Kiwi55

New Zealand 1977. I was 22. A couple of people at work wanted to do it so I made the arrangements. Neither of them turned up. I made two jumps that day. Static line was the only option and I made 5 of those. I believe I was the first student of Auckland Skydivers after they changed the name from the Auckland Parachute Club and moved to Whenuapai. ...

Any chance you can wear your rig in the tunnel?

It's a Kiwifruit...... A Kiwi is something else entirely...... Damn Yankees

For the 25th anniversary of the Auckland Parachute Club/Auckland Skydivers we made jumps from an Air New Zealand Fokker Friendshp. It wasnt a great jumpship as they sill had all the seats and it was a single filer exit with a tight right turn out the door. Also the exit speed was quite high. Jumps strung out for quite a distance. I believe the Auckland Drover (ZK-DDD?) is now in Australia, I dont know if it ever fly for the flying doctors, but other might have. ...Paul

Well this thread is 6 yeras old, so maybe nobody cares. But I made my first dozen or so jumps from a DH Drover (3 engine) also with the spa issue. This was in New Zealand.

My memory tells me it looked just like the 4 engine cataline referenced above. I was there that day and I remember the sparks flying as described. I thought it had been at Yolo for several months at least before that flight. I dont have my logbook with me but I'm pretty sure it was laster than 1979. I moved to the US in 79 and jumped at Pope for a few weeks and then at Livermore for nearly a year before moving on to Yolo (and later Lodi). ...Paul

Does any one remember a large float plane out at Yolo in the early 80's. It was there being worked on for several years. The only time I saw it fly in landed on the runway with the gear up. My memory tells me it was 4 engined but I could be wrong (may have been a Catalina). Anyone know for sure what it was??

182 load at Yolo (if I remember correctly) in the early 80's. It was cold and the plane had no door. We decided it would be a good idea to hold a sheet of plywood over the opening and then just slide it to the back of the plane before exit. It worked really well, right up until we decided to slide it back. The wind snatched it right out the door and it made a good size dent in the stabliser. Pilot wasnt at all happy but landed OK. Dont know what happened to our ply.

I made a couple of jumps there in the early 80's. It was (if I remember correctly) a 4th of july weekend, and we went and watched the shuttle land. The next bit is stretching my memory but I seem to recall a vampire (I think) fighter passing us on the climb, a little later it was reported that the vampire had crashed (anyone remember or am I losing it?). Later that weekend we did a demo jump into the start of a motorcycle race. Sound like a busy weekend. (I think we also did a night jump) and slept on the Quotepacking tables. ...Paul

Just the fact that you hang out here probably means you are still a Skydiver. I made a jump with my son earlier this year, had to make a couple of jumps before to get current as I had only one jump in the previous 10 years. ...Paul

It was a jump ship in the late 70's at Whenuapai. I started jumping in 77-78. I'm not sure who actually owned it but it was used by Auckland Skydivers and the Aviation sports club (military). It very likley was used at Ardmore airport prior to that (that was before my time) and operated by the Auckland Parachute Club (predessor to Auckland Skydivers). I cant remember when it left Whenuapai ( I move to the states in 1979) ...Paul

I made my 1st dozen or so jumps out of that plane. I believe it is now in Australia. (Drover is correct - It has three engines) ...Paul

Chris is right, and I remember Andy now you mention him, he started jumping shortly after I did.

If I remeber correctly Rob has a brother who was also on the 8 way team back then.

Well I recognise several of the names, even though I didnt recognise the faces. Ross Jamison put me out on my first jump. From a three engine Dehavalin (sp?) Drover. It was on the way up for a NZ 8 way team dive and several of the others in that pic were also on the NZ team.

I started jumping in NZ in 77. I recognise several of the people in the 3rd pic. No.3 was I believe in the NZ 8 way team around that time. Now live in the US and havnt seen any of them in years. ...Quote

My first introduction to Skydiving was a demo by a Russian team in New Zealand in 1975 or 76. One of the demo's was a jumper towed behind the airplane. I remember the plane coming down low over the runway with the towed jumper perhaps less that 100 feet off the deck. Then they climbed to altitude and he cutaway from the tow rope. Dont remember much else from the demo, but I started jumping the following year. ...Paul

If Mel is the guy I remember he also did maintenence on the plane (may not have been qualified). One day we were climbing and at about 8000ft one of the engines started missing. I was sitting in the copilot seat. Mel got up, told me to take the controls and went back to the door. He was leaning out the door at 8000ft with no rig checking out the engine. He never asked and had no clue whether or not I could fly a plane. Fortunatly he didnt fall out (and I did have some flying experience) and the jump proceeded normally. I also remember some night jumps for WNSCR (Womans Night SCR). The first jump went fine, the second was pretty late, at about 10,000 ft and miles from the DZ we ran out of fuel. We all got out somewhere near the DZ and he had to deadstick land at night. Fortunatly the runway at Yolo was long and wide and he had no problem...

What happened to George Morar? I jumped there regularily in the late 70's and early 80's. Went back to New Zealand in 1984. I believe George went in shortly after. I rarely saw him jump while I was there. His daughter (If I remember correctly) started jumping shortly before I left (after working the manifest for several years. Was Mel the young guy who was also an aircraft mechanic (memory isnt what it once was).? ...Paul

Just interested in your A license number. My NZ license is A671, but I got mine in 1977. ...PaulQuote