hangdiver

I guess if you have to ask which way the wind is blowing you can't see the windsock. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I lurk SC and hardly ever post here but couldn't resist this time. Junior Johnson supports Obama He is a southern folk hero, convicted moonshiner and one of the original NASCAR good ol boys. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I believe olav was given a prototype skyball to jump in 1996 for the first time. It was not his invention and owns no rights in the U.S. skyball patent "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I agree with NickDG that we have a duty to educate ourselves on the realities of history. Also the duty to search for the truth about what has really been said as opposed to what the media spins as the "truth". Although I am not a fan of any religious extremists, especially those representing their country to the rest of the world, Iran's President Ahmadinejad's statements have been widely misrepresented in the American press. Take the Mike Wallace interview, on "60 Minutes" for instance, where Wallace confronts Ahmadinejad about the alleged statement about "wiping Israel off the face of the earth" omitted answer Ahmaninejad is refferring to the Zionist extremist regime not the country of Israel or its' people. Education,Diplomacy and truthful reporting of the FACTS are much more conducive to peace than the distorted spin Mr. Wallace uses to inform the masses of the "TRUTH". Scare tactics work on an emotional level to influence those people who find it to tedious to read for themselves what the World Leaders are actually saying. When people find it easier to just listen to the spin fed to them by the media to re-enforce their emotionally distorted views it becomes almost impossible to get them to see another perspective based on facts, truth and logic. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Watch JETMAN live online Friday @7:30AM ET HERE "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Yea I read the whole article you linked but didn't find any reference to the lawsuit until I watched the video in that first link. It did mention the lawsuit and that people were calling 911 from the dealership to report suspected fraudulent tactics. That's why I answered your question in that way. It does really suck to lose your job like that, especially in this economy, but having been screwed by dealers myself I wonder how big a part the employees played. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I guess you have to call "911" "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

No. Skydiving!! "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I have not read this book but spoke to my son who was a Ranger for five years. He did two trips to Afghanistan and two in Iraq. He has had similar situations happen. You either shoot to kill once your position has been compromised or move. From what I heard these guys never moved once their position was compromised and that is what proved to be the fatal mistake. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Palin's sex-ed views Palin in a July 2006 survey was asked if she supported abstinence-only sex education programs instead of "explicit sex education programs, school-based clinics and distribution of contraceptives in schools." Palin wrote, "Yes the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." In a radio interview in August 2006, Palin was asked whether programs that discuss condoms are included in "explicit" programs. Palin said no and called discussions of condoms "relatively benign." She added, "I'm pro-contraception and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I am not anti-contraception. But, yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that. That doesn't scare me, so it's something I would support also." I am not a Palin/McCain..I mean McCain/Palin supporter but thought this might interest those discussing Palin's stance on sex-ed. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

It is a sad state of affairs when all we have are these two losers from the R's and D's to vote for. Obviously the most qualified and intelligent people are smart enough to not run for POTUS. At least the independents have agreed on four important issues that they would like to openly debate with the two major parties. Ron Paul is who I may vote for as well. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

