Guru312

What a wonderful out come!!! I'm so glad to read about the "damage" those nut jobs will be dealing with. I am VERY thrilled for your positive outcome. It has been a pleasure reading this thread...the best part being what I read today!! I was a DZO for five years beginning in the 1960s. My problems with DZ "neighbors" wasn't noise it was landing in someone's backyard during a cook out. Everyone was jumping modified military gear with hot canopies like a double L and 7 TU modifications. Putting students out so they could hit the dropzone was always a challenge. After moving five times we finally found a home. [Being a DZO is not easy.] Again...It's really great reading about a positive outcome for you guys...and our sport. I am thrilled for you!!! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

The only thing which annoys me more than whuffo questions is a group of skydivers highjacking a thread to argue semantics and grammar. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Nor did we have AAD's

As you can see from my time in the sport I've been around. My jump numbers reflect being a multiple-DZO, instructor and jump pilot. I don't have anything meaningful from a safety/training perspective to add to the discussion. But... I do want to comment on the over-all concern, thought and comments presented by everyone posting. You folks and your insightful comments underscore what a fantastic group of people parachute instructors really are. It is because of concerns like y'all voiced that our rather dangerous sport is as safe as it is. Frankly, in away, I kind of hope the person in question does read this thread. He will know--and maybe understand--how professional and dedicated total strangers feel about our sport...and him and his safety. Good job!!! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

A lot depends on the definition of notorious and famous... I had the pleasure of employing two women who flew at my drop zones who became famous and well-known in their own right. Millions of people saw the work of one, Peggy Davies, who wrote "PEPSI" a few thousand times in the sky all over the USA. See March 9 here: http://berniesayers.com/March2010.html The other, Marsha Ivins, was an astronaut on five NASA space missions. See March 10 at the above URL as well as here: https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=%22marsha+ivins%22+NASA&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 Two of the best pilots who I ever had the pleasure of jumping with. It was an honor to have them flying for me in the very early stages of their careers. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

+1 That's what I'm talking about... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I think you are correct. More than two years ago, I again eliminated myself as a suspect when I wrote the article available at the below link . On topic profundity is a scarce commodity around here; whereas unintended humor and inanity is rampant. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Excellent, Matt, you summed up this nonsense in one sentence. And... I am still not DB Cooper. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

In the words of the guy I got my riggers ticket from: "You want to make a small fortune in skydiving? Start out with a big one." All kidding aside, spend a whole bunch of time studying patents in the field using Google and the US Patent and Trademark Office website. Learn about the process of obtaining a patent and other intellectual property. Learn all the nuances of how to search on Google. Not just putting a few words into the search box. Study it! Google "steve snyder" and "Domina Jalbert". Search for their patents on the US PTO website. Study everything you can about all elements of the sport. Most important advice of all: "Don't allow your desire to "brag" about your latest invention or whizbang idea to destroy your potential intellectual property protection." In other words, study everything you can and keep your mouth shut about any ideas you come up with. Or...get your TI rating and invent when you aren't jumping. Good luck. You will need plenty of it. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Holy crap, Bill, you are older than I am!! I thought I was holding up the geriatric tent. Your best bet is the Facebook reference because her name is unusual and the page found mentions skydiver friends. That sounds like a very good possibility. There can't be too many women with that name who know skydivers down under. Good luck in your search. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

This is very sad to read. I've known John and a few of the instructors for many years. Good people and a wonderful old-time vibe to the place. I would really hate to see Crosskeys show up in Pat Moore's Lost Drop Zones Project any time soon. If anyone can get out the hole he's in, John can. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I owned a DZ in New Jersey during the time period 1969-1973 at the Woodbine Muni Airport in Woodbine, NJ. I don't remember the DZ in this question. Can some one tell me where it was...airport and town...and the period it was in operation? I flew for a number of DZs after getting out of the DZO business but this one is really a puzzle to me. Thanks! Bernie/Guru312 Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I went to the "New Jersey" section and was surprised to see the towns where two DZs that I owned were located. One entry is a typo. You have "Fiarton" which should be Fairton. When you wrote "...tell me anything about the DZ..." what kind of information are you looking for? How many words? Do you want pictures? Give us some guidelines regarding format. Maybe a page such as "Guidelines for Lost DZ Owners/Operators" would be helpful for you and for us. Great effort, Pat. Thanks. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Technically not a skydiving patch but my favorite because it was such painful, hard, dusty, dirty work to get. AIRBORNE!! All the way! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I want to congratulate Jay on a valiant attempt. I hope there is a next time. I also want to apologize to him and others reading about his attempt for interjecting my strange sense of humor into the thread. I should not have hijacked this thread for the possibility of a few chuckles. [But...my record is there for anyone who wants to break it.] Jay...I sincerely hope you give it another try. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

As one guy who attempted the most jumps in 24 hours way back in 1969... I second the awesome effort comment!! Jay, you rock!!! When I first heard about the 640 jump record all I could think was "impossible"...but he did it. And I think he can get to 700...with a little luck. When he reaches his 700 goal maybe he will want to break my current endurance jump record: Most parachuting night pukes. In 45 years no one has attempted to break my record. http://aicommand.com/regurgitation_record.htm Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I agree. I've jumped a bunch of aircraft and a Skyvan is the most fun. I have 30 or more military jumps from a C-130...not skydives. When I was in the 82nd Airborne, early '60s, none of the three skydiving clubs at Bragg where jumping 119, 123 or 130 aircraft for skydiving. Matter of fact, I don't think they ever did. WAY too expensive... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

