DonHinton

Hi Chris, Let me know if you need any help filling in the times from 1978-85. I was very active in the club when I was in high school from 78-80 but was only an inexperienced youngster at the time. Then I was in college in Mississippi from 80-82 and only jumped when I could make it up to Campbell and during the summers. Then a year off from college, 82-83 where I made a lot of jumps at Campbell, then I went into the Army to put back money in order to return to college. So those last 2-3 years I jumped when I could make it back to Campbell. Probably the most experienced collective knowledge of that time is Billy Colwell, Jr, as he was attending Austen Peay and jumped continuously. I still remember when Billy showed up for the first jump course--he was in high school, just as I was two years earlier. But he passed me in jumps and experience. I must say that time was really awesome. Great advances were made in the art of skydiving around then, with squares starting to become mature (my first square was the really awful Strato Flyer of 160sq ft and brick shaped), early CRW (I remember getting my UPSA 4-stack patch, as that was unusual at the time), getting your 8-way RW patch (again, this was pretty big stuff at the time), doing some of the first side-by-sides and down-planes (almost banned from one civilian club for doing a "dangerous" down-plane!), etc. The 101st was the first operational user of the Black Hawk and the club started jumping them very shortly after their arrival. Really great times where we pushed the envelope--and safely as well. Don

Hi Whit, Great to hear from you! I did leave suddenly when my three-year enlistment was up. I took terminal leave near the end of December 1985 so that I could start the spring semester at Mississippi State University. Things just got hectic. One thing that really sucked on my last day before starting terminal leave was that I was scheduled to outprocess one day. On the same day, some of the guys in the 82nd club had managed to get on some ramp jumps from a C-141 at 10,000 and I was supposed to jump my camera with them. So, I showed up very early to be first in line at outprocessing so I could be done and make the mandatory safety briefing with the C-141 crew at 1000. No problem. I get almost to the end of the outprocessing process, which was finance, and they didn't have my records, which were supposed to be sent over. So I had to go over to finance where I didn't have an appointment, get my records and get back to outprocessing. I finished at 1100 and missed the C-141 ramp jumps!! Oh well, it was all good and I have the best memories. I hope all is well with you, Don

Hi Jose, Great to see you here--or rather me here since I just started posting! Those were awesome times at Ft. Campbell, weren't they? I've attached a picture of you looking very stylish, Doug Lane and the beautiful Beth Fridelle. Don Hinton

Hi Chris, Regarding you writing an article on the FTSPC, did you ever get around to it? I was the defacto freefall photographer at Ft. Campbell from 81-85 and am just now going through and scanning my pictures--I would be happy to send them to you and eventually will have them all posted here. Email me at [email protected] if you are interested in the pictures. I stared jumping at Ft. Campbell as a dependent in Dec 78 when I turned 17, a jumpmaster by 18 and making demo jumps with the team by then (many of us on the demo team were dependents at the time--me, Vickie Michaels, Billy Colwell Jr., my younger brother Mike Hinton and Andy Mazerik). FTSPC really was the worlds best kept secret. Mad rushes to finish packing so we could make the next lift, Black Hawk jumps from 14,000 normally, and once at 16,000. Chinook jumps on occasion. Really the best. After I entered the Army I went to Ft. Bragg and I must say, after jumping at Ft. Campbell, Bragg sucked--too many people waiting to jump, jumps from only 7,500' so that more lifts could be made, lucky to make two jumps per day, etc. The people were great there, but it wasn't Ft. Campbell and the huge number of jumps you could get, sometimes 8 per day from 14,000. Don Hinton Spokane, WA