Farflung

The History Channel had some relevance and credibility to their name years ago. Pawn Stars, Monster Quest and American Pickers represent the current buffet which appeals to the masses. Just like Cadillac trying to pass the Cimarron off as one of their products or the pre-formed meat experience called the McRib by McDonalds, only the least intelligent or most easily distracted would fall for this ruse. The History Channel should change their name to better represent what they produce. Not sure if the FCC will allow that name. Oh well. Why did the ‘History Channel’ stray?.... $$$$$, just a hunch.

All good research needs a baseline to establish some perspective. I’ve researched hair styles of the era and feel I may have found the follicular ground zero from which all other cuts and styles can be formed. Magnificent is not a strong enough word to describe this look. My investigation into the lurid world of toupees has proved to be both frightening and oddly alluring at the same time.

RobertMBlevins posted multiple times: “Top 15 Reasons Skipp Porteous and Yours Truly Believe Kenny Christiansen was the Guy:” One of the compelling reasons was supplied by Dawn J in sworn testimony, “10) 'Dawn J', testified: That Christiansen owned a toupee but only wore it socially (and not after Nov 71)” I think all of us can remember what we were doing when Kenny stopped wearing his toupee (socially anyway). Is there any evidence that he may have worn his toupee in any sort of unsocial or antisocial occasions? I’m in total agreement that Kenny’s toupee is crucial and most certainly needs to be on the ‘Top Reasons’ list proving that DB Cooper wore a toupee. Why would Dawn J bring up the subject in the first place? It is not like she was asked leading questions or being manipulated as this was an objective deposition of certified testimony. This toupee business needs to be investigated further without regard for the potentially explosive ramifications which will ensue.

Now that everyone is in agreement that Cooper wore a toupee; the real work has only just begun for crack researchers and unbiased investigators seeking truth, justice, the American way. There is no mention as to the style of hairpiece that Kenny owned and was seen wearing up to but not including the date of the Cooper hijacking and NEVER after. This testimony has been certified by multiple unnamed agencies and no doubt under the pain of some penalty should this person make a false statement. Normally one would consider having the wrong eye color or hair color (or complete lack of) to be an eliminating factor, not so here. The very fact that Kenny was bald has now become an attribute in his favor being Cooper rather than the other way around. I have prepared a pallet of pates which one can select the likely style of adjunct that Kenny placed upon his head Thanksgiving eve. I would have selected a hat with a buckle in front, but I’m a victim of fashion and not a trail blazer. There was no mention of the hijacker wearing a toupee, but that is likely due to the fact that they were scared and Kenny was quite adroit with the use of wigs. Kind of makes sense why he was in the lavatory for such a long time. The reason no one noticed Cooper before boarding the plane was because he was not the same person. I think it is obvious that Kenny wore several toupees at once and doffed them at each node of his journey. For instance, at the ticket counter he wore style ‘F’ and on the way to the gate he pulled that off exposing style ‘3’, and so on. Occam’s razor being sharpened here, if one just thinks about it a little. Occam would endorse that if Cooper buried the money as a diversion then Cooper buried the Amboy chute as a diversion. Both have worked quite well. Kenny had that paper sack filled with a 1946 canopy that he acquired in the paratroopers in Japan. Upon landing in Amboy he pulled out his decoy canopy, complete with date stamp and buried it. Then he went to the Columbia and buried some of the money. It is exactly what is meant by Occam’s rule and it should be followed by intelligent researchers who only care about the truth. For it is a far better thing toupee too much, than to have never paid at all. –Cy Sperling

