FLYJACK

Sure, only Cossey said the missing canopies were white,, yes, a few sources.... and nothing reliable or certain. it was pushed by Jo Weber, she claimed Mitchel told her he saw thick socks or long underwear.. Tosaw's book cites Mitchell saying long underwear or whatever was showing over his socks.. long underwear was speculation by Tosaw. "Mitchell ‘did wonder why the blond stewardess was paying so much attention to this “older man” when he also desired some attention and was obviously more her age. He concluded that whatever the man’s attraction, it couldn’t be his clothes; the man’s socks or long underwear or whatever it was that was showing didn’t match his shoes or trousers." agents believed thermal long underwear.. Coffelt's story includes thermal underwear.. So, there is no confirmation of long underwear... Mitchell said in the WHMS interview that he looked geeky, his shoes and socks didn't match,, but he never mentioned long underwear... There is a conflict,, Cooper had ankle high laceless shoes, how could his socks be seen. Conclusion, long underwear is unsubstantiated..

Can any parachute people answer this.. Flat circular/Round vs Conical military canopies.. I realize the structure and shape are different. but are conical's 24' and 26' and rounds 28' +... and would a round 28' have less surface area than a theoretical 28' conical.. So, due to the shape a 26' conical may have a similar surface area to a 28' round..

The missing chest training chute.. "Norm D" and red flap.. Why red flap.. here. Suggests it is a WW2 era container. https://www.theriggerdepot.com/qac-color-coding.html

Not sure, but one on the wall at Sky Sports also has them.

It must have been conflated and not on chute number two,, why didn't they note it for chute number one, it is obviously there. You know there was a word floating around that was noted for being on the Dummy but I can't remember it or find it.. I think it was a 6 to 8 letter name.. I have it somewhere in my files but can't find it.. Anybody remember.. FOUND IT... "Norm D"

Sewn white patch and words fit,, I'd say solved.

"Both Barry and Norm stated that it was routine that the chutes used in acro planes would be identical rigs."

There are at least three versions of this... this is earlier. Notice the spelling error, "twentyforu", it is not in the other version. Here "Mc Chord" has an unnecessary space.

Not a teletype..

There is a space on the patch between the # and the 5.

you forgot the "and"

I realize it says number two container but... Does "SSS # 5 and COSS" fit... looks like it

Those sealed leather bank satchels are use to transport cash,,, not a knapsack.. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/spokane-seattle-first-nat-bank-leather-loomis-money

Sure, but let's put the term "knapsack" in the context of a 50 year old ex military guy who is asking for parachutes using WW2 vernacular... Haversack, rucksack, backpack and knapsack,,,, try and sort all those out...

WW2 era USMC military knapsack,,, Is this what Cooper wanted the money in...

Not true, non tan WW2 era containers are not rare... lots out there. Generally, tan ones were sold to the public... not exclusively but that is probably why the museum chute was referred to as a civilian chute though it may or may not have been originally. Sage Green was rare and later, the jungle colour, not Olive Drab. The canopy that Cooper used was the newer of the two but the container date is unknown and being Olive Drab does not date it as newer than a tan one. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-us-navy-parachute-container-harness-original https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-pioneer-parachute-1940s-3770612246 https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/parachute-type-8-model8-b-type-pack-3843962099 https://www.ogallerie.com/auction-lot/us-military-parachute-model-p3-b-24-by-pioneer-pa_13E4434BC1

On the bomb,,,, I lean towards it being real but do not believe he would have jumped with it.. too risky and hard to hold/attach. It was probably FBI "propaganda" to suggest the bomb was road flares.. because dynamite wasn't red... dynamite was red or brown. He may have had a concealed weapon as well... no evidence for that.

Cossey was very specific,, he said it was a customized NB6/8 with a 28' canopy, Sage Green nylon container and harness... He was clearly describing a specific container/chute to him but not the one Cooper used. Perhaps it was his back chute at Issaquah that he incorrectly believed was taken with the fronts... but never corrected it. The other odd thing is,, would Cossey even have a bailout rig?? He was a pilot, but would he use a non steerable bailout rig,, not likely. The container matters because they were searching for the wrong one and people still refer to it as an NB6.... which is extremely unlikely.

I thought your argument was the container was Sage Green and NB6's are Sage Green.. they are mostly, but I have found some that are also olive drab.. The point is not all Olive Drab containers are NB6's... therefore the colour does not make it an NB6... There are many "vintage" Pioneer parachutes that are not tan and are Olive Drab and not NB6's.. Pioneer P3 - B - 24.. not tan https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/us-ww-2-pioneer-parachute-p3-b-24 The chute Cooper used was a 24' olive drab Pioneer... Given everything, it is extremely unlikely that the chute Cooper used was an NB6... Cossey is the only source for that claim.

But the green description ONLY came from Cossey. It was initially described as olive drab not green.

They don't have to match but not at all equivalent, Putting a bigger chute in an older container was common due to the later availability of surplus chutes.. putting a smaller chute in is unheard of for that era. There is no reason for going smaller on a bailout rig. It doesn't make sense. Like putting a 4cyl engine in Corvette.. technically you could do it but it makes no sense. Ask Mark about it.

Disagree. I am not a rigger but I have asked people and they say it isn't typically done.. It requires many modifications making it not worthwhile. Easier to just put in a 26'. Like dropping a V8 in a Miata.. you can do it but it isn't typical. The chute being a 24' strongly indicates it was not an NB6/8.. (virtually eliminates)

It is always hard to say things with absolutes in this case. But, I don't see any evidence Cooper was a recreational skydiver.. on the contrary... besides the things mentioned he was 45-50 and at that time it was a young man's sport. A rec jumper that age was extremely rare. The first reports for Cooper's chute were olive drab with a tan cotton harness... Cossey claimed Sage Green nylon with a Sage Green nylon harness... as a 28' modified NB6. A 24' chute is not an NB6.. Cossey's claims are unreliable. Cooper's chute was probably olive drab...

Why do people keep calling the chute Cooper used an NB6?? It is very unlikely it was an NB6. The only reference is Cossey who claimed it was a modified NB6 to an NB8 with a 28' chute. Cossey also changed the colour from the initial report. Cossey is completely unreliable. Only one of the two back chutes was described as a Pioneer by Cossey, however packing cards describe them both as Pioneer chutes. Pioneer does make NB6's but only the chute left behind was referred to as a Pioneer. Hayden thought they were the same. Also, the packing card missing a back chute was a 24'.. NB6's are 26'.. So, for the chute Cooper used to be an NB6 then that second packing card found in the chute pocket belongs to another chute entirely.. extremely unlikely. The other thing is the chute Cooper used was Haydens' bailout chute,, Hayden was a big guy, there is no reason to believe using a 24' chute would necessarily cause severe injury or death.. Chutes of different sizes can be made to descend at the same rate... A 24' chute doesn't make a jump less survivable. 24' chutes were very common. If they were that bad they wouldn't use them. Using a 24' chute does not infer death or serious injury.

Even in a bag it it is hard to believe a bundle could make that journey, the rubber bands would have weakened/deteriorated. Problem with the 1974 dredge is that it was a suction dredge, a rubber banded bundle in or out of a bag wouldn't have made through as was found.. The 1974 dredge operation is a red herring, there was shoreline mitigation and material moved up and down the river.. The most likely scenario is that the money went into the river upstream of TBAR in Spring during a water event higher than the money find spot..