WV177RG

No, but beautiful photography. Thank you. The scenario I remember was definitely unintentional, unlike the preplanned proximity flight in your link. I believe the military aircraft that whizzed by the open door of the otter had twin vertical stabilizers. Can't remember whether they were perpendicular to fuselage (F-15) or angled (F-18.) Searched internet two more hours today...still no luck.

A friend (AFF I/E and pilot) is creating a safety seminar for pilots on dz avoidance. Does anyone have a link to the video of a fighter (F-15 or F-18?) passing by the open door of a twin otter while someone was spotting the load? Probably appeared on YouTube within the past two or three years. Thanks very much!

"Basically it only implies that you roll the four cells on each side inside and tuck each roll into a respective half of the center cell." Check your manual, contact manufacturer and your rigger. FWIW: Did that with my F-111 PD-230 back in the 90's. Worked great: opened soft and reliable every time. Moved on to a ZeroP Sabre (1)-210. Cautioned by PD and my rigger to NOT place rolled cells into center cell. Followed their advice. Occasional hard openings despite following PD's instructions (including John LeBlanc's article on avoiding hard openings) on packing, slider position, body position, slowing down before deployment, etc. Finally had my rigger install a pocket on my slider last year = not a hard opening to date. I now have to plan for openings that run 600-800'. Don't know if that would be applicable to your situation. Trust your professionals. Good luck.

OP: "I guess I need to come at it from an emotional angle?" I introduced a non jumper to our DZ family not long after she arrived in the US, having recently escaped oppression on the other side of the world. There was nothing self-righteous about her emotional response to our sport: "Skydiving is a path to loving life in "technicolor" and to an extent so extraordinary the average person can never hope to comprehend." (Paraphrased.) She saw skydiving as the embodiment of freedom she couldn't comprehend growing up in her native country. The OP appeared to be looking for an emotional angle. The rest of the post was mine.

Skydiving is not a death wish. Skydiving is a path to loving life in "technicolor" and to an extent so extraordinary the average person can never hope to comprehend. You can minimize the risk...you can't eliminate it. The successful marriages I've seen generally fall into three categories: Skydiver marries skydiver (my wife coaches me skydiving, I coach her flying.) Skydiver's spouse shares the camaraderie of the DZ family, but chooses to not jump. Skydiver's spouse supports skydiver's passion; pursues their own passion with skydiver's support in return. Hope you reach a mutually acceptable understanding with your wife.

Beautiful. In my dreams! Thank you, Michael. Reminds me of my days lurking Orange as a kid: Beech 18, DC-3, 10-way speedstars. Finally jumping with some of those guys now. Jim "It's not the number of breaths we take--it's the moments that take our breath away."

"No one whom I know knows how it fared with Fred, but whatever happened was probably for the best!" My DOH at Precision was 8/1/88, but the episode was still fresh in the minds of my senior colleagues. They said it appeared the FAA/NTSB at Fred's hearing were steering toward certificate action in the form of a suspension...until the following (approximated) exchange: Questioner: "Why did you do it?" Fred: "I saw the bridge...couldn't help myself." Questioner: "Of course, you'd never do it again." Fred: "Oh, yeah, in a heartbeat!" They essentially shredded his ATP and stripped him of his credentials. At least, that's how the legend was told behind our Precision Airlines hangar's closed doors. RIP Howard, we miss you lots!

Our airline flew Twin Otters and Dornier 228s (Precision*/Eastern Express, later Northwest Airlink) in skydiving service on occasion. Certificated for 19 passengers and a crew of 2 pilots, the Dornier had a small jump door but climbed fast and had STOL--short takeoff and landing--capabilities. It was well-suited for it's mission of connecting passengers from small airports around the northeast and Quebec into major airports of the northeast corridor (BOS, LGA, JFK, PHL+) with its ability to depart from relatively short runways, maintain 190+ KIAS initial approach speeds to keep up with the heavy iron, throw out the anchor close in, make a short-field landing and clear the runway to facilitate close separation between arrivals and departures. Particularly exciting for passengers was our ability to land on RWY 33R at BOS: we could pass 747's on parallel approach to 33L, drop gear and flaps, flare a few feet up while still over the water, touchdown on the numbers and use only half the available 2,550'. With the seats removed and jump door mod in place, the Dornier could accommodate 22 or 23 skydivers, IIRC. For a few years, pilots were given the option of taking a checkride for a single-pilot type rating, freeing up the copilot seat for jump ops. (My upgrade class was the first after our FSDO required two pilots for all operations, so my type rating contains the limitation "second-in-command required.") When our airline was bankrupted by corporate raiders, the aircraft were sold and ferried to Africa. I heard some of our pilots served short term contracts flying jumpers for the Saudi government. *same airline from the French King Bridge incident thread

