howardwhite

I just talked to Lew -- needed to ask him about something else. He went to "the vault" and took out logbook #4. He confirms that the "A Sport is Born" jumps took place July 13-20, 1960; he returned to Hemet immediately after shooting was over. He who neener, neerners last, neener, neeners best. HW

Here's the text: ------- On Becoming A Skygod Once you've mastered all of the basic relative work maneuvers and have applied this mastery to 30 or 40 stars, you generally sprout a 7-foot wing span to match your inflated ego, will give autographs on request, and are very fast and never miss. When you reach this stage you should take on the name "Skygod" or something similar that goes well with your shiny, cast-iron ego. Then, jump only with your friends, the other Skygods. Never let turkeys or toads on your loads - they may slow down your star or get in the way. If you do honor anyone with a star, pick a good-looking girl or a close personal friend (if you still have one), and let them go base. They'll then have the entire jump to watch YOUR entry and mastery of flying. If somehow a novice relative worker finds himself on your load, be sure to make him feel at ease with soothing words like: "If you bomb the star, I'll zap your reserve." Or, "See if you can get close but DON'T TOUCH." Or, "If you make a mistake, don't bother to pull." Obviously words like these don't do much to lessen a novice's anxiety or to teach him anything about what relative work is all about. So, be friendly and helpful to novices, not because you are basically a nice guy, but because you can help build a positive attitude in the sport that will help us grow... and build bigger and better stars. Or diamonds and wedges... RWu, December 1974 ----------- HW

Just in case you wanted your very own Crawfordsville/PI patches. HW

So does he really have a left-hand pull reserve, or is the picture flipped? HW

Here's a Para-Flite ad following the '72 Nationals. HW

The Ten High Bunch, practicing at the '72 Nationals in Tahlequah. Capt. Jim Hooper on top of the DC-3, above the fray. HW

There is a thread in The Bonfire which might be relevant. HW

Skydive Nouvel Air in Quebec has the following on its web site: "Quel âge doit-on avoir pour faire un saut en tandem? Au moins 14 ans, avec l’entente signée des parents et ayant un poids maximum de 240 livres, de 14 à 16, ans à condition que les parents soient sur place. De 16 à 18 ans, à condition que les parents aient signé l’entente de consentement ..." ..paraphrasing - for a tandem: At least 14 and weigh no more than than 240 pounds. Between 14-16, parent has to sign and be on site. Between 16-18, parent must sign but need not be there. I know someone from Massachusetts who jumped there at 16 and worked there during the summer as a packer at 17, getting close to 150 jumps before he was 18. HW edited to add-- I just looked again; they have English (of sorts) on their web site and the English version doesn't say parents have to be there.

I'm not sure what your point was in posting this, but it's a pretty old story and most people who know him have known about this for months. HW

So how 'bout drooling over this? HW

I know all of them. It's a very small staff for a magazine of its size and content, and they work hard. Occasionally I have either sent them items from dz.com or told them about things going on here; invariably, they have told me "Yes, we know about that." They welcome constructive criticism; bitching about not reading the magazine doesn't help. FWIW, they also have a MySpace presence, where they have invited comments. HW

Is that a guess, or a question for me? HW

As dz.com seems to be limited to five attachments per messages, here are the rest of the '80s predictions. HW

Well, speaking of old... The same issue of Parachutist had a feature on "Skydiving in the '80s," featuring little quotes from folks (some of them still around) looking to the future. Some of the ideas are a little weird, some prescient. Here are some samples. (More in next.) HW

Did I say they were? HW

What will it take to convince you? You can pm me with info on how to collect. HW

" Paul Bond ... a skydiver and commercial artist in DesPlains, IL. He first envisioned this 12-way 'planet' after seeing films on TV of the first 50-way at Elsinore, CA..." How do I collect my points? HW

Well, at least the one we can see. Maybe the other one is o.k. So much for gear checks.... HW

Are you looking at the picture I posted? Looks blue and white to me. HW

OK, back to the plane, then. Does this help? (BTW, note the location of the main handle; this may help date the picture.) HW

See this. Much earlier, there was a Parachutes Incorporated DZ at C-Ville. HW

No. This is a Norseman. No one sat on the floor in a Norseman. HW

Inside is harder HW

I'm inclined to go with this old explanation rather than the more dramatic one you cite. HW

Then there is the "extreme sports" link which introduces its skydiving section as follows: "Skydiving is an experience unlike any other. Flying through the air, a parachute the only thing keeping you between elegantly gliding through the stratosphere and a brown smudge on the ground." HW