6. He was a secretive man. 7. He was able to keep a secret. 22. Secret Identity – unknown to me for 17 yrs. Now that is a man that can keep a secret. Additionally, 25. He would not speak of things, as if he was keeping information to himself. 26. He was able to not speak of many things and keep information to himself. 27. His diction would exclude the use of verbs, nouns and articles related to that which he did now wish to disclose. 28. He ALWAYS said ‘hen house’, never ‘coop’. 29. He never told me why he didn’t use the word coop in favor of always using hen house. 30. He said Delta and Bravo instead of saying the letters D or B. 31. He called Bumble Bees, Hairy black and yellow flies. 32. He never spoke of Aunt Bee of Mayberry. 33. He was asked about barrel makers once and almost started a fight trying to not answer. 34. He knew things that only I and he were aware of, before all this and well after several well known facts and rumors which have been written and spoken about on many occasions but only once where I was aware that the truth was being withheld from disclosure for others to read or hear for themselves. 35. He never spoke of the Smoot Hawley Act. That’s secrecy! 36. He NEVER spoke of Voltaire or Chaucer and he was never spotted with materials of either. How do you explain that exactly? 37. He never showed any aptitude for skydiving, aviation or building a phony bomb in a briefcase as part of his ability to live in the shadows. 38. He would say things that he wanted you to hear. 39. He would not say things that he did not want you to hear or know about at any time in the past. 40. He never said he owned a toupee AND never wore it socially or in private. 41. He rarely if ever ate spumoni. 42. He kept a paper bag so well hidden that it has not been found. 43. He was seen walking to a car as if in some sort of hurry or rush without explanation. 44. He had a habit of not touching the hand rails of stairs or escalators. 45. He slipped once when asking for someone to pass the potatoes at dinner and accidentally blurted out “You all know I’m the hijacker, D B Cooper.” 46. He was very comfortable using twenty dollar bills for purchases of goods and services. 47. He never kept his cash in bundles bound by rubber bands after Nov 1971. 48. He was very quiet about things he did not want known. 49. If he did not want you to know something he would not tell you. 50. He walked briskly if he wanted to arrive somewhere quicker. He was D B Cooper.

skyjack71, this is a microcosm of the Cooper ‘research’ conducted for near 20,000 posts. The elements of the story being in some city bar, the couple who played there, the people that knew Duane from his past would not change the tale is they were completely removed. These additional minutia acts as a sort of literary chaff that does nothing more than cloud the picture. This may be the desired outcome for all I know. By adding more and more elements your story becomes diluted and draws more attention to the eccentric. What song were they playing while this happened? What sort of drinks did you have that made you need to use the restroom? The bar was narrow, do you think this was used to store parachutes at some time in the past? Get it? You said Duane (convicted felon) returned with a bulge in his clothing that the other patrons of the bar were well aware of. I would infer that it was patently obvious to the most casual of observer that Duane was about to open a keg of whoop ass on the person that prevented you from finding relief in the bathroom. That plus you said if someone had dropped a glass there may have been panic. Panic? Sounds like Duane was not concealing his intentions too well and this was an assault being committed with many witnesses. Or this is just a ‘Drama Queen’ version. Duane handled a simple situation extremely poorly for anyone over the age of 16. I don’t think he had some ‘confinement fetish’ which caused him to pickpocket women on vacation in order to get caught time and time again. He just didn’t use anything resembling sound judgment. Had anyone in that bar seen things differently or been a cop, Duane would have had his picture in some South of Fort Collins town newspaper to compliment the one from Treasure Island, FL.

I forgot to post some source references, my bad. Here is Sheriff Higgins (Prototype Arpaio perhaps?) http://www.gotwavs.com/php/sounds/?id=bst&media=WAVS&type=Movies&movie=Cars"e=heapoftrouble.txt&file=heapoftrouble.wav You decide.

