Farflung

377, Those rogue members of aviation are always difficult to track. Recall the launch of 'Inspiration One' from San Pedro by truck driver and instant legend Larry Walters. He managed to navigate his lawn chair across LAX and Long Beach airports while climbing to an altitude measured by passing airliners at 16,000 feet. Man that guy had a large set. Using a CB (that's right chicken band) radio he communicated with FAA officials about his unauthorized flight. The FAA was waiting for him when he landed and was quoted as saying "We are ready to prosecute this man and pull his license." But Larry out foxed the 'Man' by not having one in the first place. For one of the few times in history the government was at a loss due to a lack of legislation. He was finally charged with operation of an unregistered aircraft and fined. Since Larry had no pilots certificate and no 'N' registration there was also no record of the flight. Just like Cooper's jump. So how would one categorize jumps completed by Elizabeth M. Otto (EMO) and Ivan McGuire?

Let's get some Americana in line when it comes to addressing our national emblem.....the Pink Flamingo. I love this bird, it is like a stork with glitter. One very skinny leg to support a body plumed with pink feathers from a diet of iodine rich shrimp. It is better known for strolling than flying in some of the more agreeable climates on earth. Is it any wonder the Pink Panther was cool? Or Jayne Mansfield was....OK, then. Pink wildlife is a global exemplar of what to aim for regarding hip-nissity. Does anyone remember what McCoy called himself? How about LaPointe or McNally? That's right, not a Mike Hunt or Richard Hertz in the group. Soooo, what was the hit movie of 1972, a mere 37 days after Cooper's jump? Pink Flamingos......Bingo. There must be something else, I just need time to pink.

Teddy Mayfield - Chamber of Commerce person of the year!? This AFTER he killed TWO of his customers (I wrote this like killing one would have been OK). Who got second place and runner up?

Attached are three images of paratroopers burdened with some oddly sized gear. Is there a common theme in the paratroopers techniques? Did Cooper display any of these techniques and what were they?

OK, so some review of basic (BASIC) aircraft materials which were available on commercial rides from yester-year and today. The Belt extensions are typically 18 to 24 inches in length. They have a male and female end. Yes you can connect an extension to itself or daisy chain them together to proportions which would have restrained Mr. Creosote. Each extension has an adjustment tab just like their longer counterpart. Thinking outside the friggin bag. Let's do some math. Yankee greenbacks are roughly 3 x 6 inches in area and around half an inch in height when 100 of them are stacked together. There were 100 packs of twenties bound and gagged. Allowing for a 1 inch height (more than double), each of the bundles would be 18 cubic inches with 100 of them being 1800 cubic inches. I know this is not as exciting as a small toddler. In the cockpit, the mighty cockpit....the pilot sleeps this flight. So he won't miss the 'Pubs Bag' one bit. They are for the operating manuals and very well built with rough dimensions of 18 x 13 x 8 inches (1872 cubic inch volume). If you observe pilots walking around the airport you will see examples of these containers. Just don't look directly at the pilots or show fear.....they sense fear ya know. Now look at the bag picture again.....look at it....marvel at the elegant simplicity with which it was lovingly crafted. First, the lid is a double overlapping variety which receives the handle through a custom fitting slot. After closing the top there are two (2) latches on either side of the handle which will secure the bag and contents. But wait...what if one of the latches fail? That's why there are two. What if the other latch breaks? The handle you are carrying the case with will prevent the cover from opening and if it does get that far your hand (or belt extension) will then stop it. Suspenders and a belt in an anti-gravity room. Now I've got my swag outta' da bag and can manage it a little easier (just a little, mind you). Now with two (2) seat belt extensions I (not Cooper) would thread the male part through the handle on the freshly filled chart bag twice, since I have two extensions and sure as heck wasn't paying for 'em. Then it's dealer's choice as to what part of the harness to lace the extensions through. The leg straps perhaps or either side of the chest strap. Even some sort of combo or off the shoulder look if you were feeling sassy that night. So many choices. Yet the favored technique is a shopping bag secured with some of that yellow colored twine that the post office used to require for mailing any size package. Plus when I hit the ground I will be carrying a smart looking samples case instead of a long canvas bag with SeaFirst Bank stenciled across the sides. Nothing like blending in with the other jump qualified Fuller Brush men. I suppose Cooper selected the ultimate equipment since he escaped and went on to enjoy his fortune. No substitution for success as they say. However, I would use the Pubs Bag and Belt Extensions. I would also have asked for what I was most familiar with in regard to chutes. The one with the Red and Green apples and gold key, not that I would use any of that stuff, but it is all I know. Force of habit would have me removing the packing card and perhaps noticing the 'For Training Purposes Only' stamp. Additionally, I would have been pulling out the rappel line from the neck of the harness when the belt extension plan failed rather than slashing line from another backpack. But Cooper's actions are proving as time goes on to be wiser in nature rather than the fandango which they represent to me.

Using line from a chute instead of demanding some different attach hardware for the money seems very resourceful on the most shallow of surfaces. I would have used those seat belt operation demonstration props the flight attendants have been using for the last 54 years (aka extenders). But I guess jerking a canopy out of the backpack and madly slashing cord from the pack makes for better story. I guess I can live with myself knowing my choice is not very exciting but much quicker to attach and release without having to disable a primary chute. If I did use the cord cutting technique, it would have been done to the other reserve.

Some fascinating reading about what can go wrong and what to do about various failures. I remember others telling stories about how various situations unfolded and they all winnowed down to the same theme; training, training, training. When something went south they all said the training kicked in and they went through the emergency procedures almost automatically. Then I experienced my first emergency and I can say that I wholly understand what others meant by training 'kicking in.' All that time rehearsing what to do in certain scenarios over and over for a malfunction which may never occur. Having your bacon saved once will make all those exercises worth while. With this in mind, would an experienced jumper accept what Cooper received as equipment? How long would you have to look at a harness and reserve to realize they are not compatible? Would you jump with such a configuration and how? Would you do it for a sport jump? Hours had passed from when Cooper passed the note to when he started to receive the equipment and money. After the discovery of less than optimum equipment why didn't he modify or expand his demands?

georger, My assertion about the airspeed, flaps and gear is more in relation to letting the aircrew fly the plane. Could they make 160 knots good without flaps or gear extended? Yes, but it would not be an optimum solution. Could you drive a car in fifth gear at 20 MPH or second gear at 50 MPH? Yes to both, but the average driver may find those combinations unusual. Add to driving 50 MPH while in second gear a destination some 400 miles distant and you have what Cooper was expecting from that 727. Would this be the actions of a person with experience? I'll bet the average driver would consider this scenario as absurd rather than reflective of a person being well versed in motoring. As you pointed out, if he is experienced he is not taking advantage of this skill. Why use Tina as an intermediary? Put on some gloves and grab that interphone and tell the cockpit crew exactly what you want. 160 knots at 10,000 feet direct Red Bluff via V-23, report on the intercom when overhead Malay and Battle Ground. No need for half a dozen games of telegraph with a notepad and delayed feedback, get rid of those extra touch (failure) points. While your at it, may as well use the information in the cockpit like the wind direction and velocity at altitude. I know the flight computer would display this info but had no idea a jumper would want such data. By not asking about winds aloft, my lack of jump experience may be shining bright.

nigel99, Spot on about partial (real partial) understanding of aircraft operation. Would you think that Cooper possessed some great base of knowledge regarding aircraft operation if he was trying to guarantee 160 knots with gear down? The jumpers appear to 'care less' about gear config, so how should this data point be viewed? As an indicator of Cooper's knowledge, lack of skills or as an unknown? I feel he had little to no aviation experience. Jump experience....I have no idea.

377, No one ever called it a 52....it will always be the BUFF...and the second F is NOT Fellow.

nigel99, Your assumption about the gear is correct in so far as keeping it below 400 knots. The airspeed of 160 knots is not limited by the gear being extended. Same for 240 knots. The limiting airspeed is 'gear operation.' If Cooper wanted some insurance, he should have had the crew cycle the gear every 2 minutes, which would limit the airspeed. The primary damage to a gear overspeed would be to the doors which cover the wells. Compared to the main trucks the doors are quite delicate.

377, I've been hesitant to post much about my experience out of dread that it turn into a trump card for ignoring logic. Any post should have enough data for independent verification, like with the EMO jumper. I have some experience in 135s and 52s from more than 20 years ago. But that does not give me license to break the laws of physics or claim some special inside information which you must accept as gospel. Ultimately, I'm still an idiot.

georger, You have targeted a Cooper non-sequitur. An aircrew member would not ask for or care if the gear was down. They would know that a request for 160 knots was enough. No need for flap settings or gear operation. Yet it is documented that Cooper did ask for the gear to be down. An experienced aviator would not care. Would an experienced jumper? Or has the 'lore' of Cooper's request become part of the skydiving lexicon? Would any skydiver care about the disposition of the gear; to include if it fell off the airframe? My guess (just a guess) is no. Does this simple request for the gear to be down betray anything else?

