pek771

OK, as an example, assume I packed parachutes. Some of my purportedly packed parachutes are used in an unusual extortion and aircraft hijacking. The FBI comes to see me. As in, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Likely people in a foul mood, carrying .38 S&W revolvers. I am basically a bystander, and I have no reason to tell the FBI anything other than the truth and exactly what I know in answer to their questions. I am guilty of nothing, except possibly being an idiot. Unless someone can demonstrate that Mr. Cossey is some sort of pathological liar, or an idiot, I will assume he told the FBI factual answers to their questions. How he has played it over the past 40 years may be different, but I would go with his original statements.

377 The new info preceding this post from 377 is very interesting. How is Gray getting this seemingly new information? (well, it's new to me, anyway) Regarding the jump, the quoted information attributed to FE Anderson, from the Sluggo site, as posted by 377, seems to be the sole determining factor in when Cooper jumped.

I just asked the same question to myself after reading the post. A conspiracy with Nixon involved!!

377, that Hoover bit is from an Anthony Summers book. He is well respected, and apparently very thorough in his research. He also has a slight lean towards conspiracies, real or imagined. My theory is always away from conspiracy, as they are way too hard to keep under wraps for, especially in this case, 40 years. However, I have always felt that the DBC job was done by a Viet Nam veteran. I have no evidence for this, of course. Is there any shred of evidence which would make anyone consider Braden would be the culprit?

Braden has a remarkable resemblance to the DBC sketches. Of course, he has the skills necessary for this caper. However, is there any way he can be placed at the crime scene? Has the FBI checked into this? As 377 says, it may be time to step back. On the other hand, Mr. Braden certainly has an escapability factor with respect to the US Government, judging by what recent posters have said. How annoyed do you think J. Edgar Hoover was to have the DB Cooper spot on his record? If someone at or above his level tells him to call off the dogs, then that is a different story. Now, alas, we are into the realm of government conspiracy...Yipes!

"This place is burnt out and ran through like a Reno hooker" I suspect that line was lifted straight from the Clive Barnes archives.

So, DBC was killed by the remaining flight crew during a food fight and was then sent overboard? And, this conspiracy has been covered up from the general public for 40 years? And, DB Cooper was actually Uncle Bob.

Yes, I went back and looked at the F-4E seats. I remember the face curtain pull rings now. If I recall, there are seven sepatate ways to eject from an F4-E. I am guilty of not contemplating the matter of parachutes before speaking of them. I just remember never seeing a pilot wearing any type of harness near an aircraft, only belting in when they got onboard, very similar to a race car. I am thinking more of the older style parachutes, such as provided in WWII era aircraft, before the advent of the ejection seat, And, Robert99, you are probably correct on the 104. I remember it was one of the century series aircraft which he ejected from.

Please forgive my misleading question. It should more clearly ask: "what pilots and flight crews actually have a parachute strapped to themselves?" I think the aircraft I worked on either had no parachutes as part of the standard flight gear (the Lockheed transports) or the parachutes were integrated into the ejection seats, and separated upon egress, pilot and chute hopefully going one way, seat another. I always think of the godlike Chuck Yeager bailing fron the F-106 in the last chapter of Thomas Wolfes book. This is subject to my source verification, of course. Memory is the second thing to go.

What military pilots or flight crew actually wears parachutes any longer? They have pretty much been gone for 30 years or so.

Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Jerry, I was both kidding and serious. But, I am glad to hear that the Ariel gathering is a good time, and that everyone has fun. Being the 40th anniversary, everyone should have a swell time. I hope the bartenders check the serial numbers on the $20's.

Will the Ariel gathering turn into the worlds largest geriatric bar fight? Will those under 60 have to duke it out with a hand tied behind their back? Canes will be allowed?

Thanks, 377! I once watched the T-Birds do an airshow fron the tail of a C-5. They have two service ladders, and one does indeed come out at a hatch. You are 66 feet above the concrete at that hatch.

Did the 727 have an internal ladder to service the tail? I tried looking over all of the (minimal) images and literature I have, but can't seem to find anything. I don't see a hatch on top of the tail.