Skyjack71 opined: “Okay, I guess that is supposed to be funny, but I didn’t get it.” Well that is kinda the point. What may appear as absolutely logical and obvious to you may appear as absurd to me. Skydiving welders who were trained prison convicts to repair inaccessible pipeline comes to mind. The addition of minutia and detail about a superfluous subject in order to give it more credence is odd. Duane knew a man ‘from his past’ (as opposed to what?) who worked in a bar south of Fort Collins (why not name the town? Preserving the mystique?). The man’s name was Rick (I know that guy) and her name was Elaine (where did she come from and why add this detail to another detail?). Then you go into how you were prevented from using the restroom. I really didn’t see that one coming at all; from guys Duane knew to steel guitars, their names, the names of random women and you trotting back after some Troglodyte stops you from using the toilet. Did I miss something? My reading comprehension is good not much now. Now a convicted felon, rises to the occasion by obtaining a huge (your word) weapon with numerous people acting as witness to this assault. A threat is effectively conveyed, as you said the young man who said something left this establishment. How am I doing so far? This is held up like a badge of honor and as an example of how quickly Duane could craft and follow a plan through execution in the face of some ominous problem solving. Like your being prevented from going to the bathroom? This may not be the peg to hang your ‘See how smart Duane was’ hat. In fact, it had the opposite impact on me. But I’m also open to being the only one with such an interpretation. While I was reading the above story, the Perry Como song began an involuntary playback in my topsy-turvy, hat holder for some droll reason. Probably a random event, just like the album cover selected. ‘Urine a heap of trouble…’ is a phonetic corruption of a catch phrase from the Cooper era – ‘You’re in a heap of trouble, boy.’ Strange how the Dodge Sheriff which was broadcast coast to coast during that time frame has vanished into oblivion, yet people can recall singular events from that time if it is associated with Cooper. It all just strikes me as a - Plate of Shrimp.

My bladder has failed. Forget the low level jets being observed going transonic with unfailing regularity, now there is the perfect, prototype model for dive bar behavior. (Rod Sterling narration) Imagine if you will, a young couple enjoying a night out in each other’s company, a steel guitar is gently strummed unaware of what lies ahead. For this is a place where the restroom proves to provide just the opposite, where the social fabric is torn and soiled in a fit of displaced bravado by a stranger not knowing any better. You are about to enter, the Toilet Zone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y A young woman feels the distinct pressing in her pelvic area, if left unaddressed this will lead to certain primal pain, unintended release or even death. While in the process of seeking relief she is stopped by a stranger and denied services. The steel guitar continues to mesmerize the gathering of sophisticates into a trance of things being better than they actually appear. Back at the bar, a man draws deep from a cigarette and thinks about the stash of coupons he has at home and how well behaved the crowd appears. He exhales the blend of American tobacco smoke into a series of rings which rise to the ceiling in perfect symmetry before disappearing into a poof. He is broken from his sedate thoughts when he is informed of the treachery which has just occurred. Leave and go next door for facilities and simply never return, escort his date to the restroom or inform the management of this conduct; not in the Toilet Zone. The man leaves his date behind and exits the premises. Quickly he returns with a bulge that men fear and women desire. Barely able to walk with such a massive appliance, he returns to the bar and turns to the ‘restroom blocker’ and displays his package, barely concealed by his dress leather jacket. Now ‘Mr. You Should Hold Your Urine’ sheepishly approaches the man with an ice cold stare and offers an apology for behavior that social scientists are still baffled over. The self proclaimed washroom attendant then leaves to the cheers of dozens of observers and cowards. The lady then walks to the restroom while the bar begins a rhythmic, slow clap before breaking into full blown applause. It was at this time that the man in the dress leather jacket released the huge bulge he was sporting by putting his giant tool on the bar for all to see. He never bought a drink that night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ND3oghPL5M

Here are the two basic ways to get the attentions of the ‘ladies’ in the sky: This approach featuring a ‘Micro 377’ and a ‘Mini-Tina’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlb2PtB6JGo&feature=related or my personal choice, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkGR65CXaNA&feature=related

There is some interesting data in these latest missives. Some people in the rural part of Washington State heard some aircraft (presumably indoors). Such was the disturbance that they came outside and concluded that the aircraft must be in some trouble. This is where my avian senses are piqued, Robin. What about these aircraft sounds made these people conclude that they must be in trouble? You can make up any answer since I have no idea what this would be. Hollywood has offered many scenarios which include lasers making that (listen below)space weapon sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm70ecoCK0c&feature=related Skydivers love to film themselves. Many, many videos of people jumping from planes in many forms of dress up to and including wearing nothing at all. Why aren’t there videos of these people jumping out of the planes taken on the ground? There are certainly a fair amount of videos of a DC-9 littering the skies with jumpers at 10,000 feet. Almost as if, they are duplicating (modeling) Cooper’s stunt. Perris, CA is filled with people who must suffer hearing the distinct sound of a commercial airliner at such a devastatingly low altitude with a circus act tumbling out the aft by the dozens. Where are the witnesses (thousands perhaps?) to this semi-regular activity? So Cal must have some uptight citizens group complaining about the noise and people pollution caused by the operations of a DC-9 and the large volume of contents. Yet I can’t find anything. One event in Washington, at night, above the clouds, in November has people with crystal clear recall by the dozens. Kinda makes me think.

It is vital to gather an individual’s name (like Helen J?) and qualifications such as working on Shemya Island in 1951. Armed with that knowledge, one can confirm and verify the Dan Cooper comic book was in the dayroom, therefore adding even more circumstantial evidence. I take things much, much further in a quest for the truth. I mean names, qualifications and known facts. Yes, it is a Cooperism, but a damn fine one –‘known facts.’ Item: One Major Jesse Marcel is called by… Item: Mac Brazel, long time resident and shepherd. Has Marcel inspect a crash site. Item: Jesse Marcel, Jr. (a medical doctor) observes some wreckage brought home by the Major. It is concluded to be “not of this world.” Item: One Stanton Friedman (master’s degree in engineering) is told this story at great personal peril, perhaps even a lawsuit. Item: Glenn Dennis (mortician- verified, confirmed, certified, rock solid, quinary source) recalls that the government ordered several small coffins the night of the crash. A nurse tells him he is in danger. She is never seen again. Finally in 1995 AND 1997, the US Air Force publishes two documents offering preposterous explanations as to the origins of the Roswell UFO and unintentionally confirms the very existence by attempting to prove a negative. The Roswell UFO crash is a ‘known fact.’ Dit Dah Dit Dah Dit

It is good to see the application of linear logic and voluntary use of ethics which can appear so illusive at times. Published experience and skill sets are a vital component to thoughtful problem solving in pursuit of the truth. As if anyone has ever actively sought deception or manipulation or openly acknowledged to engaging in the same. Having said that… Earl Cossey is a genuine pioneer in the sport of skydiving. An FAA licensed rigger and jumper who has the distinction of having owned the chutes delivered to one D B Cooper. He owned them, packed them and jumped them. These are some impressive credentials to be sure. It is good to know that when Cossey said the Amboy parachute was not his, this was accepted since Earl has such vast credibility and expertise regarding his own property. It would be nice if the FBI had some experience in handling evidence or processing DNA too.

Well the name and experience resumes would be a good idea if there was a way to validate those oft, wildly exaggerated claims. What purpose would this information serve? Other than, binge ego feeding, scent marking, endless trump card production, cyber god ascension, shilling, puffing and a myriad of behaviors which medical science has not been able to cure. If a person attaches a source or some attribution which can be verified (independently), I couldn’t care less what title or experience they hold. Having said that…. I’ve worked in a number of highly challenging financial institutions with increased responsibility resulting in higher than average industry returns year after year. My experience includes serving as a member and chairman on numerous corporate boards as well as being CEO of an organization which is responsible for billions in assets. I’m a member in numerous professional organizations, charitable trusts and committees, safeguarding their distributions and continued operations in perpetuity. I’ve received numerous awards from community leaders, members of the entertainment industry who prefer to remain un-named and other corporate and religious leaders. I’m an unashamed family man with a strong faith in a higher being that respects the belief systems of others. But please, you can call me Bernie.

377 profoundly reflected: “I wonder if deep down in his subconscious Duane preferred prison to outside?” That is one of the imponderables of life. Is man inherently good or bad, does art imitate life or life imitate stupidity and other cosmic queries which will not be answered too soon. Imagine being in a beautiful place like Treasure Island, FL and stealing rather than enjoying such a location. Kind of depressing to read how one person could or would spend so much time in the hoosegow by the age of 33. But we are a painfully duplicitous society regarding crime. I had a motorcycle stolen in the 70’s and the FIRST question the police asked, “Was it locked?” Like it would be my fault if it wasn’t. The next question had to do with making payments, to which I answered “I haven’t made payments becau….” Ahhh, you see, I believe your bike has been repossessed; you just need to settle with your bank. I finished with “because I paid cash for the bike.” Pause. Can you prove it? Yes sir, here is the pink slip. From a suspected ‘vehicle not-locker’ to a ‘deadbeat’ that had to prove I never had a loan on the thing. Crime may not pay, but the benefits of obeying the law aren’t all one may imagine either. He filled out a report and told me that the recovery rate is less than 2% so the report will only have value to your insurance company. I don’t have theft insurance. That’s not too bright he responded (great now I’m an idiot too). Well, the premiums were $600 a year and I had the bike just less than four years and paid $2,000 for it; so I figure I’m ahead $400, but quickly losing my mind right now. Here’s your report, have a nice day.

Look 377, I already confessed my willingness to fake a massive heart attack and soil myself in order to get in Tina’s good graces. The point is, I would have operated the aft stairs as yet another display to Tina of what a fine example of burley, he-man, studly, superior, must be passed on DNA that I happen to represent. Send Tina to the COCKPIT where there are THREE men? Riiiight, like I’m going to send her into the middle of some testosterone isolation booth with the expectation of seeing her again. This is chess not tiddley-winks, you have to think four or five moves ahead of the competition. If you’re not the lead dog, the view is always the same. I would not have called her back, simply because she would have never left my ‘sphere of hunkyness’. Much like the moon Elara, Tina would have remained in an inexorable orbit of Farflung-iter, never truly realizing what draws her, yet she can’t leave. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EegRh8Z4H-o

OK, so the stairs could/should have been open for takeoff just as Cooper demanded (requested). Now, Cooper could not control the speed, heading or altitude of the aircraft but he sure was in position to be Gatekeeper of the aft stairs. I know I would have been, if I knew how to operate them. Why didn’t Mr. ‘Knows All About Aft Stairs On A 727’ simply configure the things precisely the way he wanted them? Then he sends Tina to the cockpit because he has got everything under control. That is until he needs her to come back and ‘help’ get the stairs open. I hope Mr.’ Combat Veteran Airline Employee’ felt all butch, manly, man having to get a 23 year old to open those aft stairs for him. I would have just done it myself. PS. skyjack71 – You need to update your copyright year.

I remember back when…… Interphones were made of…… wood. Yep, this beauty was probably put into production right after the first plane was designed that could carry two or more people. Pilot: We’re approaching the target, prepare for bomb drop. Bombardier: WHAAaaaattt?? Pilot: Get ready to drop bomb. Bombardier: I’m not ready to eat flan!

Robert99, I may be wrong, but I don’t believe there is a down and ‘locked’ position for the aft stairs. The stairs when opened drop at some speed regulated by the struts. Then the stairs simply touch/rest on the surface. If the plane was being loaded with cargo or fuel the AC could squat and damage the stairs and outer skin. Perhaps someone could actually supply a source of the aft stairs manual or system description and put a bullet in the brains of this ‘Information Zombie’ once and for all.

