lodestar

Kinda like "Mods and Rockers" isn't it?.....I remember going to a party at someones house and all the RW guys were on one end of the room and all the Style guys on the other....and never the twain shall meet!

Friday the 14th of Jan, Mike Patterson, Ron Schott, Mike Branch and Bill (Tuna) Case met at a Cuban restaurant in Z-hills and had a good time reminiscing about our past history there. After lunch we all went out to the DZ currently there and I was particularly amazed at the operation now going on there. Any of you old guys would know the old bunker where aircraft armament was sighted in but it's now devoid of all that mound of dirt around it and turned into a shop of some kind along with many new buildings and facilities for jumpers. There were lots of people camped there and many were doing skydives. The gear was of particular interest to me and I was amazed at the technology now in use, entire rigs the size of one of the old belly warts, sleek functional and SMALL would cover it wit a side order of cost $$$(Phew!). Other aspects of change since back when, the amazing twin otters, three teams, straight jump run, all out in sequence.....and the otter is down before the last guy hits the field...amazing.... Forward speed, drive....Jesus H Christ, if we'd a had that gear back then....man o man... spotting is no longer needed.... Best of all, Jerry Bird's Bar....we all got caught by the old 8x10's of the original teams, Mike and Ron were clearly evident along with many of the people we knew and loved back then, a fitting tribute to the "stone age" of jumping and beginnings of relative work....awesome to see and remember. It felt great to be back in and around the sport and personally I was truly amazed at how much equipment has changed for the better, and skydivers from Europe....France, Germany, Russia, we talked with a guy from Finland who explained the gear to us, truly wonderful that the sport has developed to the extent it has, I know we were all amazed at the day. Hopefully we can make it an annual affair and would hope any one from those days would join us next year. Tuna...

There is film footage of a beaver attack, I think Discovery Channel has a bit about catfish noodling where they reach into holes to get catfish. One hole yielded a beaver which bit damn near through the web of the thumb on one guy, only think stopping it was the thumb bones, tore his hand up badly. I've seen other footage as well indicating beavers are nothing to mess with on close quarters.

The camels are large, furry, quadrapeds, some have one hump, some two, you can easily spot them on loads, they tend to fart a lot, moreso than the usual jumpers and they tend to be first out to form the base for relative work. One major way to spot them, there will be large piles of camel shit by the door, they tend to void their bowels jut prior to jumping.

Although it's not a production model, I think it was an experimental or prototype of the Bede corp. They have one model, the XBD-2 that has a similar propulsion method but is larger. There was a similar one off design by a company NZ that they called the Mick Duckt N7XR which is very close to the one you have a picture of. I think only one was made and that may be the one in your picture.

Jimmy was one of those guys who knew everyone, I remember his Dad owned a pharmacy on the north side of Chicago. He was an active jumper and many times I flew him on loads in Rainbow, Bong AFB and various meets throughout the Chicago area. We often ended up at his girlfriends (Helene Tozier) parents place on a lake in northern Illinois for the weekends. A great man and will be missed and remembered well. Blue Skies Jimmy...

The only dead stick I made was with the 182 at the hills, 6472A, as I recall Jeff had wanted to run it a quart low on oil to conserve oil use and I had done that, in the course of the day's jumps I had to frequently check and add oil keeping it a quart low. At some point, I either got the nose too low or had the aircraft in a slipping spiral with the nose way up in order to get her down expeditiously and during that maneuver, with the aircraft already a quart low and the oil low enough to require another quart on the next fueling the engine seized up and stopped. Since I was right over the airport, it was just a matter of spiraling down to land, and knowing it was going to have to go to the hangar for Porter to have a look, I just landed on the taxiway to the hangar and pulled it up right in front of the pumps. After that we no longer ran a quart low on oil. Ouch! I should have been more aware of the low oil and perhaps not have put the aircraft in such an extreme position but hind sight is 20/20 and it was an Expensive lesson. I have to say Jeff was pretty cool about it and didn't kick my ass or even get upset, just matter of not keeping any more engines running a quart low in the future. I will say though, that Lou deserves a medal for landing the 196 dead stick, that sucker was like a lead brick without power, and would drop like the proverbial lead balloon making it a highly skilled operation to land it where you wanted to land safely and without harm. Good Job Lou!

I can remember being at Zhills in the spring of '69, and working for Jeff Searles at the DZ there. Although I do remember 95 N, I do have a picture of Frank Youngquist, Jeff and Bonnie in front of a 196 which is likely Frank's and taken on a visit while he was at Zhills. I'll try and find it but think it's been posted on here somewhere. I had disremembered that there were two of the aircraft but the only one I flew was 95N. Thanks to this posting the story is now refreshed in my mind and I thank you for that. Flying the 196 was one of the high points in my time at the hills....fantastic aircraft and one helluva jump ship. And, there is nothing quite the same as firing that R985 up first thing in the morning......

Anyone from the early days of the Hills should remember the back wall of the loft in the packing area. That wall was signed by hundreds of people, some long gone and some still kicking. I often wonder where that went or if it were destroyed when they tore the building down.

Don't know if anyone has seen this one yet...it's freaking amazing... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1265891/Hold-think-youre-going-Skydiver-grabs-gliders-tail-fin-fly-2-100-metres-100mph.html

I can remember some of those swamp loads...I know we used to have the policy that if you got blown into the swamp, one of us would take the 182 or 196, locate the guys, then fly in the direction of the airport, we'd make three passes all going the same direction so they kinda knew which way to head. Sometimes we dropped "care packages" ranging anywhere from water, beer, pot, food or whatever to help them out depending on how far they had to truck. What fun!....

Stone age of automatic openers back then....amazing we survived the experience !

Thanks for those thoughts Pat, I well remember the Wolverine, and was one of those chosen to be a pall bearer as well, it seems Aunt Margaret requested "six of the biggest skydivers" as pall bearers and so it was that I was chosen. In normal times I was usually stuck in the loft packing rigs for the next day and usually showed up later at the Wolverine but that was okay since most of the others were six beers to the wind by the time I got there...I always left early though since I had to be alive for the first load the next day and get the students rigged up for first jumps, open the loft and check fuel and oil in the aircraft. Hoop, I share your sentiments :" No Expired Pismires anymore, no Cardinal Puff - what do they do these days - knit? Whether DZ bum or brain surgeon, 'twas all part of the warp and woof of skydiving. Once upon a time." Z Hills was a special place in those years and certainly changed my life (better or worse depending) having come down from Jeff's place in Milwaukee and being around for the first few years of it's existence was a memorable time for me. One that I certainly won't forget.

I seem to remember a sign just like the one you guys are talking about, for sale on Ebay not too long ago....I think it didn't sell and was re listed at a lower price, $1.79. I'll have a look later today and see if I can find it...

That's correct Roger, I can remember walking into that bar on one occasion and seeing everyone laying on the floor....the bar owner was not especially happy about it, seems some of the regulars got knocked over in the process...My memory is dim but I think we were banned from doing it any more due to broken tables and chairs, not to mention all the spilled beer and drinks when everyone hit the floor... It got so bad that when discussing events surrounding the game we resorted to "Expired pizmeyer" as a safe way to mention the game without getting a major reaction to it.

Roger, What's going on in Deland and is it today and tomorrow (sun)?

I can well remember Chet when he would show up at Zhills and camp in the parking lot in his van. We spent many an evening shooting the shit since I was staying in the old original building across from the Porter's hangar. He was quite a guy...a true legend....he is missed....

Interesting information Jerry, thanks for posting that!....

Lots of great footage on that one! Although it was a bit past my time there you can sense the difference between then and the early 70's, almost everyone is jumping squares in the film which would date it when it was shot. Thanks for posting that....enjoyed it.... Tuna

You might start with a simple rip test to see if the fabric has sufficient strength. On the other hand, why even try jumping it? Think about throwing it out with a test dummy first to see what happens....

Cough! Cough! Cough! Gasp! Hack! Patooie! I'm a he man jumper who sucks up smoke before I goes to 14,000 feet without oxygen....lol... I should laugh, for years I carried a pack of pall malls tucked into the corner between the windshield and dash on the 182....and probably the 196.....but I'm a good boy these days!Quote

Howard, correct me if I"m wrong but the two Paracommanders in the first pic, are those not the USAPT canopies?

Pat, Hope your surgery heals well...when you get to this point in life it's actually maintenance on the old bod. I'm trying to be pro active with it to prevent more serious damages and have just had a UCL ligament replaced in the left thumb. Was at PT today and the therapist was amazed at the flexibility just out of the cast, I mentioned I was a banjo picker and thus had a lot of strength and flexibility already in that hand. Tomorrow I go in for an abdominal aorta ultrasound along with the carotid arteries just to see what kind of shape they are in... I feel like an old car, replacing parts as they get used.....what with a pacemaker, two artificial hips, a plate on the right femur, a huge kidney stone surgically removed and five rounds of Lithotripsy to smash some other stones...a chunk of my left temple from basal cell carcinoma pretty well rounds out the stuff....at some point I figure I'll have more replaced than is left which should get me to 175 years or so.....

Neh

bos twink partou specid e !