herpster

Does anyone recall the owner of the Lancaster California drop zone in the 1967 and 1968 timeframe? His name was Rich Jaeggi, and he was a friendly and energetic guy who often brought his wife (Noni?) and three kids to the DZ. At the time, Lancaster was a Cessna DZ (with a C-206, I'm pretty sure). The Beech loads and large stars were at an earlier time, I think, but does anyone know for sure?

I'll e-mail the scans since I haven't figured out the uploading process yet. One page is from letters to the editor, the other is the editorial from the same issue. See about halfway down the first column of the editorial. Hope this helps. PS, Jerry, thanks for putting this in the perspective of the times, back then.

There's a letter to the editor, November 1967 Skydiver magazine. The question was about malfunctioning reserves after cut-aways. The answer: "Yes, Barbara Druggen (sp?) was killed this year. Line over on her PC - broke away at 2000, reserve was seen to clear the pack at 1500 feet, got full line stretch but canopy stayed bundled around her reserve pilot chute." The response goes on about how improbable this is, and how it's still better to cut-away and have a reserve pilot chute. Is this the person you're talking about?

Sorry, the file was too big! From the "4th annual Ten Man Star Championships" program, the "1967 winners" are listed as ... Brian Williams, John Rinard, Clarice Garrison, Jim Dann, Scratch Garrison, Terry Ward, Jerry Bird, Clark Fischer (note spelling), Bill Newell, and Louie Paproski. Walt Mercer is also shown in the picture as the pilot.

See attached.

Hi. I think the first 10 man star was on the cover of the October 1967 Skydiver magazine. Unfortunately, I don't have it so I can't check (it could have be an eight man on the cover, but I don't think so). If I find out differently, I'll repost.

I'd like to help answer this since I've enjoyed reading your stories about jumping at Lancaster's Fox Field while working at Edwards AFB. The answer might be in the Lancaster newspaper (Ledger Gazette?) archives, if they've archived them (microfiche or better yet, internet). I would like to share some of the information on Mr Smith from Gregory's book "The Falcon's Disciples". On p. 135 (First edition, 1967), someone is quoted as saying that Smith removed the pilot chute from his reserve the day before his death, and claims he had full line extension at impact. On p. 204, Bob Buquor is quoted, saying Smith was "very safety conscious" and that he "threaten to ground us at fifteen" (meaning pulling at 1500 feet, I suppose). Hope you find this of interest.

But wait. The Istel article is from 1956, and indicates that at that time American Skydiving was only a few months old. Doesn't that make 2006 the Fiftieth Anniversary of American Skydiving?!?! Or is it 2005? In any case, a celebration of some type would seem to be in order.

Susie, your name also appears in the book "The Falcon's Disciples", by Howard Gregory (Pageant Press 1967). The two pictures after page 240 show the Fairchild jump, before and after exit, and the names of all ten jumpers are listed.

Does anyone remember eight man star attempts at Lancaster? I noticed star crest recipients 23 and 24 were awarded for jumps at Lancaster on 12 Feb 1967 (Skydiver Magazine, Nov/Dec 1968). Were these jumps from Cessnas in formation, or a Beech? (Tim, yours is listed as taking place at Bakersfield on 9 October 1966. Was there really a Bakersfield dropzone?)

Bill, thanks for all this good info. Any news on Art's kids? Eddie and Richard? -Paul

Yes, although I don't know if it lasted until 1974. It was indeed at Fox Field; the DZO I remember in 1967 and 1968 was Rich Jaeggi. The Cessna pilot's name was Mel; can't remember his last name. Lancaster is in the Mojave Desert - means "high winds" or something like that in an Indian dialect. So often it was too windy for "rounds" (although Cal City is nearby and presumably does fine today with ram air parachutes). I think the Lancaster DZ's (called "Sky Haven") heyday might have been in 1966 or so. Star Crest recipients 23 and 24 were awarded as a result of an 8-man star there in Feb 1967. As a kid, I think I remember Beech loads (8 and more jumpers) in that timeframe, but not afterwards. Hope this helps; let me know if you have a specific question I could try to answer.