The Very First 2-Stack

[1st8stkOrganizr 0]

I've been told by Andy Keech that the very first two stack was done by Mike Barber and someone else at Deland back in 1975 or 1976. He said he shot a photo of a hookup they did later that year and it appeared in Sports Illustrated in one of those two years.

Does anyone know how to contact Mike Barber or who the second person was and how to contact him? A picture would really be awesome.

Tom Courbat
Organized World's 1st 8-Stack - Livermore, CA - Oct 22-23, 1977. Broke neck on 2nd attempt. CCR 9/CCS 35. Started CCR/CCS Program & sold to USPA. SCR 572/SCS 1000

[CFPasi 0]

The first 2-stack


This is how I had wrote it in my CRW history booklet (short english version)

1975-1976

All begins, like we believe in USA. Summer 1975 Mike Johnston and Mike Cerasoli came together and made the first planning canopy contact. Why I wrote, "like we believe" - the main reason are that there are also other names like Mike Barber and Bobby Gray who could be the first ones.

Source 1:
Skydiving January 30, 1980 number 7

"We had been flying in close formation for a long time, but had been afraid of actually making contact with another canopy until Mike Barber rode on the top of Bobby Gray's canopy durin about the last 100' of descent into the peas. Nothing terrible happened so Mac McGallum and Bobby went p and got an intentieonal hook-up in the next jump. Then Mike Barber and I (Carl Daugherty) got one one jump later."
....(Those attempts were made in July 1975)

Source 2:
Parachutist July 1996 (By Nancy Koreen)

"One day in 1975 on the East Coast, Mike Johnston and Mike Cerasoli came together under canopy. It wasn't an accident, but rather the birth of what was to be a new skydiving discipline. They formed a 2-stack, the first formation with skydivers under open parachutes, and canopy relative work was born."


I had not try to find those two Mike's from the East Coast or Nancy Koreen to find more details. Can anyone help?


Pasi Pirttikoski
CRW history collector

[1st8stkOrganizr 0]

Can we find any of these guys that Pasi mentions? Someone MUST know one or two of them? It would be helpful to clarify who actually did the "first" intentional canopy hookup.

Pasi is gathering extensive information on CReW (CF) history, and getting it right is pretty darned important. Any and all help appreciated.

Tom Courbat
Organized World's 1st 8-Stack - Livermore, CA - Oct 22-23, 1977. Broke neck on 2nd attempt. CCR 9/CCS 35. Started CCR/CCS Program & sold to USPA. SCR 572/SCS 1000

[Shark 0]

Quote

CCR 9/CCS 35

Shark, CCR 2113/CCS 1242

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Mike Johnston is the manager of Skydive Deland, isn't he? He at least runs the school. Carl Doherty still jumps at Deland.

[sikorsky 0]

you might can talk with carl d. in deland

[1st8stkOrganizr 0]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll get in touch with the Deland folks and post what I find out.

[freakbrother173 0]

The first canopy stack was Bobby Gray & Mike Barber in Deland .

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