As the first person to start making money from DB Cooper--within about a week of the hijacking-- I raise my hand. There is a BIG difference, Robert, between my method of making money from Cooper and yours. You and so many other "authors" are utilizing this thread as a free marketing platform for either your book on Cooper or some other topic. The constant bickering between you and georger, and others, is offensive. Why don't you guys man-up and have the balls to stay on topic. This the DB Cooper thread on DropZone.com not your free podium for self-aggrandizement. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

When I was flying jumpers in my Cessna 182 in the mid-70s ATC could routinely tell me when a single jumper left the plane. The ATC radar was a minimum of 12 miles away. I would guess that radar today is even more sensitive and a single jumper is discernible from a much greater distance. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Many years ago...like 45...I taught a totally blind man to make a static line jump. This was many years before tandem jumps and... before AFF was fully accepted. He did extremely well and landed closer to the target than another sighted student on the same plane. You will have a MUCH easier time than he did. I also think that given your very obvious apprehension, a tandem jump will allow you learn about yourself. That is to say: "Do you have what it takes to do the AFF program?" You can do it. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I have no idea when this paragraph was inserted into FAR 105 but... Sometime in the mid-70s, prolly '75 or '76, I piloted my Cessna 182 for a guy with a D license, I and J/M ratings and at least 500 jumps for a jump he made into Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia, PA. He jumped into the stadium carrying the ball to open the Phillies baseball season that year. The stadium was demolished about ten years ago but it was in a VERY built up section of Philadelphia with warehouses, office buildings and houses...and very few alternative landing areas. More interesting is the fact that it was in the control zone of the airport....probably less than a mile from the airport control tower. In other words, he jumped into controlled airspace. A month or so before the actual jump we did a "practice" jump for the Phillies marketing and public relations people with no one in the stands. The jumper, Pat Mulhern, of Newark, Delaware did a stand-up landing with one foot on second base. On the day of the practice jump there was almost no wind. The actual jump day had rather strong and VERY unusual winds. The flags around the rim of the stadium gave him totally conflicting visual clues on the field. With 40,000 screaming people in the stands he missed the stadium completely and landed in a parking lot with no injury and no damage to vehicles. Because there was a high-ranking FAA official in the stands, who took exception to the jump and filed a complaint. A full investigation took place. I spent lots of time and money defending my actions as the pilot in command in order to keep my commercial rating. Fortunately for me, Pat had done his homework well and had copied all local FAA general aviation offices in the area. He had touched all the required bases...so to speak. He did everything by the numbers and the FARs. But...what saved his ass and my commercial license was the comments by the tower personnel and particularly the “supervisor” of tower operations to the FAA investigator who reviewed the jump. The tower personnel defended us both and the supervisor wrote a report with all the details of first contact and transcript between me and the tower. Pat actually jumped within the controlled air space of the airport. Because of this thread, which I find quite interesting for a number of reasons, I'm going to see if I can find my file where I've stored all the details of the jump. It'll be fun reliving that jump. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Thanks for asking... and starting this thread. I've been connected in some way to jumping out of airplanes since jump school days while in the 82nd at Ft. Bragg in 1960. I don't have many jumps for all the time I've been in the sport--as a DZO, Instructor and pilot--because running a DZ is a business. Running a successful business and having fun jumping out of airplanes are impossible simultaneously. I enjoyed flying jumpers much more than teaching and jumping. The people and the life style that existed at Pelicanland in the '70s, where I did most of my flying, was magical. I haven't jumped out of an airplane for over 30 years but I'm still a skydiver and jump pilot...in my head. At 73 I doubt that I'll make many more jumps or line up my plane for a jump run. The memories I have of the jumpers who I've taught, jump mastered, and flown lifts for makes old age almost inviting. (Lots of exciting things to think about.) Jumpers have a relationship with living that whuffos will never understand. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

+2 Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

My first parachute jump was a static line jump in March of 1960 during jump-week with the 82nd Airborne. The plane was a C-119 or a C-123. The jump, one of five, was static line and the canopy was a T-10. The idea of a "modified" or steerable canopy didn't seep into military jumping until some time in the mid-1970s...maybe even later. Can anyone tell me when the Airborne units started jumping steerable canopies? I don't mean SF units I mean regular airborne. My first "skydiving" parachute jump was in June 1960 from a helicopter... can't remember the designation. The rig was a 5-gore double L canopy that I modified on a home sewing machine. Most of my military and sport jumps were onto Sicily DZ although I jumped Normandy, Salerno and Nijmegan. I also made a jump into a place called Camp Mckall which is west of Ft. Bragg. I made about three times as many military jumps as the rest of the unit. To be paid our $55 per month jump pay troopers had to jump once every 90 days. Most guys only jumped the minimum. I loved jumping so much that I volunteered to jump any time that my unit, the 82nd ABN Division Artillery was scheduled to jump. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Thanks but... I think I'm remembering why I left Yeah, me too! Bye... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper