RogerRamjet

Nope, don't know that name. Peanuts was/is a guy. he was "old" when I started (maybe 40 to my 20), but I have heard he still lives... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

If you manage to come up with Peanuts' email, please let me know as I would love to say hi! ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

If you got a face full of feet, you weren't very tight... When I was on Hoopers 10-High team, we would reach around the jumper in front of us to the next jumper and get a grip for the exit run. Out the door I'd generally be looking at #8's reserve pin cover (I was 9th). Any later and Fugleburg (#10) would pass me! We took 4th of 105 teams at the Turkey meet in 75. BTW, we would do that exit out of the L-10E which has a bit smaller door than the DC-3 ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Gotcha, sorry for the confusion (though that seems more normal these days)... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Not late 74... That rig has 3-rings which didn't even arrive on Wonderhogs until late 75. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Yes, that one ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Yeah, that quote bugged me too. It is a streamer on a round for me. I had one, but it was because I tied the skirt closed on an intentional cutaway ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

This Dragon Rapide? How the heck did someone land inside the plane (without doing an intentional plane-to-plane transfer? ltdiver If I remember correctly it was a formation load and one plane got under the other. The Dragon Rapide had a fabric fusalage and and he went through it. Ouch! I believe I remember that picture. Yes, it was a formation load and the picture I saw showed the hole and a plot of the jumper strikes... The first jumper glanced off the fuselage unhurt. The second jumper went through the top of the plane right behind the cockpit and broke one or both (can't remember) wrist(s). The third jumper saw what was happening and stopped in the door. If you plot the two strikes, the third jumper would most probably have collided with the left engine. Love to see that shot again! ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I would like to see Mr D flying again. Wonder how much it would cost to fix it? Too much, I'd guess, since it's been sitting there for at least 5 years, give or take. Wanna make a small fortune? Start with a big one, restore a DC-3 and try flying for profit. Aviatin' don't pay beans. How many are willing to pay $75 for a jump outta Mr D? Does it cost more to operate an old radial powered aircraft like the DC-3 than the new turbine aircraft (serious question as I really don't know)? Without investigating, I would have thought it was cheaper... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

no idea. but I do know Mr D is still sitting lonely and broken at the Tullahoma TN airport... That is sad to hear. I made quite a number of jumps from that plane in the mid '70s. I remember one in particular where Jaybo was counting heads as we taxied into place for takeoff. 57, 58, 59, 60.... Balls to the wall guys (he yelled to the front)! I think that plane would fly with any load you could stuff into it It was also the fastest climbing DC-3 I ever rode in and the most comfortable with the side insulation still in place and an 8 speaker 8-track (yes, 8-track) sound system usually playing "Dark Side of the Moon." Did it have that loose window back then, on the left side? I jumped it a number of times in the late 90's, and I was sitting right in front of that loose window, which made a helluva racket vibrating in place. I played with it, putting my hand on and off it - BBBBB BBB BBB BBBBBB BBBB BBBBBB BBBB BBBBBB until somebody started getting pissed and tried to tell me to stop that shit. I just kept doing it. Hmmm, don't remember a loose window. I do believe there was a window over the wing that could be opened in flight. I think I took some exit shots out that window but it could have been our (Z-Hills) C-47. They would probably both have that window I suppose, just too long ago to have a clear memory of where I was when I shot those photos and I don't have them anymore to refer to. Someone should put Mr. D back in service. You don't see many these days though we do have one based at West Palm International that flys around the County regularly. Don't know who owns it or what it does here. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

That plane had three paint jobs, two of which were while I was jumping at Z-Hills. The original paint scheme was a two color (blue and white I think, but I can't really remember). Then one day I arrived at the DZ and they were stripping the plane with paint stripper. Afterwards, they polished the skin and that's the "color" it was until after I left. Later it got the rainbow scheme (and the C-47 too) you see in your picture. Not sure if they clear coated the polished plane or not, maybe Hooper will remember. I remember Jeff Searles initiating Lou Howell on flying the 196. "Take her to the back runway and do some taxiing to get a feel for her. Takeoff is just a fast taxi." Not long after Lou starting flying the plane, it lost oil pressure just after dropping a load and he dead sticked it perfectly right in front of the center. As I recall, it also had two different wings during it's career at Z-Hills. There is another thread on this aircraft in this forum somehere. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

no idea. but I do know Mr D is still sitting lonely and broken at the Tullahoma TN airport... That is sad to hear. I made quite a number of jumps from that plane in the mid '70s. I remember one in particular where Jaybo was counting heads as we taxied into place for takeoff. 57, 58, 59, 60.... Balls to the wall guys (he yelled to the front)! I think that plane would fly with any load you could stuff into it It was also the fastest climbing DC-3 I ever rode in and the most comfortable with the side insulation still in place and an 8 speaker 8-track (yes, 8-track) sound system usually playing "Dark Side of the Moon." ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Standing at far left is Dan Steiger, a naval aviator based in Jacksonville at the time, and Steve Noonan kneeling second from left. A couple of other faces are familiar but I can't put names to them. Hoop Yup, that's Dan for sure. Same jumpsuit I had for a while. On the far right I think is Billy Reevis and next to him with his back to us is probably Tony "Ferrit" Patterson, at least that looks like the Pig Rig he used to jump and it looks like his hair... Prabably no one remembers what it even was... but the pilot is "bagging" us ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Nick, 8 static lines? Not giving you a hard time, I had 9 At Z-Hills, it was 2 regular static, followed by 3 DRCP. I just could not get the exit down until Dan Steiger JMd for me and altered my exit. No problem after that... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I vote yes also. You paid your dues and stuck with it through the usual barriers (made another after 1, made more than 10, made more than 100, etc...). I did have just the active number of years in my profile for a while, but it caused more confusion than it was worth. I got questions like "how can you have such low SCR and SCS number if you've only been in the sport since 1999?" So, I figure I will always be a skydiver and should report the years in sport from my first jump. I will jump again pretty soon... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

BTW, I had a close up view of a 24' belly unmodified opening at terminal while at Z-Hills (it had a pilot chute though). I was on a two way with a young lady jumping a B4 and one of the belly warts like in your opening photo. After a high break off, I stuck around to watch her deploy. She had a floating main ripcord and could not have followed her training any better. Two attempts and straight to silver. The canopy didn't look any better than your photo coming out, but she vanished instantly when it opened I opened right away (28ft C9). Soon, she came oscillating past me and I had to turn continuously to stay near her desent speed. I kept shouting to her "feet and knees together!" She landed hard enough that I could clearly hear the thud, but PLF'ed nicely anyway and was not injured in the landing. During the walk back, I asked her about the hard landing and she said "the landing was nothing compared to the opening!" She was sore for a couple of days after that one... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

What's interesting to me is the apparent inter cell holes shown in the first drawing. My Strato Star had no such holes (just looked at several photo's of me under canopy to confirm). I had one of the first Strato Stars released to the public, so maybe it was something added later? ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Put me down for Level 2...Z-hills likewise. Damn...probably packed mine. NOW I'm scared! I was dumb and stupid then (no comments about now, please). Probably depends on the year. I started coming out to Z-Hills with my brother in late 72, but could not jump due to the legal age being 21 and me being 20 (and my parents saying "not a chance"). So, while I was watching my brother jump every weekend, I started learning to rig. On July 1st, 1973, Florida lowered the legal age to 18 and I made my first jump that day. Started packing T-10s not long after and was the primary rigger there through most of 74. I had a conversation with Hooper a while back about that T10 system. With the direct bag and break tape, it was VERY reliable. We never had a static line malfunction with the T10 and of course no matter how hard a student "hooked it in," they couldn't really hurt themselves. I guess you couldn't use them today though since no one remembers how to spot ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

It is clearly time to begin issuing dropzone.com OFRs (Old Fart Ratings). For the purpose of this exercise, after viewing the attached, you get: -One rating point if you recognize/have seen it on a reserve; -Two if you have jumped a reserve so labeled; -Five if you have trained/put out students with such reserves, or packed them. (Points are not cumulative; if you're eligible for 5, it's assumed you have the skills associated with the 1 and 2-point levels.) I am now at OFR point level 5. HW I am level 5 as well. We used the T-10 system at Z-Hills with no pilot chute reserves. Probably a good thing since most of the static line rigs there had 2 shot capewells. I packed them as well... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

