I have been trying to track down Hahneman in Vietnam/SA, he was a radar engineer/technician and found the ELINT EA-3B Skywarrior used in Vietnam. ELINT was the Electronics Intelligence aka loaded with surveillance equipment.
 
But just ran across this interesting video.. EA-3B Skywarrior belly jump testing in 1968.. it does resemble the 727 jump..

I've always wondered... With recent advancements in DNA technology, would there be any value in testing the paracord from the reserve shoot for DNA? Since he cut the cords, it's possible that Cooper grabbed them with his bare hands while cutting, and could have left skin fragments behind. In my opinion, DNA is the best hope of figuring out who Cooper was. They could find him in much the same way they found the Golden State Killer.

until you test you dont know.

I have been trying to track down Hahneman in Vietnam/SA, he was a radar engineer/technician and found the ELINT EA-3B Skywarrior used in Vietnam. ELINT was the Electronics Intelligence aka loaded with surveillance equipment.
 
But just ran across this interesting video.. EA-3B Skywarrior belly jump testing in 1968.. it does resemble the 727 jump..

When I worked at Hughes Aircraft we had two old A3 "Whales" bailed (kinda like a lease) from the Navy. They were used to flight test aircraft radars such as the one eventually used on the F 14. The crews expressed a lot of doubts about that bottom door escape system. My NB 8 "Cooper Rig" was used aboard one of the Hughes A3s. I was told when Hughes was done with the A3s (they were used for many years) and wanted to give them back to the Navy, no record could be found of their bailment and the Navy declined to accept their return. I heard they were scrapped at Van Nuys CA.

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William Rataczak informed Cooper that the aircraft's range was limited to approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) under the specified flight configuration, which meant that a second refueling would be necessary before entering Mexico...

727-100 range is 3,110 nautical miles

1,000 miles is just short of the Mexican border.

Has anybody actually checked if this is true, it may have been a ruse..

Can this 1,000 range be confirmed with a SIM?? or??

Reno is about 570 mi
Tijuana MX is about 1075 mi
Hermosillo MX is about 1400 mi
Mexico City MX is about 2350 mi
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Key is under the specified flight configuration. At DZ someone did some calculations.

Fuel Capacity of B727-100 is 8,186 Gallons.
6.77 lbs per gallon..

normal conditions
With the 727-100, 12,000 lbs is burned in the first half hour of flight. In the next half hour 4,000lbs is used and thereafter for the entire second hour, another 7,000 lbs is used, i.e. 23,000 lbs in two hours, for the third hour a further 7,300 lbs is burned.


when they landed they requested 35-40 lbs of fuel..they very low on fuel..

On the flight south to Reno, the NWA performance engineers in Minneapolis were constantly asking the airliner for its fuel flow rate and other performance information.  The airliner was in the Portland area, about 45 minutes into the flight, before they were informed that they could probably make it to Reno in the Cooper specified configuration.

That is 35-40 THOUSAND pounds of fuel.  And the range of the 727-100 was nowhere close to 3110 miles.  It was designed for shorter ranges than the 707 and not for transcontinental flights.

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Fuel Capacity of B727-100 is 8,186 Gallons.
6.77 lbs per gallon..

normal conditions
With the 727-100, 12,000 lbs is burned in the first half hour of flight. In the next half hour 4,000lbs is used and thereafter for the entire second hour, another 7,000 lbs is used, i.e. 23,000 lbs in two hours, for the third hour a further 7,300 lbs is burned.


when they landed they requested 35-40 lbs of fuel..they very low on fuel..

On the flight south to Reno, the NWA performance engineers in Minneapolis were constantly asking the airliner for its fuel flow rate and other performance information.  The airliner was in the Portland area, about 45 minutes into the flight, before they were informed that they could probably make it to Reno in the Cooper specified configuration.

That is 35-40 THOUSAND pounds of fuel.  And the range of the 727-100 was nowhere close to 3110 miles.  It was designed for shorter ranges than the 707 and not for transcontinental flights.

The 3,110 was from here, but each plane may vary?? maybe that is the 727-200 number?

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The fuel capacity for the 727-100 was 7,680 gal 


Was the fuel completely topped off in Seattle?

Cooper asked if the plane was a 727, but he wouldn't have known if was a 727-100 or 727-200 prior, the range/fuel is different. He could have estimated range based on the 727-200.? He wouldn't have known if it was a 100 or 200. NW Orient had 30 727-100's and 34 727-200's in 1970.. 

Maybe Mexico was in range for the 727-200 but not the 727-100..

I'd still like to find the range in that config for the 727-100 and 727-200... can that be done?


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We’re going to Mexico City - or any place in Mexico - nonstop - gear down - flaps down - you can trim the flaps to 15, you can stop anywhere in Mexico to refuel but nowhere in the United states. The aft door must be open and the stairs down. The altitude under 10,000 feet, they know they can’t go over that. Cabin lights out and everyone is to be forward of the first Class Curtain.

A few observations.. Cooper demands via Tina's note.

Cooper said going to Mexico City or any place in Mexico
Cooper never said nonstop to Mexico City - he said nonstop to Mexico
Cooper said "can" refuel anywhere in Mexico - nowhere in US
Cooper said "can" trim flaps to 15, not "must"

He wanted to control the speed/elevation.
He wanted depressurized.
Cabin dark masks his movements/location.
He wanted to control his timing and ability to exit. (He mistakenly thought the pilots controlled the rear airstairs)

Appears Mexico was in range for a 727-200 in that configuration,

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We’re going to Mexico City - or any place in Mexico - nonstop - gear down - flaps down - you can trim the flaps to 15, you can stop anywhere in Mexico to refuel but nowhere in the United states. The aft door must be open and the stairs down. The altitude under 10,000 feet, they know they can’t go over that. Cabin lights out and everyone is to be forward of the first Class Curtain.

A few observations.. Cooper demands via Tina's note.

Cooper said going to Mexico City or any place in Mexico
Cooper never said nonstop to Mexico City - he said nonstop to Mexico
Cooper said "can" refuel anywhere in Mexico - nowhere in US
Cooper said "can" trim flaps to 15, not "must"

He wanted to control the speed/elevation.
He wanted depressurized.
Cabin dark masks his movements/location.
He wanted to control his timing and ability to exit. (He mistakenly thought the pilots controlled the rear airstairs)

Appears Mexico was in range for a 727-200 in that configuration,

The 727-200 is very recognizable versus the 100. Nonetheless, he knew damn well it couldn't fly to Mexico non-stop in that configuration. Red herring.

He may have made his prior range calculations based on the 200... but ended up on the shortest range 727... 

You don't know it was a red herring.

and it makes ZERO sense..  NONE

If Cooper knew it couldn't fly nonstop to MEX then he would have also known the pilots would not even attempt it. Why make an unachievable demand that would have clearly been rejected. That makes NO sense.

That is the same as carjacking a NY cab and saying take me to Los Angeles nonstop.. it would have been rejected.


When Cooper made the initial demand he believed it could make it to Mexico nonstop. No doubt about it.


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