FLYJACK

Gregory went to the lav 10 minutes before the announcement that there would be a landing delay for Seattle..

Is somebody going to present the updated parachute info at CooperCon?? I hope so..

Boy Scouts were trained in parachuting... I did not know that.

The knapsack,, Why didn't he demand one after he received the money.. He was confident in his skills for securing up the money bag.. that tells us something about Cooper. His confidence in securing the money overcame the riskier option of waiting for and receiving a knapsack. He wasn't some average guy, he had some skills. Those rope tying and survival skills are learned in the military.

One thing that has always bugged me.. The hijacker's first note and the one written by Flo,, were asked for and returned to him.. Later, the destination demand and plane configuration was conveyed through Tina.. it implies that was via the inter-phone only... So, Cooper tells Tina, she has to understand, she tells the cockpit and they have to understand... That demand could have been easily been miscommunicated going between the three parties, not exactly what Cooper actually wanted.

Welcome to the Vortex,, you can check out but you can never leave.. I always read that as MISS printed the rest written cursive. We don't even know if the text was accurate.. it was recall.. so we have a few versions. Cockpit note.. slightly different. Another version.

I found lots of images of radiosonde weather balloons,, the balloon is usually white and the recovery chute all orange but it is very small.. looks more like a toy.. But, maybe they changed over the years.. IDK

There are orange and white military chutes.. Another rejected by Cossey for being 24'..

There was a chute found in the South Fork Lewis between the Heisson Bridge and Lucia Falls,, about a mile from the Heisson store. Approx. 4-5 mile drift from the FP at 8:13.. The River has big floods.. The chute was never looked at because it was described as orange and white... Cossey claimed the chute was all white.. but his description was unreliable. Its proximity to Heisson store and FP make it interesting.. and railroad tracks follow the River there and go past Heisson store..

It is a 26' footer in a 24' container.

Beyond speculation we can't know why he chose one over the other... The BIG takeaway is that the FBI was looking for the wrong chute based on Cossey's false description.. There were many chutes found and rejected based on Cossey's description, one I think is particularly interesting is one found in the South Fork Lewis a mile from the Heisson store..

The card for Hayden's chute says 26' and was repacked twice after he got it back,, That card was originally written by Cossey. May 1971

If Cooper was on an Aircrew or loadmaster etc.. in WW2 or Korea and had parachute training, even wore a chute.. was familiar with a 24' but never actually bailed... He would have a different perspective. It wouldn't really matter, the difference between 24 and 26 footer would not be as significant to him as to a very experienced jumper.. I think this has to be looked at through the lens of Cooper which is completely different.. I see Cooper as somebody with some military parachute training.. but not a jumper.. he may never have jumped outside of basic training.

The chutes had pockets which were labelled... if you were given a random chute to use imminently it isn't unreasonable to think to check the data and the seal. Checking the seal is part of the training. In Cooper's case he was comparing the two chutes. The only real differences on the card were age and size.. Maybe he was only checking the packing date.. The 26' returned to Hayden was cotton and had some signs of wear, noted in 1971, maybe that played a role in the selection. It is all speculation.

Here is a WW2 log book and a "Parachute inspection and drop test card"

Here is a WW2 inspection card for a seat bailout rig... kept in the chute pocket https://www.lux-military-antiques.com/en/p/usaaf-an-6510-1-seat-pack-parachute-dated-1942.htm and WW2 pilot training chute cards... https://www.ebay.com/itm/384252693681

I think the Chaucer's source was technically correct.. "packing cards" was a civilian thing.. however, military used a "data and inspection card" at least other than paratroopers.. all the bailout rigs have the pocket for it. They just had a different name... but there was a data card in the chute pocket. The reasons I lean to military experience... Cooper had aviation knowledge and combined wth his age he was likely in the military back to WW2... Most guys that age were in the military.. and got aviation experience in the military. In WW2 they used the term front and back chute,,, not sure when they stopped but that is military terminology,, a civilian jumper would have used mains and reserve.. also, sport jumping was fairly new at that time and they were much younger. There were not really 49 year old civilian jumpers then, If Cooper had no military experience and he was given a bailout rig he was unfamiliar with he would have checked the instructions. So, IMO he had some military parachute training, likely aviation related not a paratrooper, he may have done a civilian jump or two to brush up as his training could have been a while back. Also, I don't think there is necessarily a significant difference in functionality between 24 and 26 foot chutes as people make it out to be,,, The 26 ft container was originally a 24 ft,, and 24 was more common in WW2.. Also, chutes of different sizes can have the same descent rate.. Cossey "claimed" he made them the same descent rate. FWW If, for example Cooper was in WW2 and had a 24' rig,, he wouldn't worry about using it..

I don't think he was a paratrooper.. He thought they were coming from McChord because he was given wrong info by Tina.. The pilots gave her bad info.. But, he asked for fronts and backs which is military nomenclature.. and an inexperienced jumper using an old military bailout rig would not reject instructions.. he was familiar and confident using that type of rig.

The label on the pocket could have prompted him look in the pocket,, but unlikely. He had some experience and would know there was a data card. but Tina claimed he inspected the chute, he didn't want the instructions, put the chute on easily and used the term front and back chute which is WW2 era plus.. not civilian. That indicates to me some military experience, not necessarily a static paratrooper, but some other experience. I remember seeing military cards in the pockets, maybe there weren't called "packing cards"..

Maybe it is terminology,, obviously military chutes come with pockets that say something like "inspection data"... and "packing cards" are a civilian term.. IDK

It is 1971, those pockets fit a small flat piece of cardboard.. nobody would expect a tracker to be in there with an antenna and battery.... silly. Maybe in the chute.. that is why I think he tossed the dummy, it appeared to be tampered with and no seal,, he may have suspected a tracker... the other 3 had seals.

No way the pockets are too tight and small for a tracker... and it says "inspection and packing data" right on the pocket. I am sure I have seen "packing cards" or" inspection cards" for military chutes... The one returned to Hayden had the pocket for it. These also have the pockets and what appears to be logs and cards.. something went in those pockets. http://www.303rdbg.com/uniforms-gear7.html This is Haydens chute,, what was the pocket for?? No way a tracker could be in there.

Might be helpful to know which groups did use packing cards... I really have no idea...

Maybe, he just checked for a seal and the date.. Both would get him to the ground.