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Bradley Collins obviously has a sincere belief that his late father Jack was DB Cooper. Jack isn't a bad suspect actually IF everything Bradley writes is true. Jack was a seasoned skydiver, knew the Pacific NW area, was a pilot and had a brother Bud who was a Northwest Airlines 727 captain. Jack had money problems and wasn't averse to a few scams to keep his cash flow coming, e.g. taking out disability insurance policies and then having a series of bone breaking minor skydiving landing accidents that got the insurance money coming in. Bradley also writes that his Dad disappeared for five days spanning the Nov 24 1971 DB Cooper skyjack date. It would be interesting to see if this absence can be independently verified. According to the author, Jack was promptly questioned by the FBI after the skyjack but nothing further happened. It would be interesting to know why the FBI apparently ruled him out as a suspect. BUT... the author publishes an alarming series of incorrect or twisted facts that even a cursory Google search would have caught, so it makes the reader question the accuracy of everything in the book. Much is made of Bradley's recollection of conversations with his Dad and overheard conversations involving his Dad. Are these recollections accurate? The reader is left to wonder... Examples: 1. The author writes that Howard Hughes headed NWA and cites Hughes's death as a loss of possible forgiveness for DB Cooper, whose caper Bradley imagines would have amused "Uncle Howard". Howard Hughes owned Air West, not NWA. Air West never became NWA. Hughes played major roles in TWA and Air West but had no ownership or control of NWA ever. The author even fantasizes about Hughes playing cards with his friends and chuckling about the skyjack caper. 2.The author publishes a vivid account of a conversation with his father just prior to the skyjack in which his father discusses an upcoming unusual night jump and demonstrates a wrist watch that with the press of a button becomes an illuminated altimeter. To the best of my knowledge no such watch existed in November of 1971, the date of the skyjack. Either the author imagined it or he misdescribed it. 3. The author writes about a WW 2 surplus AT6 aircraft flown by his father and brother and writes that it could fly nearly 400 mph and climb to 30,000 feet. Even with postwar engine upgrades and mods no T6 could match these specs or even come close. Nobody knows more about squeezing performance out of T6s than Reno air racers do and none of them have even come remotely close to 400 mph. The record is about 247 mph. Ceiling is roughly 21,000 ft. 4. The author recounts a skydive demonstration jump in bad weather where his father ended up caught in power lines above a body of water. He describes his father using a knife to cut all the lines and then drop into the water below. Bradley is confusing the term "cutaway", which describes a skydivers release of the main canopy by activating mechanical riser releases with an actual cutting of lines with a knife to accomplish the same purpose. It's probably an innocent mistake in which vague childhood memories and the passage of time have blurred the facts but it calls into question how accurate the author's recollections are. The author speculates that his father Jack recruited Bud to be the ground man who would meet him on the ground after parachuting from the skyjacked NWA 727. Its a long story but the author implies that Bud's later suicide was a direct result of his involvement in the crime. Why a well paid NWA airliner captain would risk a felony conviction and loss of his prestigious career for $100,000 (half the loot) is puzzling to say the least. The author's account of how Jack would find Bud after jumping from the 727 at night is naively simplistic. Bud would simply blink his car headlights, Jack would see them, and they would meet up and drive away. Since Cooper had no direct control over the flight path and only a rough idea of his location from visual clues such a rendezvous would be highly improbable. Miracles do happen though, look at how close some other skydiving skyjackers landed to their intended destination, e.g. Richard McCoy and Rob Heady. Sure I am nit picking, but accuracy is very important in non fiction. That said, the story is both interesting and entertaining. Jack was quite a character and it's fun to read about his life. In spite of all the book errors Jack Collins seemed to have the skills needed to be Cooper. Does the author present any probative evidence to support the title: My father Was DB Cooper? The answer is no. It's all circumstantial and speculative. Bradley Collins needs to clean up the errors and republish the book if he expects his claim to be taken seriously. Can I rule out Jack Collins as DBC? No, I can't, but he joins a long list of fathers, husbands, brothers etc whose surviving relatives are convinced that DB Cooper was a family member. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Robert99 wrote Some T 33s used by the USAF in 1971 had weather radar NONE had air intercept radar. Weather radar is pretty useless for finding other aicraft. Ask anyone who has used it. There was a development of the T 33 airframe into a radar interceptor called the F 94, but no F 94s chased Coopers 727. The last F94s were retired in 1960. From Wikipedia 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Always a riddle. Always a tease. That's our Jo. Straight forward and direct just isn't on the program. But one can always hope. My list of promised Jo revelations is getting pretty long. May have to scan it and put it on a flash drive. So many promised blockbusters. The FBI doesn't stand a chance. They should surrender before she attacks. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote Really? If so please post a pic of your pet pig. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Don't impair your quality of life with paranoia Jo. Whoever killed Cossey has no interest in killing you. I'd bet 1000 to 1 on that. There are plenty of reasons you should lock your doors but Cosseys murder isn't one of them. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Mitchell meeting??? What transpired? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Yup. You got my number Jo. Why waste your time on what you refer to as an unrelated FBI matter? How will proving the FBI screwed up in some other case help you prove Duane was Cooper? If your remaining life is short you shouldn't pursue tangential matters. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Big difference between asking prices and selling prices Paul. Blow em out on Amazon or eBay for whatever you can get. If they were really worth $160 Donna wouldnt have a bunch of them for $10. Markets are efficient, except perhaps in the Cooper Vortex where physics, economics and logic get bent into unrecognizable forms. Agree Georger? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Looks like nylon chutes existed at least as early as 1942: 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Post your HA HA HA review here Robert. It's on topic and would be a fun read. I broke down and ordered Collins's book My Father was DB Cooper. I know, I was warned by Bruce that there's no beef, but I couldnt resist. I'll post a review here. Amazon says it wont be delivered until very late December. Does that mean it is print-on-demand or? My late father sure wasn't DB Cooper. He thought skydiving was completely insane. After my first freefall in 1968 he told me "OK, you've proven you can do it, now quit before you get yourself killed. Get a parachute tatoo if you need some bragging rights or ego boost but quit jumping while you are ahead. There is no good reason to keep doing it." My mom was a parachute packer during WW 2. She thought skydiving was fine because I had twice as many chutes as military pilots did. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I dont understand your 200 160 math Paul. Can you spell it out more clearly? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

You and Vicki stand a chance of being the first people in the Cooper Vortex to ever turn a profit. Sell em quick, before the market collapses. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Sellers on Amazon want $160 for a copy of HA HA HA. I'd rather waste my money on a Cooper twenty. Miss Vicki is a class act, all the way. I think there is full forum consensus on that. We squabble about everything else. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

No Paul, I have just read excerpts online. The HA HA HA book is fiction so I really have no interest in owning it. What do you think of the book? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Only if he sold. Buying and holding doesnt create a taxable event as far as I know. You could borrow on margin against your stock if you needed cash. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Go right back at em via Wall St eh? Boeing stock bought in Nov-Dec 71 has gone up roughly 10X at todays price. Not a bad call Mr Cooper. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

It is beyond dispute that FAA ATC radar can paint echoes of jumpers exiting aircraft. Guru (a skydiver and jumpship pilot) has confirmed it. I talked at length with a skydiver and jumpship pilot whose day job is an FAA controller. He confirmed it also and said that many times he could accurately count the number of jumpers who had exited. Ranges where jumpers were painted by ATC radar were in the 20-40 mile range but nobody really knew the outer limit. The ATC guy I spoke with said unless a controller had a DZ in his area he might not know that his radar was capable of this or even recognize a jumper echo if he saw it. Laymen think only metal gives a good radar reflection Not so. Objects with differing densities from air generate echoes. Birds are not radar stealthy at all. Tuna boats use S Band "Bird Radars" just to see them at a distance. Birds swarming at sea over a stationary spot are often feeding on baitfish which attract tuna. I have seen many birds on fishing boat radar displays. It's very common. A jumper is a far better radar target than a bird. There are two kinds of radar data: 1. Raw video (actual recordings of echo signals and a track with azimuth data to record antenna position). 2. Processed video (what is displayed on the radar screen) which is often "cleaned up" by various filtering techniques to remove noise, clutter and to facilitate the insertion of alphanumeric data next to the target echoes. Raw data from FAA ATC radar is usually recorded (on tape back in 1971). It was SOP even in 1971 to preserve raw radar recordings after an aviation accident/incident where radar might provide useful evidence. It is hard to believe that this was not done after NORJACK, especially when there was such intense interest in the flight path. Is it possible that the FBI and FAA just looked at the airliner track and never thought to scrutinize the raw video for a telltale jumper exit echo? Might the tape still exist? Originally I held out great hope that the SAGE networked radar system would have displayed Cooper's exit echo. Snow put me in touch with a group of retired SAGE operators and technicians and also