davjohns 1 #1 July 10, 2009 Last year, I returned home from Wallaby Ranch in Orlando. I had spent some time with a guy named Mike Barber. Mike is a world renowned hang glider pilot who coaches at Wallaby. He has the unofficial world record for longest flight (a little over 400 miles, I think). When I got home, I was re-reading my Parachutist's Handbook in the history section. There, it mentioned that a guy named Mike Barber and a friend made the first tandem jump in Florida. Mike had mentioned that he was once into skydiving while we were having breakfast one morning. The next day, I wrote the owner of Wallaby an email to confirm this was not a quirk. Sure enough. It is the same guy. So, a pioneer in skydiving is still alive, well and a pioneer in another air sport as well. Thought someone might find that interesting. Great guy, by the way. Excellent mentor.I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Hooper 4 #2 July 10, 2009 Believe me, Beanpole was one hot skydiver back in the day. And the first to do a tandem - with his disabled stepson Kirk as the passenger. Please pass on my regards when you next see him. Hoop www.jimhooper.co.uk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimjumper 25 #3 July 10, 2009 Kirk and his mother Dana Handbury are still around here in SoCal. She got recurrent about 2 years ago just after Kirk got a service dog from the organization (Canine Companions for Independence)my wife and I are involved with. We haven't seen her recently but if you do a search on this forum there is lot of information on the jump and the people involved. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billbooth 10 #4 July 11, 2009 Mike was one of the first 5 employees of the fledgling Relative Workshop. Mike could build anything. I remember that he built his own container AND main parachute from scratch. Kirk and Mike together weighed the same as me, so we modified my Wonderhog (with a Strato Cloud in it), made a passenger harness for Kirk, and Mike put "the Kid" (for then on known as "Sky Kirk") in an 11 way star for his eleventh birthday. Bob Favreau also took his son Robbie up on the same DC-3 load for the second "modern" tandem jump. I think it was 1977. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rapter 0 #5 July 12, 2009 Kirk and Dana were at "Old Farts" out at Taft last June, both are doing well. Only the good die young, so I have found immortality, Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davjohns 1 #6 July 14, 2009 Mike can still build anything he cares to. Lots of the hang glider crowd have him build custom aluminum racks on their vehicles to carry their gliders. He welds aluminum better than any I've ever seen. He mentors hang glider pilots and is considered about the best there is. Really nice guy to have breakfast with as well.I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet.. But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #7 July 15, 2009 Here, from his great collection of skydiving pix on Flickr, is Jerry Irwin's picture of Mike Barber landing what I guess is a Strato Star at I guess Z-Hills. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Hooper 4 #8 July 15, 2009 Can't remember who sent me this, but a snap of Gencarrelle coaching Beanpole with Dana on his shoulders and my girlfriend Sara on top. Probably not the same year but not far from where Mike's landing his Stratostar at Z'hills. Hoop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Niki1 1 #9 July 16, 2009 QuoteCan't remember who sent me this, but a snap of Gencarrelle coaching Beanpole with Dana on his shoulders and my girlfriend Sara on top. Probably not the same year but not far from where Mike's landing his Stratostar at Z'hills. Hoop Jim, That's not Dana. That girl's name is (I think) Cheryl (sp). I'm having a "senior moment" and can't recall her name. She was on "Snoots Are For Toots" and a real good skydiver. She married a guy from Ala., maybe one of the "Alabama Boys", who was a militaty pilot, maybe Army helicoters. She became a nurse. That memory must have been in some of those brain cells that were lost back in the daze.Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done. Louis D Brandeis Where are we going and why are we in this basket? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_Hooper 4 #10 July 16, 2009 I guess not remembering must mean I was there. (I was, wasn't I?) Hoop Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3331 137 #11 July 16, 2009 That girl is Sheila Whiten, last time I saw her was in Deland a few years ago.I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