georger, What made Cooper think the gear extension would add stability? Add drag, yes. Make recovery more difficult, yes. Make airspeed easier to achieve, no. Insure a lower airspeed, no. The airspeed is limited by gear 'operation' not the fact that it is already deployed. The photos of paratroopers in my previous post are not concerned about the gear or stability; why was Cooper?

skyjack71, No. I'm no more sure of the gear being down than anything else. From Sluggo's web site - Timeline: 18:21 PST " Cooper gives demands: Mexico City, gear down...." Is this still an unknown?

Righteous analysis. The systems (gear, flaps, stairs) are fundamentally separate. That is, activating one will not prevent the use of the other. Flaps can be lowered at 360 knots....but you may have some explaining to do after you land. There is no interlock for flaps, gear or the stairs, door or any hatch. Would having the gear extended defeat the alarm? Yes. Is there a simple over-ride button which will perform the same? Yes. Is the aircrew familiar with the use of the alarm defeat button? Yes. It is used frequently. The stairs have no connection or interlock to any other airframe instruments or controls. Just a light. Emergency operations make interlocks extremely risky to use. Imagine surviving a crash landing to have some switch or CB keep you from egress. Hatches and doors are independent operators for the most part.

Amazon, Is there a preference regarding gear extension? Why would Cooper want or think he wanted gear down? In the cockpit, all we cared about was time over target, location of target, airspeed, heading and altitude. It seems strange the jumpers would have a preference about the gear. It has more of a made for TV flavor than one created through experience. What am I missing here?

Being a little more familiar with aircraft operation and knowing nuthin bout jumpin, I tend to notice the aircraft related anachronisms. Why have the gear down and full flaps if you want 150 knots? Do 130s or 141s lower their gear before a drop? Gear will certainly induce some more drag but that can be countered by adding more thrust. Is there a thought among jumpers that having the gear down will insure some lower airspeed? The speed limits on the heavies regarding the gear is more related to the doors than anything else. Gear operation causes those relatively delicate wheel well covers to articulate and become exposed to the slipstream. The reason I ask has to do with Cooper's assumed aviation expertise. From his behavior I have seen very little evidence of aircraft systems knowledge. Perhaps he was trained to jump and having gear down is something jumpers are concerned about.

377, I don't mind paying taxes. I do have a problem with picking up the tab while a felon announces his heroic re-payment to society. I'm endlessly astonished at how murderers will say they would gladly give their life if it would bring the victim back. Why not call their bluff? Announce a new technology which will bring the victims back if their killers give their lives. (insert cricket chirps) Why don't convicted rapists or thieves ever make the same offer? Gee your Honor, if experiencing hours of rape at knife point would make the victim feel better..... I was working with a guy in Saudi who's uncle was some hot shot with the government. He asks me if I wanted to bear witness to some local justice being dispensed to which I said yes. Later that night I pondered the value of such an experience balanced against a lifetime of endless nightmares, guess I'm not such a Billy Badass after all. But at least I can brag about turning down a chance to see five beheadings and two manual amputations. Kind of makes what Cooper did a little less extraordinary. The Saudi income tax...0%.

Convicts are not very eloquent individuals. I had a Con tell me how 'he had paid his debt to society.' Oh....really. You see, I had it wrong all these years. While he was serving 18 months for auto theft I was going to work every day. Well, 250 days a year anyway. My paychecks reflected a 'gross' amount from which 28% was removed for federal taxes. These are the taxes which pay for the construction, administration and operation of prisons. Then I pay property tax with the 'net' amount. Property taxes fund police and the court system on a county level. There is still some money left over which I purchase home and car insurance. This insurance will replace any property which a thief has decided was in my possession far too long. So while the car thief was 'paying his debt', I was paying for his housing, security, food, medical, schooling, laundry and clothing. But first I had to pay for the police to catch him and the court system to process him because he 'said he didn't do it.' Sure seems like I paid for this Bozo's actions and he was trying to play the martyr card. Should I abandon my expectations of a thank you note from one of these Cons who's lifestyle was entirely financed by me? He paid his debt to society....that's rich. Another Con has pointed up a mountain to a prison and referred to it as 'inaccessible.' Here we go again. While he was paying his debt to society he could have sought the definition of inaccessible. Probably too busy immersed in writing those thank you notes to the people financing his stay in the gated community. Well then...over 100 guards and 400 inmates would equate to a mountain top village. That's facilities capable of housing hundreds where meals are served and showers taken. How inaccessible is such an operation? Something akin to the lodge in 'The Shining?' Remote is NOT the same as inaccessible. Remote is where society puts things they do not want to be reminded of or live near. Remote is a buffer between some escapee and polite society because they don't want to be anywhere near these losers. In fact the Larch Corrections Center has ample parking for visitors. They are asked to bring no more than $10 in quarters per person for the vending machines in the visiting center. So inaccessible is Larch that the prison system found it necessary to limit the quantity of Cheesy Poofs and Lorna Doones purchased as it is difficult transporting that stuff by Alpaca. Washington State has had a group a Nepalese Porters keeping Larch CC supplied since it was opened in '56. Tough times no doubt. Larch Correctional Center could have been a nav aid. Denuded facility surrounded by arc lights in the middle of the forest would make for a more believable beacon. Those citizen financed honor farms are flooded with bright white light all night long, because it is a farm.....where the crop is honor.

