GTairhoss

Steve, Just can't believe it! I saw it on FB. During their northern Virginia days we used to jump with them and party with them. Great people. Really sad news. Gary Thompson

That student coming back is pretty amazing. Speaking of tails ripped off - at Woodbine, Md we used to share the field with a glider operation. One day a glider was landing in 1 direction and the tow plane was landing in the opposite direction. The tow plane saw the glider and powered up and banked to go around. He hit the outhouse and tore the tin roof half off and it tore an elevator off the plane. The pilot was able to land with 1 elevator. Another one, it was in Md, but I can't remember where - some of my jumping buddies were up to make a demo. The first guy out had his canopy get out and it hooked on the left elevator (plane was a Beaver). He hung there for a while then cut away. When he chopped, the canopy inflated and tore the elevator off. Again, the pilot was faced with a 1 elevator landing.

Mrubin, I just came across this particular thread, so I a have a story for you. In the mid-70s I was jumpmastering for the USF Sport Parachute club at the SOD Farm DZ south of Tampa, Fla. A S/L student came up to me and asked me to take him up - he brought the rig he had packed the day before (this was Sunday, and I hadn't been there Saturday.) All of our students understood that they were only to pack under the supervision of one of the jumpmasters. So I took him up with 2 other S/L students in the Cessna. He was to be first out. Jump run came and I put him out when SCHWAAANNNGGG. I did a double take - I had a student in tow! He was swinging under the tail with about 3 feet of canopy out of the bag and about 2 line stows out. I pulled my knife off my pop-top reserve and looked down the line to see what he was going to do (he was trained in cut-aways and could have chopped it since he was hanging from the 2 line stows worth of line) but he didn't. In the heat of the moment, he pulled his reserve. The plane gave a huge jerk and he was free, under his reserve with the main snaking around by his feet. It had shredded the whole side out of a military D-bag. I got to the bottom of it after we landed. He had packed without supervision and made the locking stows on the bag last instead of first. So of course they came out first, then the canopy was free to tangle with the deploying lines and everything just seized up. We got lucky things worked out the way they did.

Was that team in Fla? I knew of a Z-Hills based team from back then with Mike Lewis, Frank Cater, Ferd Boger (can't remember the 4th). There was a Budweiser team there too as I recall under Arch Deal. Blue skies

We didn't have that kind of foresight back in the '70s. We got undressed at the gas pumps and threw all our clothes in a garbage bag and gave it to a TRUSTED friend. After we'd been at the nudist colony for about half an hour he came walking down to the lake with nothing on but a pair of flip-flops. Naked balloon jumps - I love it. I jumped out of a sailplane once, but never a balloon. An old post never dies! Blue Skies, my friend.

In the 70s we did a 4 man naked dive into the Z-Hills local nudist colony lake. (Lake Como I believe.) We had 3 PCs on the load and 1 Strato Star. All the way to altitude we were joking about somebody getting dumped hi and drifting off into a backyard barbeque or something. We had 3 perched on the step and one half way out the door for exit. When the count reached "set" - you guessed it - a deployment bag flew by with lines playing out. The bag left so quickly, nobody knew whose it was. We exited in a hurried wad. I gritted my teeth and waited. After a few seconds, I was still in freefall so I knew it wasn't me. I looked up and breathed a sigh of relief - it was the Strato Star... the only canopy that could make the lake from hi altitude, so we all made the lake - as opposed to making the local section of next day's Tampa Tribune naked.

I seem to remember a team name from the 70s - if memory serves me right (big if) "Captain Crunch and the Crater Creators". One of the highlights of the Z-Hills Turkey Meets was reading the team names off the scoreboard.

In the early '80s we used to ride the beacon every weekend at the Southern Cross DZ in Chambersburg, Pa. George Kabeller never came out of his trailer once he turned in for the night. I don't think he wanted to know what we crazies were up to.

Pat, You provided me with the information on Mac McGraw that I had asked for in the forum. We were trying to figure out if our paths crossed at Riverview. I dug up my first logbook. Jumps numbers 83 and 86 (86 was the first anniversary of my first jump) are signed off by Pat Moore! Briefly, our paths did cross approximately 39 years ago in Riverview, Fla. Blue Skies, Gary Thompson D-4616

Thora47, Sorry this is so belated - I just ran across this post. I met your aunt, Debbie Scadding, over Christmas break in 1975. Gary Hannah had a twin beech which he flew to the SOD Farm DZ just south of Tampa Fla over Christmas break and he hauled 5 or 6 of his friends with him. Debbie was one of them. We spent a week or so jumping and partying with them. ( I think Gary had a connection with either Ric Haglund (RIP) or Mike McPhillips) & that's how they ended up at the SOD Farm. At 11:30 the New Year's Eve party ran out of beer! Debbie and I made a run to the liquor store and came back with a couple of cold cases to usher in 1976 and saved the day. They left a day or 2 later. Apparently, the news of the Skytrain crash in Alaska was broadcast over the loudspeaker at the Skydiving Nationals in Oklahoma. A few of my friends were there and told me when they got back. I was just stunned - I couldn't believe it. Though I didn't know her well, I will never forget your aunt Debbie. Gary Thompson D-4616

Harv, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. You should become a novelist! It means even more as I've jumped with all of you. Gary Thompson NSCR 777

The name "Pelicanland". Mike Schultz was asked about this "he would know" and I will paraphrase what he said as i recall it. There was a group of jumpers jumping in various spots in Va and Md in the 1960s. They happened on the land which became "Pelicanland" and apparently it was for sale. A jump pilot and a few other investors decided to form a corporation among themselves for the purpose of buying this land. They incorporated under the name of the "Pelican Land Corporation". After the sale went through, it just naturally became "Pelicanland". Google "Pelican Skydivers" and you will get a lot of pictures taken at Pelicanland throughout the ages.

Truly the end of a era. R.I.P., Bill.

Roger, I used an old style pig rig (looked like a chest mount reserve stacked on top of a mini-system) with a chest mount reserve. I forgot to assume the proper body position when I cut away and went unstable. I did a 10 second delay after cut-away. It was like driving down the street at 100 MPH and throwing an anchor out! Happy Skiing, Gary

Roger, I thought that might be the case. I'm surprised you remember seeing me. At that point you had more experience than I did and you traveled in "higher circles". We less experienced folks knew who the "heavies" were, and you were one of them. That's why I asked about Mike McPhillips and Ric Haglund - they were experienced enough to travel at your level. Eventually, I got into Allen Gencarelle's 49 way diamonds at the Herd Boogie, the world's 1st 100 way attempt and 5 point 16 ways at West Point. Let's keep in touch - I really enjoy "talking" to you. We can do e-mail if you like to keep from clogging up DZ.com - but either way - your choice- I'd like to keep in touch. Blue Skies, Gary