But I'm Too Young To Have 40 Years of Skydiving!

[swovelin 11]

of 1000 jumps, they were almost ALL on a 26' Navy Conical w/4 line release (no steering holes) as a main,
I stood up all the time, and landed in pea gravel all the time (when I spotted).

[swovelin 11]

Bill: Thank you for your 'congrats' post. Coming from a man with your perspective on the sport, I appreciate it all the more.

P.S. I have a slight connection to the later "chuteless" jumps. My then-partner, Bob Buehrer, was the freefall cameraman for Jimmy Tyler when he did his sans-chute jumps for "That's Incredible" and other TV shows. Do you remember the "Canopy in a bucket" stunt? (His canopy was in a bucket with a drogue, which was chucked out of the plane, Jimmy had to catch the bucket in FF and then remove the canopy and clip it on.) What a hoot!

[chuteless 1]

Yes I do recall that jump. After Tyler made his second chuteless jump, I telephoned his usual DZ to congratulate him, only to be told he had died jumping off Half Dome two weeks earlier.

He and I would have been the only members of the twice chuteless club.

Too bad...I would like to have met him.

Bill Cole D-41

[JerryBaumchen 1,048]

Hi crusty,

Here is one that was intentionally jumped about two weeks ago.

Want to buy it?

JerryBaumchen

[Amazon 7]

Today is my 38th skybirthday. I still have OEM landing gear with none of them aftermarket titanium parts

[crustySCSA69 0]

Quote

Hi crusty,

Here is one that was intentionally jumped about two weeks ago.

Want to buy it?

JerryBaumchen

I'd have to sew up that ridiculous blowhole in the back, but sure, what the hell is it exactly and how much ?
If you say Tri-Con, forget it (though it doesn't look flat enough), they open HARD. You need a 26'conical with the crown chopped out to get those SOFT openings and it's a bad angle but it does have that 'pooched' in front I remember so well (I think taht was the secret of the soft landings, when you cranked back risers, all that area suddenly held air, tippy-toe)

[MissBuffDiver 0]

Congratulations !!! I seem to remember 2 bros with the last name Swovelin...Pat & Jerry, right? I remember them as novice jumpers, and when they became more advanced, I remember their need to film other jumpers. Who the hell am I kidding, if you were there in the early 70's, you knew these guys. Yep, 1 was mild and 1 was out there a bit. The crazy bearded 1 and the tame 1. Good to know you're still at it, cuz I quit many yrs ago. The memories are very vivid, just like yesterday. Some times are hard to believe, but yes we did do all that crazy stuff. 40 is the new 20, so you've only just begun. Blue skies to you and keep it up Buddy!!!
Sandy~ Miss Buff Diver~WSCR 221~Mini-Jumper #44***If I was a bird I know who I'd shit on first !!!

Sandy

[airtwardo 6]

Ummm...wouldn't your Aug 2nd jump make 41 years?

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

[swovelin 11]

OHMIGOD! You're right!

That fun jump on Aug 2nd was actually my first jump of my FORTY-FIRST year. (Or, maybe it was my first jump of my next 40 years of jumpin' depending on your perspective.)

I think it was Gary Douris who explained an important truth to me, "You don't quit jumpin' 'cause you get old; you get old if you quit jumping!"

[riggermick 6]

Quote

OK, just so that it is "properly noted in the ship's log," I must mention that I made a fun jump today Aug 2 2010 at Skydive Elsinore with my wonderful wife Barbara. That, in itself, is unremarkable.

What is of somewhat greater note, at least on a personal level, is the commemoration of a previous jump, my first-ever parachute jump. On Aug. 2 1970, a skinny high-school kid came to a place called "Skylark Field" in Lake Elsinore and paid $30 to make a static-line jump on a surplus 32' round. That kid was never the same again.

I want to say a big THANK YOU to the many individuals who have contributed to these absolutely amazing forty years of skydiving and BASE jumping!

Also, just to note it in the ship's log, I ain't done yet!

Jerry, Congrats on 40 years. it's been 31 for me. How are you and Barb and Pat all doing? It's been a long time since we last met. all the best.

Mick Cottle.

[patworks 5]

41 it is! Congratulations mate! It has been a fun run, eh?

Pat Works nee Madden Travis Works, Jr .B1575, C1798, D1813, Star Crest Solo#1, USPA#189,

[fossg 0]

Congratulations Jerry. I don't know if you remember me but I was one of your early aff students (in the double keel paradactyl days)

[hottamaly 1]

Congrats Jerry,
it's been a pleasure knowing you, Barby, Pat and the rest of the crew. I'm a pup compared to you guys but hey, we all got to start somewhere. 20 years for me so far. Seems like yesterday.

Skydiving gave me a reason to live
I'm not afraid of what I'll miss when I die...I'm afraid of what I'll miss as I live

[377 21]

Way to go! I made my first jump in 1968, jumped rounds for way too long, and still jump thanks to square canopies.

No BASE or swooping for me though, I have no orthopedic titanium and want to keep it that way.

Congrats again on 40 years in the worlds best hobby/sport.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[tonybrogdon 0]

Your never to old and your never to old.The best is still ahead.

Tony Brogdon
D-12855

[MissBuffDiver 0]

Damn...if Gary Douris said it, then it must be right..I haven't jumped in 30 yrs..thought I was getting old cuz of all the birthdays I've had..now that I know it's cuz I stopped jumping, I need to get my ass to the airport, like yesterday...LOL***If you're talking behind my back, you're in a good position to kiss my ass !!!

Sandy

[skr 1]

Ahhh ... Nostalgia ... Poignance ...

I love feeling this stuff.

> Also, just to note it in the ship's log, I ain't done yet!

Good!

I'll get to feel some more next year!

I'm still jumping a little up here in Snohomish,
and once in a while up in Pitt Meadows.

I mostly jump with new jumpers so I don't
have to remember anything complicated :-) :-)

Skr