377

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Everything posted by 377

  1. If it's lined with tin foil, the government's satellite based thought detectors wouldn't be able to get a reading on Cooper. I wear one at all times. Robert, why would you need a "special" metal detector? Let's fly a P3C (update 3) with a proton based magnetometer over the area at 100 ft. We'll know where every rusty nail lies. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  2. Here is some cheap NB6 hardware, but no ripcord, and other stuff is missing. http://cgi.ebay.com/Parachute-pack-T-34-new-NB-6-Container-60A114E2-52-/370422799213?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563eeb5b6d 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  3. I agree 100% with Amazon. An NB6 (or NB8, Cossey has said both) with a C9 is a VERRRRRY reliable rig. A reserve really isn't needed. Fighter pilots don't have reserves. Robert99, what are you planning to do with the metal fittings? Run some magnetometer calibrations? Don't forget the springs in the pack opening bands, they are covered in fabric but are metallic not elastic bands. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  4. Jo wrote: Sounds like a typical case of the "munchies" to me Jo. What are you smoking? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  5. Was the Amboy canopy made of ripstop fabric? If not, I'd bet BIG odds that Cossey wouldn't be using it in a bailout rig in 1971. Was ripstop even used in 1946 military canopies? When was ripstop invented? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  6. http://www.crocuta.com/CPC/MembershipRosters/1970/Roster.jpg Was looking at old Cal Club rosters and saw Eric Anderson's name at the top of the 1970 list. Eric gave me a lot of patient helpful instruction when I was a young student jumping with the Cal Club at Livermore CA. Eric died in a prop strike accident as I recall. Didn't see his name here so I thought I'd post it. I am sure he is missed by many of his old friends. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  7. Joe, What do you think about the choice of an unsleeved canopy (NB6 bailout rig)? I wonder if Cooper even knew what a sleeve was? If he did know, and he was going to pull right after exit, surely he'd want a sleeved deployment system to lessen opening shock wouldnt he? I wonder if he knew about the Air America 727 jumps. The film shows the S/L deployed canopies squidding and acting as decelerators before fully inflating. Dont know what the Air America 727 exit speed was but there appears to be a turbine Beech 18 (Volpar mod?) shadowing the 727 so it couldnt have been very fast. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  8. Thanks for the graceful mercy Georger. I can only pray that Snowmman will find it also in his heart, but a light saber chastisement is far more likely. I can hear it coming, the heavy breathing in the black helmet. I've been reading up on the old posts about Waugh, Braden and those missions. Trying to find out if South Africans participated. Their "Recce" Special Forces soldiers had similar skills. Maybe they had similar domestic operations. Orange, would all Recces have noticeable (to Americans) accents? Had dinner tonight with an old time skydiver. He had so many interesting stories. Great guy. The scariest was landing a double malfunction. Horsehoe on the main, couldn't clear it, pulled silver, reserve fouls in horseshoe mess, and he is rocketing down at 50 plus MPH. Lots of broken bones but he got patched up and lived to jump again. Still jumping with a big ram air canopy. Watched a recent RW video and this guy could fly circles around me. Very aggressive flyer and docks like a young hot shot kid. He mentioned a skydiver Cooper candidate who very closely resembled the sketch but thought the only tie was the appearance. Personality made it unlikely that this guy was Cooper. Mayfield was thought to have all the skills and the criminal personality, but was too stocky at the time and not a good match. He thought Cooper had jumped before. Most skydivers agree on this point. I wonder just how easily Cooper donned the rig. Tina's opinion is quite subjective. She probably never saw anyone put a rig on so what was her basis for concluding that Cooper did it with ease that suggested familiarity. A cargo kicker would be putting on a rig far more often than a paratrooper. They'd likely be the fastest. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  9. Mr. Blevins, You may have explained it once before, but I can't keep track of all the posts, so kindly indulge me. What are your thoughts on the following? KC had too much money to be Cooper. Cooper only took 200K. KC allegedly had more cash than that. Sure his gold could appreciate but not his currency. Looks like he was just a buyer not a seller. Even with a grudge, wouldn't it be nuts for KC to hijack an NWA plane? Big chance he'd be recognized or his sketch would. NWA employees were fascinated with Norjack. How did the money end up at Tena Bar of KC was Cooper? How did KC escape detection after landing? If he rendevoused with an accomplice how did they find each other? How do you predict the gay community will react if KC is proven to be Cooper. I know it isn't a monolithic culture, but would KC become a gay pride hero? I don't think KC was Cooper, but I do think youve made a provocative circumstantial case. Snow and Georger will think me a moron for giving you credit for anything, but I can take the heat. What made Kenny go bad? Radiation at Bikini Atol? Don't ask don't tell military oppression? Drugs? Can't wait to see the show. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  10. Thanks for the info 99, no need to redo the research. Funny Georger! (Duane not Cooper). 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  11. They sure are. Did mine at WFFC in Quincy. A fleet of balloons launched in the early evening and we started the adventure in almost no wind. The exit is unlike anything else (except perhaps BASE which I've never done), even different from a hovering helo. You will feel like you are in an elevator that just had the cable break. One memorable thing that happened on that balloon jump was that we got buzzed by some freefalling jumpers at about 4000 ft. You could hear the LOUD roar of their approach. They went past us not very far away and one was screaming something. You could hear the Doppler shift in the voice! 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  12. Sounds like you are keeping an open mind Vicki. Have you considered reporting the relevant info to the FBI? http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2007/december/dbcooper_123107 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  13. That's kinda surprising. Bail bounty hunters usualy look right away to see if a bail jumper (not a bailed jumper) is lhiding out with the family. When he was living with you did he hide out, seldom venture outside, avoid open windows that might let him be seen from outside etc? As I recall the photos showed a bit of a double chin which was not in the Cooper desciptions. Care to comment on that feature? What kind of liquor did he drink? I am keeping an open mind. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  14. Georger, Just curious, trying to improve my searching techniques... how did you and/or Blevins find the original image of the bill that was pirated into the skunk video? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  15. Vicki, I can see that you and your family would not have missed him. He must, however, have had some freinds, neighbors or aquaintances or even a landlord in 71. Wouldn't they have missed him? How was the counterfeit money discarded off a bridge into a river ever linked to your father? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  16. It's going great Georger. I am an official "co", you know... an enabler. It's a common affliction among liberals. I have watched Duane morph from an inmate smoke jumper, to a Ranger trained parachutist and now , perhaps in a later incarnation, he is hanging with the Tibetan freedom fighters in Colorado , probably instructing them on mountain jumping techniques. Who is to say a 727 wasn't used? Prove it wasn't! 377 You just have to connect the dots Georger and it all comes together. 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  17. (edited) Never mind, question answred by Georger, thanks. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  18. I assume that you've seen the movie District 9 Georger? I loved it. Brilliant piece of sci fi and social commentary. It was made on a shoestring budget for a movie with such impressive (but infrequent) CGI special effects. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  19. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWzgoVQLG7k It's a funny and clever fake, but just to be sure, can someone blow up the frame around 0:30 where it looks like you can see the last two digits of the serial number of the bill on top of the left stack? Of course with two digits we are almost certain to get a match with the Cooper bills. Are the twenties of the right vintage for 1971? They look far too clean on top to have been sitting outdoors for 40 years. The natural light shining on them tells you they are not completely sheltered from the environment. Someone went to a fair amount of trouble to produce this. They screwed up on making the top bills so recognizable though. It would be pretty degraded by now in my opinion. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  20. Brilliant and very funny post Farflung. Rod Serling couldn't have done it better. BTW Rod looks a bit like the sketch and he was a paratrooper. I am preparing to deploy a bunch a crows and skunks in Amazon's stomping grounds. They have been trained to recognize parachute gear and currency. The GPS and TV telemetry equipment I've been jumping with has been minaturized and will allow me to monitor my search herd from my iPhone. Wolf River Joe's theory that Cooper was found, looted and buried goes a long way towards explaining why no trace has been found. Still, someone would be missing and someone would miss them. It is hard for someone to just disappear without questions being raised. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  21. Jo wrote (about Duane's huge screwdriver) I've jumped from a jet but I'd balk at the courageous bluff Duane "thought out". So OK. We've established that Duane had the balls to tacitly threaten to shoot a guy who wouldn't let his wife gain access to the rest room. And a concealed screwdriver is to a gun as road flares are to dynamite. We are making progress. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  22. "nothing else"??? Surely the plan must have included installing a new leader for Tibet who would parachute in with the liberators. Why not Duane Weber? It's all beginning to come together. If the plan had worked Duane would have been in the position now occupied by the Dalai Lama. He could sell ascended master status to various Hollywood stars. You could have been hob nobbing with Richard Gere Jo. This Colorado info is bringing Duane a lot closer to parachuting. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  23. I am a friend of Beatnik's who just turned 61. I still jump regularly, but gave my PCs to Beatnik to remove the temptation to jump them. Sure, if everything goes perfect an old guy of 61 won't get hurt jumping a PC, but its all about risk management for me. There is just no way that a PC can give you CONSISTENTLY soft landings. A right sized ram air can do that if you fly it conservatively. I LOVE skydiving and want to keep doing it until I am 80. My Triathlon 190 lets me down a lot easier than any PC ever did so that's what I am sticking with. I enjoy turning over the old gear to Beatnik, someone who treasures it, actually restores it and jumps it. I'll always treasure my C9 cheapo, Security Lopo and Pioneer PC jumps, but I have no need to personally relive that history. Hats off to my braver cohorts who tempt fate jumping old gear with old bodies. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  24. Aviation accident investigators are well acquainted with the phenomena. Something bad happens to an airliner and witnesses come forward saying they heard or saw something that indicated the plane "was in trouble." In catastrophic ground impact accidents MANY witnesses report a pre impact fire when there was none. The Perris DC 9 jumps I witnessed were from 14,000+ feet. Not much to hear. You could see the jumpers exiting without using binocs but it just looked like pieces of indistinct debris, sky trash... which some folks consider to be a very good description of skydivers. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.
  25. Jo wrote: Jo, what evidence do you have that hand cars were in use on those tracks in 1971? If those ancient things were still in use in the 70s they surely be on a siding, not just sitting on the main tracks. They'd be locked and the switch mechanism for the siding would be locked as well. RR locks are formidible devices designed to withstand assault What evidence is there that Cooper carried any tools that could be used to open or break such a lock? In 1971 most hand cars were scrapped or sitting in museums. Doodle Bugs (motorized versions) had long since replaced them. These powered cars were not left out in the wilderness unattended. You have this picture of Duane hand pumping a RR car to freedom but the facts get in the way of that convenient fantasy. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.