Brings back memories. I flew a 600 HP Stearman (former crop duster) powered by a Pratt and Whitney R-1340 Wasp engine with an 85 gallon aux tank bolted to the floor, towing a 2,400 square foot aerial billboard from the MA/NH border to a duster strip near Ocean City, MD and back in the late '80's. Same engine/prop configuration as the Noorduyn Norseman flown by Parachutes, Inc. at Orange, MA and Lakewood, NJ, and the T-6. Distinctive sound, like a hundred chainsaws revving up at the same time due to engine noise combined with prop tips going supersonic. Got thrown out of several northeast airports as the result of noise complaints. :-) (I ended up mostly deaf at the end of every 8 hour flying day.) I can thank that bird for a chance encounter with a childhood hero that summer: my boss told me to call Rosie O'Grady's flying circus in Orlando to arrange a prop swap. The voice that answered the phone said, "Rosie O'Grady's, Joe Kittinger." Colonel Kittinger couldn't have been more gracious, regaling me with stories of Projects Manhigh and Excelsior for 20 minutes before we got around to talking props.

"Severed Ed"--earned for brainlocking in his early days. Grew up to be good RW jumper and great ambassador for the sport, welcoming newbies and making them feel at home.

"Cheep" reserves are for the birds. (Sorry, not enough coffee this morning.) Why not give your last shot your best shot?

Lake Wales was hosting the Collegiate National Parachuting Championships when my wife and I passed through on a business trip last month. The young competitors raved about the warm reception they received from the staff, the facilities, and how well organized the event was. Windline is the gear store/jumpsuit manufacturer located on the field. Their RW suits started appearing at our home DZ up north a few years ago. High quality and durable at an excellent price. Billy and Trish measured us for new RW suits during our recent visit. (They make other discipline-specific suits, too.) Couldn't have been more welcoming or professional. Good luck with AFF...have fun, fly fast, fly safe! PS: Sebastian, ZHills, Bev/Michigan/Tony suits mentioned above are all perennial favorites.

Waited for OWB today out of respect...midnight approaches. The gang lifted a holiday glass in your honor last month, David. Now, six years gone in the blink of an eye. Met Nancy and John at Jumpshack last week. They remembered you fondly, especially vivid memories of you as pictured in Howard's photo of you with the three black and purple Racers. Marianne and I miss you lots. Howard, too. Fly fast, fly free!

Agreed. "Airtec GmbH CYPRES and CYPRES 2 Design and Test Report All Models in accordance with: PIA TS-120: AAD Design and Testing Report Format TS120cV3b" (One night I was curious about the genesis of this little miracle.) Apologies if the abbreviation appeared misleading.

"READ the MANUAL...for THAT version...get an experienced rigger...to explain it to you." OP's post specifies buying new. For anyone contemplating buying used, here's a subtle "gotcha": I bought a new Cypres-2, manufactured in 2006. Appeared to operate fine, no error codes. Sent it to SSK for four-year service. They notified me that one or more operational parameters failed inspection, so they shipped it to Germany for further testing. (Not one of the units under service bulletin for intermittent function...my wife's was.) Came back from SSK with no description of issues discovered, repairs, etc., just re-certified airworthy (Airtec/PIA standards, not FAA TSO.) When I turned it on to test it, I discovered changes to its function. Called SSK. They said the programming had been upgraded to the latest version. I downloaded most recent User's Guide, added the changes to my original manual, confirmed new operation with my rigger = good to go. Agreeing with councilman24 that you should confirm the manual conforms to latest changes to that specific AAD. Your rigger can help. We love the straightforward operation of the Cypres. Our home DZ has a small ski hill nearby. Raising the activation altitude 300' when the spot's west of the airport is a simple matter.

Thanks for remembering, Bill. Happy birthday, David. Purple skies!

