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Galen is searching hard for some Norjack 20s in a safe deposit box traceable to Gosset. If he were successful that would be pretty convincing evidence of Gosset's connection to the crime. What are you hinting at Jo? Whadduya got? Go 49ers! They really need a spectacular demo jump at halftime. Janet Jackson with a jumpsuit malfunction? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote Meyer Louie should be allowed to return. Snowmman too. I'd even let Jamie Cooper back. I'm pretty liberal. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote And how did you punish Duane for stealing coats, Kool Aid etc? I know I'm giving you a hard time, but I wanted to call you on your statement. I think you made a lot of exceptions for Duane. Jo, you teased that the case would be closed soon. How soon and on what basis? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Orange wrote Hey, when he married a jumper he shoulda known it wasnt gonna be a straight ahead fully predictable deal. Didn't you fully disclose the risks? He's lucky to have you and that your excursions are so harmless. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Yup Amazon. I always cringe when I watch those maniacs on YouTube skimming granite. If you brush rock with one side of your body it would seem to me that it's gonna pull you right into it with the differential drag. I was obsessed with chutes as a kid. When I was about 7 years old I made a parachute out of a bedsheet with clothesline for suspension lines and a harness made out of rope. I ran down a sloping garage roof inflating it behind me and lept off. I survived with no serious damage. Am I a BASE jumper? Or just an idiot who carrried a childhood obesssion into adulthood? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

We are still playing nice on dropzone. Keep up the good work people. Who is the new moderator? I am sure Q told him: "ignore 377s pestering for a return of Snowmman". But no harm in trying. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Pretty amazing that he wasnt found with all that search effort and exit location info. It must be rugged territory. I wonder what went wrong? Edge strike? I think if he had anything deployed he would have been spotted. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/frances-hendrickson-found_n_2576590.html?ncid=wsc-huffpost-cards-headline Maybe someday we will be reading a similar story about DB Cooper. Hope not. I want him to have survived. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote Personal interest in the crime or even obsession is not valid grounds for disqualifying chosen counsel as long as there is not a conflict of interest. If counsel were writing a book or involved in some enterprise that might profit from a certain outcome in the case there might be a conflict. In that instance a judge, after an inquiry out of the view of the jury, could disqualify the lawyer. Prosecutors and judges are very careful not to interefere with a defendant's choice of counsel as it could get a conviction overturned on appeal. It's a 6th Amendment constitutional issue. (from Findlaw) If the court is appointing and paying for counsel they get some choice e.g. they wouldnt appoint a rookie to defend a death penalty case. Generally however, if a lawyer is a bar member in good standing, a defendant can retain whoever he wants. A lawyer cannot normally represent a client in a case where he knows he will be a testifying witness. State bar ethics rules prohibit it. Actually Sheridan would have a hard time finding a more zealous advocate for him. And the price is sure right. He'd probably, however, end up with a federal public defender. They are usually very good defense lawyers and have more experience than just about any private lawyers because they are in court defending tough cases nearly every day. Now on the radio part, I plead guilty as charged to obession and irrationality. My DBC CB radio test jumps will take place this spring. Stay tuned. QSL good buddy? Georger never brags about it but he is an accompished ham radio hobbyist as is Snow and many here such as Guru, Sluggo, myself and others. I am the only one, however, who pines for a Norjack radio connection. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote If his alibi was 100% solid then why a second interview and insistence on a DNA sample? I totally agree that Peterson "was not the type", but that is flawed thinking when applied to criminal cases. I've seen sooooo many guilty defendants who were "not the type". If I were his defense counsel I'd not have him testify. They just do not have enough evidence to convict him. Burden of proof is on the govt. Standard of proof for conviction is "beyond a reasonable doubt". Georger, the court would not disqualify me. I'm not a potential witness and my speculation about Peterson on the forum isn't evidence of anything. If lawyers who thought their clients might be guilty had to be disqualified there would be a massive shortage of defense counsel. I don't think Peterson is guilty. I haven't yet seen ANY evidence that proves guilt. He IS however one hell of a well qualified candidate and remains so. Sailshaw: you've mentioned many times that Peterson quizzed you about the 727 air stair. Can you shed some light in how he approached the subject and how deep he dug? I know he saw something in Aviation Week, but I'd like more info about the conversation he had. Was this info given to the FBI when they interviewed you? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Even if Sheridan lied to the FBI about being in Nepal when the skyjack took place, that's not nearly enough to convict him of air piracy. The statute of limitations has run out on lying to the FBI. How could they put him on the plane and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt? If he was charged I'd offer to represent him free. But he thinks I a CIA or FBI so he'd probably reject it. I still can't square his character with being a violence threàtning thief. He seems like a principled man who genuinely abhors violence. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jumpship of the future: Three point tethered hydrogen balloon with a pulley. Winch on the ground. Rube Goldberg would love it. FAA wouldnt like those tethers. Impatient jumpers (who dont remember Twin Beech or DC 3 rides) wouldnt like the long climb time. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Will do. It may take some time and a lot of messy glue gun prototyping. I have access to a 3D printer so we may be able to make a conformal mount for it eventually. The peripheral vision is really poor with the supplied goggles. But what a bargain! Recon Systems really delivered an outstanding value. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Yup. Straight from Brian Ingram. A nice specimen indeed. I'd pay a lot more for a crisp one. Maybe that guy who bought Duane's van saved a few. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

We've kinda stabilized in a nice groove here. We are talking about evidence. We have ceased personal attacks. Can this last? I sincerely hope so. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote Back in 71 he wouldn't have been thinking about DNA evidence. If he were really clever he could have left the tie knowing it would point at someone other than him. But what characteristic of the tie would accomplish that goal? I'm not sure you can assume the real DBC wouldn't joke about being a suspect, especially after he'd been cleared by an FBI DNA test. He might be an ironic double psych kind of guy who would get a kick out of it. Sheridan Peterson might be that kind of guy. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Story about Paperlegs Peterson, for Jo if she hasn't already seen it. http://smokejumpers.com/main/smokejumper_magazine_item.php?articles_id=249&magazine_editions_id=16 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Robt. 99 wrote How I wish Tina could verify Tosaw's story about the packing card and pin check. If true it would be a huge clue. It would not tell us who Cooper is but we could eliminate suspects with no parachute familiarity. Robert is right about the packing card location. Very obscure. You'd have to know chutes to even know to look for a packing card and you'd have to be familiar with NB 6 or 8 rigs to go right to that location on the rig. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Amazon wrote: Not necessarily. AADs have delivered jumpers to the ground alive who did nothing after exiting the plane. Maybe the "something" was buying and arming their AAD. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Robt 99 wrote I bet you are 100% right Robert and there is precedent for such mods to be paid for by the govt. Pan Am's passenger 747s were outfitted with heavy duty freighter floors at the request of the US govt who subsidized them heavily. The govt paid for the mods and gave Pan Am a profitable yearly subsidy to compensate for the higher weight and extra fuel burn. The military wanted reserve airlift capacity in case of an emergency and this was a cheap way to get it. The unsubstantiated rumors about the 727 being made (or tested to be) jumpable was that civil airliners are routinely given overflight permission above hostile countries such as Cuba, Iran etc. The rumor was that 727s could drop people or payloads covertly while appearing to be regular airline flights. I still think Ted Braden (MACV SOG soldier and deserter) hasn't been ruled out conclusively. He had the skills and financial motive. He was apparently much more of a sociopath type than Sheridan Peterson. He must have had some dirt on someone to get basically a free pass for desertion during a war. Might it have been enough to get a free pass on Norjack? I doubt it but I can't rule it out. Orange, Farflung just reminded all us Cooper romantics that a Whuffo could have made the jump. He has several examples of skyjackers who made their first jump from an airliner and landed alive. I can't attack Farf's facts but I do think Cooper's flight configuration demands to the crew and his alleged easy donning of the NB 8 (or NB 6, still some controversy about this) rig say he was no Whuffo. I bought a stock military packed NB 8 rig to the Cooper Symposium in Portland. No skydiving mods, just a bailout rig. TSA at SFO: "Sir, why are you carrying a parachute on this flight?" 377: "I'm taking it to a skyjacking convention in Portland." I picked a non jumper from the audience and asked him to put the NB8 rig on. He spent many minutes and couldnt do it until I showed him how. The NB 6 and 8 have a very confusing chest strap arrangement that even had me stumped the first time I tried to put one on. It clips the apexes of two V webbing straps together to form a chest strap. It is far different from the belt type chest strap arrangement on a B 12 or other miltary bailout rig. To be balanced, Ralph Himmelsbach told me that there is nothing to substantiate the account that Cooper donned the rig with ease or that Cooper examined the packing card. I thank Jerry Thomas for vouching for me to Ralph, who was friendly and cooperative. I asked non jumper volunteers to find the packing card on the NB 8 and nobody succeeded. It is quite well hidden. Whuffos dont even know what a packing card is. Had Cooper VERIFIABLY pulled the packing cards it would rule him out as a Whuffo IMO. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

