sailshaw

Robert99: The sky over Portland the night of the DB caper had a lower layer at 5,000 ft. So it was clear visibility for DB and for anyone on the ground with all the lights of the Vancouver and Portland cities and the Portland airport. A brightly colored sports chute, lighted by the city lights would have shown up much better than the military chute that was almost the color of the clouds. I fly over Portland many times at night and certainly know the condition. Where do you get off attacking me? Are you related to Jo? We need to get along in order to make progress in the case. Bob

Robert99: The night was dark if you believe DB jumped at Amboy as the FBI would suggest. However, jumping close to Vancouver, Portland, or PDX Portland would have a lot of light. Also, DB made his selection when there was daylight and had no idea it would be after 8:00 pm Check out the 5 mph slip speed of a round chute and compare it to the 14 mph of a sports chute. Some of our experts can verify or dispute this info. Would you want to jump into a forest with the higher forward speed. I don't think so and that is why the military and smoke jumpers use the round chutes. I am not a jumper, just a pilot. "Who would want to leap out of a perfectly good airplane." An old joke. Bob

Bulldogpete: Your statement "My nick name for much of my adult life was Pete, not Dan." Brings up the question that you do not remember in 1962 when you stayed at my house in Seattle for one month, that I called you Dan as it was easy for me to remember rather than Sheridan. Possibly I am the only one to call you Dan. Anyway, good to see you posting again and possibly with your expertise you can shed some light on some of the questions that are still not answered. The four parachutes had only two of interest to DB. The NB6 military issue and the Sport Chute, both back-type. The FBI would like us in the DropZone to believe that DB did not know what he was doing in taking and using the NB6. I believe the choice shows how smart and clever DB was in that he wanted to get down quickly and not be discovered. The Sport Chute would have had a 14 mph forward speed that would have been a killer in dropping into trees at night. The Sports Chute also would have been much easier to spot with its bright colors and float down slowly. The NB6 would have blended into the color of the clouds and dropped quickly. That is why the military use the round NB6 chutes. So Pete, what is your take on the selection of chute? Do you buy the FBI story or was DB much more clever than they will admit? Bob

Jo I would not expect a blonde to understand something as technical as a paper sack. Bob

Blevins Again you are off base and have forgotten that I believe the flight path on the Air Chart put together by Sluggo with times on it of 20:14, 20:16, and 20:17 passes to the West of PDX Portland. Much closer than you think to Tena's Bar and a strong wind could have placed it in the Clombia up stream of Tena's Bar so that the current could have delivered the bag of money with the three $20 packs. Sluggo's Air Chart is at www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment The flotation provided by the bag would be tempory and maybe an experiment could be performed to see how long a paper sack could have provided the flotation. Bob

Blevins Yes, I am not Bob Knoss and was a Boring Engineer for 34 years and have been retired for 16 years. I would like to address the money found at Tena's Bar. There were three packs of 100 $20 and I believe they were the ones offered to the crew that were refused. I think DB took ten $20's (for pocket money) from one pack and put $5,800 still in three packs (held together by the rubber bands) in the paper sack he had brought onboard. He then upon being refused the offer by the crew, rolled up the sack with the three packs and stuffed them in his coat pocket (or somewhere on his body) before the jump. Then the buffeting caused the sack and the Tena money to fly out of his pocket and land near or at Tena's Bar. In the paper sack as protection the Tena money stayed together and could have floated to the place found. The wind from the South East could have blew the sack in the direction of Tena's Bar and even dropped in the Columbia. The sack could of rotted away but did provide protection for the three packs of $20 inside. When found on Tena's Bar, the sack could have been rotted away. Now if this thought is correct, a vector from Tina's Bar in the direction up wind and where it crosses the 727 flight path would be the most likely point of where Cooper left the plane. Just something to chew on as the group is solving this case and what could have happened. This gets us away from the travel down rivers and up stream on the Columbia by the Tena money. Bob

Bevins: I think you are right on about the found chute. I agree he probably wanted the container to carry the money and just tossed the chute out just after opening the airstairs and way before he jumped. Cossey probably did not remember that the old silk chute was used for the dummy at Issaqua Sky Sports. Sheridan Peterson probably laffed when he saw the dummy that he had seen many times as an instructor at Issaqua and tossed it to confuse the FBI about his jump location and then use the carrier for the money. Bob

Blevins: Your statement "Are you kidding? No way is Galen Cook going to give up the address of his fantasy witness. She would sue him, and quick." must be taken with a grain of salt. Janet no longer lives at the same house and would not sue Cook (a lawyer) anyway. Your ravings about Cook lead me to believe you are afraid he is way ahead of you and will out publish you. Your way of competing with Cook is not worth talking about and adds nothing to the groups search for DB Cooper.. As they say "Shape Up" or . . . . . Bob

Jo: You probably don't have the address of Janet or you would not have made such a fuss about disclosing where she lived. Galen Cook does know and I will ask him next time we talk on the phone and will post it here on the DropZone where we can use the synergy of the group to make progress on the case. I would like to address your comment "You are on this thread tooting a suspect you knew for all of 30 days and this is an individual who is still alive. You are a coward - get on a plane and go see the man and sit in front of him with your accusations. Be Sure You Have Witnesses! He doesn't live too far from you (if you live in WA) - a days drive. Put your money and your time where your mouth is." Do you want me to go face to face with Sheridan, possibly put handcuffs on him and throw him in prison? That is the job of the FBI, ours is to share thoughts and make progress on the case. Bob

Jo In your own words "Number one - I believe the media or witness or Cook over stated what was observed on that night in 1971. Now that I know the "exact" location from which Janet sighted the plane and dotting that siting along with the other sitings that night - I believe she actually did see the plane." Thanks for supporting the Janet story in that it places Cooper close to the Portland airport. What do you mean "dotting that sitting". Do you have the address of Janet's house in Vancouver that she saw the plane from? She no longer lives there, but what would be interesting is exactly where her house was and how close to the flight path? Many thanks, Bob

Robert99 The Air Chart that I saw in either a post of Snowman or Sluggo is identified as follows at the top of the page: "www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment" It may have been supplied by the FBI but it looks like a valid Air Chart with markings of time superimposed, 20:14, 20:16, and 20:17 hrs. The blue flight paths that I describe are probably part of the Air Chart. The times are on the flight path to the West of PDX Portland airport and within walking distance. Again, just a cake-walk for an experienced skydiver like Sheridan. He was too smart to jump into the woods even though he had plenty of experience doing that as a Smoke Jumper. Bob

Robert99 You have your blinders on too I see, just like Blevins. From you "You state that the FBI indicated there were two flight paths for the hijacked airliner. Simply put, the airliner could not be in two places at the same time. So which flight path is correct? How about "neither"? You need to read my post, I said the two flight paths on the Air Chart from Snowman or Sluggo show one over the Portland airport and the other possibly to the west of the airport. I did NOT say the FBI indicated two flight paths. You need to carefully read before you critique me. Thanks, Bob

Jo In your post you say Himmelsbach pointed you to talk with Sheridan at Issaqua Sky Sports and the Boeing Skydiving club. That all ties together with my knowledge of Sheridan (Petey), but why did H. point you in that direction? Was it to help you confirm or not confirm your husband's involvement? Are you really searching to find that your husband was not DB and he was just puffing you up on his death bed to make him look important in his life? His jail time certainly was no measure of his success. Bob

Georger Re Tina's Barr info withheld from Seattle FBI, was information from Bruce who posts here. This is possibly second hand info and should be put aside. Maybe Bruce can answer where the info came from. The info about Janet came from Galen Cook who did an interview with her and believes her story. That info was withheld from Seattle FBI per Galen by Himmelsbach possibly because of the non-identified guy that visited Janet and said "shut the fuxx up" that gave her quite a scare. Bob

Bob Blevins Cool down and take off your blinders so you can see other suspects than your own favored DB. I will try to address your three comments. Remember that I am not DB Cooper but might just know who he is. 1) The gamble on the route to Mexico from SEA Seattle is a 99% that you will cross the Columbia river and be able to see the lights of Portland. I do each time I fly to Mexico on Alaska Airline for the last 18 years (twice a year). 2) Why the NB6 chute? I have explained it in my other posts (you should reread them and you would not ask this question). It was his best choice. 3) Throwing out the dummy chute? He wanted the carrier to put the money in and the found chute was thought by the FBI to be one of the four he received. That is until Cossey could not correctly identify it as the dummy. It was not know whether it was modified or not and could have been just a old round chute hanging around the Sky Sports at Issaqua where Sheridan taught skydiving. Hope this answers your thoughts. Bob

Robert99 I will try to answer your four questions the best that I can as I am not DB Cooper. 1) Ten miles from the airport. No and the Air Chart posted by Sluggo or Snowman was in color with two flight paths and times. One flight path was right over PDX the Portland airport. The other was to the west of the airport three clicks or three miles but not ten miles. The time is also noted at 20:16 hrs at the Columbia and fits with the description and time from Janet. 2) Undercast? No if Janet could see the plane in such detail then Sheridan could have seen the Columbia and the airport (possibly between puffs of clouds). 3) The three crew that say they could not see the ground were possibly confused by the patchy clouds and maybe looking at a different time. 4) Landing close to the airport. Not a bad idea if your car is parked there and you free fall and then pop your stelth no color chute. Using the sports chute would more likely been seen from the ground. It would have been slow and colorful. Doing the unexpected was Sheridan's way of confusing the FBI which he has been very good at and why they have yet to catch him. Bob

