bravoniner

Bill: I remember the PC as being all 2.2 oz. taffeta, not just the stabilizer panels (at least the Mk. I was). That was one of the reasons this 24' canopy was so bulky (that, along with the crown lines, the PDA bridle, etc.). That fabric WAS subject to lots of pinhole burns but, otherwise, seemd pretty darned durable. Even if you got a tear, the small panel sizes would keep it from propagating very far. BUT, I'm not at all sure how well this fabric ages. Bravoniner

Yeah ... but back to AggieDave's question (which, I think, is about early skydiving -- as a sport for the common man). Dave, I've got some records for the Badger Skydivers (University of Wisconsin) stashed away somewhere that indicate they were jumping as a club 1956-'57, or thereabouts. Pretty early in the game. Bravoniner

Anybody remember (or jump at) the old Air City airport at Sturtevant, WI back in the early '60s? Primary jump ship was a tri-gear mod Howard DGA-15, backed-up by a C-180. I hung around there as a ramp-rat kid. Jim Stoyas and others tolerated me and helped cement my resolve to jump. (That had to wait until 1969, four or five years after the Air City DZ was dead and gone.) Bravoniner

I remember the man (who could forget?), but not his rig. Do you remember what he jumped? Bravoniner

Naw, Otto was just an ol' beerdrinker from Milwaukee. He flew like a maniac, but it was lung cancer that finally took him some years back. We have a licensed, active member of our glider club (still sits in back and instructs) who flew a Fiesler Storch for the Luftwaffe. Gunter is well into his 80s and way too tough to hang it up. Bravoniner

Turn the clock back to 1970 ... maybe '71: I was hanging off the strut of our club's 180 as the rest of a three-way (we called 'em a "3-man" back then) got positioned in the door. Otto, our jump pilot, was always good for an occasional thrill. This time, for reasons unknown, he really lost it -- pitching up hard and rolling to the left. Everybody got tossed out or off. Once I rolled face-to-earth I was stunned to find the jump plane directly below me in a fully developed spin. I was still way sub-terminal, so the closure rate wasn't breathtaking. But I grabbed a hard track and watched anxiously as the horizontal separation slowly kicked in and took me out of immediate danger. (No RW this jump!) I KNOW there was some follow-up discussion with Otto but, for the life of me, I can't recall the specifics of what was said. What I do remember is that it took a LONG time for everything to unpucker. Bravoniner

Bob used to present a specially-made "I caught Bob Sprague" patch for your jumpsuit (assuming you actually managed the feat). Bravoniner

Mine was a 28 ft., orange & white flat circular 7-double L (recut to a 7-TU after a couple jumps), deployed by a Popenhager bag and double (stacked ) pilot chutes. Replaced after a dozen jumps by a blue/white checkerboard PC, which streamered on my first jump on it. (It had been rigged with way too much slack in the steering lines, which blew into and tied off the stabilizer panels.) Chopped it and got a brisk ride to the ground on my 24 ft. non-steerable TWILL reserve. Stand-ups were so rare you logged 'em. Different times! Bravoniner

Good thoughts, Bill. My perspective (having cut my teeth in the era of surplus "cheapos," 2-shot Capewells, and chest-mounted twill[!!] reserves) is that very little in the way of improved gear or bigger and better jump ships is likely to fully counteract the apparently innate tendency among some to push any resulting expansion of the "envelope" to find new and improved ways to kill themselves. Unless and until we take high speeds (and the attendant risk of lethal sudden stops) out of the game, it will always be so. Bravoniner

Lessee ... if I'm figuring right, that means you won't be doing a whole lot of jumping for -- say -- the next six or seven years (student, summer clerk, grunt associate). Hmmmm! Been there ... done that ... Bravo-niner

Summer 1969, Rainbow Airport, Franklin, WI. Blue w/Cu, Bravo-niner

Make that: CAN'T seem to find their website. SAT! B9

Yeah, thought of POPS, but can seem to find a website. Got an address?? Blue w/CU, Bravo-niner

Anybody know the current whereabouts of any jumpers who were active at the Air City DZ (Sturtevant, WI) in the early to mid-'60s? I'm trying to track down some history. Thanks, Bravo-niner

Best jump I ever made was out of a potential plane. Blue w/Cu, Bravo-Niner

A shrink published a study on this a LONG time ago in PARACHUTIST. If I remember right, his conclusion was that stress (fear) maxed at the point where the go/no-go decision was actually made. For newbies it was in the door or maybe climbing into the plane. For those with more experience, it was the night before jumping (when you made the decision whether or not to go to the DZ tomorrow -- once you were there you knew you'd jump, so the stress level dropped). A little fear keeps ya' honest! Blue w/Cu, Bravo-niner

Why not both categories? bravo-niner

Dead heat with the Army: Badger Skydivers (University of Wisconsin - Madison) -- started meeting in 1957 and incorporated in '58. (I've got the old minute books.) Kinda fizzled out about '73 due to DZ probs, and (I think) made one attempt at reincarnation since then. Can anybody beat these clubs? Bravo-niner

When and where was the first collegiate sport parachute club formed in the U.S.? Anyone know for sure? Blue w/Cu, Bravo-niner

And do a web search for Nick Piantanida. Bravo-niner

PCs are fun canopies (I have about 75 PC jumps, one of which was a streamer/cutaway). 1.9 oz. taffeta (as I recall) and a bunch of 550 cord, so it's going to be a lot heavier and bulkier than anything you're used to. Toggle pressures are nice and light and it turns on a dime, but you're going to have to pay close attention both to observing a rational upper limit for wind and to getting a good spot. Stand-ups maybe half the time; for the other half, you should practice your PLFs. Make sure the canopy is in good trim; stretched-out rear lines make for hard openings, and stretched-out steering lines are asking for a malfunction. I liked a bag over a sleeve, but both work OK. Study the old owners manual thoroughly (still available, I think), or have a PC veteran walk you through your first pack job. The stabilizer panels can cause problems if they're not flaked out and dog-eared just right. As somebody else mentioned, the PC may be rigged with Capewells. If so, do enough suspended harness drills to get comfortable. It's different! (I seem to remember hearing about some 3-ring-rigged PCs, though, and I don't see why that couldn't be done.) Zounds ... rounds!! Bravo-niner