directed me to rich sources of technical data on the SAGE system architecture. I corresponded with several SAGE techs who told me that it was very unlikely that the SAGE display would have showed Cooper's exit echo because the display blanked out a rectangular area immediately surrounding a target to provide a clean image and to insert alphanumeric data. SAGE terminal display data was recorded on 35 MM film but I could find nothing that mentioned SAGE's preservation of raw radar data from the various networked sites. It's frustrating to think that the FAA may have had evidence of Cooper's exit point and never thought to look for it. You probably could have even determined whether Cooper did a stair pull, hop and pop or freefall by looking at forward speed decay by analysing the rate of separation between the 727 and the jumper echo. Maybe somewhere, deep in that Raiders of the Lost Ark govt warehouse, lies a reel of magnetic recording tape with proof positive as to where Cooper exited. By now there is a good possibility that the magnetic recording iron oxide is flaking off the plastic tape but I am an optimist. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote Hard to get diverted from a path that is so obscure. What IS the "actual Cooper case"? Please let me know when you find it Georger. Meanwhile the diversions and distractions from the suspect marketeers here have some entertainment value if nothing else. I just can't get too worked up about them. It's pretty harmless in my view. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Anything about Marla at the symposium? Has she given up on the Cooper's Niece angle? She was a tornado at the first symposium. But tornados are short lived. Vicki is a cool breeze. Steady, non invasive, refreshing. Mitchell's turkey flap description sure describes Vicki's Dad but if that feature was prominent why would it not show up in the FBI sketch? The sketches all show a sharp chin line. Collins is puzzling. Why would you call your own father a criminal without having any proof? Odd. I expect his 60 page book will be a flop. GreyCop's nearly incoherent posts are odd too. Can't quite figure him out. His book will flop too. The rocky shore of Cooperland is a graveyard of literary ships. Their tattered wreckage serves as a grim reminder. Nobody gets rich here. You are lucky just to break even. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Good point ~ do you think a vacuum effect might be working back there? I'm not really sure Airtwardo. I know lots of govt research and money has gone into devices for slowing down canopy openings to allow high speed ejections and the use of chutes for the final phase of spacecraft re-entry. I never thought a C9 canopy would "squid" at high speed and solve the problem without any other deceleration devices. I was very surprised when I watched the video. I'd have bet on hard slammer openings but they were not. Looked kinda gentle actually. But if I didn't know that, I'd have done a freefall exit to flow down to terminal velocity before pulling. An extra. 50 or 60 knots is a huge deal energy wise and therefore canopy stress wise. Back when I leavened freefall there was no AFF. You just jumped, arched and tried to learn how to fall stable. Those old surplus rigs seem to open OK in all sorts of spins, tumbles and unusual attitudes. Ask me how I know. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Sailshaw, If I had personally witnessed the Thailand 727 jumps and opening sequences I'd have pulled off the stairs facing forward. Without that knowledge I'd definitely have made a freefall to slow down before deploying. I was surprised when I saw the Thailand footage. I'd have expected a violent abrupt opening. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote The authorities usually "have their way" Jo. That's why they are called authorities. They won't do your bidding. They don't care about your "stress". Get over it. Look elsewhere for solace, assistance, redemption etc. They don't stock those items at the government store. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote You needn't fret about those with profit motives Jo. The Cooper Vortex devours money. It doesn't produce it. As the battered Mr. Collins just learned, at the base of the Vortex there are blender blades ready to cut and chop those who are naive enough to sail into the turbulence unprepared. Can anyone summarize what the two jumpers said about the technical aspects of Cooper's jump? Rob Heady's participation was remarkable. You couldn't make this stuff up. A real parachuting skyjacker comes to a DBC symposium to present. I wish I could have met him in person. Maybe someday. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I repeated Jo's experiment 10 times using whole grains of varying density. I just can't get the same results. I was however able to positively confirm the Janet sighting when using Quinoa. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote Every medium is a phony. Not ONE has been able to demonstrate paranormal perception in a properly designed experiment. They have a wonderful excuse though, that their powers are inhibited under scientific scrutiny. The dog ate my homework is so lame by comparison. The James Randi prize is still unclaimed. I guess monetary awards also inhibit psychic powers. I dearly wish we had real oracles and psychics who could divine the future, talk with the dead and solve Norjack. But that's fantasy. The cold hard facts say that the boring laws of physics prevail and are not skirted by self proclaimed soothsayers. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.