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[377]

Briar Patch landings?

As more time passes I only recall dead centers. 😉

Any photos of you jumping in the old days?

I've attached one of me from the early 70s. 100% surplus gear. Even my huge altimeter came from a military aircraft.

I'm on the far right.

377

[Bruce A. Smith]

BUT, who's the babe???

[Robert99]

Briar Patch landings?

As more time passes I only recall dead centers. 😉

Any photos of you jumping in the old days?

I've attached one of me from the early 70s. 100% surplus gear. Even my huge altimeter came from a military aircraft.

I'm on the far right.

377

About that briar patch landing.  I was jumping at a big airport (former military field) that was almost totally inactive as far as airplanes go.  But the small city where it was located did keep the grass and weeds along side the taxi ways and runways mowed.

I was jumping a 5-TU modified military round canopy and going down wind to the area where I wanted to land, which was about a 10 foot wide mowed area between a paved taxi way and a big briar patch.  I wanted to turn and land facing into the wind.  But I turned a bit too soon and touched down about one foot from the briar patch and then fell into it on my left side.  It took about three weeks to get all the briars out of my left arm.

Is your parachute a 5 or 7-TU canopy? 

[377]

I jumped many C-9 mods including T, Double L, 5 TU and 7 TU. The hot C-9 mod was the Hustler (sort of a double T) but I never found one I could borrow. Had one reserve ride on what Bruce has concluded DBC jumped, a 26 ft Conical. Mine was a USN surplus canopy with with a 4 line cut steering mod. The Conical gave a great ride, rate of descent at least as slow as a 28 ft C-9, always wondered why they weren't used as mains.

I now jump Triathlon ram air canopies mainly. I like the way they perform, reliable and good flare characteristics,. I use a 190 sq ft Triathlon in high winds and a larger one in slower winds. I don't do show-off landings, ever. I try to minimize risk as much as I can. So far just flesh and bones, no titanium.

377

[Robert99]

I jumped many C-9 mods including T, Double L, 5 TU and 7 TU. The hot C-9 mod was the Hustler (sort of a double T) but I never found one I could borrow. Had one reserve ride on what Bruce has concluded DBC jumped, a 26 ft Conical. Mine was a USN surplus canopy with with a 4 line cut steering mod. The Conical gave a great ride, rate of descent at least as slow as a 28 ft C-9, always wondered why they weren't used as mains.

I now jump Triathlon ram air canopies mainly. I like the way they perform, reliable and good flare characteristics,. I use a 190 sq ft Triathlon in high winds and a larger one in slower winds. I don't do show-off landings, ever. I try to minimize risk as much as I can. So far just flesh and bones, no titanium.

377

Does the "no titanium" remark mean that you haven't required any titanium medical implants yet?

[377]

Yes. That's what it means. I haven't helped pay for any orthopedic surgeons' Ferraris... so far.

Vigilance must be constant. A colleague and college classmate of mine, who is a far far better skydiver than I am, shattered a lot of his lower body during a March 2017 landing safety demo of all things. He is still sidelined. He showed me his X Rays and they are hard to look at without wincing. Screws, plates and staples galore.

377

[Bruce A. Smith]

YouTube

I'm pleased to announce that I have my first posting on DB Cooper at YouTube:





Many thanks to my videographer and editor Ray Cool for setting it all up: filming, equipment, mic, etc. filmed Nov. 8, 2016 at the Graham Library in Graham, WA.

[Bruce A. Smith]

How about this:

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I think I got it. Had to click more stuff. It's my first time at the rodeo, and Yee Gawds it's been confusin'.

[Bruce A. Smith]

The video is also available at the Mountain News:

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[georger]

Lunatics have taken over the Universe!

[377]

I keep thinking about Georger's rough stat calcs on the likelihood of Cooper landing in water deep enough to drown in. Not very likely. Still, if he did, I'd rate his chances of surviving as very low. I've done water jumps on clear sunny days, into warm still water, with plenty of prep, one with the kind of gear DBC likely jumped. Getting out of the harness once immersed is REALLY hard. You have nothing solid to push against. If you try to elevate your leg to get access to a clip fitting your head submerges. Add a little chill and panic and I think I'd have been be in really serious trouble fast. I had floatation gear but did not inflate it, wanted to see if I could survive without it. If things went south before the recovery boat reached me I'd have pulled the inflation lever. My point is that if Cooper went in the drink that night, I don't think he survived.

377

[377]

I liked Bruce's video though I'd rather watch Marla from a purely visual standpoint. Bruce, however, has a lot more NORJACK info. Marla is a one trick pony, all LD all the time. But what a lovely pony.

Our ham skydiving team made airborne contact with a station in FL, and 10 others closer to our Tracy CA DZ location using a tiny 5 watt radio on 14.250 MHz USB and a simple trailing wire antenna last Saturday. One Of these days I want a QSO (contact) with Georger while aloft.

Sheridan Peterson is doing OK. Still sharp and full of political energy. Amazingly well informed on current events. Reads voraciously. He wants to jump again but the DZs I've spoken to will only take him tandem not solo. I have no doubt he could still do a solo jump but liability worries prevail at DZs. He has zero interest in talking about DBC, almost too little interest given that it was a skydiving related crime and he is a skydiver. He cares deeply about right and wrong and especially government malevolence. He is a compassionate person, who has helped support a fellow vet in the last stages of terminal cancer.

Still wonder about Farflung. Miss his killer wit and case insights.

Snow is doing well, living the dream of full time climbing. Wish we could lure him back into the Vortex. The average IQ of the Vortex denizen dropped a bit when he departed.

Wish TK could take some swabs from the Norman rig now owned by the WA History Museum. Might it have the same stuff on it as the tie? The rigs were kept in Normans machine shop and he did metal work for Boeing. Could the tie materials have come from contact with the rigs as DBC was inspecting them? Easy to find out.

377

[Bruce A. Smith]

Excellent suggestion, Three-Seven-Seven. I hope TK follows-up.

BTW: How did you like my "Twisty Butt" impersonation?

[Shutter]

Now, we have a major hurricane approaching the east coast. this is the time people should start to prepare, but as usual texting and phones calls about Becky being pissed off at Suzy are the real priorities today. no lines at the supermarkets or gas stations. batteries, water, gas etc. should be stocked up now. people in flood zones should consider staying somewhere in higher grounds.

my phone is already starting to receive calls about storm protection. not exactly the best timing for me, but I will make sure people are safe! tomorrow I will begin removing things around my property that are small and can be dangerous during the storm. I already have all the items needed to survive after the storm. I hope they won't be needed once again....

Shutter

[Bruce A. Smith]

Shut, can you give us a brief synopsis of your preparations? Are you anticipating wind damage, flooding? Thanks.