If that's Carl on the bottom, I can see why he walked away. Feet and knees together! (and hit the tin roof of course) ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

We also had a 100 jump minimum for squares at Z-Hills in those days (I started in 73). We didn't have any club squares, but several locals owned nearly every type square there was and I jumped them all. My nickname was Roger Ramair for a while until Roger Nelson stuck Ramjet on me... I don't remember the Cloud being all that hard, but all the squares took more steering pressure than the rounds it seemed. The Strato Star had a much lighter steering pressure than the Cloud or Plane. I think the original Sled I jumped was pretty light compared to the Cloud/Plane as well. As for releases, most of gear I borrowed for my square jumps had shot and a halfs except Billy Revis' gear which had One Shots like my own gear. I liked One Shots and would still jump them today without hesitation. Switching between Shot and a Half and One Shots systems a lot could certainly bring a surprise at cutaway time though I think I'd prefer the "too quick" to the "why haven't I cutaway yet" reaction

I think it was cotton clothesline, not nylon. Wouldn't nylon burn nylon? But I could be wrong. HW Yes, it was cotton (or certainly not nylon). 60 feet sounds about right. The burns were a result of pulling some of the fabric through the rings during deployment. I got the first (I think) Strato Star delivered in Florida. Booth had ordered it for another jumper who didn't happen to have the funds when it arrived and I had just destroyed my cheapo with a lineover. Bill and I, with a phone call to the manufacturer, figured out how to pack it on the front lawn and I jumped it that weekend. The softest openings of anything I ever jumped, if a bit slow compared to the cheapo or PC of the time. The slider made it more like a PC opening and probably removed nearly all the remaining reasons for a mal. I always thought a properly tuned, properly packed, slider equipped Strato Star would open every time. Mine certainly did for the 650 jumps I put on it. The older top rings and ropes setup on the para plane and cloud did not have enough leverage to slow the openings at terminal enough and that's why the bags had a collar (went around the suspension lines) that was set differently for sub-terminal vs. terminal openings. Whoa to the jumper who ignored that setting. Take a terminally reefed cloud on a hop and pop and you have a bag lock. Take a sub terminally reefed cloud terminal and visit the hospital... I never saw anyone jump a strato star without any reefing as mentioned earlier in the thread though. I would think you would not do that more than once... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Ok, I was just re-reading this thread and came across your post. I was with the Z-Hills Loadstar at the Richmond Boogie in 1975. I don't think it went back up in 76, but I don't know that it didn't either. Now, I think you and I HAVE met (contrary to our previous PM's).

Hmmm, I thought our (I built the first Wonderhogs for Booth) rig's competition was Handbury in CA, Buchmann Eagle in IL, and JumpShack SST in MI. I can see where CA jumpers might have thought the Wonderhog and SST were "So East Coast," but not "So Florida." ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Hi Hoop, Never tried the 4 line release though I saw it. I did shortline my C9 and also used a pull down center line (idea taken from Dan Steiger). When I got it, it had a long sleeve with it. Later I made a short sleeve and then finally a bag. Actually several different bags, the last one being made of cotton. When I had my line over on it, I got a Strato Star from Booth who had gotten it in for someone else who didn't have the money to pick it up. I believe it was one of the first in Florida. Never jumped a round again (though I would for fun). I see all the current guys and gals cringing about round jumps while we didn't think twice about it and in fact cringed about square jumps. In those days, it was the squares that opened hard or not at all and the PC was king. Those without funds jumped the cheapos. I was told when I wanted to jump the squares that were around Z-Hills then that I'd be cutting away very soon. I also had to wait until I had 100 jumps. Funny thing is that I jumped every square on the DZ at least once (Sled, Foil, Para Plane, Cloud, and one other I can't remember the name of) and never had a mal. Never had one in the 650 jumps I put on my Strato Star either. I always believed that a properly tuned, properly packed, slider equipped Strato Star would open every time (and mine did too). That canopy altered the state of skydiving in my opinion. It made squares on RW jumps the norm. I never saw your highly modifed 26' Navy, but I sure would have liked to try it! ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519