Pulloff

[howardwhite 3]

These pictures are from the Google archive of LIFE magazine photos.
The only ID info is:

Quote

After jumping off wing of biplane, air stuntman pops his parachute for landing during air show.
Location: Canada
Date taken: 1972
Photographer: Bill Eppridge

Anyone know who and where? (And what canopy?)

HW

[kimemerson 7]

No idea, but it doesn't look like the parachute was "popped" AFTER he jumped off the wing at all. I know the media tends to speak while ignorant but with proof otherwise right in front of them you'd think they could nail at least this one.

[howardwhite 3]

Well, if we're being picky, he probably didn't really "jump," either.

HW

[Andy9o8 0]

Wow, that's low enough for the ants to look like people.
Hm, free-packed, too.

[PeteS 0]

I don't see a reserve either.....nice!

[pchapman 261]

From my post in
www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3399343:

Quote

For that "crazy airshow trick" - Anyone have an idea who or where it was?

It shows someone doing a drag off from the top wing of a Jenny biplane, at what appears to be a racetrack, with the caption just saying that it was in Canada in 1972. The sleeveless canopy is just opening, but the reinforcing bands in it seem to crisscross every which way, not like the usual gore style parachute. More like a Hoffman Triangle or ???

Even in '72 a jump and aircraft like that would be extremely rare!

[Edit: added hours later:]
It seems the photo was mislabelled. There are a bunch more in the sequence, but with different tags. Between the other photos and searching of car race websites, those distinctive stands were the ones at the California Motor Speedway, at Ontario, California. It was out in agricultural land then, but is all covered by malls and the like now. Looks like the jumper went without a reserve, as far as I can see in the photos.

[rapter 0]

Ralph wiggens?

Only the good die young, so I have found immortality,

[lodestar 0]

It is oddly reinforced for some reason. Got a shot of it fully inflated?
Awful nice JN4 there.
The jumper, speedway and aircraft don't speak 1972 to me, even though Canada was a bit behind in technology it would still seem like his gear would be more modern.
I'm going to hazard a guess that it was perhaps early 60's instead.

[howardwhite 3]

I had forgotten that picture from your earlier post, in my enthusiasm at finding the early pictures of Istel etc. I just revisited the collection to see if I'd missed anything.
And, yes, I've found a lot of the pictures obviously mislabeled. Both the plane and the jump look to be a lot earlier; doubt that anyone would be able to do that in 1972.

HW

[jimjumper 25]

Bob Sinclair? Wouldn't be his first pull-off!

[muff528 3]

Quote

I had forgotten that picture from your earlier post, in my enthusiasm at finding the early pictures of Istel etc. I just revisited the collection to see if I'd missed anything.
And, yes, I've found a lot of the pictures obviously mislabeled. Both the plane and the jump look to be a lot earlier; doubt that anyone would be able to do that in 1972.

HW

Some of the cars don't look TOO much older than that.

TP

[pchapman 261]

There's a series of 11 photos that I downloaded but I can't figure out how I found them on Google / Life, since the photos are all so poorly labelled and don't show up together under a few obvious searches like 'parachute' or 'Eppridge'.

...So here they all are, slightly out of order.

I'll let others look more at the cars and figure out if it was 1972, or sometime in the 60s. Either way, the aircraft, parachute, and type of jump were all quite unusual.

(One more pic coming in my next post as there's a limit to attachments.)

[pchapman 261]

(Last photo to finish off the series -- oops, out of order for the jump sequence.)

[howardwhite 3]

Too bad they're poor quality as posted. Here's a really quick 'n dirty Photoshop fixup of one.
I can't find them on Google either.

HW

[chutebuilder 0]

in # 7a...... i spot at least 2 2nd generation ford econoline vans. they came out in 1968.

[howardwhite 3]

Here's a cleaner version.

HW

[DavidB 0]

I pride myself in being able to "car-spot" backgrounds in pix & movies, especially earlier 60's to mid 70's, & I just can't get a read on these pix. If I assume they are Ontario Motor Speedway (Cal), & if I assume what I'm seeing lined up three-abreast on the track are Grand National/Winston Cup stock cars, then this could be anywhere from the earlier 60's (62 or 63) to about 1972. A picture of the cars on the track could date the photo without question, but even a clearer shot of the parking lot would help narrow it down.

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[howardwhite 3]

If I can find the originals on Google, I'll see if I can get better versions.

HW

[DavidB 0]

I keep coming back to a white van in pics 4, 5, & 6 (lower right) that looks like a 71 or later design. Just below this I think I see a 70 Plymouth Superbird in B-5 blue (I see the wing out back & the black-out on the nose).

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[howardwhite 3]

Here's 5, cleaned up a little.

HW

[DavidB 0]

Upper right white van (dotting the "I" in your last pic). Just below & to the left is I'm sure a 1970 Superbird in blue (to the right is a burnt orange 1970 color & then white with a black hood, possibly a roadrunner or Coronet R/T 440/6bbl). Bottom left says 1958 Chevy 2-door wagon to me, to the left of the Superbird is a 68-71 Ford or GM full sized wagon.

I'm willing to bet it's the 1971 or 72 NASCAR Winston Cup race.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times_500

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[howardwhite 3]

In the process of looking for news stories about the event, I found this.
HW