JerryBaumchen

Hi Mick, The guy who died with Wildes was Terry Dean. He was originally from this part of the world and I was on many a load with him. A very nice guy, IMO. Jerry

Hi drjump, Of course, this now begs the question: How many of us have been hurt because of hitting the door opening in these type of speed exits? I'll go first on the list. Jerry

Hi steve1, Looks like a few of the old Ward-Vene jumpsuits in that photo. Terry Ward died in the Beech that went in on takeoff at Taft, don't remember the time frame though. Also, cannot remember the name of the pilot/owner. Jerry

Hi Ron, Back in the '60's I did one with this configuration. I was testing a AAD for a piggyback system that I had built and 'needed' to get an actual in-the-air test under my belt. I used a set of removeable D-rings (I think they may still be in the Para-Gear catalog). I just slipped them under the main lift web, snapped the chest strap on and tied it down by going behind my back & under the rig (at my back). This was a VERY poor setup and I knew that if I had a total and had to use the chest pack under those conditions I would probably be pretty bruised, lose some teeth, etc. I wrote to PCA about doing it and Heaton about had a fit. He wrote back with all kinds of rules, reasons, etc why I could not do it. I did it anyway and it went very well. A unique feeling to be doing it intentionally; can anyone say 'pucker factor?'. Later, when I had to do it for real it was like merely going from A to B to C . . . . BTW, the main that I chopped from was an old military C-8; ever heard of one of them? Jerry PS) I sent you two photos of the Strong 3-canopy rig; hope that you get them.

Hi pchapman, It is NOT a spread of line length dimensions. The lines on the front of the canopy are longer because the skirt actually is higher up at the front. This was to let more air into the canopy when inflated. Jerry

Hi lawrocket, I liked the write-up. My son is an attorney; I'll send your OP on to him. I just finished A CIVIL ACTION, the book (saw the movie). Great read; I couldn't put it down. Jerry

Hi kkeenan, The last set of risers I built for myself (black mini risers) I put a very small piece of T-3 in silver 'sticking out' just where the confluence wrap is above the grommet. I just caught the T-3 in the end of the confluence wrap so it only stuck out about 1/8". This allowed me to easily know which side went where. The next time you (or anyone) buys a set of risers, you might ask if they could do something like this for you. Then, of course, always remember that silver (or whatever color) always goes to the outside. Jerry PS) Just trying to stay ahead of the problems. Now what was that Bill Booth premise???????

Hi steve1, Welcome to the club. I just had Sparky post a photo because I'm lost. I doubt that you would have jumped in Mac, it's really too big. Might it have been the Flying M? That is a small airport built around an attempt at a resort. A lot of jumps were made into there. Jerry

Hi Sparky, Also, things happen very fast. I was sitting in the seat you are looking at. Jerry PS) Hope the photo comes through.

Hi Sparky, One caveat to your calculations: back when I was a young rigger (yes, Sparky; just after they discovered dirt) and doing some very crude harness designing, an old rigger out here on the west coast by the name of Eddie Brown helped/taught me a lot. He always said to reduce your calculations by 15% because of thread damage as it goes through the sewing machine. I always have and I always will. I use the assumption that the thread is the cheapest item in a rig. Jerry PS) A nice explanation; there is hope for you.

Hi herpster, This is the one that made a lot of us take a long deep breath about just what we were doing. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first fatality with a clean cutaway and pilot chute reserve deployment. We had always subscribed to 'clean cutaway and pilot chute on the reserve' and you're home free. As I remember, a few folks stopped jumping after this one. Jerry

Hi steve1, Elevator (Gary Olson) now owns an airplane repair facility on the MacMinnville airport. The last time I saw Jack D he was racing cars (this was maybe 10 yrs ago, he has known to post here in the past); he was racing a Datsun 510 as I recall. I think he just got frustrated with the whole skydiving thing. Jerry

Hi darkwing, Well, Randy is in the blue jumpsuit. Next to him is Marty Scott & then Larry Kelley. Standing next to the pilot (in black) is Nancy Scott. The others, well the old memory just ain't that good. Jerry

Hi Sparky, You and a lot of us; we could sell tickets to see it and make a bundle of dough. rigger-john & riggermick, I was just speculating; IMO there is not enough info to know. I have looked and looked at those photos and I am lost on how it was constructed. If your observations are true, I just cannot see a failure unless the thread was substandard. Two or three more photos would be nice, Jerry PS) Sparky, I've seen worse damage. I'll tell you about it some time.

Randy, You should put up some of the photos from that album about Sheridan that you have. Also, YOU were supposed to make me a copy of that. Remember??????? Jerry Ah, those were days; a 'No Rules' dz.

Hi tetra, You might try Andy & Bax in Portland. They sell a lot of whitewater rafting stuff & may have something you could use. Jerry

Hi rigger_john & riggerrob, As always, I wish the photos showed more. What I have trouble with is the stitch pattern above the 3-ring stitch pattern. To me, the 'normal' harness does not have any sewing above the 3-ring stitching except for the reserve loops. By this I mean: 1. There is a MLW coming up from below the 3-ring stitching, the chest strap stitching & the leg junction stitching. This would be different for a ringed harness; this does not look like a ringed harness. 2. The reserves risers are formed from the MLW and an additional piece of webbing (for the 2nd reserve riser loop). 3. Then another piece of webbing that is the diagonal back strap. This then gets all stitched up at the 3-ring junction. This configuration allows the user to hang from the 3-ring stitching when the reserve is used. Hold on a moment. I just looked the photos again and (to me) it looks as though the 2nd reserve riser was stitched onto the front reserve riser and the diagonal backstrap above the 3-ring stitching. This possibly being the rear riser's only point of installation. Consider the loading for this configuration. It is a stitch pattern that would be improperly loaded upon deployment. By this I mean, that the upper end of this stitch pattern, above the 3-ring stitch pattern would be loaded just 4 stitches at a time because the risers are trying to pull themselves away from the diagonal backstrap. This results in this stitch pattern just peeling away, stitch by stitch. Or maybe I need new glasses and have no idea of what I am seeing. What do you guys think? Jerry

