howardwhite

Fun being with you in the Eloy Porter in February in Felicity. Celebrated my 45th Nov. 21 with a Cessna three-way in Orange, MA.

HW

Why don't you ask Bill Gargano?

HW

There are already plans for an Otter in the museum. But it should be a crashed one, not one that still can fly.
It's not the USPA museum; it's an independent entity, even though it will be next to USPA.

HW

I've made too many jumps out of 121PM -- and am too familiar with her history -- to want to see anything but her flying jumpers.

HW

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=102479;d=1

HW

Parachutist, August, 1968
In my office, at Dan Poynter's house, or in the USPA HQ library, among other places.
It would be nice, sometime, to get these mags digitized.

HW

There's nothing in the story to indicate who the judges were.
But Lew Sanborn was awarded his Gold Wings there.

HW

Parachutist August 1968.

Quote

Ted Strong made several respectable accuracy demonstrations with the first "wing type" canopy (a 19 foot Lk Rogallo wing built at Strong's Massachusetts loft) ever used by a competitor in national accuracy competition.

It was in Marana, AZ.

HW

...is..

HW

It seems likely that Parachutist won't run the story -- even "Cock Choir", which is in the title of an academic journal article -- is probabably over the line. So I'll offer it to them, but you'll probably see it in Blue Skies instead.

HW

12
Perris
Rolling Thunder
Parachutist, February '85
"It finally blew apart at 7,000 feet"
From Parachuting's Unforgettable Jumps III
Photo credit: Monty Groutage.

HW

Rogallo wing is a generic term. Who made it?
Not Orange.

HW

And why is it historic?

HW

When, where, and how many?

HW

If you like it, go for it. Just that there are a lot of internet "expert" sites which are full of misinformation. Mostly the "experts" are people who know nothing about the subject but just grab other stuff from the net.
I'm not a know-it-all, but I know a lot. And I jump with newbies all the time.

HW

UNSAFE
Anonymous To the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean"
My helmet's a world war I relic.
My boots are three sizes too big.
I give everybody the willies
when I strap on my rusty old rug.
Chorus: Unsafe, unsafe, and unsafe jumper am I, am I,
Unsafe, unsafe, an unsafe jumper am I.
One day a nervous first jumper,
remarked at my great deal of nerve.
I told him that only a coward
would bother to wear a reserve.
(Chorus)
My capewells are very corroded.
My risers are frayed all to hell.
Because of the burns and blown panels,
my chute doesn't open too well.
(Chorus)
I do not believe in long freefalls.
Ten seconds, or so, is enough.
Up 500 feet when I exit; it's great, but the landings are rough.
(Chorus)

OK, would a current skydiver even think about singing, let alone writing this? Were there skydiving songs at Ghouledge, which was known for its attitude about death?
HW

Yeah, that's probably the original one. White cover? PO Box 172, Orange?
"Taunton Men" was about a MA DZ. Its author, Hank McCarrick, and three other jumpers died in the crash of his Mooney off the MA coast.
The "Big Wide Wonderful Bowl," "Orange Prayer," and the "Norseman" were Orange-specific.
The Hustler song was, I think, an artifact of the 62 World Meet, about a canopy being used in the competition. I last heard it sung at at old farts reunion in Nevada a few years ago, sung by Dick Fortenberry of the Golden Knights and B.T. Galloway.
There are a bunch of electronic versions on line. Some have some fairly new songs. I'm trying to establish a timeline.

HW

Believe me, I've got all the on-line songbooks and all the stuff here, as well as original copies of what I guess was the first printed one (Poynter's).
What I'm trying to figure out is when skydiving songs more or less stopped being part of the culture.
(And Cardinal Puff, but that's for another time.)

HW

Quote

occasionally a couple of local bawdy / drinking songs, on the way to altitude.

What? Where? Never heard of that.

HW

Yeah, that's about right. Seems that maybe Lost Prairie was the last holdout for songs. Hoping to hear from them.
Here's a chunk from a Lost Prairie song:

Quote

Is this the real life or is this Lost Prairie
I'm coming to skydive to escape from reality
just open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I'm just a floater, I need no sympathy
cause I'm leaving high, docking slow landing fast,
hooking low
Any way the wind blows
doesn't really matter to me to me.

HW

Interesting. I haven't heard anyone sing things for a bunch of years, except at an old farts reunion a couple of years ago, when a couple of people joined in the Hustler song, about a canopy big in maybe 1962.
Keep it coming in. It's going to be a fun story. I'm not sure Parachutist will print it unless I cut out of the "racy" stuff. Will they go for "Cock Choir" and "Crack Chorus?"
If not, it's off to Blue Skies mag.

HW

Yes, I've already communicated with a sociologist who wrote a couple of academic papers about the songs. But I'm not sure of the time frame. I've mailed Fred for more info.

HW

Songs were a big deal in the 60s and maybe early 70s. They would be sung at the bar and around the bonfire -- "Francine McFilthy, the Skydiving Whore," and "Blood on the Risers."
What was the last time and place you heard/participated in songs?
(Of course I'm writing a story.)

PM me or post.

HW

Yup. Just another of those web "expert" pages written by no-nothings.

HQ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704679204575647033055940528.html

HW