danchapman

I remember bak in 60's rumor had it that some of the real lightweight ladies used weights, but mainly to increase loading while under the canopy. Mid day in the summers when thermals were at work sometime the lightweights would almost standstill under the canopy.

Decal from 1962 World Meet at Orange Ma.

Back in '63 at a MEPA meet at Lakehurst Navel Base (where they kept the blimps in the '30's and where the Hindenberg caught fire), met Ted Taylor a very low D license holder (they were around 200 at the time). He was a jumpmaster for the student accuracy event. He was also competing. I believe it was either Ted Taylor or Mac McGraw who commandered the last C-47 load of the day. We were jumping style event from 7500' agl late in the day when the pilot (military) received word from the ground that it was past sunset and the load must land with all the remaining jumpers. A word (Mac or Ted) was had with the pilot and we climbed to 13,000 and all exited on one pass, about 14-15. First time I had ever been above 7500' or been in the sky with another jumper. Ted Taylor was in the door hustling us all out. I believe he jumped with Navy Shootin' Stars Skydiving Team for a while. A real nice guy too.

Yes, it looks like him. I pm'ed you a photo from his West Point graduation in '58. He was serving at WP in '68 so might have been at the military Nats with the WP club. He was KIA in March '69 and posthumously advanced in rank to Lt Col. While the Military Reports list helicopter crash, I believe he was hit by hostile fire before the chopper went in. He is buried at West Point. Thank you for your post. Nice to remember the jumpers who gave all in VN war. Dan

I jumped there in '63 several times, Steve Snyder and the Webber Brothers were there then. Landed once in the farmers field. Finished 2nd place in the student event at the MEPA '63 meet, and still have a short film of the meet. I can hardly recognize the guy jumping, but he sure looks like my son....

Back in the 60's a jumper taped a canister to his boot (remember the Paraboot?), didn't use a bracket. He did funny things in freefall.

Very nice, reminds me of the olden days and the Team Accuracy event.

Galeville, NY 1966 Accuracy Event, closest jump of meet (.6 meters). I was only jumper not jumping a ParaCommander. Hudson Valley Skydivers out of Gardinder NY vs the West Point Team. The West Point Team was headed up by Capt. Hal Spurlock, who in '69 was KIA in VN, a terrific guy.

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

You probably have an "Inn" patch somewhere, from jumping into the Inn at Orange, MA circa 1967. I still have my Inn patch for the jump into the Inn when my sister married Don Grant. I had an Inn mug also, was up on the shelf at the Inn with so many others. I wonder what happened to all those mugs when the Inn shut down...or did it?

Arender did a photo ad for the major print media in '63, Camel cigarettes. Was in Post and Life magazines. He wore a black pioneer jumpsuit with a rectangular orange patch on his right knee area. I was an impressionable 16 year old novice jumper, soon sporting my own black jumpsuit....with orange patch on my left knee, just to be different. JA avoided jumping with others, didn't want anyone watching his tight frop position while practicing for his style events.

Did you know either Ted Taylor or Mac Mcgraw? Both jumped, I think, out of Navy Lakehurst in the early 60's. Did you happen to jump at the 1st MEPA Lakehurst event, would have been '63 I believe. Both Ted and Mac were at the MEPA event. I wondered what became of Ted.

A little off topic, but in looking at my logbook for the Bullville, jumps I noticed your signature, hard to read, but the C-3896 is still clear. for a jump out of the Norseman at Orange 4/27/68, while I was still a college student jumping that weekend at the Collegiate Championships. Landed in the schrub brush for the accuracy event, not my best weekend.

I jumped at Sha wan Ga Valley, in Bullville, in the '69-72, after jumping in Gardiner for a few years before that. I made a few jumps with Kevin Rogers, including a photo jump, still have the photo somewhere. We had a MEPA meet there in July '69 where I missed out in placing in the accuracy event due to a 'butt strike' a few feet short of the disc. Stu Prakin, Dennis Hollahan, Danny 'Smoke' Miller, Dick Clark, Bob Novak Dave 'Sky' King used to jump there, as well as Ray Finneran. We had a few meets at nearby Wallkill Airport, including the NE Conference Nat'l Qualifing Meet in May '69. Were you related to Kevin Rogers C-7337?

