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Farflung wrote That's pretty clever Farflung. I heard an idle rich kid referred to as a Trustafarian. Good ID on that Pioneer rig. "Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. Papa Tango Three. Time Three Five. Authentication Whiskey November. I say again; Sky King, Sky King, do not answer. Papa Tango Three. Time Three Five. Authentication Whiskey November." Farflung knows what that command means and who broadcast it. Ask him about it. If he won't tell you then ask Gen. Buck Turgidson. It's US Govt code but amazingly it does not ID Duane as DBC. Snowman, who is anti authoritarian and also in command of a 50KW HF station, would have answered. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce is like Linux, open source. Geoff is like...? well he isnt like Linux. Snow and Smokin99 did a little involuntary open source conversion on Geoff though. I liked Geoff's book however and I enjoyed meeting him. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Amazon wrote: Amazon, BEFORE I saw the Air America 727 jump videos I figured the best plan would have been to jump off the stairs, stay as as stable as possible while decelerating to approx 120mph (terminal velocity) then pull. Staying stable with a 180? mph 727 exit speed, compromised horizon visibility and an assymetrical payload isnt easy. Even a skydiver might start tumbling. I saw a few experienced jumpers tumble coming out of the DC 9 at WFFC. After watch the footage shot on the 727 exits here's what I'd have done. Go down to the bottom of the steps, face in the direction of flight, pull the rippcord and do a pull off exit. The canopies in the Air America 727 footage squidded, decelerating the jumper gradually and the opening shock looked mild. No tumbling, slow opening. All you'd need is a canopy that can take it and a C9 can take it for sure. TOUGH canopy, a real nylon pitbull. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Robert99, The C9 was successfully tested at speeds far exceeding 200 mph. I remember seeing movie footage shot at very high frame rates back in the 1980s. the camera was mounted on a payload and shot up towards the deploying canopy. I saw the film when I worked for an aerospace company doing military contracting. I've tried to find it on the Internet but no luck. Snow could probably find it. It's not a trivial thing to exceed a 150 mph limit by 33% on a sport or commercial canopy. The energy goes up as the square of velocity. 200 mph gives nearly double the energy of the same object going 150 mph. Rrrrriiiiipppp. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Don't forget the tie and DNA. The FBI is confident that it is Coopers DNA. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

hangdiver wrote: There are still some who think DBC never existed. They think the crew faked the whole thing and split the loot. Some think that's why Tina became a recluse. I think DBC was real and that his ID will be discovered in my lifetime. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I'd like to take credit for this, but it was Snow. Imagine Norman actually was DBC and was having the last laugh on Bruce in this photo below, recreating his 727 stair exit. http://themountainnewswa.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/dbc-parachutes-hayden-clowning-16.jpg It's far more Norjack specific than KC posing as DBC holding a briefcase. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

It's AMAZINGLY hard to distinguish islands from cloud shadows in certain conditions. I spoke with someone who flew cargo from Hawaii to some obscure islands a few hundred miles away. He said sometimes he was 100% certain he was looking at an island and as they approached it would turn out to be a shadow. Earhart probably ran out of fuel chasing shadows. She was an incompetent radio operator and screwed up a few opportunities for the Itasca to get DF bearings on her. My guess is that they'll find the plane as soon as someone wants to spend about 30 million on a methodical sonar mapping search in the area where she is believed to have crashed. The fanciful stories of her surviving the crash and being killed by the Japanese as s spy are absurd. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

The rig Hayden showed to Bruce isn't an NB6. It's a commercial not a military container. That's my opinion. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

The TIGHAR crew comes up with some plausible theories but they lose all credibility when it comes to interpreting physical evidence. They find some sheet aluminum with rivets. They say it's probably from Earhart's Lockheed. When it's pointed out that the rivet spacing rules it out they cite a repair made to the plane and say this must have been part of the repair patch. They find a woman's shoe and conclude that it may be Earhart's. Same with some bone fragments. I think searchers will find her plane on the bottom of the ocean using side scan sonar. The US Navy tasked with finding the missing door from a 747 that suffered explosive decompression outbound from Hawaii, with only an approximate location, found and recovered the door about 80 miles out from Honoulu using side scan sonar. It just takes tedious search patterns but sonar will find her plane eventually. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Georger writes Point taken Georger. I used to deal with the FBI when I practiced criminal law. They often bungled stuff but ended up solving the crime anyway. So called "bungling" can be found in any major investigation that is pursuing literally thousands of leads. Investigations are not tightly controlled processes. Guesses are made, noise is confused for signal, all sorts of approximations are made in the search for incriminating evidence. That's the way it is. In the end, to succeed they have to produce admissable evidence which will either compel a defendant to plead guilty or convince a trier of fact (usually a jury) to conclude that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. They accomplish that goal a lot, in spite of so called bumbles. It's easy to take potshots at the FBI's handling of Norjack. I am among those Monday morning quarterbacks. Could I have done a better job? I think so, but I could be dead wrong. I don't know the whole story about what the investigation entailed. The FBI started off by thinking it was probably a skydiver. That's what I thought too when the news broke. I was impressed that the FBI looked at Sheridan Peterson. He remained an FBI suspect until ruled out by DNA evidence from the alleged Cooper tie. If the tie DNA isn't Cooper's then all bets are off. Ted Braden is dead, but that doesn't mean he can't be investigated. His wife is still alive and there may be some step children who could be interviewed. There may be employment records that show where he was when the crime was committed. There may be personal items of his that still have good DNA samples on them. I'd like to think that I will live long enough to see both Norjack and the Amelia Earhart mystery solved. I am optimistic that my wish will come true. The truth is out there somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. I wish we had more Bruces. He gets out there, digs deep and stirs it up. I also wish Quade would allow Snow back on the forum. He does not deserve a life sentence. Enough time has passed. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Blevins wrote Perhaps, but it opens up questions about Cossey's memory and veracity. Also, our prior info about the types of rigs was wrong. No D rings on either rig making the reserves useless unless DBC had a few carabiners. No Pioneer Paracommander sport canopy. It was not a pointless inquiry by any means. I think Gray, Snow and Bruce have opened up some new evidentiary issues. It doesnt tell us who Cooper was, but his chute choice now makes a lot more sense. He chose the right one, in my opinion, but was it a reasoned decision or a coin toss? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

From the Igloo: 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Braden's window said that Ted was a suspect in setting up truck hijackings. Did the FBI in investigate Braden? Was he ever considered a Norjack suspect? Was the hijacking matter a ruse to cover an inquiry that was really focused on Norjack? The FBI didn't miss Sheridan Peterson. Did they miss Ted Braden? Braden was an Army deserter fugitive, in need of money, an expert skydiver and military parachutist, experienced at identity theft and covert international travel. No evidence that he was DBC, but if I were the FBI I'd sure have taken a look at him. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Good job Bruce. A few errors: NB6 and NB8 are harness/containers. They are not canopies. They were made to contain (in Navy service) a 26 foot conical and a 28 foot round (C9) respectively. I've never heard of a 28 foot conical. Gawd, the Pioneer rig Coss sold to and or repacked for Norman is frigging ancient. It doesn't even have a stiffener plate which assures that the ripcord cable will pull the pins straight up. The cable housing end above the cones is just tacked with thread wrapped around it, no plate. I declined to jump a surplus rental rig that was set up like that. Loved the Sterling Engine!! Thanks Bruce, we owe you. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

http://themountainnewswa.net/2011/10/25/db-cooper-case-heats-up-again-with-controversy-over-parachutes/ 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Did the $200 NB6 bailout rigs contain 26 ft Navy conical canopies? I had a guy offer me $250 and a 24 ft ripstop canopy for my 26 ft Navy conical canopy in 1968. I seem to recall that C9s were abundant and cheap but Navy conicals were getting scarce and pricey. My Navy conical was literally like new, and it still is. Only one ride. Capewell cutaway over scenic Pope Valley, about 1973. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce wrote: If the mfr name wasnt on the packing card then the FBI must have opened the rig and looked at the data panel on the 26 ft conical canopy to see who made it. As I recall, 26 ft. Navy conicals were made by a number of different suppliers, Pioneer, Irvin, etc. I still have the Navy conical that saved my life. I've gotten rid of most of my old gear but I am attached to that reserve canopy. Best $25 I ever spent! 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I wonder what Coss charged Norman for an old (1957!) rig with a used Navy surplus canopy? Hope it was under $350. I hate to see people overpay for old parachute gear. Don't get me wrong, I was jumping a 1951 C9 as late as 1978, but I paid peanuts for it. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I like old chute gear, this is getting interesting. Now if we could only find an FBI report on radio intercepts that night in the suspected exit area. "Breaker breaker, the Eagle has landed." 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce wrote Hangdiver knows more about rigging than I do, but I think you are doing fine Bruce. If Norman was really going "first class" why would he have purchased rigs that contained used military surplus canopies? By used I mean packed and ready for use. I doubt if many (or any) surplus emergency chutes were ever deployed in a military jump. In 71 commercial LoPo round canopies were widely available. They cost waaaay more than surplus canopies but had fabric that was of lower porosity than the surplus canopies like the 28 ft C9 and 26 ft Navy conical. The surplus canopies became known as "Cheapo" canopies indicating higher porosity and lower price than LoPos. The LoPos let you down softer compared to a similar sized Cheapo. I wonder if Cossey is mistaken or misquoted in saying he put the rigs in a taxicab? Your opinion Bruce? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jerry, Was it a person or cargo canopy? Silk or twill nylon? Did the suspension lines go all the way up to the apex and down the other side or were they just attached to the skirt band at the bottom? We know it was made in 1946 so what did you mean when you said the "condition was not that old"? I don't think it's a Cooper chute but I am really curious what it is and how it ended up buried at Amboy. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Not always. In the 1980's I went for a grueling acro ride (those negative Gs are nauseating) in a Great Lakes biplane. The passenger chute rig was an older surplus harness/container and the pilots rig was a much more recent commercial rig with padded straps etc. I can ride extreme roller coasters all day long but this ride came close to making me sick. I did manage to hold my lunch, but it was close. I also experienced a near blackout in a 4+? G pull up. My vision field narrowed tremendously and color vision went to monochrome. I used the stomach tightening grunt technique to stem blood flow to my lower body and managed to stay conscious. We did an hour of acro. I was exhausted, nearly sick, but I never said "enough". The pilot was one of my skydiving instructors from the old days who had given up jumping and taken up acro flying. The tan rig sure sounds to me like it was the one described in the leaked FBI report. The lack of the noted wear mark is puzzling though. The 26 ft Navy Conical is a GREAT canopy. My first reserve ride was on one. Soft landing. We are indebted to you Bruce. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Didn't this start with a debate between 'experts' ? Add more experts! Call in more experts. Life used to be so simple - The obvious person to go with Bruce is: Farflung. Call Bruce back! Farflung appears to be operating in radio silent mode. Join the lovefest Farflung, before it disappears! Right now it's Woodstock, I fear it will soon morph into Altamont. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.