G wrote I know. I just dont like it. I want Cooper to be a mad skills jumper, not a friggin Whuffo. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

So good to hear from you Orange! We know whose quant genes Baby O inherited. Sounds like one very smart kid. Big data crunching is the rage these days. I wonder if it could be used to find suspects that have thus far escaped attention? I'll bet Snow is already working on it. Stick around Orange. Its a sunnier place with you here. And E. Vicki, give us a shout. Hang out with your friends here. We seem to have entered a peaceful collegial period here. Lets hope it endures. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

G wrote In skydiving gravity always wins. You just want to be sure gravity doesnt hit a grand slam. Bruce thinks gravity can be made optional, but I dont agree. If Bruce is right, imagine how it could change skydiving. No planes, no rigs, no DZ. Just hop and drop, anywhere. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote Great summary of Farf's very logical fact based conclusion. He may be right. DBC could have been a Whuffo. Still, there are clues that he was aviation savvy. He gave very specific commands about flap angle, altitude, airspeed gear configuration and pressurization. Most Whuffos dont know a flap from an elevator or spoiler. Most Whuffos wouldn't think about exit speeds. Most whuffos wouldnt think about flying depressurized. I still think DBC KNEW a 727 could be jumped. I cant prove it though. If he didnt know, he was taking a huge chance of entering an aluminum jail cell that would deliver him to the authorities upon landing. Very few people knew in 1971 that a 727 could be jumped. I didnt know it and at that time I owned a big 727 flight manual. Neither the Capt, FO or FE knew either. Nobody at NWA ops knew. They had to call Boeing. Guys privy to the Air America SAT 727 jumps over Thailand knew. Guys who worked on or had access to info on Boeings flight tests knew. Not one of my many jumper friends in 1971 knew. We all wondered how the hell DBC knew he could get out of a 727 in flight. Jo insisted to me that 727s were used for air drops in SE Asia. I was sure she was mistaken but started researching and found extensive documentation verifying Jo's claim. Snow dug even deeper. Jo, how did you know? Was it a guess? Did someone tell you? If so who? What exactly did they tell you if you can recall? I'd love to ask Sheridan if he knew. It doesnt make him DBC but it tells us something about how widely the info spread in SE Asia. The jumps in SE Asia were not exactly the same as Cooper's (stairs appear to have been removed) but they conveyed a lot of info about the practicality of jumping from a 727. You still needed to know that the door could be opened and the stairs deployed in flight. My guess is that Boeing had this additional info as a result of their flight tests. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Amazon warned All good points Amazon. Distracted skydiving is deadly. I'd never use the HUD goggles in RW formation jumps. Jumpers need to see the other jumpers eyes in RW and the mirrored lens of the HUD goggles block this critical info. They also don't have great peripheral vision. I'm using the HUD for my HAHO radio jumps where I am normally the last out, open right out of the plane and share the sky with no other jumpers. Years of jumping at WFFC (very crowded skies and LZs at times) make me do a lot of scanning and head swivelling. It's a good habit. Many times I have spotted other jumpers that have no idea I am near them and fly their whole approach and landing without spotting me. I've been jumping for 45 years. Seeing others have mishaps has made me very conservative. I'd rather land far away from the swoopers and walk a few hundred yards than mix my big slow canopy with their zippy postage stamp chutes. I jump a big main and big reserve (190 and 193 sq ft). Always use an AAD. Always wear a helmet, etc. Oh, and I dont text in flight either. I am not accident proof, but I sure take efforts to manage and mitigate the risks. I want to jump into my eighties if I can do it safely. I jumped with an 81 year old guy at WFFC and he was awesome. Highly skilled RW flyer, sharp, fit and very aware. He inspired me. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.