Canopy - unique

[SkydiveJack 1]

I'm gonna take a SWAG at it. You said the DOM was July 64.

Would this canopy by chance be a compilation of some new material colors that had just become available?

[JerryBaumchen 1,047]

Hi howard,

Ok, one more shot: is it a pinwheel pattern?

JerryBaumchen

[ripcordkid 0]

i have only heard of this,but never seen one. is it a 28 ft lopo with 30 gores instead of 28 to make the color pattern symetric from side to side?

[howardwhite 3]

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This really you?

Yup. (That one is flipped).
A PI catalog and Pioneer mag ad for Pioneer jumpsuits.
Me (on my knees as usual) checking reserve of Peter Jackson, the ASO who signed my C license.
Yellow jumpsuit is Ted Strong; black is Judd Raymond, and red is Mike Todd, who worked for Pioneer at the time.

HW

[howardwhite 3]

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Would this canopy by chance be a compilation of some new material colors that had just become available?

Close enough to put an end to this silliness.
The canopy was "commissioned" by Mike Lyon, D-175, who was at the time selling Pioneer stuff for PI out of Orange, MA. Pioneer offered all seven colors, but you could order no more than three even in a custom canopy. Mike argued that in order to sell canopies, he needed one that contained all seven, and Pioneer built just one -- this one.
It now resides at Jumptown, and we dragged it out this past weekend as part of events marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of the country's first commercial parachuting center.
Mike (here with Lew Sanborn) got "current" after not having jumped for several years. He sort of knows how to fly -- he's a retired 747 captain.
We also dredged out some other old equipment and made several of our current jumpers grateful they never had to jump it.

HW

[JohnDeere 0]

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Would this canopy by chance be a compilation of some new material colors that had just become available?

Close enough to put an end to this silliness.
The canopy was "commissioned" by Mike Lyon, D-175, who was at the time selling Pioneer stuff for PI out of Orange, MA. Pioneer offered all seven colors, but you could order no more than three even in a custom canopy. Mike argued that in order to sell canopies, he needed one that contained all seven, and Pioneer built just one -- this one.
It now resides at Jumptown, and we dragged it out this past weekend as part of events marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of the country's first commercial parachuting center.
Mike (here with Lew Sanborn) got "current" after not having jumped for several years. He sort of knows how to fly -- he's a retired 747 captain.
We also dredged out some other old equipment and made several of our current jumpers grateful they never had to jump it.

HW

So your saying it has double line attachments, and that is what makes it unique?

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[howardwhite 3]

Well, a month or so later, boredom and silliness set in...and the canopy got jumped!! (not by me).
Here it is, as viewed from under a Velo. (also not by me.)
Location: Orange, MA, where it was probably first jumped in 1964.
More pix (and video) later.

HW

[lucky508 0]

Howard,
That is certainly one of the coolest canopies I’ve ever seen. I love how the colors are changed in the different sections of the gores making the radical color changes. It’s great that you guys got it back in the air.

Thanks,
Cael

[ripcord4 0]

I'll bet Beatnik would love to have that canopy!