Re: Gypsy Moths/Multiple sequential openings My mistake--responded to councilman24's mention of static lines instead of OP. 3 stunts edited in sequence starting at 1 hour 13 minutes on the movie timeline 1) skydiver pulls ripcord and 5 canopies appear to deploy from backpack, 4 unattached to harness 2) skydiver deploys main parachute from backpack, then hand deploys 3 additional parachutes from chest pack reserve containers clipped to his harness--in final cut, canopies are yellow, green, blue, red* 3) another skydiver pulls ripcord and 6 canopies deploy sequentially from what appears to be backpack, 5 unattached to harness The static line/"daisy chain" sequence I mentioned in earlier post follows immediately after. *Skydiver lands under 4 open round parachutes. In the movie, he appears to touchdown in an open field. The special feature documenting the creation and filming of the skydiving scenes shows a different jump on which he drifted with the wind, ultimately just missing crashing into a barn.

To clarify: the captain is your last resort after ticket agents, security agents, gate agents, supervisors, flight attendants, et al, deny your request. Remster is right: once your PIC says no, the game's over regardless of the merits of your request. The captain is the final authority. Ask him/her last. If you do, be polite and be professional. Present your FAA/TSA/manufacturer documents and x-ray card, if necessary. An attitude of respect and compliance can tip the scales in your favor. (Avoid mention of the pyrotechnic that propels your cutter. Your manufacturer already proved to the authorities it is safe to carry onboard aircraft.)

In the US, the Pilot in Command has the ultimate legal authority: "§ 91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command. (a) The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft." Likely similar PIC authority in most, if not all, other countries. Time permitting, you could respectfully ask for the captain's permission to carry your rig in the cabin. (Expect additional x-ray, "sniffer" and/or visual inspections.) Don't expect security personnel to know all the rules. Wasn't suggesting conspiracy in your case. Your language skills and knowledge of local culture should have helped resolve this in your favor. Polite, direct appeal to the captain might have produced desired result. My Cypres 1 and Cypres 2 both came with x-ray cards. To the gent who insisted English is the de facto international language: spend some time listening to JFK bound foreign aircrews transmitting on NY approach control frequency...don't forget the popcorn.

"Therefore, I will take the X-ray Card with me in future unless I have the option to put the rig in the hold (depending on hold allowance). " Unless? You should have the x-ray card with you regardless of whether you plan to take your rig in the cabin or as checked baggage. Security agents who insist a rig is suspect, then order it be transported in a cargo hold without confirming the absence of an explosive device are negligent and potentially put everyone aboard that aircraft at risk. "They were fucking with you. It's what the French do when you are not French." French Canadians sometimes, too, though most are quite friendly these days. I flew to Quebec City 2 weeks after a vote to secede from Canada failed twenty+ years ago. My colleague and I ordered the exact same meal. He went ballistic when he discovered he was charged 50% more than I. I ordered in broken French...he loudly insisted they take his order in English. When in Rome, do as the Romanians do.

The Gypsy Moths was produced in 1969, based on a story by James Drought. The sequence you describe occurs at one hour fifteen minutes on the timeline. It's a 3-way in which the skydivers are linked by static lines hooked to the second and third parachutists' ripcords, staging their openings. There was a paperback book by the same title released after the film. I believe the stunt was described as a "daisy chain" in the book. (Memory's fading...I lost my copy in a flood many years ago.) Carl Boenish played a central role in designing and filming the aerial stunts. (Sunshine Superman is the recently released documentary about his life and role in the development of BASE jumping.) We purchased an unopened (Gypsy Moths) DVD on Amazon for less than the price of an Otter jump two years ago. It contains excellent bonus material including The Skydivers, a terrific short feature detailing the development and filming of the skydiving scenes, plus interviews with the director, cast and stunt crew, including Carl Boenish. Some of the most accurate and vividly photographed skydiving sequences in any film I've seen.

Jumptown is also an excellent DZ. Great folks and programs, plus a central force in skydiving history. Reportedly the first commercial sport parachuting center in the US, beginning in the late '50's. (Dragged my folks to the World Parachuting Championships at Orange in '62 when I was 8.) My wife spent several excellent years there as a load organizer for Gary and Diane Pond, and the Massachusetts Sport Parachute Club.

Welcome to Boston. Skydive Pepperell is fairly close. Great vibe, solid training programs, variety of disciplines. Not aware of direct connection via public transportation, but we do get a lot of skydivers from the Boston area. Call manifest at 1 800 SKYJUMP to inquire about car pooling. Ask them about posting a message on "Banter." Spectacular foliage season just around the corner! (Skyventure NH wind tunnel is nearby, too.)

Beautiful! If he arrives soon enough, he might even qualify for amnesty.

Thanks for your input, guys. We have an excellent DZO. Would be happy to help patrol the driveway, perimeter and route 111 if that might help her control the situation. Will also talk with The Chief to see if he's got ideas based on his LE experience.