleeves. "For military purposes, the separability of sleeve and parachute is an even more serious problem. A lost sleeve can inform the enemy that a parachutist has been landed in their territory." The picture is credited to Peter Stackpole, one of the best-known Life photographers of that time. It's undated, but I'm guessing it's either late 1956 or early 1957. At that time, attaching or not attaching the sleeve was optional. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonstark 8 #11 January 19, 2009 QuoteCould it be Nate Pond's cornfield and airstrip down near New Milford, CT? Is it Nate? I recognized your pic of the strip from a visit there a few years ago but couldn't remember the name of the place or the exact town it is in. There are a few derelict a/c in a decrepit old hangar on the north end. I got the hots to buy the place until I found out whose it was and knew there was no way it would be sold. I remember now you mentioning Nate's new place in VT. Been up there too but didn't know whose it was then either. cya, jon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #12 January 19, 2009 I think a lot of the property is now in a land trust, so there's no way it's going to sprout the megamansions that are now infesting the land. At one time or another the hangar has housed 36C and 88C, the two 170s that were I think used in the meet and are still owned by jumpers. The meet attracted a lot of press, including a feature story in The New York Times, which noted that Charlie Hillard and Steve Snyder flew up from Georgia to participate.They were, of course, later the first two to pass a baton in the U.S. Another small news story attached. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
talon2 0 #13 January 20, 2009 Didnt he do the Vortex rings jumps ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #14 January 20, 2009 QuoteDidnt he do the Vortex rings jumps ? Well, at least one, a water jump into Long Island Sound. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dqpacker 7 #15 January 20, 2009 any more info on that canopy? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #16 January 20, 2009 Quoteany more info on that canopy? Briefly, the vortex ring parachute was invented by David Barish in the mid-fifties and got a lot of publicity, including a spread in Life magazine. But it never really fulfilled the hype. The lines from the separate canopies converge in a swivel (above the jumper's head in this picture.) The canopies rotate about the swivel, kind of like helicopter blades. Once open, it was very stable but as a personnel parachute it had problems (opening shock, steerability, etc.) The Air Force tested it in the late 50's as a possible mid-air retrieval device. Now, it's probably used only for light loads (flares, etc.) HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #17 January 21, 2009 Quote Now, it's probably used only for light loads (flares, etc.) Here's a picture of a friend (who works with such things) demonstrating a small vortex ring canopy used for flares or some such. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccurley 0 #18 January 21, 2009 Looks more like an oversized thong bikini Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #19 January 22, 2009 Quote Looks more like an oversized thong bikini If you agree to post a picture of yourself wearing it, I'll be happy to get one for you. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccurley 0 #20 January 22, 2009 Wouldn't be the dumbest thing I ever did. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #21 January 23, 2009 Quote Looks more like an oversized thong bikini ...from one of those "Fat Women" you're always singing about Steve? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mccurley 0 #22 January 26, 2009 it doesn't look THAT bigWatch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites