JumpUpMyAss

Here they are.

I bought one in 1977 from Tom Manship (rip). Top was full of patches from the original reefing system.

I didn't know about it. Doc might know.

Doc, Check out this picture of Scott Moore from 1980. Wife number ?

Can't really tell, all the white guys looked the same back then.

Nope, I'm taking the picture from the rotating beacon tower.

I found some old slides from Decatur, Texas 1980. This guy's face looks familiar but I can't think of his name.

7,200 or 7,500 was a 'high' jump back then.

Looks like a young Doc Stewart to me.

The Star Light Inn. I remember when Ed Lynn's mother worked there in 1976 or so. We'd hang out there after jumping -no where else to go back then Decatur was small and 'out of the way' 33 years ago. Man, I was 21 and have some great memories from those few years. Didn't have any money, no future, no plans, nothing but parachute jumping - its all I had back then. But when I think about it - life was pretty fucking simple - no problems just young and stupid. Glad you were taking so many pictures and athnks for sharing them they sure bring back some stuff.

I owned a 27' Russian in the mid 70's. The canopy is made from 3 types of of material. I packed mine in a Green County POD and stowed the slack center lines at the connector links. The rate of descent is higher than a MK1. It was my favorite canopy.

I agree. Its not a midget - its just a little som' bitch. Here's a midget we trained. look how he's struggling with his arch. Very sad.

would that be categorized as a skydiving death or an aviation fatality? Either way at least he died a midget warrior death.

We think a bird must have grabbed him and flew off.

In the days before wind tunnels we built a a 'midget launcher' to get them some free fall time. It was like a big sling shot and we would shoot them over the t-hangers into the pea gravel. We were launching them two at a time if they were small enough. They'd squeal and grab at each other all the way. They carried MA-1's to slow down the landing a bit. I got out of hand when we made a second launcher and were launching them them directly at each other at night. We shot one straight up and never found him.