davidlayne

A pig in a pokeski? I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Excellent picture! I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Blue Skies Mike. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I miss my son James so much, never a day goes by that I don't think of him. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Skybill wrote, "Subsequently where the guy hammered, they just covered him up with the canopy, hence like from the old song,"His canopy became his shroud!!" Sounds like a shroud line to me. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk7jNGXEzJI I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I have video of the jump, if only I could find it. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Chet Poland died in 1992, I don't know how many jumps he had. I had the misfortune to run over and kill Chet's dog Suzie at Xenia Ohio. This must have beem circa 1986. Chet had another dog called Suzie but he always carried the ashes of Suzie Mark 1 in his van. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Skyjack, Jerry Bird, Shoobi Knutson, Peter Gannaw, Eric Bradley, Sox (John Rostoks) are the ones that I remember from my small number of visits. Oh yeah, and some crazy guy named Scotty Carbone Don't forget Bob Harman. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I know where there are a bunch of kicker plates, perhaps two dozen. Also about twenty B4 containers, an assortmaent of old rounds and early squares and pounds and pounds of hardware. Is there a market for this stuff? I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Yeah, and if that deaf and dumb idiot hadn't biffed in on a low turn and splattered you with mud, it woulda been better! I still can't believe that SOB lived, much less only suffered a broken orbital bone and a concussion. The concrete tarmac was only 6 or 7 feet away from the divots he made. I saw that. I have never seen anyone hit so hard and live. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

That would be 2004, I still have a bottle of Champagne that was made for that boogie. "2004 Gold Coast Skydivers Mardi Graz Boogie. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

That's what I thought, World War 1 French, as worn in the trenches. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/6753780/Earl-Cooley.html Earl Cooley, who died on November 10 aged 98, was the first of America's "smokejumpers" – forest firefighters who parachute into inaccessible areas to tackle blazes before they rage out of control; 70 years after his pioneering mission, smokejumpers are now regarded as firefighting's elite, and the practice is credited with saving tens of thousands of acres and millions of dollars each year. Candidates for smokejumping are today required to pass rigorous physical examinations and undergo years of training. But when, on July 12 1940, Earl Cooley stood ready to jump from a small TriMotor aeroplane as it buzzed at 1,500ft over Martin Creek in the Nez Perce National Forest, Idaho, procedures were altogether more improvised. "Our training consisted of a man saying: 'This is your parachute. You know what fire is. We jump tomorrow'," he recalled later. Such rudimentary preparation seemed to invite disaster – and it duly arrived, as the lines of Cooley's parachute got tangled and it failed to open properly. His fall was, however, cushioned by the upper branches of a spruce tree and he – and the art of smokejumping – survived. Dusting himself down, he and his partner, Rufus Robinson, located the equipment and provisions that had been dropped in their wake, and made their way to the fire. Over the next 12 hours they successfully put it out. Dousing the flames solely with water was not feasible for the lightly-loaded smokejumpers, but several other tactics were at their disposal. These included chopping down trees to create firebreaks, digging trenches, and starting controlled fires to deprive the wildfire of fuel. In this way conflagrations could be corralled before they exploded into blazes that stretched over hundreds of acres. All such techniques were second nature to Cooley, who had spent almost his entire existence out of doors. Indeed, to him and his fellow firefighters, the challenges and dangers of quelling flames, once safely on terra firma, were completely normal. It was the parachuting that was new, though Cooley came to relish the thrill (after the breathtaking jerk of the 'chute opening) of floating gently towards the smoke. In a dangerous job, adding an extra element of risk carried with it a certain perverse kudos, and he enjoyed recounting the assessment of one forester: "The best information I can get from fliers is that all parachute jumpers are more or less crazy – just a little bit unbalanced, otherwise they wouldn't be engaged in such a hazardous undertaking." He was born Earl Everett Cooley on September 25 1911 to parents who led a simple life on the land at Hardin, Montana. One of 11 children, he went to school until he was 12 before being summoned away to help with family farming and hunting duties. He had a particular love of stalking elk and deer and returned to Corvallis High School only in time to graduate aged 19. His outdoor upbringing made him a natural candidate for the US Forest Service, which he joined in 1937, graduating from the forestry school at the University of Montana four years later. By then he had made his pioneering jump, and smokejumping was becoming an accepted technique to tackle fires which broke out far from roads or trails. Depending on the skills of the pilot and the weather conditions, the smokejumpers would jump from between 1,200 and 2,000ft, aiming to get a good "read" of the fire as they circled overhead. Those next to Cooley in the plane were often men he had trained himself, and included Quakers and, during the war, conscientious objectors who sought non-combat service. Cooley himself was regarded as an expert at locating safe "dropzones" from which the jumpers could hike to the fire. Sprained ankles and the odd broken bone were standard fare. But Cooley was proud that in the early years, despite its apparent dangers, smokejumping had not claimed a single life. That all changed on August 4 1949, when a lightning storm passed over the Helena National Forest, Montana. In view of the dry weather, the Forest Service had rated the fire threat as "explosive". The following day three small fires were spotted at noon and it was decided that a team would be sent in. Cooley was not to be one of the jumpers, but it was his job to choose a safe landing spot. Despite heavy turbulence, the team made it to a place he had identified known as Mann Gulch – a cleft in the land which shielded them from the fire – by 4pm. Their two-way radio, however, had been destroyed after its 'chute failed to open. A few minutes later, and against all Cooley's expectations, the wind changed direction and the fire leapt across the gully – trapping the men. The 16-strong team retreated as fast as it could, dropping gear and fleeing, but the pace of the 50ft flames, which covered 3,000 acres in 10 minutes, outstripped the men. The crew's foreman, R Wagner "Wag" Dodge, knew then that running was useless, and told his team to stop. He lit a new fire, as a break, in front of him. Two others, Walter Rumsey and Robert Sallee, found a nook in which to shelter. The others continued to run from the flames, then just 100 yards away. Dodge, Rumsey and Sallee were the only survivors. The event profoundly marked the Forest Service – and Cooley, who was initially plagued by fears that he had made an error in choosing the drop zone. But an inquiry cleared him. "I am sure I did the right thing that day, but I still look at that map and have thought about it every day since then," he said 45 years after the event. Mann Gulch remains the most lethal disaster to have struck smokejumpers on active service. In a later simulation, the Forest Service was unable to reproduce the unique conditions which allowed the flames to cross the gully and kill the jumpers. Cooley's own career as a smokejumper lasted 22 years, during which he was a district ranger in the Nez Perce National Forest. He was named smokejumper base superintendent in Missoula, Montana, in 1958. There he recruited, trained, and dispatched some 150 smokejumpers wherever they were needed. "He was always friendly and helpful and put up with a lot," noted Tom Kovalicky, who was a jumper at the time. "Smokejumpers had a playful streak and liked a drink, which kept Earl on his toes." Cooley became an equipment specialist in 1971 before leaving the service in 1975. In retirement Cooley, an easy-going but hands-on manager who commanded respect from his fellows, founded the National Smokejumper Association and was its first president. "Like a lot of us he loved the excitement and the difficulty of becoming a smokejumper," said the current president John Twiss. Today, such demands mean there are still only a few hundred active smokejumpers. Last year they made 1,432 jumps for the Forest Service. "They're viewed within the community as unique – the special forces of firefighting," said Twiss. Earl Cooley is survived by Irene, his wife of 68 years, and five daughters. After the Mann Gulch fire he made crosses for the dead men and installed one where each had died. He continued to make the steep climb to maintain them until a few years before his death. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

