Swoopin43

Well just wanted all to know that ole Smitty would have been 110 today I think ? Any way he was born 10-17-1898 . Working on getting his old rig ,the one that the lines were attatched to a steering wheel , Think it belongs in a museum . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

First jump May 17 1978 ,15 years old ,hung around the DZ for 4 years waiting to turn 16 .packing student rigs etc for plane rides etc. 1st jump outlaw from 7500 foot about a 3 -5 sec delay with a papillon. Coming up on 30 years of jumpin . Started when I was to young to know any better and now I CAN NOT STOP . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

He is probably lurkin ! Thinkin up somethin good to reply .!!!! Ha Ha Blue skies ! ! Chuck

DGA = Dam good airplane Quote Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Man this sure brings back memories , watched the movie skydive ,wings and masters of the sky many times when I was a rigger rat kid at the Dz (on 16 mm film ), the first video I bought was IT, then I had to get a player to watch it , just watched it the other day in fact . Blue skies Carl Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Can,t forget the day I jumped from uncle Harvey,s plane ,it was a old Roger Miller tune . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

I remember watching the old 16 mm movies at the DZ when it was too windy to jump etc . SKYDIVE , WINGS and Masters of the sky . I bought em on vhs probably 20 years ago from paragear and just watched them the other night . Also have about 8 episodes of RIPCORD on vhs man thats some good stuff , MaryAnn from Gilligans island is on one , when she was in her early 20s probably . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Yea you gotta be very carefull rigging the canisters etc prior to a jump I hear that smoke can really fill up a garage in a hurry ! ! ! Carefull folks . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Going through my old parachutist magazines I found the one with the article I did when Smitty passed away , it is October 1995 issue . I was a paul berrer at the service so I did not get to jump into his funeral ,BUT on my next jump after I put out a load of students I went out the door saying out loud THIS ONES FOR YOU SMITTY . Miss the ole guy ! Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Remember my first solo quite well , George frizbie , he was 73 years old and I was his last student in his 1939 taylorcraft that he owned since it was new , had about 9 hours and he says let me out up here , I said you sure I am ready I said what about the X wind he says you can handle it , 3 trips around the patch yeeehaaa . Got my shirt cut etc , we lost ole gearge two years ago at about 93 years old and I told him when he was bedridden etc ,I said George I just want to thank you for teaching me to fly and he says , IT WAS MY PLEASURE , whats funny about the story is he had no insurance on the plane etc and didn,t think twice about soloing me in it .30 BUCKS A HOUR WET WITH INSTRUCTOR Quote I own a t craft now and I often think of George while enroute . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Man Sqeak that hurt , I am a long way from 50 .Getting closer everyday though , Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Was wondering what happened to all the DC3s we used to jump at the nationals booies in Muskogi Oklahoma , southern cross , sugar alpha , our douglass , mr douglass , Might be slower than some jumpships today but they sure are a blast to jump. Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Not sure where the old howard is at but I grew up down the road from benton airport where gypsy moths was filmed and live even closer now . Made about ten jumps into benton over the years and Fly in and out of there often and every time , QuoteI think of that movie etc. Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Sure I know Dave and Damian Hrdlicka, Daves in Florida and Damian is up north somewhere . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Yes it was a sad day , I had just seen Dave Snyder (pilot) that day at Eldorado k,s airport , John Dave and I were working on a skydiving museum , I got a call that night from Dennis Anderson and he said hey man John schuman and Dave Snyder are dead , I said no way I just seen Dave . The last time I talked to John on the Phone he said LOVE YA MAN when he said good by , Never had a guy tell me that before , heck of a guy and a heck of a artist . And just a unique person . Tragic day They are missed Blue skies ! ! Chuck

My brother and I were just asking about Sammy ( AKA the mad mexican ) He jumped at skysports in kansas in the late 70s then moved and heard from him now and then and haven,t heard $$#@ from him since , I go to a bluegrass festival in guthrie Oklahoma once a year so I will have to hunt him up . Thanks all B.S B.P Blue skies ! ! Chuck

I still have my old ( GET IN OR GO IN ) shirt , trying to get my wife to make a quilt out of all my old skydiving Tees . Think I got that one in 1979 or so . Blue skies all Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Hi all ! I am new to this forum but not new to skydiving , Smitty painted a sign for my dad at our gas station when I was about ten years old . I started going out to the DZ shortly after that and used to take smitty to Hutchinson k,s around the time you started jumping Tony ? Smitty talked of you often . I did a article in parachutist in october of 95 after Smitty passed on , I couldn,t make the jump at the service cause I was a paul berer , But the next time I went out of a plane I was yelling this ones for you Smitty. Man I sure miss that ole guy he was one of a kind . Any one that would like to contribute to a neat headstone for smitty we are trying to raize enough to just get it , Jerry his son told me that the last 7 folks that they burried did not have headstones but Smitty deserves one , Any one can contact me offline for info on how to donate , Smitty had alot of friends I have been trying to get this done for several years now help us out folks he was a icon to our sport . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

I remember Meeting Chet for the first time , Smitty the jumper talked of him often and I had known of him because I read when I was young that he was the one that packed the chutes on the apollo missions , Smitty introduced me to chet At the Nats in Muskogi and I will never forget the day Smitty told me that Chet had passed on , Well they are both together now probably talking up a storm . Blue skies ! ! Chuck

Yea I remember in the mid 70s when I was waiting to turn old enough to jump a guy was jumping a starlight ( kinda like a P.C ) and man he was jumping in like 25 MPH winds and did a hook turn and it give him just enough drive to make a beaQuotetifull stand up landing . Hook turns aint new folks but I don,t think they were killing people like on square canopies today. Blue skies ! ! Chuck