RogerRamjet

Tuna, Hoop came up to London to spend a couple of hours with us (a 3 hour trip for him one way, thanks Hoop!). We had a great time talking about the old days and the new days. We took a taxi over to the Ritz where they shot part of KNOTTING HILL and took a couple of pictures (to be posted soon). So good to see him after all these years (about 28 or 29)! We had been planning to go back to London for some time since I was sick for two of the three days we were there in 99. This time I was able to enjoy every day as we did the hop on hop off London tour, saw Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Dover, and Greenwich on one day tour and Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath on another day tour. Throw in seeing the night life complete with Christmas lights and Hoop's visit and you have a great vacation! Hoop is looking good and he can still remember the old days as well as anyone I know. It was a pleasure hanging out in the way back machine with him for the short time we had! I'm currently reading my copy of his book and completly agree with you about the "being there" feeling his writing brings to the reader. Talk to you soon! ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I have several jumps on both a Para-Plane and Para-Cloud using the top rings and dual reef bag (one way for sub terminal, another for terminal. If you did a hop & pop with it reefed for terminal; bag lock (usually). Take a sub-terminal reefed bag to terminal; probably broken ribs. I was oh so careful with those! Rings and ropes (bottom of canopy) on the Strato-Star opened softer than my cheapo; slider opened about like a PC of the times and I much preferred it to the rings. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I only put about 50 jumps on mine with the rings and ropes and yes, you could dump in a track with that system. The slider made the openings comparable to a PC in opening time though a bit softer than the PC to me. My Strato-Star with slider opened reliably and on heading every time and I could one foot it if there was even 3mph of wind (of course I only weighed 135lbs at the time). ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Ok, over and over again in the incidents forum I read statements like "Any canopy can slam you." Is this only a recent thing or is my memory of the original RW squares (Strato-Star and 7 Cell Foil) really bad? I have more than 600 jumps on a Strato-Star and another 150 on various other squares of the mid 70's. I NEVER had a slammer opening on a Strato-Star or 7 Cell Foil. Nor do I remember anyone else ever saying they did (and I jumped at 3 of the busiest drop zones around, Z-Hills, Deland, and Hinckley). Starlight rounds, yeah!, but not my ever so reliable Strato-Star. The only hard openings I had back then were on the original Para-Plane and Para-Cloud when taken to terminal. They opened, eh, briskly. Is it that we didn't have zero-p yet, smaller squares, foil shape, or??? ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

My copy comes tomorrow and I leave for the UK on Wednesday. Hoop is coming up to visit on Sunday. Seems to be working out for my book signing

Not yet (IMO). I think you have to get past the usual barriers... come back after the 1st jump, get off student status, make more than 100 jumps. This was sort of the guage in the old days and probably still applies. See this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Skydiving_History_%26_Trivia_F21/Am_I_still_a_skydiver_P3002799/ ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Seek help or a course in aerodynamics. Can't believe anyone still believes this... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Hoop, If my copy arrives in time, I'm bringing it with so you can sign it for me. If not, the bookplate will do fine as it's still your signature and that's what counts

Were there two different sizes of the Russian PC? I jumped Billy Revis' black Russian PC a few times and I seem to recall it was 23'. I remember it landed (and opened) a little harder than a standard PC, but I stood it up each time so not that much harder (135lbs at the time). I packed it just like a regular PC using the afore mentioned "Christmas Tree" packing style. No mals... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

We had a similar thing happen a little over ten years ago here in Michigan with N100AP. On jump run a tandem student grabbed the window release handle and off it went. Not too long later a couple of drunk good ol' boys pulled up to the DZ with the window and asked if it was ours. They were with a bunch of friends having a BBQ and the window landed near them. It went right back in and off we went! Sometimes you just get lucky! hmmm, I wonder how many times something like this has happened? In 1973 in Z-Hills I was on the first load after a fatality (the first one there in many years) in the Lockheed L-10E. Shortly after takeoff there was a very loud BANG and a lot of wind inside the plane. We were already nervous being the first load after seeing someone go in, but were only a couple hundred feet in the air. Not much to do except hope we don't hit anything on the ground or stall before reaching it. We continued to climb and it turned out the hatch directly above the pilots had blown off (never to be found AFAIK). I don't know if one of the pilots was "playing" with the hatch or if it was opened previously on the ground for some reason and not secured properly or what, but it sure scared the crap out of us... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Here's another one from that flight. I was still working at the center when the first "paint job" was done. They used a chemical to strip the current paint from the aircraft. I had never seen this done before and had no idea how effective that stuff was. They had completely stripped the paint in under an hour. Then they polished the exterior surfices. I don't know if a clear coat of some sort was applied or not, but it sure was shiny. The rainbow paint job came much later. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

All these shots were before the new wing and paint job done later: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/266069808_f82259ae8b_o.jpg ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

It's not me Tuna. Maybe sitting on the wheel is Tony Patterson and to his left Billy Reevis? ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Blast Handles were quite common then and when installed properly were perfectly safe. I used one as a main ripcord handle on my B4 rig for 350 jumps and as the reserve handle on my wonderhog for a while until we moved to all plastic handles (orange PVC). ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Jon, here is a link to a shot of me in the late 70's (around 78 I think). See if you recognize me from that. http://www.dropzone.com/photos/Detailed/Personal/Left_to_right_Roger_Clark_-_Traci_Trimble_-_Greg_Baker_110879.html ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Why should we have to? I'll be back when the ad is gone... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Right Hoop Mike's just such an easy target... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Mike, A twin Beech? Where was this happening at? I have a few twin Beech jumps in Ill, but none in Fl and never saw a twin Beech at Z-Hills or Deland (except maybe for meets). ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I suspected something along those lines

Had 2 that I blame on the PC and 2 more that I blame on me ( one I thru together, the other was a capewell that came off on DC3 exit). I looked after posting this reply and felt there may be a misunderstanding. When I used the term "PC" I meant Para-Commander not Pilot Chute. While you're clearing things up, how is that you have 1900 jumps (profile) and 2000 PC jumps? ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Well, his NSCR is in fact listed as 2350 in the database... ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Just to keep things in perspective for those who are newish to skydiving, it's worth pointing out that Brian Williams was the first to enter a round star eighth, and that others did so hundreds of times before Newell started the SCS six years after Brian's accomplishment. Hoop Brian has been awarded SCS-0 and is now listed in the database that way. http://www.starcrestawards.com/ ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

I will try to post a list of the jumpers that Mike Branch, Steve Fugleberg, Jim Hooper and I can identify when we have it all. Here is what we think we have so far: 1 Peanuts 2 Rob (Muth?) 3 Glen Thornberry 4 Charlie Robinson 5 Lou Eaton 6 Walter Lambdin 7 Mike Branch 8 Hooper 9 Roger 10 Fugleberg 11 ? 12? 13 Rick Haglund 14 Mike McPhillips Second jump Walt & Charlie swap exit order 11 Don Fournier 12 Dave Holdridge 13? 14 Mike Woods 15 Billy Revis BTW. That is the L-10E Lockheed, NOT the loadstar (L-18). Edit: Changed order based on Mike Branch's post below. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Steve Fugleberg mounted an 8mm camera on the wing of the Lockheed L-10E at Z-Hills to film Jim Hooper's 10 High Bunch exit practices. Check it out: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=7741 ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

Bill jumped right on it; glad you still had the certs though he's pretty good at finding the stuff if he know approximately and your name. ----------------------- Roger "Ramjet" Clark FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519