dudeman17

Regarding the tie... Obviously it is not known, so this is speculative, but... I have to lean towards a thrift store purchase. As careful as Cooper was with all the other evidence, it seems an unlikely mistake to leave something behind that could be traced back to him. Or to anyone who knew him.

If someone can think of it, someone will do it. If enough people do it, someone will be killed. Life is full of adventure, adventure is fraught with risk. Consenting adults, and all that. Let's just hope the French are better at keeping the lawyers at bay.

Good eye, I stand corrected. In the film clip of the jump that was posted some time ago, it certainly was not fully extended. It also didn't seem to 'snap back' very hard when the guy jumped.

Geez, I'd all but forgotten about that article. The stairs appear fully deployed in those pictures. Carl Boenish died in '84 in a cliff jump at Norway's Troll Wall. He is considered the father of modern base jumping. A really interesting theatrically released feature film was made about him and the early days of base. 'Sunshine Superman'. Dean Westgaard passed away from cancer many years ago, as did Kevin Donnelly some years ago. I believe Ray Cottingham is still around, but I haven't seen him or heard of his whereabouts for a few years. Not sure about Edwards or Meyers.

She doesn't want to give the name of her 'Cooper', but it would be interesting if she gave the age, since she claims it was mistaken. Also, if she gave the name and contact of the 'detective' she claims to have talked to, that would at least verify that her suspicions are legit, however far-fetched they may be. ----- A general note - This woman claims the 'other guy' was ground crew. That reported sighting of someone walking the roads that was mentioned a bit back included the possible 'Cooper' carrying a suitcase different than the 'bomb' case. Other reported stories that involve ground crew or cars/items stashed to aid in his getaway... Unless Cooper had comfortable access to the door, as in the ability to be in the door and observe exactly where he was over the ground, unless there was good enough visibility for him to see the ground, unless he had communications with the pilots to give left/right corrections and direct control over the exact flight path and jump spot, unless he knew the winds and had a steerable chute, then his ability to land anywhere near a specific spot where there might be person(s) or items pre-stashed is nil.

Stupid story, related... I'm old, and old-school. I still wore frap hats long after many jumpers didn't know what they were. So, some years ago at a school I was working at, a friend of mine put a guy through AFF who did exactly the above - he was a talented painter and did helmets and tanks for a motorcycle shop. So my friend had an essentially brand new helmet, and this guy took it and painted it for him with a really well-done design. Well, my friend couldn't bring himself to jump it because he was afraid it would get scratched up. So it hung in his locker for a couple years while he jumped his old helmet. One day he saw me getting ready to go on an AFF jump, and he noticed my frap hat. He grabbed that helmet out of his locker and handed it to me. 'Here, this thing is pissing me off, you take it. Just promise me you'll wear it doing student jumps.' I still have it...

I'm sure you know, but for others... Back in those days 10-way was done exclusively from DC-3's. Single file, no show exits (no floaters). The '3 door was part of the puzzle. The exits were... interesting. Speed stars - the drag race of skydiving. Anyway, an all female 10-way team from the west coast was called 'Snatch Force'. That was also the name of a race horse.

You're getting some great advice here. I'm rooting for you to take it (and the deal). One thing I would add is, if you haven't already, have your parents read this thread. It might give them a kinder view of the community you've entered.

I'm not a rigger, but I am a TI. I've had at least one cutaway on a Sigma tandem rig where I believe the skyhook disconnected. That thing is supposed to stay connected during a cutaway, but it needs to disconnect if the reserve is pulled independently. It would be better to have it disconnect when it's not supposed to, than have it fail to disconnect when it needs to. I'm guessing that the design takes that into account.

A couple questions in my mind, and I've heard conflicting information... The Examiner in question, had his rating simply lapsed, or had it been suspended/revoked for cause? If the latter, what was the cause? And the Examiner who'se signature he used, did he know, and agree to it? That's how the industry has always operated, with instructors being 1099 independent contractors. There's always been talk over whether that is appropriate and whether it should change, but I think the reality is that the industry just isn't big enough to attract the attention of the authorities who would change it. I've heard that some dz's might be W-2-ing their instructors as employees, but I'm not sure if that's true (yet).

Well you were the one who was supposed to try and find that out for us. Then you spent quite some time refusing to divulge what you had learned. More recently you inferred that you never actually talked to the (Sky Sports) guy. At this point it's hard to tell what to believe.

It's also been speculated that the reason he asked for multiple rigs might be so that they would not give him sabotaged gear for fear that he might make someone else jump. Getting the bailout rigs may have just been ignorance on the part of the FBI or NWA or whoever was getting them. A big mystery is how he ended up with the dummy reserve, because Emerick or whoever at Sky Sports grabbed them should have instantly recognized that.

I wrote a fairly detailed post a while back about the nature of the jump, don't see a need to repeat it all, I'm sure it can be found. Divalent's concerns about the jump are accurate, but the bottom line is that it's all speculative because it's not known whether Cooper had experience or the knowledge to consider such things. A couple quick points about the gear for Divalent - The reserves, even the dummy one, would have the attachment clips, because that's just how they're made, and he is correct that the dummy would need to attach to a harness for proper training. But the back chutes were not sport mains, but pilot emergency bailout rigs, and as such would not have the D-rings for the reserves to attach, because they ARE reserves. Also, I think it's been established about the dummy reserve that it's not the container that was sewn shut, but the canopy inside, to make it easier to repack between training uses. It's been speculated that Cooper might have tried to use the dummy reserve container to hold some of the money.

I don't shoot video, but as a TI over the years I have seen the student videos go from VHS to DVD to USB, to now they just post it online and send the student the link so that they can watch/download/share it as they wish. So, yeah, the student tandem skydive video is - in the cloud.

Say what? Your profile indicates you're in the US, but English is clearly not your first language. By your line of reasoning, I have a hard time imagining you passing an FJC, much less a TICC. Your questions should be addressed to your T-I/E and your S&TA. If you have the slightest idea what any of that means...

I think his current question is valid. He's asking whether there were oscillations or pressure bumps reported in the other skyjacking jump cases. Since the pressure bump is a major factor in trying to determine when Cooper jumped, I think there is relevance. As in, did the pilots 'feel' it when the other skyjackers jumped.

As a third party observer... nwt and BMAC, I think you two are needlessly seeing your exchanges as an argument. I don't think your posts are conflicting, I think they are complementary. nwt, I don't think you're wrong in assessing your incident. BMAC, I don't think you're wrong in assessing other factors that contributed to / might have prevented it. Informative reading from both sides. On another note, nwt, is your reserve still airworthy as a reserve? All that UV exposure... (Yeah, I'm joking. Sort of.)

Miss?... As in you didn't have that one... or as in you forgot to mention it... or as in you wish you still had it? Double Ha!

What? No belly band pc?

A ripcord is less uncool than going in. Talk with the instructors and riggers at your dz and do what works best for you. How old is your gear? Ha!

That's some decent dissent on our mode of descent, Squeak. Hehe Yeah, I see the finger...

Your interview with the Sky Sports guy was canceled? Why didn't you ever say so.

You're getting some good advice and encouragement here. However... Actually, DO forget that. While it is true, you do not want that anywhere in your mind as something you would even remotely rely on. Skydiving is a blatant act of self reliance. (Sorry, Joe. I always enjoy the advice and encouragement you give newer jumpers, including the rest of that post, but that particular point, yeah, no. Right along with don't rely on the RSL or the AAD.)

Of course I'm a smart ass. And you should be laughing as much as anyone because you know that what I said is true. Just tellin' it straight, as someone here likes to say.

I think we've heard that one before.