WGore

The design was not the best but you are correct about some of the stitching that was load bearing being removed and not properly replaced. I was working overseas for a parachute company and we had a student harness come back with a broken main lift web. It occurred on a terminal reserve opening on a conventional rig. Fortunately the reserve cross connector held and the student was OK. The rig was only a couple years old. We tested the webbing on the rig when it got back to us and the webbing failed at 4400lbs. We still had some of that lot of webbing on the shelf so we did a control test and the new webbing failed at 8700lbs. After some discussion of why the tensile strength was that low on a relatively new harness we did some testing. The environment of that area was very sandy and dry. Suspension lines on canopies rarely made 200 jumps for those reasons. We took a piece of the new webbing and placed it in a tumbler with a couple handfuls of dirt collected outside the factory. After 2 or 3 hours in the tumbler we tested that webbing and got almost the same level of failure. The webbing used in that rig was locally made and had a loose weave that would allow easy pickup of sand and dirt. This was not Mil Spec webbing. Resin treatment of the webbing would have negated that particular problem IMHO. Funny thing was that we imported US made Mil Spec webbing for some of the Military stuff we did and Piggy back systems we built in house. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Sparky, an experienced jumper who landed off of the DZ and hit a power line. The line broke and landed on him while he was lying on his back. He instinctively grabbed the line and threw it off of his chest. It reactivated about the time it hit the ground and started sparking and jumping around. Lucky would also have been appropriate as well. The USPA insurance ended up paying big time since the power outage screwed up several local businesses. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I had a 7-34 when I was building gear and the only downside to it is that it has the small bobbin. For what you are going to do with it the standard should work just fine. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I have this faint memory that his first name was Roy and his last name sounded sort of like it might have been Native American. That's all I got, Edit to add: Roy Starbird JerryBaumchen Jerry, I believe you are pretty close. His first name was Roy. He was an architect if IIRC. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

There was guy on the CA 4-way, Peanut Butter and Jelly, later the Thunderbow Team, at several of the first National champs that was 58 IIRC in 1970. They were 2nd that year, won in 71' and were 2nd in 72'. That doesn't meet your criteria but close. When you figure that was round parachute days and skydiving was a little more rough and tumble, an accomplishment for sure. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

That is an understatement for sure. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Not sure, I never put that in my original post. Gremlins!!!! GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Cowboy wasn't piloting, he was jumpmastering the load. It has been a long time now and I knew the bulk of the folks on that airplane and one was a very close friend. There were some rumors that Cowboy was cutting corners on maintenance at the time. If true Cowboy sure paid the ultimate price along with 16 other folks. The pilot was green as well, had just been checked out. Typical accident where a number of factors come together fatally. sunpooped GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

The NTSB report says contaminated fuel and plugged fuel filter. IIRC the contaminate was water. Sad thing was the airplane crashed in a field big enough to land in but apparently he tried to make it back to the airport and stalled. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Not sure when the Godfrogs won the Nationals but it sure wasn't 1972. Greene County KY won that year, Thunderbow Team was 2nd and Curt Curtis' team was 3rd. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

PACK???????????????????? GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Out of 14 mals all were on round reserves, 11 of them on conventional rigs, and 13 were high speed, 2 of those totals. Only 1 was with a single point release. With a high mounted reserve I liked a severe head down position with an un-reefed reserve. You took the opening shock in the shoulders that way. Probably half of my reserve rides were on unmodified reserves and the first was on an old 24 ft Twill with the dash board instruments and knife. The jumper close to me swore my feet hit my helmet on opening. Not sure that was true, but my back was sure sore the next day. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Truer words were never spoken. I doubt that I could afford to learn how to jump now. There use to be a big crowd at the DZ on Saturday night but now you are lucky if there is someone to share a beer with at the end of the day. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Yes, it did. Personally, I will never forgive Para-Flite for using the jumping public as their test dummies for the development of the square reserve. IMO they never had any intention of the 'Flyer being a sport canopy for the masses. It was just a test project & we were the dummies. JerryBaumchen They did that with the Para Plane as well. IIRC You got a free call to the factory on Monday morning to report the efforts of the weekend. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I don't think so, around 1980 he went to work for Hogan Air I believe the name was. He maintained a fleet of DC-3 Cargo planes in Hamilton OH and later Middletown OH. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I think you are thinking of Jim West, Super Joe didn't start jumping till the late 60s. I started in 64 and My C# is 4 digits. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I drove from KY to Elberta AL for my first one because they were almost impossible to find back then. The prices now days are about the same as in the early 70s when the dollar was worth a bunch more than it is now. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I've known Ted for a lot of years and I've never known him to rush anything to market without being sure of it's functioning first. Many here probably don't remember the early years of square parachutes when the consumer did a lot of the test jumping of products and got a free phone call back to the factory on Monday mornings to report in. For some of these things 2 reserves were standard operating procedure because malfunction rates were 25% or higher. That way of doing business is no longer acceptable in today's market and liability climate. As far as looks a tandem rig is a tool and to me functionality is my first concern. As was pointed out there are only so many ways to orient 8 flaps and make them pretty. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

You could replace the 1-1/2 Capewells with R-3s, a one shot set up for the Capewell frame. Much faster than the 1-1/2s. It still requires both hands to operate though. That would make it a little nicer for the folks wanting to jump the vintage gear. As everyone has pointed out if you are going to get back into the sport again you would be much happier with some newer gear, both from a safety and comfort standpoint. As far as the airwothiness of your gear get a rigger who has been around awhile to look at it. Many of the new riggers coming in are pretty much reserve packers and gunshy about touching anything they don't understand. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I wasn't much of a picture taker back then, still not, just wanted to skydive. I ran the Ft Knox club while I was there but we never got aircraft support on post and had to go to Campellsville KY to jump. The GCSPC club opened the weekend that I ETSed so that is where most of the Knox folks went from then on. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

I knew several of the guys on the 7th Army Team, but the best story to come out of it was Charlie Hughs. He was an Army Reservist but he missed so many weekend drills, because he was skydiving, that they activated him. That wasn't a good thing back then because of Nam. Anyway he goes in to serve his 2 years and ends up on the 7th Army team for the whole time Skydiving. Talk about falling in the outhouse and come out smelling like a rose. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Most of the new stuff doesn't have the internal pocket anymore. Even the ones that did, the outside card had to have all of the information in case of a ramp check. Bill, I wasn't accusing of doing it, just that it has happened and that is my response to it if it is one of my repacks initially. I don't even remember having packed yours but that was a long time ago. A lot of brain cells gone south in those intervening years. One guy even brought one back (a pilot rig) with my seal on it and some fictitious name and license number. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Bill, you have to remember that back then the rules were based on the old silk parachutes. BTW when I catch someone forging my signature on a packing card there next repack is double. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

Use to pay $2 in late 64' early 65'. 7500' jump was $3 then. I think I was clearing $65 a week at the time. GUNFIRE, The sound of Freedom!

He might be in jail. I paid $65 for my first rig. It was a 7 panel W-gore candy stripe. That price included a 24' twill reserve with the aircraft altimeter panel.