The Gilwice Radio Tower is equipped with obstacle lighting ( Gilwice Tower Lighting ). But it has not been upgraded and still requires 'man-in-the-loop' operation ( Tower Lighting On Switch ). So hats off to the people of Upper Silesia and the worlds largest, free-standing, semi-functional tower with a vague resemblance to the Parisian counterpart. For without their contribution the impregnated larch wood industry would not be what it is today.

Yes the EMO story is fantastic and most certainly related to Gorillas. The Gorilla makes for a great excuse as to how focused people can become on a task and not notice something as obvious as the 400 lb Gorilla in the room. The EMO makes for a great example of how irrelevant the Gorilla as a distraction may be. Strange how these PHDs avoid the study of navel-gazing being the root cause for so many calamities. Or are they......??? Much the way 377 illustrates the lifecycle of intelligent decision making. From the damned $25 surplus reserve produced by the lowest bidder to the sage purchase of such a reliable piece of equipment capable of preserving life and money. Will the ground truth ever be discovered? What was it that possessed me to promise marriage, money and real estate to a woman only to find myself searching for a quick and permanent escape 15 minutes later? The world may never know. When my house was sky rocketing in value it was due to my brilliant selection of neighborhood, building material and the orientation of the front elevation to 184 degrees magnetic. The deflation of my homes value is due to the freakin' recession. In reality, I'm quite aware that a zoophyte would have had the same financial experience which renders my input during that time frame irrelevant. The Cooper analysis. What is the 400 lb Gorilla in the room, that is in fact not a distraction because the participation of individuals may have no impact upon the result? Is Cooper a grizzled, combat veteran, jump-master trained in 'weld-jumping' and survival sciences where the dark art of obstacle light navigation is used to guide former felons who attended Ranger training to a blown pipeline valve in the night? or Is he some 'Uber-Goober' from the DMV who simply got fed up and lucked out?

