SCS422

Also the Clear eye express from Washington

Years ago......Steve Fielding was organizing the night record attempts and we were trying to get a 16 man, it finally got together and I looked across at Bud Kruger and he waved his arms up and down which was the signal; to track away and dump, I turned around and tracked for a bit and looked down and thought "shit we're over the Ortegas" but it was ground rush, I had one hard pull, I was using a borrowed rig, and grabbed the Rip Cord with both hands and had a normal opening. I had maybe 5/10 seconds before landing and there were 3 or 4 others just a bit higher. Allen told me "Larry, don't you tell anyone how low we were"

I remember that place well, I went there after the nationals one year. Leon would take off and have to jump[ over a small creek 3/4 of the way down the runway, I think his other job was manufacturing fish tanks.

I was on Wilds' Bunch and then on Poultry Products for a short time.

I had one of these things and would jump it every now and then depending on how brave I felt. Mine had a line on the rear panel that was used as a brake, I never knew if it worked or not. I remember Jerry Swovlen yelling at me "cut away" when I had packed it backwards one time at Perris.

If any of the guys that were on the nite 16 man that Steve Fielding organized and we made at Elsinore and have the pic that was taken by M. Anderson Jenkins send me an email. I loaned mine to Don Henderson and never got it back from him b4 he passed away. You can send me the pic and I will have a copy made and send it back to you.

M. Anderson Jenkins...….. Good friend, heck of a photographer

I jumped at both of them starting when a 7tu was a radical canopy. Both good but what I liked about Elsinore was the SCR Scrambles every year, that was a REALLY fun time.

Me, Sam Marshall, Dale Thurber and Mike Lee went to his drop zone after the nationals I think in '73. I remember he was flying us up to altitude and his runway had a creek running thru it and he had to get going fast enough to bounce over it on take off and not only that the runway was short and he would barely clear the trees at the end. I had a reserve opening there and was more worried about the alligators than anything else.

I never jumped one but my team member Sam Marshall jumped one quite a bit when we were on Wilds Bunch until he had 3 reserve deployments in a row with one. He packed it in a bag, folded it kind of like a Delta 2

Yes know but the number would be so high would be embarrassed to show it considering when I got it.

I remember jumping with the "Clear Eye Express" from there great bunch of guys

Bummer to say the least, I liked warren and always tried to get him on my loads, a wonderful jumper and A+ guy D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

When Hank started bujilding canopies he gave Mike Lee and I canopies free of charge and maintained them also because they were blowing out panels now and then. I don't remember which model they were but initially they had an OSI and then he did away with that. I remember one jump using the OSI when I woke up under canopy at about 1K feet wondering where I was. I used one for some time because they packed up so small. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

California parachutist ID card #57.

D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

"Hmmm, I was in the first 16 man diamond and the first 20 man papallion in 1974. You sure things weren't already changing when 1977/78 came around? I was also in a 21 man night round in 1975, I had no idea the largest night round was/is only 22. " I forgot about the Diamonds. Yes, they were already changing but not to the degree after the 77/78 period, it really started to change about then. Yep, as far as I know the 22 man was/is the largest but as Steve used to say "no picture, no glory". D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

"The only grippers you had, back then, was a handful of material....Sitting up put a lot of tension on grips. " Yep the bigger they were the harder to fly. I remember when we took lengths of garden hose and sewed them into the arm sleeves to help with the grips, boy did that work well! I remember when we did a 20 man for Jerry Kinleys wedding at Elsinore. We had it together by 10K and it was the best flying 20 man I have ever been in! Perfectly round all the way down, not a bobble. I will remember that jump (among others) till I pass away. I'm sure there are some guys here that were on that load and remember it. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

O.K. well, I have my Nomex flame suit on for this one. There were no other than round formations to speak of when I started jumping other than the ocassional Snowflake. About 1977/78 things started to change. Steve Fielding was the large load organizer back in those days and about the only other formation was a snowflake either on the legs or between the legs which led to other stuff and Steve started doing less and less of the Round Stars and more of the formations. I told Steve one Day that the formations were a lot easier to fly but that the skill level was going down on the ocassional 20 man that we were putting together people didn't know how to fly the rounds. He said that was true but we were getting a lot bigger formations. At that time the largest round star was the 32 man that was put together over Corona/Ontario for the Jerry Lewis telethon and that puppy was flying on five or six different levels and moving back and forth and was tough to keep together. The Night star over Perris in '75 was flying on about 3/4 different levels and was moving in and out really bad until we got it setteled down. It took a LOT of flyhing skill to fly those large round stars. When Capt Hook got back from China They were doing a bunch of RW at Perris one weekend and I was home. I got a call from Dale Thurber on Sat eve. and he said "Larry, you got to get down here" I said "whats going on" He said "Capt hook is going base for anybody who wants to make a 20 man, I made three 20 mans today." I immediately headed down there for some serious RW. I made 4 round 20 mans that Sunday and I think we were only getting 10,500, How many do you think could be made like that today? Lets face it, it's true and I am not trying to belittle RW work but the air flows around the formations a lot better than it does the rounds. I have my large fire extinguisher handy. Please send pics of me being hung in efigy. Please forgive me for saying man" instead of "way" they were all "mans" wether there were men or women in them in the old days, i'm a creature of habit. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

Does anybody know if there has been a larger ROUND night star made other than the 22man that Mike Jenkins photographed in '75 and if so where, when and who took the photos? D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

Yes, Al had two brothers that jumped and the three of them would put together a pretty quick 3 man so they were the base for the early stuff we did for Steve. Bob Buquor memorial, I guess BBM would have been better. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

Bummer, Bill was our alternate on the "Wild's Bunch" 10 man speed star team when we went to the Nationals one year. Great guy to jump with and be around. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

I'm ;looking at my BQM Star crest sheet for the night 16 man we made at Elsinore 12/8/73 and am wonder where they are all at. Base Bruce Kruger pin Bud Kruger 3rd Al Kruger 4th Ralph Johnson 5th Bob Nelson (RIP) A REAL good friend 6th Jim Wallace 7th Don Henderson (RIP) 8th Larry Ravlin 9th Jerry Kinley (RIP) 10th Steve Fielding (RIP) The Steve Fielding incentive plan "get in or go in) 11th Bill Stage (RIP) 12th Warren Frazier 13th Dave Wilds (RIP) 14TH Dennis Trepanier 15th Sam Marshall (I see him all the time) 16th Rick Taylor Pics by M. Anderson Jenkins (RIP) A good buddy of mine D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.

Time to realize that as we get older, the memory goes. Guardian was started by a guy ( who's name I no longer remember ) in Southern California. He had some success but eventually sold everything to FXC. Then somewhat later, FXC hired Dan Abbott away from Security to come down to run the Guardian operation. Anyone out there remember the name of the guy who started Guardian? I seem to remember he started it when he just got out of the Navy. He ran an ad once that had the banner: IF YOU DON'T READ THIS AD YOUR RIPCORD WILL CATCH ON FIRE I've never forgotten that ad. JerryBaumchen That was Gordon Foster and he was in the Navy. His stuff was well built and he was an excellent rigger. He made a couple of rigs for me and I did a modeling page with the godflicker taking the pics for Sky Diver mag. This rig doesn't look like one of his though. Could be one of Hank the Cranks rigs. Gordons business went downhill after a guy went in at Elsinore wearing one of his rigs. D4021, C8295, California Parachutist ID card #237, USPA ASO WE/10 7022 7202. Never did send my NSCR from '73 in but still have the old paper work filled out.