Thanks, hominid. I know all there is to know about the 727-100 aft stairs now. Well, not everything, I suppose. If I could actually go see one, then I would understand it better. I was wrong about the fore aft stability. I am still unsure of the shear lugs, whether they were even a factor in landing. The photos I saw on the Sluggo site indicate little damage to the stair assembly, so they weren't down hard via any pneumatic or hydraulic device, unless the sher lugs were in fact sheared. The stairs are the entire DBC story, as it is from the pressure bump that all maps are derived. The pressure bump would be somewhat meaningless if not for the comments of the FE at the post hijack FBI sled drop test. I can only take the word of the FE, as did everyone else.

Actually, yes. Isn't the second guy out in the photo wearing loafers?

Men like skimpily clad women. as it gives us the opportunity to mentally undress them. If all women walked around naked, we would have nothing left ot pur imaginations, would we? Girls, the same but opposite likely holds true for you too. So, we have a gent here who writes very well, has thousands and thousands of hours in a chute but has never jumped, and is entertaining. Do we need his resume and identity also?

I have an image in my mind of Enrico Fermi furiously manipulating his slide rule as assorted scientists wait nervously around an atomic pile, waiting for an answer. I only care about the stairs for one reason...credibility of the investigation. I have brought this up before. No one seems to be able to positively say what position the levers were found in after the aircraft landed in Reno. Now, I have very recently read that the crew left the aircraft via the rear stairs. Any notes on this from the copilot? Some of you have actually spoken to him; any mention of this? What would compel someone to walk out a few steps, especially if he was not quite ready to go? I would have walked out a few steps to see if the stairs would drop as a test. If you're ready to go, and walk out and the stairs don't drop, then what? Weren't the stairs designed to help stabilize the aircraft in the fore and aft direction during loading? Maybe I read this and it has no source? Maybe this was incorporated into later models after the -100 series? If this is the case, then how are the stairs deployed by the ground crews to introduce the stability? I assume the stairs are mechanically locked somehow. Maybe the ground crew has a big stick they use to prop the stairs up. like the clothes pole my mother used to use in the backyard? If we know the position of the handles at Reno, the stair discussion ends. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'll go back to the found money in a little while. That's all I got.

When did Tina intervene with the stair lowering exercise? Is she actually who got the stairs down, and not Cooper? And, did she know about the B system status? I suppose if you are going to send a crew member back there to drop the stairs, it would be best to level off. If I may ask, the only conditions which result in free floating stairs would be manual drop, or if the shear mechanisms were in fact sheared. Sound correct?

My assumption is that Cooper had no prior flight or system experience with the 727, which in my mind means no working for Boeing or an airline. He figured he could get out via the back stairs. As you have previously stated, there are many people who can put on a parachute and have never jumped. Cooper may well be in that category. Wanting to jump and having to jump are two different things. I will make a further assumption as far as Skygoddesses go...about two years ago, a very experienced pilot put an Airbus down in the Hudson. This is possibly the best bit of commercial flying I have ever seen or heard of. The best part was the Skygoddesses marshalled everyone out of that aircraft promptly. One even found time to try and pull the aft door closed after an overzealous passenger tried to open it ("don't open the doors which are underwater" is not on the card in your seatback pocket). Regardless of their time in grade, they are trained well for these emergencies, as are the entire crew. Tina seems to be an example of doing what was necessary for the preservation of the crew, competantly.

Maybe Cooper having trouble with the stairs and the possibility of the "B" system hydraulics being off line are related?

Hi hominid, I'm new here also. Do you have any info on how the FBI set up the aft stairs for the sled drop tests, or which of the options did they use? From what I have seen and read (mostly read), either someone is not divulging all of the known information, or I am really dumb (a distinct possibility).

I highly doubt Farflung could be classified as an idiot. I believe he likes his anonymity, and prefers to keep it that way. Don't assume he is wasting his talents here...for all anyone knows, he could be a highly respected writer with many publications to his credit, and just hangs here for fun. Edit: I also read Jerry's post as Vicki did.

377, that is a neat site you referenced there. The 727 had, at the time, a new concept...an APU. But, the APU could only run on the ground...or with the gear down.