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I did something close. Jumped a rented Raven as a main to see what it would be like to land one of my Raven reserves. It flew OK but the flare was not at all to my liking. I tried various flares up high and it just felt too easy to stall it if I did a fast flare. I did a standup landing on it but it took more thought and careful control than I might be able to perform right after a low cutaway. I did some Googling and found that poor flare was a common Raven complaint. I think they will open reliably, fly OK and maintain structural integrity, but I wanted a reserve that flared nearly as well as my main (a Triathlon). I traded in my two Raven reserves and got two PD 193Rs. I had a cutaway soon after and the PD 193R flared beautifully with no special care needed. I am glad I switched even though it was a costly upgrade. Used Raven reserves sell cheap. Used PD rerserves hold their value much better. There is a reason for the difference. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Mr shutter wrote yes, and the King of Pill Amps is DAVE: http://www.davemade.com/ Dave is reportedly a ham. Dave doesnt care too much about output filters. Dave thinks the FCC can go ---- themselves. Some truckers are running 8KW CBs using Dave's amps. They run two huge Niehoff alternators and connect the amp with 0/0 welding cable, really. I saw photos of such an installation. The trucker had trouble with corona discharge melting the tip of his antenna. Dave also makes the GOD ROD CB antenna. I am surprised BK hasnt chimed in on this CB stuff. He seems like someone who'd be part of that scene. I am planning a future jump using a late 60s CB walkie talkie just to show what might have been possible. Go ahead and take your shot G. I am wearing a Kevlar jumpsuit. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

G wrote Early model Yaesu FT 101s were even better. Had 11M as a stock band. Swan (Siltronix) made a model 1011 that was super easy to put on 11M as it had an 11M receive only feature that was easily opened up to enable trasmit. http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6078 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote: Jo, Might it have been a "booster rig"? These items, usually homemade, were worn by professional shoplifters to conceal pilfered items. When I worked in a public defenders office it was hell to get good plea bargain deals on shoplifters apprehended with booster rigs because the DA saw them as professionals. In some cases they were charged with burglary rather than shoplifting because the rig showed that they entered the store intending to commit a theft. It is not a permissive entry when you enter with the intent of stealing rarther than shopping. That makes more sense than trying to explain it as a radionavigation apparatus. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

This guy needs to be investigated See attached. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote: You are slipping Geoger. The FCC isssues ham licenses, not the FAA, but you knew that being an Amateur Radio licensee yourself. Lately the FCC is spending a lot of effort appealing the reversal of their ridiculous $550,000.00 Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" fine levied against CBS. Don't they have anything better to do? How do they calculate the fine? Why not $500 or $30,000 or $11,234.99 ?How do you quantify perceived obscenity? I bet they have an entire staff of sociologists, accountants and statisticians devoted to that crucial task. After all, the public must be protected from glimpses of bare breasts at all costs. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/11/02/cbs_wins_appeal_over_janet_jacksons_su 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Mr Shutter wrote Nope. Many 1 watt and even some 5 watt CB walkie talkies were available in 71. Ranges of several miles even without line of sight was routine. CB signals (27 MHz) seem to be propagate better in hilly areas than VHF or UHF signals of the same power. I had some 100 miliwatt (1/10th of a watt) CB walkie talkies in the 60s and could talk ten miles with a clear line of sight, e.g. one person on a mountain peak and the other in a distant valley with line of sight to the peak. Again, zero evidence that Cooper used radios. I just like the idea. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Yes if the walkie talkie operates on CB channels. CB walkie talkies are still made even today. So are larger CB sets designed for vehicle use. Marla described in great detail the pair of CB walkie talkies her uncle used. I have no doubt that she really handled them. It doesn't prove anything about Cooper though. CBs are still made Jo, but their popularity has hugely declined. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Its old news but I carried a small walkie talkie today and opened high. No problem talking to other hams with walkie talkies 38 miles away. Altitude really helps. No proof that Cooper was ex Nam SOG, but those guys did manage to rendezvous at night in the jungle after landing using radios. Just a thought. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Made 1 DC 9 jump and many C 130 jumps. Noise was no big deal at all. Didn't seem much different from any other jump from an acoustic standpoint. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Pawn Stars summary 8/27: Tony Curtis paints by numbers, D.B. Cooper’s money, an 1836 artillery foot soldier’s sword, and a haunting reminder of the John F. Kennedy’s assassination The first customer came in with a small piece of a twenty dollar bill that was supposedly from the $200,000 that D.B. Cooper store during the infamous 1971 airplane hijacking. It was the only plane hijacking that was never solved and D.B. Cooper’s body or the money was never recovered. Cooper jumped out of the plane in the middle of a storm at 10,000 feet and Rick doubted if he survived the jump. The seller had a certificate of authenticity and the guy wanted $2,000. The Old Man offered $1,600 and the guy took the deal. Rick was thrilled by the purchase and wanted it for himself. HULU summary: D. B. Cooper One of the most mysterious figures of the twentieth century, Cooper pulled off the only airplane hijacking incident that didn't result in the perpetrator being caught. What Rick was presented was a ripped piece of a U.S. twenty dollar bill that had been part of the $200,000 ransom paid to Cooper in 1971. He parachuted from a 727 aircraft never to be seen again. "This is one of the Holy Grails," remarked Rick. "In all my years of doing this, I've never seen anything like this in the shop....ever." The seller wanted $1,800- $2,000. The bill had been authenticated and he had a certificate from a recognized expert that said as much. This is where Rick and The Old Man show their prowess. While secretly longing for the item, Rick betrayed none of that, snagging the piece for $1,600. "I feel like I just hit the jackpot. Collectors will be lining up around the block for this," Rick said. 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Nice to see you back Farflung. Really. Now having dispensed with the nice stuff, I will turn to the darker side. Did you spend all your time off sharpening your forum razor? "Cuts like a knife" is an understatement. You've been slashing like a mad Ninja in a cutlery infomercial. Your merciless shredding has a chilling effect. Makes me afraid to post anything even close to stupid. Hey, you missed a chance to meet the lovely E. Vicki when she visited CA. Your loss, believe me. Sheridan Peterson makes a perfect DBC. The FBI apparently thought so too until they ruled him out with DNA. But Ted Braden was also a perfect DBC. Teddy Mayfield didnt fit the description, but everything else was a pretty good match. So many Coopers to choose from. I guess Marla's DBC star has dimmed and is perhaps extinguished. I wonder if she is still promoting her story? Does anyone know? Although I am quite cynical about how the FBI has investigated Norjack, I don't rule out the possibility that they have a partial DNA sample that did come from DBC. They may have actualy retained the cig butts and the story that they cant find them is a cover. It's hard to imagine that the butts would have been discarded while the case was still open. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote: I think you were having a Janet vision Jo. Hope you are well and that the FL storm causes you no harm. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Maureen, I see my colleagues here have filled you in on the tragic details of Eric's death. I jumped with him at Livermore CA. He was partially deaf and some thought that might have played a role in the accident. Eric was far more skilled than I was and helped me quite a bit in learning how to do stable maneuvers. Eric is still missed by me and all the Cal Club members who knew him. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Anyone hear from him? My email went unanswered. Hope Bruce is OK. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

