dudeman17

Was that considered normal/acceptable for the autoland system or was that a bug that needed to be improved?

That theory would stand to reason. If the s/n's are different then they're different. Also, I can't imagine that the FBI would give back a rig that was actually used (evidence) in the case (which includes the ones left on the plane). But a couple of questions... Is it possible that the s/n's or the data cards were erroneously mixed up with the front-mount reserve's? And, If your theory is correct, does that affect what is known about the chute that Cooper jumped with? I keep coming back to the idea of Cooper jumping a non-steerable chute and how that would affect his chances of success in the jump. If your theory is correct, is it possible that that is erroneous information?

B.A.S.E. Basically Anything, Something, Everything

Another factor not yet mentioned is climbout time. Early level AFF's often take a bit of time to get set up in the door, do the hotel checks, and exit. Early AFF's aren't usually spotting yet, but if you're taking a look, that's ok. But if you're taking your look as you get to the door, then get set up, do your hotel check, count, and exit, you likely covered a bit of ground since your 'spot'. Sounds like you're at Elsinore?

(Apparently BASEr's are TSO'd)

I have a question. How exactly did those airstairs work? I know their intended use on the ground, they lower to the ground and people go up or down them into or out of the plane. But when they were lowered in flight, would they hydraulically lower into a fixed position, or would they hang loose and move up and down with the varying airflow, factored by their weight? The reason why I ask this is, there's an integral part of this case that's never made sense to me. And that's the idea that the pilots would 'feel' it when Cooper jumped. I fly in much smaller, lighter, less powerful planes than a jetliner, and when one person jumps, you don't feel it. It's not like you're sitting on the edge of a springboard when somebody launches off it into a Triple-Lindy. Now, if those stairs floated up and down freely, and were light enough, so that when Cooper ventured out on them they lowered with his weight, then recoiled back up when he left, then I could see the pilots feeling that. But if they were in a relatively fixed position, then not so much.

I once had a round reserve zapped on exit. Intricate 4-way exit from a DC-3, my reserve ripcord got snagged by someone else's container, so I ended up under a low-performance round reserve at 12,500'. I don't remember what the winds were, but I landed about a mile, mile and a half away.

I don't think so. I'm not a pilot either, but I've got a pretty good grasp of aerodynamics. If the pilots at Quora state differently, I'll stand corrected, but... You can look up Bernoulli's law or whatever, but the operative issue is airflow over the wings, not ground speed. Take it to a theoretical extreme: If a jetliner will fly at 300, it'll fly. If it were flying into a headwind of 400, then it might have a groundspeed of 100 backwards, but if there's 300 airflow going over the wings, then it's flying. We fly in turboprops, which are much less powerful than jets. We occasionally get uppers of 50-60 at altitude. It affects the spot and how much time given between groups on exit, but the plane flies just fine.

I can certainly see this point. And if someone is hiding behind anonymity and obviously trolling, then they can certainly be discounted. But the other side of the argument, and the one I run with is this: I'm an extremely private person. I don't do facebook, twitter, instagram, or any of that social media stuff. The stuff people put on there, to me, to my life, what I'm up to is nobody's business but who I'm doing it with. I come on this site because I'm a skydiver. I read this thread because I've always been fascinated with the Cooper case. If I post a thought or an opinion, I'll usually state the reasons why I think it. If someone wants to disagree with me and state the reasons why, I'm all ears (eyes?). Does my name really make a difference? Indeed, if I did state my name, most of you wouldn't know who I am anyway, so what's the difference? I can tell you my experience. I've been jumping for over 40 years, almost 30 of those as an active, rated instructor. I've made thousands upon thousands upon thousands of jumps. Jump pretty much every week, made 16 last weekend, pretty typical for this time of year. I've jumped out of and off of a wide variety of things, into a wide variety of places. So I think I know parachuting fairly well. Again, I'm willing to state and discuss the reasoning behind my opinions, so does the spelling of my name really matter?

If the exit is from an aircraft, it is NOT a base jump. A lot of proximity flying is done from helicopters, a lot of times because there is no exit point from the cliff. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not a base jump. --- I've always thought a dam was more of a Span. It's man-made, not a natural cliff made of E. It's not a B, because a building is an occupied structure in a different, unique, urban environment. A dam is more like a bridge with a structure, and it does in fact 'span' a gorge.

I'm not sure I'd look at it quite like that. I think people are just trying to help with the learning curve, and have a laugh with - not at - you. Absolutely. Double absolutely.

A quick word about Hollywood and how movies are made. There are a lot of different ways movies come about, and I don't know if what I'm about to say applies to your movie, but it seems possible/likely. Often times, a couple people will form a small production company, find a story they like, and set out to make a movie. They'll option the material, get a couple treatments/spec scripts, then set out to find the money. They'll pitch studios and/or independent investors. They'll try to get a 'name', like your Hollywood kid, to attract attention. And until the money comes, this is where the project sits 'in limbo'. The reason why they don't finalize a writer or a script is because they know that the money people will want to have a say in that, especially if it's a studio. It sounds like this is where your project is at. So they'll continue to re-up the option until the money comes ('green-lit') or they give up on the project.