Hi Sparky, We are getting into definitions here; but that is OK. I, 100% know, it is not transferrable; to another person or to another location. The location refers to transferring to another location. This is sort of like the Minor Change; everything is done as a Minor Change and never as a Major Change. Ergo, one never 'transfers' a TSO-authorization. You can sell the company that holds the TSO, you can relocate the company that holds the TSO; these things are available to the TSO holder. VSE's Infinity was originally TSO'd by (company owner) Larry Chernis (sp?), then Kelly bought it (the company), then he relocated it (the company) to Puyallup, and he is currently in the process of relocating it (the company) to Bend, OR. I just talked to him yesterday about this very issue. The real trick is never mention the word 'transfer' to an FAA-type; they get all excited and start spouting regs that even they know little of. We should never live in fear of the FAA. From my experience, their thing is all about paperwork and is it in order, is it consistent, etc. Also (I got thinking about this last night), if they were to come in and demand that I run some testing, I would ask that they put the request in writing. I would then present them with an estimate of what the testing will cost and inform them that I will be submitting a claim to them for all costs associated with this testing. I will bet you $5.00 to a stale doughnut that they would retract their demand. Last fall I got a letter from my ACO informing me that I had to submit any Minor Change(s) within six months of the change being effective. I called the FAA-type up and said that I did not see anything in any FAR that gave them the authority to impose this req'ment on me or anyone else. She agreed that the FAA lacks such authority and said that they would like these things within a six-month period. I was very courteous but firm with her. Lastly, these are my thoughts based upon my personal experience with the FAA as regards TSO's (26 yrs of dealing with them) and my 30 yrs of employment by the federal gov't. Others may disagree with me; it is OK with me if someone does. I hope this helps you understand this; I know it can be very confusing. Give me a call if you would like to discuss it some more or remember it for Reno (it was Grey Goose, right?), Jerry

Hi Jerome, Thanks for the correction. Glad to hear from the jumper's mouth, Jerry

Hi Rob, Not to keep beating this thing but . . . . 1. I do not work for the FAA and cannot interpret their regs; they are the only ones with that authority. 2. I've relocated a number of times. The facility inspection (in my experience) is done by someone from the MIDO, not the ACO. I've always consider this facility inspection nonsense. Here, you've built a parachute (complete or component), tested it, and the ACO has determined that your QC manual and Test Report are acceptable. Now along comes some guy from the MIDO who wants to look over your facility to 'see if you can make a parachute there.' That's nuts in my book, you just did it. One thing about an FAR, it ties the builder's hands and it ties the FAA's hands. They do not have any authority to just make someone test. They need a very sustantiated reason. Now, given that, if they turn their General Counsel on you, you might want to think about whatever it is they are asking. The way I 'heard' it Ray was trying to do too much of a change at one time. Or maybe someone had it in for him. I do not know the details. I still do not see anything in the TSO FAR's about any testing being req'd if a facility is moved. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. That is unless I'm wrong. Jerry PS) I also donate to my Congressman and both Senators every election. hee hee

Hi Sparky, The way I 'heard' it, during a practice jump (before the actual money jump) at the '88 Seoul Olympics, one of them had a mal and ended up landing a reserve in the midst of some parade or some such thing. I heard the officials were crapping their drawers worrying about it happening when the jump was for real. Or maybe it was just a rumor, Jerry

Hi Rob, You keep doing posts like this one and I'll begin to think you know what you are talking about. What is it you do? hee hee However, I see nothing that connects any relocation with additional testing. An inspection of the facilities; yes. There is nothing in any FAA document relating to that that I know of (but I do not know of all FAA documens, for sure). A number of TSO-holders in the NW have relocated many times with no retesting. ParaPhernalia has relocated maybe 4 times, maybe more since Classen first started it up; were you with them during any relocation? Just asking, not being negative. Jerry

Hi Tink, In '64 when the CrossBow came out, you could order it in a 'mirror image' configuration; two guys on my dz at the time did. Now saying that, I have not inquired/polled/etc any of the current 'big boys' but would think that they might be willing to build a 'mirror image' rig.' As for the write-up; yup, I also think he is somewhat misspoken. Jerry

Hi agent_lead, My thoughts: You will never see skydiving in the Olympics in your lifetime. Their effort is on sports that do not need 'devices' and an airplane definitely qualifies. There has been a horrendous amount of effort at the international level to get skydiving in the Olympics and it is no closer than it was 25 yrs ago. Jerry

Hey Sparky, This reminds me of when I qualified for SCS. I entered 8th (or later, who remembers?) in a somewhat complicated formation (not a round star). So I send in the info & $$$$. Then I get this letter back on their letterhead about how I did not qualify because it was not a round star. Whoa, got my dander up and I sent back a blistering letter about how much more difficult it was in getting to 'your' slot rather than just anywhere on a 7-way star. Got a reply back from Bill about how his teenage daughter had written to me because he was out of town and she was not aware of the changes. I felt really crummy about giving her such a bad time in my letter. I hope that she grew up without any trauma over it. Jerry