Orange1

Oh, but I thought he was going around buying cars after the hijacking? He couldn't drive back undetected? Anyway what is the problem with public transport - how unusual is it to take bags/suitcases on planes and long-distance buses? No-one x-rayed or otherwise inspected checked luggage on planes in those days. In my humble opinion... it was a pretty crappy plan if someone had to leave their takings in a most unsuitable environment for 8 years before they could figure out how to get them. Doesn't exactly fit with the idea of a well thought out and executed heist - especially as (unlike the weather, fuel situation and so on) you would have thought this was one aspect that could be very well planned and executed. As for the tie clasp... do what AggieDave says and fill in a FOIA request. Anyway, just because it wasn't Duane's doesn't mean it wasn't DB Cooper's. You have still shown us nothing conclusive to prove he was Cooper, even while you keep on wanting the FBI and everyone else to show you conclusively that he wasn't (which I still think is a ridiculous demand to make on them. Hey, I found an old bank bag from the 70s in with my dad's stuff. Should I also ask the FBI to prove he wasn't Cooper?) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

There have been definitely been posts - i can't remember whether or not Jo contributed to these particular ones or if it was just others - speculating the money was put there as a decoy. If the theory as you state it is accurately represented, then the question remains as to why none of the rest was ever found. (Never even mind the question as to why someone would leave cash in that environment for so many years without going back to get it...unless they were dead, or unless most of the money was already somewhere else) by the way, does your statement that the money would get to Tena's bar easily fit with the all-important float theory..??? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

So we have 2 conflicting theories on Duane, one saying he planted the money there as a decoy and the other saying he was running scared after it. The first one seems to be based on float theory and the absence of most of the money and the second, sorry Jo, on a lot of coincidences which can easily be explained by a million other things. That aside, which theory are we running with? Either, neither, or both? I still think all this is ... well, pretty useless until we find someone that we know had a pretty good chance of surviving a night jump in crappy weather with a big load landing in the woods. (Am I the only person this screams "paratrooper" to??) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/business/11storage.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

And usually in these threads someone brings up "The parachute and its pilot" by Brian Germain, which is well worth a read (or 5). There are chapters in there that won't have much relevance to you right now, like on swooping, but it is a great book for understanding how your canopy flies and that helps you understand what to do, both with flying it and landing it. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Will that count as a "fun jump" then? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Mmm... how closely did y'all check the guys who came back out of that ship at the end of the movie...? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

OK you shamed me into looking it up on a map!! closest i've been is belfast/machadodorp area... on the way to DULLstroom once, and barberton etc for a some paragliding.... i remember nieu bethesda when they still had those old yellow stop signs, and vegetables were growing in some of the streets

whuffo sensationalism... just watched a clip on Discovery's "shocking survival videos" - where the intro to footage of a CRW wrap was described as "guaranteed to put you off parachuting for life" ... (funnily enough, the horror car wreck later on was not described as "guaranteed to put you off driving for life") Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I may be wrong of course but it's my impression that the flagship event at any national or world champs is still 4-way FS. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

lol.. i don't even know where groblersdal is!!! I do like the idea of workers' day demos though.. so much more interesting than the 'normal' stuff... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Also don't see why it should be touchy. I have one, and one on the way... so I won't be jumping for a while!!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I was also curious - some answers in a thread in the history and trivia forum: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2688754;search_string=%20meeker;#2688754 Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

This is a good point - a 1 minute difference in the estimation of exit (and there has been at least this in the various submissions) could therefore make a very big difference in possible landing areas. So the question is - is it safe to assume the people doing the original calcs would have taken this into account? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Thanks Steve, interesting. Both the bits about the violence of the exit as well as people losing things...! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Back on this subject, for the whuffo sleuths (and low_pull ) I thought some of the stuff from the World Team '06 site might be interesting. This is part of the info for skydivers (http://www.theworldteam.com/06PPSkydivers.htm); bear in mind the average # of jumps per participant on these dives was in the thousands. Admittedly Cooper would not have had a teammate to collide with, but a novice or first-time jumper would almost certainly have been unprepared for the "violence" of the exit. Tumbling would have been a very likely outcome. In some of the video on the site you can see how even some of these highly experienced skydivers tumble on exit. I am completely unconvinced that someone who didn't know what they were doing would have had a nice clean stable exit. (as an aside... looking at the video of those jumps again, awesome. this is the best sport in the world

ya know... when i see headings like "fun in africa", i don't expect the photos to be tagged with places like parys and welkom Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Maybe, but then one presumes someone would have returned the messages left by the OP's DZ...? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

hmmm... canopy size might be easier but not necessarily harness, most jumpers are not small and it is not easy finding a small second hand harness. And don't just assume going to 1:1 early for a lighter person - read the many threads on WL vs canopy size. Maybe, maybe not. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

That's not a serious question I presume - I've only got 2 hours tunnel time and even I can get in and out "so nicely". I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to exit a jet stable! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

You still don't get it, Ray was an escapee at the time of the call - So Duane knew where he was and this is within a week or two BEFORE King was shot. I do NOT know your source. but the rifle was never in the Mississippi river as the FBI/CIA did testing on the rifle they found after King was killed...they were unable to prove the bullet came from that gun. As for there not being any mention of Collins or Weber - you need to check the AL records and depositions done prior to the death of Ray - when Ray's attorney was trying to get him some clemency due to his illness and impending death. Sigh.. Jo, so Duane knew where Ray was. So what? You said they were friends. Escaped prisoners presumably occasionally let their friends know where they are. I've posted a link before to the MLK details including the details of the guy who claims he threw the rifle into the Mississippi. Yes, the rifle they had was inconclusive. That is what the conspiracists jumped on as proof that it wasn't the fatal rifle (which was in the Mississippi), and that it may not even have been Ray who fired the fatal shot. Either way it does not tie up with what you had previously implied - that Duane had the rifle that was used. (If you now say that this was not what you were implying then you need to go back and read your post again, the one about Duane getting all upset about a stolen rifle.) All this is ridiculous anyway. Do you honestly think I can be bothered to go check depositions? If mention of Collins or Weber or whoever is in there then why are you going round and round on a skydiving website when you apparently have all the proof you need? (To connect Duane to MLK anyway - it takes you nowhere nearer to DB Cooper). (and yes B, it does feel like a brick wall...) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

interesting because dead air is pretty much the last thing i would describe from all of my porter jumps. in fact i have trouble hanging on so maybe i should ask the pilot to slow down a bit on jump run? I wasn't talking so much about what it feels like on the step/from the prop, but as you exit - there is not a lot of air to work with the way you would have with a faster plane, or the way you have once you reach terminal. I'm sure there's someone out there who can explain this better than I'm managing to do Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

DB Cooper with Elvis, I like Agreed 100% with your sentiments. That is the "beauty" of conspiracy theories after all - you don't actually need any evidence - because you use the lack of evidence as proof of a cover-up! (It's so mundane, after all, to conclude that lack of evidence is ... just lack of evidence, and probably means nothing happened.) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

A google ssearch for windsurfer plane video yields many links that sound similar!! Here's one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F21G3LjoYPs one of the comments indicates it's a commercial. btw Billy, the sport is called kite-surfing. It's very popular here, and it's a fantastic alternative sport for skydivers because you generally get the best kiting when the winds are too strong for jumping! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.