Well that's good to hear, and yeah, the video is just a few seconds before exit, but it is kind of funny to watch. But... ...Yeah. I once saw a guy who was already outside the plane floating, duck his head back inside the door to take a last look at the light. I have to laugh, yobnoc, you do seem to be having a hard time here. Every time you post a video, people do pick it apart. But you do seem to have a good attitude about it, an open mind and a desire to learn. And that's a good thing.

'Spotting' in the modern age - A couple guys in the door, staring at the light panel inside the door frame. When it turns from red to green, everyone just climbs out. Nobody looks down, checks the spot, looks for air traffic... --------- "Hey, man, what're the uppers today?" "Sorry, no drugs allowed."

I certainly understand that one. Being in the loading area and boarding the plane with a lightweight student in mid-August ain't comfortable, but if you need the drag you need the drag. Just explore all the clothing options. Military camo pants are baggy and porous. Oversize long sleeve t-shirts can help. I use all these options for AFF, but as Doug pointed out, if you're doing belly RW then you may need to figure out grippers. Also, you may have just wrote that wrong, but to clarify, you'd wear the sweatshirt OVER the jumpsuit (or instead of it) not under it. You're not trying to 'puff out' the suit, you're exposing the bagginess and porousness of the sweatshirt to the air.

Again, that's all very interesting, but it still doesn't explain why it would be necessary to stage the Cooper hijacking. At the time, plenty of scary hijackings were already taking place, including the at-the-time recent PLO ones you mention. If Nixon and Halaby were already implementing their plans to upgrade airport security worldwide, why would they need to stage another hijacking, especially one in which the perpetrator could predictably become something of a folk hero. If anything, that could lessen the public's perception of the urgency for upgraded security.

Regarding jumper34... This is all very fascinating stuff, but I have a few questions. If this was a preplanned inside job with ties all the way up to the president, and extreme covert coverups afterward, what was the purpose of it? It was a blatantly public event. Also - I'm not a researcher in this case, I'm just a curious long time skydiver. My thoughts focus a lot on the logistics of the jump itself. So he jumps with a pilot's bailout rig with a non-steerable canopy. If he opens that thing at 10 grand he's got no influence over where he lands. A chosen LZ? He's literally at the mercy of the winds. And 80 mph uppers? You seem to have much different wind estimates than the other researchers. Earlier I posited a theory whereby his best chance at landing in a chosen LZ might have been to get over it in freefall, then open so low so as to stay there. I mentioned maneuvering over it in freefall, which is doable, but within a very limited range. You'd have to start out with a very accurate 'spot', which is determining exactly when to exit the plane so as to be over the desired LZ. That would require good visibility of the ground from the plane. It was night. I've heard varying reports of the weather, from completely cloudy and rainy, to partially cloudy and drizzly. Does anyone know what the moon was that night? The ratio of moonlight to cloudiness would affect how well he could see the ground and determine his exit point. Also, was there cities, towns, or other features on the ground nearby that would be lit up, giving him a better bearing of exactly where he was exiting the plane?

Before you spend hundreds of dollars and wait months for a custom jumpsuit jacket, or set your seamstress up for hours of exploratory work, try - a sweatshirt. A normal ordinary sweatshirt. The material is very porous, lots of drag. For AFF I've got 3 different sizes. Poke holes in the cuffs to stick your thumbs through and you've got swoop cords. Float for days. Way cheaper than a jumpsuit and you can have it this week.

Not really. If she had a toggle fire, hung toggle upon releasing her brakes, tension knots, broken lines, canopy damage, or whatever, she could be spinning (diving) and cut away, and you'd still be there. The point of the breakoff track is to get away from the other people.

Your track should also be away from her, not underneath her. If she'd had a baglock/streamer and cut away, you'd have been right there. Otherwise, congrats!

Raphael, you should consider the profiles of people trying to give you advice before arguing with them. You've got a couple highly experienced people with instructor ratings trying to up your survival quotient. I agree with everything billvon is trying to tell you. I would add... If he had hit someone, they could both be dead. Even with successful AAD fires. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's seen that happen. That this happened is a learning experience. That you find it funny and argue about it is chilling.

Robert and Dave, would you two please stop bickering? And I'm not looking for an explanation of why you do, just stop. Please. You both seem like fine folks who have done great research into this case, and I enjoy reading those posts. I threw this question out there once, and none of you bit - Have any of you ever made a jump? I wish I could get all you guys out to my drop zone, where my cohorts and I could take you all up on a load. There's something therapeutic about being at altitude, looking out over great distance, getting in the door, grabbing a faceful of wind and flicking out to fly - fly like a ROCK! You all might find yourselves laughing with each other. Heaven forbid...

I am in no way advocating for SP, but I too would like to know why you say that. I've said before that the suit would be no problem. The loafers, more so. You yourself said that Cooper had another bag with him that you speculated might contain better footwear. A pair of goggles would be helpful too. On the other hand, if he was hanging out in the terminal in that red and white jumpsuit, blue helmet, and a pair of French Paraboots, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

That's fucking funny.

Are you sure about that? The way I read this statement... ...it's not 100% clear whether they're referring to Cooper's jet. It kind of sounds like they're describing turns made by the chase planes. Could those turns be one of the S turns made by the chase planes to stay behind the jet? If so it might be mentioned to indicate that the chase planes were farther away at the point Cooper is believed to have jumped.