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DigitalDave

How hard was RW back in the day?

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the hardest thing about early RW , that i remember....
was the way that some people docked!!!!!:o

thus the term... Kamikaze RW.

not only did we "protect our handles" but we also protected our faces, our heads, and our bodies, from over eager jumpers who were out there looking "to build a Star".
The PAt Works book(s) the Art of Freefall Relative Work, and then, United We Fall
became the bible for the emerging artistry of "freefalling with friends".. Thanks Pat !! Your books still hold a place of Honor on a bookshelf in my home!!
(right next to R. A. Gunbys' Sport Parachuting)
:)jmy
a 3914
scr 6190
scs 4876
nscr 1817



I remember a friend that fell like a ton of bricks. He had never been pinned. I was determined to give him his first hookup. I slammed into him like a freight train, face first, but I did catch him.;) Of course it was all his fault.....I couldn't face the fact that I came in way too hot.

At any rate my nose bled all the way to the ground. I got blood all over the reserve I borrowed from B.J. Worth. I don't think B.J. was too tickled with me.

I don't remember anyone getting nocked out, but it was close at times. No wonder there weren't any old jumpers back then...:S.

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DC3's. If you were back 12-13+ slots from the door the base was a long ways down by the time you got out, and that was if you managed to not get your shoulder knocked out of place by the frame or get kicked in the face by the guy in front of you.
Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

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It was still your body -- there were naturals then just as there are now, and there were folks who were stiff and had a hard time then, too.

Once just building a 4-way wasn't the challenge any more (the Z-Hills 4-way competition was to see who could build one the fastest), that's when sequential came in. But the first 4-way competition I ever watched was won by the team that actually built a 4-way on all 3 rounds.

Something is only possible once it's been imagined, and only easy once it's been done. So all that stuff that we do now wasn't even really imagined then. Although I did have a friend who calculated that a 220-way box should be able to freefall all the way to a survivable landing. Of course, the guy who chickened out would mess it up for everyone else :ph34r:

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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I did a fair number of jumps out of Lodi's DC3, working my way up to 20+ back. The Lodi guys were very good, and taught me how to do it. As you're lined up for a 40-way, snaking around the inside of the DC3, keep track of when the first folks leave. Start counting, 1-thousand-one, 1-thousand-two, etc. As soon as you exit, hit your Iron Cross, and reset the count. Do not look for the formation. Simply attack the Earth, straight down, as hard as you can. Once you hit the count you made inside the plane, pull up. Formation is there, every time, with room to brake. Works like a charm. ;)

We are all engines of karma

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Remember my first RW hook up with Aldo Zanier in Dickinson, TX around 1965. You can tell this was a long time ago because he filled a pocket in one leg of his jumpsuit with flour. It was a little like smoke and remember that someone on the ground said they could actually see it. While I thought the flour was going up it apparently was not as we got to the ground and had flour on our jumpsuits, rigs and mouths. Smoke bombs with real brackets came later. Attached is a picture of the event. Since Aldo was Italian and jumped with flour, remember someone naming him the Flying Pizza.

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I started out at a small club where most of the jumps were Style & Accuracy...out of my first 100 jumps maybe 5 were 2 & 3 way RW.

Same here small DZ in KS a club that was still doing style and acc. In 1970 a few of us vets showed up and wanted to try RW.

But no one had a clue how to do it. no books no video not web. All four of us would leave the cessna from 7.5 ready set go and chase the big guy.

It took a while but we stayed with it. eventually we were able to get a 4 way consistently free fly the exit. we thought we achieved something.

The we wanted to practive swooping the formation. still out of the cessna from 7.5. everyonr wanted to leave the plane late and practice swooping the formation.

We would all sit on our ass in the plane the guy spotting would do the 5 rt 5 lt thing and leave.:oB|.We would get off our butts and try and catch the big guy way down there.

It took us a while but we got better and faster, just with practice and jumping yr round in KS and determination.

We had a blast. We were doing RW where we landed was MEH. Head for the nearest road and someone would drive by pick us up eventually.

If someone went low on the formation no biggie we would go for the new low guy and get more practice flying.on the same jump. There was only one pt get every one in the 4 way.

Funnel the little O Oops don't wanna do that again we talked it over and eventualy figured it out.

Combat RW did some of that to, it was all fun no pressure just some peeps working together trying ti figure it out.

Liscense :S Show us your log book:)
Now everything has gone hollywood the skysnobs started struting their stuff and everyone wanted instant gratification and perfection, $$$ no problem young ones use their plastic to pay for everyjting to get on the fast track.

Never even heard of Roger N. until he came back from his extended vacation.

To the OP how hard was RW almost back in the day? wasn't hard it just took time and was a blast. We earned every thing we got.:P

R.



There was only one formation the llittle O.

One Jump Wonder

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I was fortunate, I started a DZ where I had the opportunity to jump with the likes of Don Henderson, Bill Stage, Al Krueger, Pat Moorehead and many more world class jumpers. They were willing to jump with anyone that wanted to learn….never and charge. As the years went by and I got better I made sure that I passed on what could to younger jumpers.

It was a different time, things were more relaxed and way for fun.

Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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You DO know helmets come in OTHER colors.


...right? :P



I’ll have you know I raced the Elsinore GP wearing that helmet. :P

Sparky

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_YK3LWxDUQ&feature=related


"You could tell the most eager riders by the rope burns on their necks" :D



BTW, my son's namesake won that race. B|
lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

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Yep. Jumped flour in our jumpsuit leg pockets for a demo way deep into Mexico. Carried rolls of toilet paper to fling on open. Both worked fine. Mucho happy Orphans. Home bound, US Customs busts us for white powder in our jumpsuits. Strip search, big scene. Detained, we await a small man in a dowdy suit & tie with a huge toolbox of vials + chemical stuff. He does his scene, even tastes and sniffs the powder. Finailly closes the toolbox, stands up, nods politely to the uniformed cops, tersely exclaims, "Tortilla flour!" decisively and departs. Fedo tried to get outraged but fell asleep. (Good Party too).

RW? Hey pre RW it was called freefall "Contact." ... resembled bowling. A strike was all that mattered.


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

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Contact & bowling:)
That what it looked like from the ground to. The formation was like a set of bowling pins.

The bowing ball would come in a little to hot, Hit the pins and they would scatter. in a random manner.

But it was fun:)
Make way for the tandems!!!!!!

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I've no idea how to compare today's dollars with 1973- but first jump was $55. Year later bought new custom rig, with new PC and 26'Navy conical and altimeter for I think $800. 3500 feet was $3 from a C170. People were learning how to fly pretty well. The jumpers from Snohomish and Issaquah were regularly putting together sequential 10 ways using belly reserve rigs, et al. (I mostly just watched.)
Beer was cheaper too, I think.
Fun times!

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Damn difficult.... it took me 250-300 jumps to get an SCR (8-way). Staying relative 'hovering', moving forward horizontally, flat turns... were self-taught. Took time. Wasn't until the SCR and the book The Art of Freefall RW happened that one could learn and use what others knew.
Pat Works nee Madden Travis Works, Jr .B1575, C1798, D1813, Star Crest Solo#1, USPA#189,

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Damn difficult.... it took me 250-300 jumps to get an SCR (8-way). Staying relative 'hovering', moving forward horizontally, flat turns... were self-taught. Took time. Wasn't until the SCR and the book The Art of Freefall RW happened that one could learn and use what others knew.



I know your book help me a great deal.

Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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