NickDG

In the early 1970s in Hawaii at the Army's Tropic Lightning Sport Parachute Club, in addition to all branches of active duty, all retired and dependants (wives, sons & daughters) could jump from the Army's helicopters. The Marine Corps, at the time, over at the Kaneohe Marine Sport Parachute Club was limited to active duty only. The whole "military club" thing went down the drain when the first phony "gas crisis" hit . . . NickD

I give more credit to someone who takes a stand and outright resists a war they don't believe in rather than someone who "joins" and then deserts . . . NickD

Carpe_Diem, You are pretty much going to have to do what your instructor tells you, so this is aimed more at the other jumpers here . . . I've done tons of Cessna jumps, and put many static line and IAD students out of them as well. My thinking is the opposite. I don't like the hanging exit and never use it except when the student is having an extreme amount of trouble with the poised exit. The best Cessna exit, in my opinion, is from the step in a sideways fashion. In other words the student doesn't launch backwards, but just steps off to the side. After all what are we teaching here? How to fall off an airplane or how to exit an airplane? The side step exit than translates nicely into full on Cessna door exits the later Otter type large door exits. (But the door being on the opposite side seems to mess with them at first). Another thing is while most students do fine no matter the exit, the hanging exit is probably the scariest for students and a scared student is a bad student. Sometime we forget to put ourselves in the student's place. What's a ball of laughs for us, is basically, "holy shit, I'm hanging off this airplane by my fingertips," for them. And no matter how brave a face they put on. NickD

Howard, You can upload it here on DZ at http://www.dropzone.com/videos/ I submitted a few vids this morning, but they haven't been validated yet. NickD

>>Correct - and the speaker can expect his or her audience to voice their opinions too. It will do Ahm..jd good to see that ordinary Americans, not just the government, strongly oppose his policies.

This is a design that later became a t-shirt the DZO would never let us wear . . . NickD

Hey Jo, If you're still hanging in here (I hope you are) here's something I came across the other day when looking thru my stuff for something else. I searched this thread for this fellow's name and didn't get a hit, and maybe you're aware of him, but if not its just another tidbit for your files . . . This was published Sunday, February 4, 1979 in the Blade Tribune, an old San Diego area newspaper. I checked his name in FAA pilot database and saw something I've never seen attached to anyone's information before: >>FOR INFORMATION ON THIS AIRMAN'S CERTIFICATE YOU MUST CONTACT THE AIRMEN CERTIFICATION BRANCH TOLL FREE AT (866) 878- 2498.

Cool . . . I'm glad you enjoyed it. >>Blow-ins

I got a replacement pilot chute from McElfish many years ago. It came with this gawd awful jumbo sized mesh that had ping pong sized openings. Where they got that mesh I don't know, maybe Fredrick's of Hollywood. The snag potential was such that I was afraid to ever use it . . . NickD

Not really. I'll be directing those requests to you. NickD

Howard, I had some unexpected free time this morning so I made a DVD of the show and dropped it at the post office for you. I sent it priority mail so you should have it in a couple of days. I watched part of it as I was making the dub and enjoyed seeing it again. There's a few seconds of black screen between the two segments so don't bail out and miss the second part. Also, inadvertently, in the beginning of the DVD will be a long ago three way CRW wrap that killed a friend of mine, and the other two jumpers. I didn’t realize it was there until the dub was done. Let me know who's who in the show, as I've always wondered . . . Enjoy! NickD

I can transfer it to a DVD for you, if you are sure it's the right one. In the film there is a sequence showing the Instructor during the FJC. He's tall, lanky, and has longish dark hair (didn't we all). He also plays a tune on the guitar and sings later in the show. Is that you? NickD

While of course the were exceptions to woman being in the sport "back in the day" I have a film from the late sixties from the TV show "American Sportsman." It focused on a Ten Man team and a few first jump students and was probably filmed at Orange. Watching it today is like sitting through "Reefer Madness" from the fifties. The only woman portrayed in the film are basically girlfriends. And what was funny is their claiming, "We don't just hang around," is proven by the fact they met their men in the peas and carried in their front mounted reserves and helmets. In the military club I was in there were absolutely no woman jumpers and the clubhouse, at least at night, was a place to get away from the wives and girlfriends. In fact I didn’t see a woman jumper until I came to So Cal in the early 70s. That first day I sat next to jennie McCombs in the DC-3 on the way to altitude and to this day woman jumpers sort of frighten me . . . NickD

That's right - and there was resistance to the Sleeve from American jumpers. Jacque was insisting on their use at some early meet and wasn't it Lyle Cameron who said, "Sure I have a sleeve; I have one on this arm, and one on this arm." And while the Sleeve did its job at the time, its true usefulness was later usurped by diapers and other "hold the skirt closed and let the lines go first" type devices. I'd imagine most of us here made all our early jumps with Sleeves, and maybe later PODS, but what I miss the most about those days was the excuse to ask a pretty girl to hold tension for me. That was the best pick up line in the world . . . NickD

I met Jacques Istel a few times over the years when he'd stop by Lake Elsinore. The last time was hysterical. I'd just driven up to work one morning and saw him talking to the male half of the husband & wife team that was running the DZ at the time. As I walked over I realized the DZO had no clue who he was talking to and was actually trying to sell him a tandem jump. Jacque was playing along with, "What if zee parachute she dizz not open?" And on it went until I couldn't help but bust out laughing. When the DZO looked at me and said, "What?" I said, "You dope, you're trying to sell bootleg whiskey to Al Capone . . ." Jacque brought "controlled" freefall to the U.S. from France. While jumpers here were basically tumbling around out of control the French were already doing stable delays, turns, and back and front loops. Jacque took note of this when he visited France for a mid-fifties parachute meet. >> and spoting as we called it was a critical skill before the squares came out..

You guys are so full of yourselves I want to puke up the Constitution. You're all such a bunch of fucking heroes! I joined the Marine Corps because I was drafted into the Army at 18 in 1971 . . . And I didn’t want to be a dogface. My generation carried the water when Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines were shit on by everybody. So PA removed by slotperfect NickD BASE 194

>>Isn't that exactly what this forum is for? Pray tell.

I'm not sure it was designed purely for the military market. I do know it was marketed to civilians as a twin without the problems of asymmetrical thrust, like traditional twins exhibit, should an engine fail. But, like most novel things in aviation they invented a new problem . . . On takeoff, depending on how it was loaded, it wouldn't climb well, or sometimes not at all, with the rear engine out. This caused two issues. I've taxied a 337 around just on the front engine when working on one, and sometimes a pilot will do the same intending to start the rear engine in the run-up area. But sitting in the cockpit you get the "impression" you're in a single engine aircraft and someone new to the aircraft could simply forget to start the other engine. Another issue is if the rear engine fails on the take off roll the pilot might notice it and continue on into the airport fence. Due to all this Cessna changed to T/O procedure by saying you must advance the rear engine first, to ensure it was running, and then bring up the front engine . . . NickD

>>Oh...ya better get a carry permit for that thumb.

>>Hey Jumpin' Jews!

>>lol, someone's bitter. Guess what dude, all corporate sponsorship is in the effort to sell their "slop". Get over it.

>>We can not use a cutaway system for flags in Sweden.

As a former Marine it's always seemed to me in the Army if you take a crap in the woods they have a patch or device for it . . . NickD

>>AFF is a breeze to pass it. I only know a few people who actually had to repeate a level or two.

Its merely a polite way of saying, "I know you don't really understand what I'm talking about . . ." NickD