jbrasher

My first square rig was a Starto Wedge with a 24' and a Strato Star (rings and ropes, of course; lasted maybe 2 jumps before the slider replaced them). It came with a 2 (3?) pin container and almost immediately the cones were replaced with elastic chord loops. When hand-deploys showed up a friend sewed an triangular pocket on the right-side of the belly band at th hip and we routed the bridle through the elastic loops. We doubled the bridle over once at each loop to give it a little stiffness and it worked real good. Put several hundred jumps on it and the only problem i had was a premature deployment once in a head down dive out of a D-18. Felt like the container was rolling off my back just before everything stopped abruptly. It was state of the art in it's time and would surely look like a death trap today. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Yes, Jack I went thru the course with you. I remember the first time we all packed in and got as far forward as we could and the co-pilot came back and said spread out; we felt uncomfortable. As I remember it the company which insured the plane had a fit when they found out it was being used for skydiving and that was that. Nice plane though. Thanks for the rating I used it well.

Nick, Good job that picture ought to scare them east coasters off! The way I look at it you've always got at least one more jump to do no matter how long your layoff is. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Silly Tit #33 (see airtrash.com) Went to Jacue Istel's 50th Anniversary of the first Army Freefall and got #48000 Offical center pf the World Certificate Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Well :-( this is a continuation of student status... I'll figure out how to make my scan smaller so I can updalod it. Just like real life, I'm too big now. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

OK, Nick, here you go :-) The really interesting ones are from here on to 48 when I was pretty much thrown off student status. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Just prior to the Nationals Perris 2000? They were grounded. A 4 way team 3 out of 4 fired? I might be wrong.

My .02 Early 80's round parachutes S/L 3 on a pass. SOS 3rd student on the pass had a really nice MaeWest, slow spin. Radio operator instructed student(s) (each individually as they opened) to look up and check canopy. 3rd student didn't seem to take any action and the radio operator expressed his distress through his voice that the student should check they're canopy. The 2nd student (on the same frequency) picked up the stress and even though he'd checked his canopy and thought it was good decided to cut-away (at 300') I and another JM where running to where we figured the 3rd student was going to land when we dam near got kicked in the head by the 2nd student opening on his reserve The 3rd student (small women short arms) later reported (after she finally cutaway) that she had pulled the handle and nothing happened and was mighty upset with all the yelling on the radio and finally in exasperation pulled the handle again all the students were fine and the JM's eventually recovered. Another story: a large bodied student in a rig that was a little tight for him got open but the JM (very experienced and very capable) on the radio couldn't figure out why he wouldn't respond to radio signals. The school owner said tell him to cutaway. The JM figured that he had a canopy over his head and he'd wait. Eventually the student started to sluggishly respond to signals and finally landed. He had started slipping out the back of the rig His leg straps where under his knees and he was looking out this side of his main lift webs and when the radio told him to pull the yellow handles and steer he started pulling. The steering lines came out and out and out because he was pulling the handles on the reserve canopy; the main steering handles where out of reach and sight. Had he cutaway we would have been wondering how the hell he had committed suicide that way If you can't figure out how/or weren't trained to use the equipment maybe you should do a tandem. You're jump/you're responsibility. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Nick, I'd like to see it, too!. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

A paracommander or any other canopy can certainly kill you if you handle it incorrectly. Don't think that just because it was slower than a sqaure that it couldn't do you in. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Ah yes, the critical peice in this and I forgot to mention it The braided metal cable was routed through a cloth channel which wasn't as Bill designed it. Mixed/mismatched equipment components will get you sooner or later. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

If my memory is correct the Casa Grande fatality was because the original reserve hanle/cable was lost and a 'regulr' braided metal cable was used. The problem was the braided cable had burrs Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

I put about 500 jumps on my Strato Star with out and malfunctions, too. The only malfunction was when I let a friend of mine make his first square jump but neglected to tell him what end-cell closures where :-) He chopped it and said the reserve open kinda slow. It was a 24' flat with Elsinore 4 line release #1. The reason it opened slow was the last rigger left the temp pin in the MA-5 pilot chute. Gary Douris had a good time informing him of his mistake :-) Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Got mine last week, envelope was torn I think because someone routed it through Canada because they misread the state, CA :-) Shirts are excellent. Another order ot follow. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Yes, I was joking :-) Back in the 80's at Perris ATC did ask why the Crew formations were opeing so high. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

I did my AFF cerification there in 1983 out of the Arava. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

That was not a good day. I was in line waiting to get my morning pick me up (after the fun night) and watched her go in. Later that afetrnoon another girl went in when I was in line to get something to eat. This one had around 30 jumps and came in from some other state with her boy friend and managed to not operate a hand deploy properly or the reserve. :-( I've had better days. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Be careful out there, radar can cause cancer, too! Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

The picture was taken very shortly after the crash, just after Tommie got out of the airplane and before he ran out of film. The risers are hanging off the left stabilizer so my guess is during the landing. The main (apex) went over the right stabilizers and the student cut-away shortly there after and the plane must have towed it risers following until the landing. The fence next to the plane naturally belonged to "farmer mcNasty" of course; but it mostly missed his property Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Most (if not all) of her jumps were done without using a reserve parachute. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

No, just experienced Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Just? And one is the operative word. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

You forgot the pickled eggs, ummmmm! Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Look's like a Thundercloud design. Red, White and Blue Skies, John T. Brasher D-5166

Hell, I don't know by then I was thinking of just falling out I was so miserable