In this case it would be the area alongside a road, the portion beyond the curb. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...l-1367928.html Jet passenger tells of fall from 3,000ft: Ejector-seat malfunctioned during victory roll. 5 April 1994. A MAN walked out of hospital yesterday 24 hours after he was catapulted from an aircraft at 3,000ft. Des Moloney, 28, was upside down during a 240mph victory roll when the ejector seat in his brother's Provost jet trainer malfunctioned and threw him out of the aircraft. Then his parachute failed to open fully. Despite landing heavily on a verge outside a Sainsbury's store in Colchester, Essex, he sustained only minor injuries. Before leaving hospital yesterday, Mr Moloney, wearing a neck brace, said: 'I knew I was in big trouble because I was not in the aeroplane, which was a bit of a shock.' He added: 'There was a kind of jolt. I felt the ejection seat move through the canopy. I was in the seat for a few seconds then I was away from the seat and I was free falling. 'I thought to myself, 'I don't want to really deal with this'. I reached for the ripcord and pulled it. The parachute opened. That was good. It was then I actually got my bearings. I could see the ground, I could see cars. 'Unfortunately the bottom strap of the harness of the parachute came unattached and the harness increasingly pushed up and it was quite scary as I couldn't breath after a while. The last 20 seconds I couldn't breath at all. I hit the ground quite well - no problems there - then a 14-year-old boy came over and asked me for my parachute.' Mr Moloney, who had never made a parachute landing before, now plans to celebrate with 'an Easter egg and a few beers'. His brother, Tom, 31, who was at the controls of the two-seater when the accident happened, circled for several minutes to try to spot his brother. He said: 'Flying around in the air space with a huge hole; my brother's gone, the seat's gone, everything's gone.' He landed the jet 20 miles away at North Weald airport after putting out an emergency call. He said: 'I had honestly thought I was never going to see him again . . . when I found out that he was alive, I just couldn't believe it.' He said that when the brothers, both from Chobham in Surrey, were reunited, 'we kissed each other like real men and cried. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Why is it when your wife becomes pregnant, all her female friends rub her tummy and say"congratulations." But none of them rub your dick and say "well done"'? I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Me either; and like you I have been around a long time. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Below is a picture of the aircraft in question with Herman Rheinhart demonstrating how he exited. Gary Thompson the aircraft owner was doing a "tour" of the United States and I was fortunate enough to get to jump this aircraft into my back yard when he was visiting Xenia Ohio. I understand that Gary is now deceased and the aircraft is in England. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Thanks for one who is computer challenged. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Apologies if this has been posted before but I found this interesting blog. http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot....survivors.html I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I jumped this one. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

I have a pair of brand new, never been jumped "style" French Boots if anyone is interested. I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!

Maybe I should have read your post more carefully, I presumed you were talking about the Howard. N9887H was repaired afrter the landing prang, repainted in Greene County's green and white and as you state crashed again after a demo. I cannot recall when or where but it must have been around Easter 1967. In picture #1 you can see Jimmy Schearer (I think) about to load. Picture #2 shows her languishing in a bean field. Picture #3 shows George Loudakis helping to load her onto a trailer. (George post on here but I don't recall his nickname.) I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg!