JerryBaumchen

Hi Flying, I owned a Maroon '75 Volvo 240DL 4-dr for 13 yrs. Did an awful lot of maintenance on that car. Had it longer than any other car I've owned. JerryBaumchen PS) For many years I saw this car driving around Portland with license plates that said OVLOV. I could never figure what they meant & then one day he was behind me at a light & VOILA, VOLVO backwards. Yup, the plates were on a Volvo.

Hi out there, I've been a car-nut far longer than a parachute-nut. I wrote this article for a BMW magazine back in 2004. I hope that you find it entertaining & maybe, for some of you, a trip down Memory Lane. Fifty Years of Motor Vehicles It was the summer of '54. Ike was in the White House and the Korean War was behind us. A guy named Bill Haley and a group called the Comets were about to change the music world forever with a song called Rock Around the Clock. I was a gangly 13-year old with a paper route. My brother and I had been wrenching and modifying our bicycles for about four years and seeing what length of skid marks we could put down on the sidewalk. But I wanted something other than a Pedal-Matic. So I saved my money and for about $20 bought a DoodleBug. This was a two-wheel motor scooter about thirty inches long and about twenty-four inches high. When I sat on it, I looked like an NBA player on a 3-year old's tricycle. It had a single cylinder two-cycle engine with a straight exhaust, no muffler. It had a throttle with a slip clutch, a brake, a kick-start system and no lights or electrical system of any kind. She would do about thirty MPH flat out. Crack the throttle and you were on your way. For about fourteen cents per gallon of gas, plus a little oil, I could fill the tank and go clear across Portland (before freeways or interstates). As long as I stayed off of the main streets, the police didn't bother me. The DoodleBug wasn`t licensed and neither was I. But, I had mobility - a life-changing event. I had the DoodleBug for about a year, followed by (in no particular order) another motor scooter (a larger one that would carry two people), a motorcycle, a hot rod, a drag race car, two convertibles, two Porsches, two 1957 Chevy two-door hardtops, two Ford Falcons, two VW Camper vans, a Volvo, a half dozen pickups, a bunch of four-door sedans, and one airplane. I never bought any of them from private party sellers. I never financed any of them. They were all bought with cash up front. Out of all of them there are three I wish I still had. '32 Ford 5-Window Coupe: I had this car my senior year in high school, `57-`58. It was a real steel one, not a plastic repro. I drove it home, all of five miles from where I bought it, and parked it in the garage. It had a shot 59A motor. I spent the entire year working on that car. Since the engine was kaput, I decided to take it apart to see how motors worked. I took it down to every last bolt and nut, valve spring keeper, connecting rod, etc. That was a fantastic learning experience for a 17-year old kid '57 Chev 2-Dr Hardtop: I bought this car in 1963, I had just gotten out of the service. It was solid black and it was my second `57 Chev two-door hardtop, the first had been all white. It had been stolen about a month before I bought it and it only had Park and Drive left in the PowerGlide transmission. I limped it home, put it in the garage and converted it to a straight stick with overdrive. I even tore down the steering wheel/column and put in the column-shift. I added a toggle switch just under the dash to control the overdrive, rather than the button under the gas pedal which is the way all factory cars were set-up. This allowed me to switch into overdrive whenever I wanted to. The down side is that when in overdrive you do not have any engine compression slowing you down, you are free-wheeling. One advantage was that the toggle switch allowed me to use the hill holder feature of the overdrive. I could sit at a light, facing up-hill and let the car roll back into the hill holder and sit there with the clutch in and not use the brakes. '65 Porsche 356C Coupe: I bought this car in the summer of `71, I had just graduated from college. This was my second Porsche coupe; I had the first one (a 356A Normal Coupe) in '62-`63 while stationed in northeastern France. I bought this one from the original owner and the passenger door had been hit and repaired and was still in primer. The seller said that he intended to repaint the door. I told him I would take it as is. I got it home and about two months later I started tearing her down for new paint. I took absolutely everything off that car and then drove it about fifty miles out into the country (try that without a windshield) to a truly exquisite body man who painted cars in his garage in his spare time. I had it painted with an acrylic lacquer in a Plymouth yellow. After I got her all back together she was just a hair from being in first class showroom condition. I then started on the engine. I converted it to full SC specs and drilled and tapped the case for a full-flow spin-on oil filter and topped everything off with a 4-pipe Ansa exhaust system. I wish that I still had them, not because of what they would be worth today, but because of what they meant to me when I owned them. What great memories they still provide me. Today I drive a `94 Toyota pickup and a black `97 BMW 840Ci (truly the most amazing car that ! have ever owned). That`s my first fifty years of motor vehicles. I doubt that I will get another fifty years, but I'm going to take a shot at it. So, a poll for you folks out there in BMW-land: Any cars in your past that you wish that you still had? End of story, JerryBaumchen

Hi Jan, I just got an email from my RD with Ed's reply to a some-time poster from here: 'The assertions and conclusions on dz.com about this program (on which you base your opposition) are flat-out wrong. This is NOT a USPA or even a U.S. demo team, and this is NOT about sport or even USPA promotion. It is an effort to help the U.S. Team publicize itself, and to leverage that publicity toward sponsorship of the U.S. Team. Only by eventual team sponsorship can we plan to finally give the kind of financial support to our U.S. Team that they deserve. Obviously, we must do better at explaining it, and we will. By the way, several well-known demo jumpers have pledged their support, because they understand the goal. Ed' Somethings wrong in River City, JerryBaumchen

Hi rocket, My maps show that Cabo San Lucas, Mexico to Hawaii is a much shorter distance. That's what I would have done, but then I'm not a pilot. JerryBaumchen

Hi out there, I hope that this does not go to SC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QuFnOYcy4E JerryBaumchen

Hi Jim, Email sent; thanks for the link. And to John Mitchell: Yup, do some tandems at an airshow & hand out flyers telling people how to contact a local dz. JerryBaumchen

Hi out there, The Lone Ranger was ambushed and captured By a hostile Indian War Party. The Indian Chief proclaimed, "So, YOU are the great Lone Ranger"... "In honor of the Buffalo Hunt, you will be sacrificed in three days." "Before we kill you, I grant you three requests.""What is your FIRST request?' The Lone Ranger said,"I'd like to speak to my horse." The Chief nodded and Silver was brought before the Lone Ranger who whispered in Silver's ear, and the horse galloped away. Later that evening, Silver returned with a beautiful blonde woman on his back. As the Indian Chief watched, the blonde entered the Lone Ranger's tent and spent the night. The next morning the Indian Chief admitted that he was impressed. "You have a very fine and loyal horse, but we will still kill you in two days." "What is your SECOND request?" The Lone Ranger again asked to speak to his horse. Silver came to him,and he again whispered in the horse's ear. As before, Silver took off and disappeared over the horizon. Later that evening, to the Chief's surprise, Silver again returned, this time with a voluptuous brunette, even more attractive than the blonde. She entered the Lone Ranger's tent and spent the night. The following morning the Indian Chief said: "You are indeed a man of many talents, but we will still kill you tomorrow." "What is your LAST request?" The Lone Ranger responded, "I'd like to speak to my horse alone." The Chief was curious, but he agreed, and Silver was brought to the Lone Ranger's tent. Once they were alone, the Lone Ranger grabbed Silver by both ears, looked him square in the eye and said, "Listen Very Carefully!FOR...THE...LAST...TIME...BRING POSSE!" JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Given my personal experiences with the FAA ( over the last 46 yrs of being a rigger and 31 yrs of being a mfr ), and considering what could be accomplished, I would support this. In a perfect world ( will never exist ) I would prefer something along the lines of the CSPA system. You did say 'discuss,' JerryBaumchen PS) I would think that some people might feel that I take a rather hard line with the FAA; and that is true. Some of the FAA people that I have worked with are the most unethical people that I have ever met; and a few are very nice. YMMV

Hi yeyo, I will not argue with your thoughts; you have every right to comment on something that you do not like. However, when I was in Basic Training, one of the drill instructors told us something I will never forget: Don't like the rules, don't play the game. Best, JerryBaumchen

Hi Jim, Some trivia for you. About 15-17 yrs ago I attended the IEEE conference and this company located in Houston, TX had a booth as they made nylon webbing slings and we were looking for some new sources of suppliers for these. So, a few months later, I was in Houston on other business & contacted them about wanting to discuss some business & to see their operation. I walk into this guys office and the first thing he says to me is "My used to be president of USPA.' Whaaat? I had a USPA member sticker on my briefcase and he saw it. Ed Fitch was his step-dad. It sure made a good ice-breaker for my visit. JerryBaumchen

Hi Speed, Well, earlier today I got one with a dire warning about some virus or other 'thing' that would destroy my computer. It even had the Snopes link saying it was true. Want me to send it to you? JerryBaumchen PS) My usual response to 'You must send this on' is the DELETE key; funny how it works everytime.

Hi Jim, I should have updated this one: 364 OR James L. Wright ~ RIP ~ Went in chasing a floating pud JerryBaumchen

Hi John, There are many ways to protect the AAD mfr's but none IMO are perfect. One way would be to buy the parts individually & have your rigger assemble them; voila, an AAD but not one that you bought. Who knows, might work JerryBaumchen PS) This was sort of how some suppliers got around the 3-ring patent; they did not sell an entire 3-ring system with all of the parts, they only sold certain pieces of hardware. The rest of the needed materials were then purchased seperately. PPS) You hire a patent attorney to make your patent fool-proof and the other guy hires one to beat your patent. And on and on it goes.

Hi scott, Here are a couple of photos of Strong's tri-rig, JerryBaumchen

Hi Pops, That's nothing, my infamous father (RIP) was married 13 times to 11 women. Top that!!!! JerryBaumchen

Hi John, Will you just make up your mind. First it's this: Aren't you glad her vote counts the same as yours every four years? Then it's this: You got quite the gleam going there, girl. JerryBaumchen

hi Pop, Just for some fun I made a list of those first 400 that I have known or met: 1 MA Lewis B. Sanborn 2 MA Jacques A. Istel 12 NC Loy Brydon 13 NY Jim Arender 16 MA Edward F. Strong 22 NC Gerald F. Bourquin 51 CA Perry D. Stevens 63 CA Henry L. Simbro 70 KY Coy O. McDonald 78 CA Muriel Jean Simbro 93 OR John A. Scott 103 WA Jack Ady 134 WA Howard R.(Rich) Johnston 251 TX jeannie McCombs 260 CA Ludlow O. Clements 272 MI Bob Sinclair 298 NY William Ottley 304 WA Jens Jorgensen 325 CA Anne Batterson 327 CA Larry L. Perkins 336 CA Arthur E. Armstrong 364 OR James L. Wright 365 OR Evan N. Hale 368 OR Morton O. Gossett 385 PA John Higgins 391 WA Rudy Peterson 394 OR Ralph A. Hatley 395 OR Joseph M. Brockway 396 WA Richard W. Carlisle 400 WA William M. Berg I would think that you could do better than I did. JerryBaumchen D-1543

Hi captain, Measure lines at the side or rear of the canopy; the PC had an offset front, i.e., the skirt went up to let air in resulting in longer lines at the front than elsewhere on the canopy. JerryBaumchen PS) We are slowing building up a lot of knowledge about the PC that was in danger of being lost forever.

Hi Terry, No, stay on that box. My best friend in skydiving has a rig/reserve canopy that is so tight I refuse to pack it for him. Riggers need to just say NO. And in the latest issue of PARACHUTIST ( Page 67 ) has a fatality where the AAD did its job but the deployment did not occur in time to save the guy. JerryBaumchen

Hi cocheese, The casket. Because women make it so worthwhile. JerryBaumchen

Hi Pops, Don't worry about old age, it doesn't last that long. JerryBaumchen

Hi Rob, It would be interesting to know how the weaving mill controls the oval during the weaving process so that it stays properly oriented. I've been involved in R & D with other products with non-symmetrical raw materials and do know that controlling them during the fabrication process can be very, very difficult. JerryBaumchen

Hi Al, He started out making wallets in his garage; the women would show up in the morning, cut & sew, and then go home. The US Social Security folks dropped by one day and said that anyone working on his premises was an employee ( he had them as private contractors ). So he moved the sewing machines into their homes, then he had a truck that would go around each morning & deliver raw fabric, etc & pickup the finished goods from the day(s) before. I visited him one time & he had just landed a contract with DisneyLand for something like 50,000 wallets. He was very busy. JerryBaumchen

Hi alex, When I got into this parachute thingy, we were still 'doing' baton passes. Uh, let me make that 'we were attempting' to do baton passes. You would be amazed at the 'discussions' that we had Saturday nights down at the tavern about the baton. Would a packing paddle work or would the flat side, if turned wrong, make you turn in the wrong direction? Would a wooden dowel work; if so, what would be too big or too small? And on and on it when; 'Hey, how about another beer over here?' JerryBaumchen

Hi ftp, Here is one in action, look at each piece of equipment in that photo. If you do not understand then ask a rigger to explain it to you. JerryBaumchen PS) Or look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqxjHOSKTT0