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For the sake of conversation and with all due respect, I'm going to rebut some of your essay. This assessment is not accurate. Cooper asked for four parachutes, two fronts and two backs. What he was asking for was two complete freefall rigs, mains (back) and reserves (front). I think it's a fair guess that he asked for two rigs to ensure that they gave him good ones for fear that he might make someone else jump. In those days there wasn't a whole lot of difference in freefall rigs. Containers were all of similar design and function. Same with main canopies. They were mostly basic round canopies with some pattern of drive slots in the back. They all performed similarly to each other. So for him not to demand a specific type means nothing. The fly in the ointment came when, instead of main parachutes, they gave him pilot emergency bailout rigs. But by then he was already agitated with time delays, so he wasn't going to send them back for more. He didn't 'choose badly', he made do with what he was given. This, too, is inaccurate. Sure, night, weather, and varying terrain are not ideal, but they're not certain death either. A while back you stated that you discount any suspect that was alive the next day. I asked why, but you didn't answer. Here is the reality of his jump. If Cooper has the nerve to go through with this heist, he has it in him to pull the ripcord. It's not that hard. If he pulls the ripcord, he all but assuredly gets an open parachute, regardless of his stability or lack thereof. I base this on decades of parachuting experience and working with first time and inexperienced jumpers. It is also consistent with Andrade's research on WW2 bailouts and 377's personal experience in his learning phase. The money bag is not all that dissimilar to a front mount reserve. He was prepared to jump with both, which would still be less weight and bulk than what many paratroopers jump with. But the bailout rigs don't accommodate the front reserves, so as long as the money bag was securely tied on and didn't flop around or trail him, it shouldn't cause any problems. Cooper's main risk is whether he is injured on landing and unable to hike out. And that is mainly dependent on exactly the type of terrain he lands in. And you can all correct me if I'm wrong about this, but it's my understanding that he had a fair amount of relatively flat open area below him. And while it would certainly be better to have a controllable sport main, even basic pilot emergency parachutes are designed to save pilots' lives, not kill them. I'm guessing he had at least a little bit of jumping experience. He blew off the written directions, he seemed to be familiar with putting the harness on, and he was familiar with flap settings and flying 'dirty', with the landing gear down. If he wasn't an experienced skydiver or paratrooper, I'm guessing he probably at least took a course and made a couple jumps, so that this one wouldn't be his first. I disagree with this as well. I think there was a good chance that the bomb was fake. Sure, I could be wrong, the bomb might have been real and he may have been willing to use it. But it didn't need to be real. In that era, there were a fair amount of hijackings, and I think it's fairly common knowledge that in any public hostage situation the companies involved and the authorities are going to meet the perpetrators' demands. They're just not going to call the bluff and risk innocent lives. So the bomb did not need to be real, just the threat of it. So if it was fake, then he put exactly nobody at risk. And the jump posed no risk to anyone but himself, and as I have stated, far less than you seem to think. As for scaring people, the passengers didn't even know what was happening until they were off the plane and away from Cooper. As for the flight crew, they work in an aviation environment. If they are easily frightened, they didn't think their career choice through.

And, most of these old farts have known each other for over 20 years. We've skydived together, had children, stayed in touch, bickered with each other, wept at skydiver funerals, and in some cases; loved each other. I wish you the same in life.

You mean Robert Costello, who's behavior was so egregious that the judge sent the jury out of the courtroom to yell at Costello? The jury was removed to prevent any sort of 'prejudicial action' because the judge basically laid into Costello for being a contemptuous douche. https://www.newsweek.com/maga-trump-witness-robert-costello-judge-merchan-1902929 Of course, the MAGA world is having a conniption about it. Because acting like a 3 year old, being disrespectful towards a judge in a trial, generally being, you know, a douche is what those people think is 'manly'.

So… on balance of probability it’s likely that what they said happened is what happened. A staffer copied a video from another account and didn’t look at it too closely. But then it’s also very likely that an account which creates videos with multiple Third Reich references has lots of other super obvious racist and facist references in plain view - and that a trusted person in the Trump setup had no problem at all deciding that the campaign should be associated with content from that kind of account. Because we all know that Trump himself would have no problem associating with it either.

Amazing they can afford it after paying for so many hitmen.

When Trump starts comparing himself to Hitler, we can stop pretending it may not be valid comparison: Trump posts video referencing ‘unified Reich’ if reelected

When I was in the Navy stationed at Miramar I would drive pat Perris and Elsinore for that very reason! The people were fantastic! Like a big family!

Dang, If I'd have known about this thread a decade ago, I'd have put my interest in. I used to love cal city. The best group of people around. After cal city closed, I jumped Elsinore and Perris for a while, but eventually stopped because it just didn't have that homey feel like Cal City did.

If only! Wendy P.

Parachute Industry Association's Post John Sherman, a significant figure in the world of skydiving and a cherished member of the community, passed away at 85. Renowned for his contributions to the sport, John played a crucial role in advancing skydiving technology and safety. John's skydiving journey was defined by his unwavering dedication to enhancing the sport. As the founder of Jump Shack, he created the acclaimed Racer canopy system, setting new benchmarks for safety and reliability. This innovative system has earned widespread respect and use within the skydiving community. Beyond his technical achievements, John was celebrated for the deep bonds he formed within the community. Friends and fellow skydivers often commemorated his milestones, reflecting on their shared adventures and the lasting impact he had on their lives. John Sherman's legacy endures through the numerous skydivers who rely on the systems he developed and the safety standards he championed. He will be profoundly missed by all who knew him and by the many who benefit from his life's work.

Most on both sides of this coin will only point back to 1948, some go back to the Balfour Agreement, but most will not explore the history of conflict between Palestine & Israel for some 10,000 years.

In my lifetime, it has been more penal colony than country, and the abuse from Israel has been non-stop, much like the punching back from Palestine. The world would be a better place without religions.

Palestine is the only country on earth that has no right to resist occupation, land theft, ethnic cleansing and genocide. WHY? Why does the entire planet have to ignore or forget what Israel has done TO the Palestinians for the last 70+ years?

Democratic congressman wants to name MTG as Vladimir Putin’s ‘special envoy’ to Congress Like trump thats not an either-or answer.

What's your other hand doing?

It might have been you who posted about the loathsome man who was called in the kill all of the rats in a city -- how no matter how loathsome he was, the rats were a worse problem. Of course, that was an analogy for Trump. Personally, I think that Trump is the loathsome man who will encourage worse pests than the rats that he was originally "hired" to kill. So I'll vote for whoever has the best chance of keeping him out of the presidency. No, Biden was never my first choice. But Trump is my last. I'd rather have RFK Jr than him. But barring someone dropping dead (if only!), the race is between Biden and Trump, so I'm voting for one of them. Biden hasn't done a bad job. He's by no means perfect, but with a Congress who's happy to hurt the country as long as it also hurts Biden's chances of being re-elected, I'm not sure what he could accomplish. Wendy P.

That's why they're so sure voter fraud is happening -- they're the ones doing it! Wendy P.