Georger You ask five questions that make you think Sheridan is not a good suspect. I will try to answer each one as best I can even though I am not DB and just a plain Engineer. 1) DB took a gamble on the route but remember the crew did not know if they would be required to use the chutes. They would not want to jump over the ocean, so a route to Mexico, which I take on Alaska twice a year, flight path is mostly like that of the DB 727. Also, the crew would want to be close to a forced landing at Portland if it came to that. 2) Why the NB6 and not the steerable chute. He had lots of experience with the round chutes and possibly used that same chute when teaching at Issaqua Skydiving School (he was an instructor there). The sports chute would have been colorful and slow in decent. He wanted the stelth of the round chute with plain color that would get him down quickly. He probably threw the dummy out of the plane and that was the one they found but claimed to not be one of the four because Cossey probably could not remember what was packed in the dummy. 3) Alcohol and smoking. Sheridan is a calm cool and collected guy, but one glass of alcohol and five smokes would help keep his cool. 4) Talking with Tina would not only pass the time and but help to get her to tell the FBI the story he would want. Being close with her kept the other crew on edge not wanting her to be injured or hurt. Physical profile`- Sheridan fits best of the other suspects. His unusually olive skin (one flight attendant thought he might have had make-up it was so olive), Height at 6 feet, weight at 180 lbs, calm cool and collected, well mannered and good talker, smoker, and expert skydiver/instructor. He fits quite well. He was also consumed with "designing the system to beat the system" which he mentioned many times in the month he stayed at my house. The third letter to the editor (the one to the Portland Oregonian) was signed "the system to beat the system" DB Cooper. Those words matched what I heard over and over. 5) Rule him out! I don't think so. Note: There is also a ground observer that Lawyer Galen Cook found that he calls "Janet" and she thinks she saw DB on the platform below the jet airplane that flew over her house in Vancouver with fire (possibly flares) coming out the back and in an arc into the Columbia river.. Galen talked with me by phone and he believes her story to be true. This information was reported to the Portland FBI office and not passed on to the Seattle office. Himmelsbach suppressed the information and possibly sent a friend to tell Janet to "shut the fuxx up". She was so scarred that she never mentioned it until Galen discovered it. The finding of the DB money on Tina's Bar was also with held by Himmelsbach and Seattle FBI agent Carr first heard of it from the news media. Why did Himmelsbach withhold info. My guess is he wanted a jump on the Seattle FBI office so he could end his career with catching DB while the Seattle office looked for him in the Washington woods. Bob

Jo: I am new to the DropZone by way of Bruce who took me to the Lake Washington High that Sheridan taught at for three years before the skyjacking. He lived at my house in Seattle for a month and was kicked out for not paying his $35 rent. That was ten years before the skyjacking and, I think he was planning the caper at that time. When he found that I was an Engineer at Boeing, he wanted to know all that I knew about the 727 with the airstair that was mentioned in an article in Avation Week. The 727 was to do its first flight in two more years and I was planing for testing of the 737 airstair and knew not much about the 727. Sheridan was then not interested in my Boeing work. He had been a US Forest Service Smoke Jumber and we had something in common as I had worked on the USFS Fire Fighting Crew. As I have stated he had all the knowledge necessary for the jump. Also, he would have jumped when he saw the lights of Portland and close to the Portland Int. Airport. He probably left his car there before boarding the plane he skyjacked. His DropZone was on the flat area by the airport or possibly on Government Island (1,500 feet from the airport) . Bob

377 - You are working to hard on what DB had to know and how he could have learned it. Take Sheridan Peterson as a suspect and he actually worked at Boeing and started the skydiving club. He was even a certified skydiving instructor at the Issaqua skydiving center. He had access to not only the manuals and handbooks but actual people at Boeing that knew the 727 airstairs and flight tested them for the gov. what if's such as could it take off and land with the stairs deployed? Flight tests showed that it could. The gov. might have had a motive for their other undercover uses of the 727. Sheridan could have used his Boeing club as likely use of the 727 for skydiving without raising any questions as to why. Bob

I have sent a composite photo to Boeing 377 that convinces me that DB and Petey are one and the same. The composite is from the Skydiving Mag. with half of the DB sketch over half off the photo. Possibly 377 will find a way to publish it to the DropZone Bob and Jane

This post is from Bob and Jane. The report of Bruce is almost correct and I would like to make some corrections: I was not a Mechanical Engineer at Boeing but had my degree in Electrical Engineering. When Dan (short for Sheridan and easy to remember) was with us for one month, it was before the 727 was delivered. In fact, the first flight was one to two years later. However, Avation Week had the info about the Aft Airstair that Dan was asking me about. We had been working with Lufthansa for an order when the 737 came into being, for an Aft Airstair (but out the aft starboard side). Dan was only interested in the 727. Bruce quoted us as giving Sheridan's whole name. We only knew him by Sheridan Peterson. He went on to be the Operator of the Bubbleator not the emcee as Bruce reported. We saw Dan in his space suit and in the Bubbleator doing his job there. I told FBI Agent White that I knew why he was asking about Sheridan, that he did the Skyjack, looks just like the sketch, had olive skin color, and was very calm cool and collected. The Agent said "yes, he is one of our suspects". The FBI were looking at all Smoke Jumpers and Dan was just one of the group.