QuoteI also got my rigger's license at the Quincy loft, Dan Poynter was there at the time. Ted told us it was tradition for the students (there were 2-3 of us) to take him out to the Charles Street Steakhouse the night before our practical exam. We did and he told us that we would do fine in the practical, the only thing they looked for was our carefully following the manual for the particular rig we were packing. He said if we got there early enough we could pick out the rig we wanted to do our practical on. We got there early the next morning, but Ted was there earlier. Nowhere in sight were the rigs we had been working on all week. He gave me the weirdest looking rig I had ever seen, along with the manual. It was a WWii Japanese troop rig, and he had the manual with it, read like a Chinese menu. Fortunately there were some pictures. Needless to say he had a great sense of humor. He also, at the time was in a treasure hunting partnership with a guy in Florida. They had dove a few sights and the deck of there boat was filled with rusted iron and wood pieces and clumps of coral attached. A few weeks later a clump the size of a softball was found left over after the rest of the stuff was removed. It broke open and a half dozen pieces of eight fell out. My condolences to hid family and friends

Thanks for the post, don't know how I could keep track of all those log books you have. I've managed to keep mine bundled with my rigger's logbook and a few for flying hang gliders and ultralights, thru a couple of dozen moves and a couple of marriages.

Good one, that was quick. I jumped with him a few times, I remember the "WHO?" on his helmet. Can't help you with the missing number.

D-30 Allen MacPherson (Brother of Dennis, I believe). Heard he died mid-60's as pilot of a jump plane. D-79 Jim O'rielly jumped into Normandy as a teenager on D-Day, was my mothers JM at Tri-State in '61. D-136 Geo Gividen, former PCA Ex Director, ran Tri-State, had a wood leg from a war accident, removed it when he jumped. D-183 Mike Hilden was on of several Princeton students that jumped in Jersey, I think Dave Lithgow may have been another. Mike has been a Professor of Advanced Math at U of Hawaii for 30 plus years, very bright guy. Several former Air America guys on this list. Jumped with a few in Mepa Competition, Len Potts, Ed Marler, and a few others. Pop Quiz, where is WHO on this list?

Have 2, PI "Parachutist Log" copyright 1957, hard dark blue textured cover (150 entry) and a soft cover robins egg blue "Sport Parachutist Log" from M&M Printing,Fayetteville, NC. Some signatures: Tom Murray D-200 (would become my brother in law), Doug Angel C-550, Carl Blessing D-167 Joe Nichols D-236, Steve Snyder D-5, Hal Evans D-161, Ted Taylor D-216 (first black jumper I met, Navy 'Chuting Stars), Grant Hoffman C-559, Phil Webber C-958, Bill Markoff D-102, George Gividen (I think, hard to read, former PCA Executive Director) D-136, Bob Hobbs C-782, Ray Guilfoyle (Lee's Brother) C-1066, Dick Lee D-346, Pat Lee (Dick's then wife) B-1596, Tommy Walker (Pilot, legend see Don Dwiggen's book) C# 12174 (pilot number), Lee Guilfoyle I-8, M. L. Chapman (my sister) B-2496 (I beat her to B, I was B-2477), Jim Vandergaag D-1051 (Bronze Star WWii), Dick Clark D-884 (I think he might post occassionally), Dick Harmon D-930, Stu Prakin D-1310 (NY City Detective), Don Grant D-1248 (my sister's ex husband), R. Sweet D-448 (out of Stormville, NY), Ray Finneran D-1518, Vic Valle, Pilot at Lakewood, NJ circa 1966, Randy Davis D-2776 (when I was jumping in Florida). Hope some of these names bring back pleasant memories for some of you old timers, they have for me.

Not a T-shirt but I still have a decal, never used, from the August '62 World Championship Meet at Orange, Ma. If I knew how to scan, I would post it. Going to send it out to Jaque Istel one of these days.

"Too Late Junction" you only visit once, there is no return.

Yes, Arender did a Camels ad, might have been '64. In it he is wearing a black jumpsuit with an orange rectangular patch on one knee. At the time, when I was broke and working at the DZ for free jumps, i wanted a cool jumpsuit like that almost as bad as a 7TU LoPo in a pioneer 3 pin backpack.

I did several balloon drops with a hang glider tied below a balloon, back in the early 70's. We established a descent first, so the glider had some lift, and did not have any problems- except the Cessna circling with a camera man hanging out.