No such thing as a Paracommander "carrier". Paracommander was a Pioneer sport canopy which could be packed in many different "containers". Norman Haydens two rigs were different. One was a surplus Navy harness-container, either an NB 6 or NB 8. The other was a Pioneer commercial harness-container. I agree with Sailshaw that its certainly worth looking at the letters and stamps to see if a DNA sample can be found. Sheridan Peterson is sure an interesting candidate. He would still be a suspect in the FBI's eyes had he not passed their DNA test which didnt match what they believe is Cooper's. His qualifications are top notch (ex Marine, ex smoke jumper in the Pacific NW, expert skydiver, night jump, rugged terrain jump and water jump experience, former Boeing employee in tech documents). He had a grudge, and his alibi is pretty hard to disprove allegedly living in a mud hut in Nepal). His novel contains some striking analogies to Norjack including a passage about walking along the banks of the Columbia River with freezing feet, which was kinda out of place in his story which takes place in Viet Nam. It ends with a suicidal parachute jump into rugged North Viet Nam territory after slipping the pilot a twenty. Peterson rented a room from Sailshaw in the 60s during which time he allegedly pumped Sailshaw (a Boeing engineer working in 737 door stairs) asking him for info on the 727 stairs. Sailshaw was working on a different plane and diodnt have the answers. Later Peterson gets a job at Boeing in tech documents section. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/db-cooper-exhibit-to-open_n_1699729.html 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger wrote: R1b1b2a1a1d1* 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote: Sounds like you have mastered the PLF Robert. Try it again tanked up with a few Bourbons. Your home experiment could provide evidence that DBC could have survived the landing even without prior jump experience. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote: Really? If someone came to me with that case I'd tell them to spend their money on something more worthwhile. Call me a cynic I guess... 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Sailshaw wrote I don't recall seeing any content in the letters that would have ruled out a wannabe as the author. What "hints" are you referring to Bob? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

It would be easy to test the envelopes, but there is a good chance that the FBI didnt keep them if they had no fingerprints. Tons of old evidence was discarded by crime labs and law enforcement agencies if it appeared to have no probative value. They weren't thinking about DNA back then. Geoff Gray got a better look at the FBI files than most civilians. Wonder if he saw any indication that the alleged DBC letter envelopes and stamps were retained? MANY fake confession letters are generated around notorious crimes. Look at the Zodiac case for example. There was nothing in the letter contents that proved the writer was DBC. Still, Sailshaw has a point. Why not test them if they are still being held? The FBI seems VERY confident that they have Cooper's partial DNA. Sheridan Peterson was a viable suspect until they ruled him out with a DNA swab. I wonder if the FBI does have the cig butts and got their DNA from the butts not the tie. That would make them justifiably confident that it was Cooper's DNA. The "missing" cig butt story always sounded a little suspicious to me. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote about Blevins: Blevins has repeatedly made FREE copies of his book available. That doesn't square with your characterization above Jo. Nobody gets rich off a Cooper story. It's a curse. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

BK wrote: Not likely. Those vintage radar guns were X band, low power and more importantly transmitted nothing until the trigger was pulled which was done when aiming at a car. McCoy's jump was pretty amazing. Despite radio tracking devices hidden in his gear he jumped, landed safely, evaded a manhunt and recovered ALL of his loot. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

No evidence of chem or bio weapon payloads, just incindiary devices and on a few, HF telemetry transmitters. Great book, tons of detail about these weapons: http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Siege-III-Civilians-Documentary/dp/0936738731 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.