You may be correct about it being a Catalina. After looking at the pictures that may well have been the aircraft. I don't know the exact date because I didn't make a jump due to the runway obstruction, so it doesn't show up in my log book. I will say with certainty it was the summer of 1980. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I am not sure what kind of airplane it was but I believe it was a modified Albatross, owned by the state of California to watch whales. I was there that day and remember it well. It was piloted by an FAA pilot to check it out after repairs. It lost one of it's four engines on take off to the north and flew a RH pattern through the dropzone trailing black smoke. On final someone pointed out the nose gear wasn't down. It touched down on the runway, the pilot held the nose gear off as long as he could. I'll never forget the trail of orange burning aluminum when the nose finally came down. It slid for awhile in a shower of sparks when I think the starboard main gear collapsed. More sparks. When it came to a stop I saw four people IIRC crawl out of different hatches and doors scratching their heads. By the way, it was after Pope closed. I jumped out of the DC-3 champagne flight at Pope Valley with the kitchen girls. Bill Dause told me no students that last weekend. I snagged a rental PC and hid it so I could jump that last weekend. I borrowed chest reserves and boots to jump. Jump #12 5-3-80 first two way and first pin. Jump #15 5-4-80 Last load at PV DC-3 formation for 40 way. After champagne did three way with Cherry Holmes and Ann Bell from 10,500. It was Norton who made the last jump at Pope Valley as they were leaving. FWIW "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I fully understand how a jump as such can be legal. The systems used on the referenced helicopter jump in Alaska were clearly Single Parachute Base Rigs with no tertiary reserves. This jump was done after clouds canceled a planned skibase jump so I also highly doubt there were waivers applied for as well. The pilot obviously flew mostly skiers and had no clue as to what the rigs were. My point is that this has been going on for quite awhile now with no consequences, so it is widely accepted as ok to some in the B.A.S.E. community. This still doesn't make this type of jump legal and jeopardizes the pilots ticket. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Andy, first, I'm sorry you had a friend die. Some of us have had similar experiences, I know I have. That does not change the fact that the deceased broke the law. The pilot broke the law, knowingly or not, still broke the law. I have seen a show on T.V. within the last year that showed a well known Base Jumper exit a helicopter with Base Gear. Yes it was a SHSP rig and in Alaska. When the popular attitude is to ignore this law, it becomes a non-issue to those that participate because nothing has ever gone wrong. I highly doubt that in the show that I saw, the pilot knew he was breaking the law and putting his ticket in jeopardy. His company name was shown on his helicopter and his name was in the credits. I was actually very surprised that this jump made the final cut as it was clearly illegal to those who knew what they were watching. Just because many consider it a non-issue does not make it legal. When the shit does go sideways there is only one participant always held accountable by the FAA, the PILOT. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

HERE is another one for your list of disturbing sites. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Ah... Yeaha! Only two or three that I can think of. Everyone by accident. First, Bolinas beach north of S.F. flying my hang glider. I met the most beautiful girls there, of course they were nude! Second, a beach in Sonoma county on the Russian river. Third, Harbin Hot Springs, Lake county, CA. Almost got kicked out of the warm pool for talking and laughing. Some people shouldn't ever take their clothes off in public! Been there, seen em! Can you envision a human Sharpei!!! Not my fault...! "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

An atheist has to have just as much FAITH as any religious believer as neither has impirical evidence that either can use(without evidence, read FAITH), as a KNOWN. That's why I am an agnostic, I don't BELIEVE anything(without evidence) I know the things I know through evidence and there are things I don't and can't KNOW, like is there a God or not. I've got my theories but no evidence. If you ask any particular religious believer, they always have the true and correct belief. I find that hard to believe. As for me, I'm still looking for evidence to support my theories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Oh well. All the talk about the right hand ripcord pull, If pictures existed on Sluggo's site what's the mystery? Rhetorical question... "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I found a couple of pictures of a NB-6 see if this is what cooper jumped. http://www.dilette.com/main/dilettesales/Images/Parachute_NB-6_02.jpg http://www.dilette.com/main/dilettesales/Images/Parachute_NB-6_01.jpg "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Quote 1) If you were going to request an altitude to jump from a 727-51, what altitude would that be? Put any number here, no constraints, but please list any rationale for your response (safety, it gives me time to get stable, it gets me to the ground more quickly, etc) 2) Would you express that altitude as MSL or AGL? Again, any number, but state rationale. 3) Would you plan for freefall and if so how long? Time? Distance? Both? Just express it clearly for this whuffo… no, WHUFFO. Now quit being Cooper. 4) Is there anything about Cooper’s altitude request that strikes you as “odd” or “improper”? He requested 10,000 feet. (Whether he stated MSL, AGL or didn’t specify is lost at this time.) If your answer is “yes,” Please explain (in detail). Sorry, in the middle of my post I accidentally closed my browser while doing some research and lost it. Here goes again. Me as Cooper. 1. 6,000', If I know where I am. High enough for the aircraft to not be conspicuous, low enough to spot. High enough to get stable after decelerating from the higher than normal forward speed at exit, approximately 5 to 7 seconds after exit. Check and adjust money bag if not stable(belly to earth). If I can't get stable I'll deploy now. No need to go to much past terminal velocity in a state of instability, a large probability with a bag flapping around on my chest. That puts me about 13 to 15 seconds from exit, about 4,000'. That's high enough so my parachute opening won't sound to loud on the ground and gives me about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes under canopy at a descent rate of 22' per second. 2. 6,000 AGL. AGL is what I'm concerned about. 3. I think I answered that in #1. 4. No. Looking at my log book from the 80's 10,000 was a common altitude for C-182's. The twin engine aircraft jumps were from 10,500 to 12,000. I would be more likely want to be lower than 10,000 so I could see where I was and reduce the drift factor under canopy. If I couldn't see the ground because of clouds, I would request an altitude change. IMO Cooper never gave any clues he was a skydiver, think about his shoes. Unless he had a pair of jump boots in his bag and put them on, he was probably limping if he lived. The forward throw would be about 1,200' @100mph in no wind. kellend's calculator gives a great simulation of the forward throw. An unstable body flailing around is a bit harder to calculate. Back in the day when I learned to jump it was arch thousand, two thousand etc. up to a 10 second delay. A 15 second delay was the first time I checked altitude with an altimeter. Counting past 10 seconds gives a much larger error for altitude. If Cooper was only relying on his count for his altitude he needed to open fairly soon to avoid loss of altitude awareness especially at night with a bag tied to him. Just some thoughts on what his plan was. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Don't forget to include the forward throw an object will have leaving an aircraft in flight. Also depending on the body position of a human in free fall they tend to scoot and slide all over the place, except Johnny Utah, now that dude could skydive! "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Thanks, I see it's only one minute. My bad math thought two, but there's already one minute accounted for in the time line. My bad! I did have a thought about Coopers state of mind if he lost the money right out the door, Ckret post #2208 says it was all about the money, Cooper shows his mindset, Ckret post #1167 "No funny stuff, or I'll do the job." What would Coopers motivation be for surviving the jump with no money? Did he lose the money right out the door and just decide "awe fuck it" not pull and bounce rather than take the rap for the hijacking with no money? His body may be gone but I'll wager you're getting closer to what's left of the gear. "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

Did the aircraft make some turns that weren't recorded? Actually that's two minutes. a two minute standard turn? "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan

I had a Pneumothorax when I was 21 due to a motoX accident. The bike in front of me crashed I drove right into him and over the bars. That was in the first turn with 23 bikes behind me. I curled up and got run over about six times with a tire burn on my the right side of my back. I got up and finished the race. Dumb! Felt like an elephant was standing on my chest. The doc called everyone on duty that night when I was in ER, to come and look me over. He said they would probably never see a live patient with as much air in their chest cavity and still be alive. I had so much air in my neck it sounded like popper paper. No lung collapsed, spent two days in the hospital on IV antibiotics watching to see if my lung collapsed. Doc said right bronchial tube had postage stamp size tear?? I had no broken ribs. I was released after day two, was told not to do anything strenuous for six months and it should heal. That I did. I pretty much forgot about it after that. I raced motoX after that, hiked my hang glider to the top of 1,200' mountains, 3,000+ skydives, racing cars and mountain biking. I am now 55 with a screwed up back from lifting to much but lungs are fine. Oh and crashed everyone of those I mentioned including a swoop gone bad that I miraculously walked away from, ok, limped. Good Luck "Mans got to know his limitations" Harry Callahan