N252SA is a Dehavilland DHC-6 which is presently used for skydiving and contract smoke jumping. Many consider the DHC-6 perfect for jumping. It was on 14 Dec 2000 when several passengers were milling around the San Jose airport some 40 minutes after their flight. Finally one of them decided to ask about a fellow PAX. The concerned individual, one of five passengers traveling from Roseville, CA to San Jose, CA wanted to know what they were going to do about Ms. Elizabeth M. Otto. A perplexed mechanic asked for more detail. This passenger had made an early exit somewhere south of Sacramento he was told and the PAX thought someone would want to talk to him. Early exit as in; opened the door on the Dehavilland and performed a chuteless free style from FL20. That was the last anyone saw of Elizabeth M. Otto (EMO) alive. The First Officer had the door secured and returned without noticing 20% of the passenger load was missing from the spacious DH-6. Additionally, the 'remaining' four passengers felt no reason to alert the crew about the egress. So now the story is going to get weird. EMO was apparently suffering from depression according to her husband, friends and co-workers. She had hinted at doing something drastic and was scheduled to see a professional in a few weeks. Always nice to promise a drowning man a good meal. The plane, a corporate shuttle for Hewlett Packard, had just departed Lincoln, CA airport when the door light illuminated in the cockpit. The First Officer walked back and checked the door before landing at Sacramento Executive Airport to have the problem checked out. Although several passengers witnessed EMO manipulating the door handle, none saw fit to inform......anyone. They waited until an A&P had inspected the door and cleared them for continued air operations. As the plane climbed through 2,000 feet, EMO manages to open the door she is seated next to. You know, the door which had just given the crew a false open light. Why not let someone sit next to that door? Especially the same passenger who was seated there when the mystery malf caused the light to shine. Apparently one of the other PAX noticed her exit. No mention was made of the noise or any associated wind blast. This was purely a visual exercise. The remainder of the flight was uneventful even though the door open light illuminated again and the crew decided to continue to San Jose since they could see nothing wrong with the doors function once the First Officer had secured the device. Where to start with this yarn. So many choices of where indifference meets detachment and breeds with incompetence in order to produce ineptitude from the group think dynamic. A. A companies health plan actually scheduled an appointment for a person with suicidal tendencies several weeks later. B. This persons friends and family (cross check) felt this was an acceptable action. C. The mental health provider actually designed, approved and implemented the above mentioned process. D. The first door open indication had the crew landing as soon as practical in order to have the airframe inspected for safety of flight. E. The passengers said nothing about the event while they continued to morph into a stalk of rhubarb. F. The passenger seated next to the faulty door was allowed to return. G. The light came on again during climb out but (wildcard) the crew decided the second equipment failure in the last 10 minutes would be best handled after another 100 miles of flight. H. The aircrew was unaware that one fifth of their passenger load was missing. I. The passengers were unconcerned about one of them being missing, guess they didn't want to get involved. J. The First Officer had to close the door this time and still thought it wise to keep flying than RTB. K. The passengers witnessed the door open, EMO exit and thought it wise to keep flying. L. Upon landing, several of the passengers simply went home. How was your day? Some ol thing, accounting cant get the new payroll software to work and someone opened the door on the company plane and jumped right after take off. What's for dinner? M. The Pilot became aware of the missing passenger after he was informed by a San Jose police officer called by the planes mechanic. What does it mean to be responsible for something? If it goes wrong you will feel really, really bad? N. The PAX manifest had five names yet the four passengers deplaning caused no alarms. What is the point of the manifest? Weight and balance? If you didn't notice the passengers doing the math seems kind of superfluous. There you have it. Still related to skydiving as the plane is utilized for such after EMO completed the ultimate jump. Powers of observation....bwah..bwaaahh..bwah..ha..ha..ha..ha. Forget about it. What was everyone so focused upon during the above exercise? My guess would be themselves. Their next house payment and getting their kid in a good college while purchasing the next life affirming object like a car or vacation in the Caribbean. Did they notice the hair or eye color of EMO? Did they notice her initial attempt to jump? The lack of logic in this tome is only surpassed by the expectation of any quality information from a group of people who failed so miserably while this was taking place real time.

Those red flashing lights on radio towers make quite the beacon in rural areas. It may seem logical to consider such units for navigation of some type. Unlike their maritime counterparts, the flash or pulse sequence is not tied to any identification code. Bennett Peak flashes once every 4 seconds where Mount Eagle flashes every 6 seconds. The reason being, they are not for navigation but collision avoidance. Secondly collision avoidance and navigation lighting in aviation are mutually exclusive. In order for a tower to obtain a permit for construction they must get approval from the FAA and validate the structure will not be a hazard to flight prior to construction. In order to form a more perfect union the FAA also governs the type of lighting mounted on obstacles. Among the many parameters specified is the horizontal beamwidth. An omni-directional light would waste a great deal of power by lighting the structures wall or propagating skyward where aircraft are well clear of the hazard. Generally speaking, the horizontal beamwidth is oriented at zero to plus eight degrees in width. This makes for a more focused and intense beam if you were flying towards the hazard and at an altitude which could facilitate a collision. Conversely, at altitude, the light beam suppression would make it difficult to see from an overhead perspective. This combined with a lack of identification features and a way to triangulate if one could identify them render their value as aids to navigation as extremely limited if not valueless. A far more precise method would be through the use of TOT (time over target) by controlling airspeed, limiting nav leg distance and using a watch. If there was lighting used for identification, the various airports with HIRL, sequence flashers and strobes would make for a better solution as these are large, in the path of aviation and designed for aircraft to see at altitude.

Through tireless analysis I have expanded the field of Cooper suspects. The first would be the youngest suspect who was hiding in plain sight just after the hijacking (Mr Y). Finding him made me squeal with excitement. The second successfully maintained the mantle of maverick businessman thus explaining the lack of money entering circulation (Mr X). If either of their prints match the one on the interphone handset - Bingo. Of course I'm not excluding a team effort by both of these individuals which would explain the difficulty in solving this case.