From Sluggo Monster’s website, Crew Communications Notes Received 6/20/2008, pdf file pages 1 – 3. The following was written on 25 Nov 1971, the day after the hijacking. Although this may be little more than the stem cells for all the lore and myth, it may also be the most accurate or least inaccurate telling of several technical items. For those with a pre-plotted curve, feel free to embellish and cherry pick as is the norm in any case. Page 2- “(All information between cockpit and HJ being relayed by “captive” stewardess Mucklow by cabin/cockpit interphone.)" “-Fueling to start as soon as engines shutdown.” This would have been a good time for a former ‘covert ops’ man to demand a hot refueling since the passengers were deplaning from the front of the aircraft. Page 3- “HJ specified that he wanted to go to Mexico City non-stop, that the aircraft configuration must be gear DOWN, flaps at 15°, that the aft door must be open at all times, and that the aft stairs must be fully extended after take-off.” Mexico City non stop, flaps at 15°, gear down and stairs open. Seems like some self cancelling requests but Cooper must have been (insert whatever fits your curve). From Seattle to Mexico City is 2,000 miles. The speed limit for 15° of flaps is 205 knots (see attach). 2,000/205 is 9.8 hours. What is the 727’s endurance? Northwest responds, “…take-off with air-stairs full down impossible due to inability to rotate airplane. HJ advised of this he asked that air-stairs be partially extended prior to take-off. MSPFO advised this also impossible since stairs could not be held in any intermediate position.” Looks like Northwest and Boeing were aware that the stairs could be opened in flight, just not on the ground. Cooper was not so plugged into this bit of minutia. The stairs by necessity must drop and then move freely in the open position for numerous reasons. Yawwwnnn.

Here are some Boeing 727 operating parameters: See attached photo of a 727 placard. They all have them just below the gear handle. No secret. The highest speed associated with gear and flaps is the Gear Extended Velocity of 320 knots. With a measly 2 degrees of flaps the operating limit is 230 knots. That is with the gear up or down. A full 90 knots less than the max speed with the gear extended. Demanding 25 degrees of flaps would have insured the low airspeed Cooper was trying to accomplish. Additionally, the flaps are quite easy to observe deployed versus the gear. If Cooper truly knew what any person with access to a 727 cockpit could glean from a placard, he did not take advantage of this information. The gear down to slow a plane is Hollywood.

Just using some horse sense here, but those procedures appear to be relatively generic. There is a checklist for engine fire, does anyone think Boeing takes their aircraft up and starts an engine fire to develop the EPs? Ditching? Lightning strikes? Perhaps they did in fact open the stairs in flight, I simply do not know, but just because Emergency Procedures exist is not an indicator of a live test. Be it a cargo door, over wing hatch or aft stairs, the procedures to remedy them would be nearly the same. The check is a little anachronistic as well. The decompression check is run AFTER entering pattern altitude. How exactly could the Flight Engineer close the aft stairs when he would have to open the pressure door to gain access to them? Again, I’m not saying there were no live tests, just not seeing any from the existence of the checklist.

I guess I’m struggling with the definition of dunce. McNally jumped successfully and most certainly held very little knowledge. The ‘gear down’ is pure Hollywood and not practiced in the military. Was the gear down on the DC-9 you jumped? Why not? The plane is quite capable of low speeds without dropping the gear. It is more of a strange request to me.

Robert99 reflects: “Another question. The first three fellows have two capital letters in their names while Cooper only has one. Is that significant?” Keep in mind the other three fellows have their real names associated with their crimes. One of them used the alias Shane and the other Johnson. I can’t find the third alias. Does having two capital letters in their names hold any significance? You decide.

If Cooper knew the stairs could be lowered in flight, he would not have made an issue out of them being lowered before takeoff. This behavior has the earmarks of a person who is not sure about their operation. No one following the Cooper hijacking asked for the stairs to be lowered for takeoff so the process was digested by the next candidates. Cooper could have been killed in the attempt, but that did not stop LaPoint from trying less than two months later. LaPoint did not know if the DC-9 stairs were similar to the 727’s, he probably observed the planes with similar hardware and lucked out. Why is Cooper endowed with such connections and knowledge while LaPoint, McNally and McCoy are relegated to planning their operations from a garage or on a kitchen table?