howardwhite

In this case, August, 1992, Parachutist. Could be. HW

Ever try to explain the concept of a Herd Boogie to someone who's never been to one? Perhaps this wlll help. Or perhaps not. HW

I think it was cotton clothesline, not nylon. Wouldn't nylon burn nylon? But I could be wrong. HW

OK, for starters, here's the same picture with little arrows so you can see what is the Rope and what are the Rings. Where the Rope makes a turn, it's because it's going through a Ring. Someone else can explain how it all works. HW

Here's Jerry Irwin's fisheye photo of N7070 at ZHills, with anther Lodestar in the background -- probably the Stormville one, 43WT HW

Isn't that what I said? (I'm on the right coast.) Yup. I had an early Yarbenet slider on my Volplane, replacing the hydraulic system. Instead of grommets, it had full-sized D-rings sliding on the lines. HW

Ever tried to explain the concept of ropes 'n rings to someone who's never seen it? This picture, from a 1976 Para-Flite ad, may help. HW

I've found a couple more pictures of "Iron Annie" from a boogie at Palatka in March, 1980. According to the Parachutist story, Caidin was first going to charge $10 to 4 grand for gas, then went down to $5, and at the end of the day decided the jumps were on him -- so the collected money went for beer. HW

A day after I posted this, I have learned with sadness of the death Oct. 15 of Chuck Embury. I knew and worked with Chuck from 1969, when he and Tom McCarthy arrived from Canada to work at and later manage the Orange Sport Parachute Center. Chuck went on to become sales manager at PI, which was a major distributor of gear, especially from Pioneer. He went to Elsinore when PI ran the center there, and later got into hang gliding. He was seriously and permanently injured in a hang gliding accident. I have posted a separate item in "Blue Skies," which includes a farewell note from his former wife, Maryanne. HW

Charles (Chuck) Embury died Oct. 15 after a long illness. A Canadian, he joined Parachutes Incorporated in Orange, MA in 1969 and was an instructor, DZ manager, and sales manager. He moved to Lake Elsinore, CA, when PI ran operated its Center there. He later became involved in hang gliding, and was seriously injured in a hang gliding accident. He founded Embury Sky Systems in Lake Elsinore. He had many friends in both the skydiving and hang gliding communities. Services will be held at the St Vincent's Church, 27931 Murrieta Road, Sun City, CA 92586 at 10 AM 22 Oct. Maryanne Embury, his former wife, has asked that the attached message (a PDF document) be shared with "the skydiving world. HW

And finally... -- The Golden Knights version -- The Delta II ad Both from Parachutist July, 1969 HW

And a couple more, of the Pioneer version... HW

Just to emphasize the point that Rogallo wings came in a variety of sizes and shapes, here's another one; it was usually referred to as a "flexwing." HW

Gary Pond, D-6969, was practically brought up on a drop zone. His father, Nate Pond, D-69, was the first manager (in 1959) of the Orange Sport Parachute Center and is nationally known as well for his skill as a pilot in all kinds of jump planes. His mother, Nona, was the women's world accuracy champion at the 1962 World Meet, held in Orange. A skydiver since he was old enough to jump, Gary is an active tandem instructor and videographer and has participated in many skydiving records, including most recently the Z-Team sequential world record in March. He is a long-time board member and current president of Jumptown, and a major mover in creating the DZ's new home. Gary was recently diagnosed with lung cancer -- he's never been a smoker -- and has begun a course of chemotherapy at Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston. His family and friends are planning a day of events Oct. 20 to help support the major medical expenses associated with his treatment. Guy Wright, Louis Tomasso, and Roger Ponce de Leon will be among the organizers for a day of big-ways and there will be a 5k run/walk, auctions, and other events. More information is available here.This site will be updated as necessary. Your support --and your vibes and prayers -- will be welcome. HW

I grabbed the pic from my half-vast archives because it was labelled PC and it was pretty. I didn't look too carefully at it. The son of the guy who took it tells me it is Chuck Embury jumping a Russian PC (the Pioneer version) into a shopping center in Orange/Athol MA in the early seventies. Sharp eyes out there. By the way, the jumper in the elephant picture is Rich Piccirilli. The elephant was part of a Jacques Istel publicity thing at Orange, MA. Rich also has given me some pictures of JAI, D-2, on the elephant HW

You're quite right about my oops. I know better, didn't think as I typed. HW

Is this the Ghoulidge hangar? HW

Here are three, one from the jumper's point of view. (In the event you can't figure it out, the black portion at the bottom of the picture is the front.) The heavier lines from the risers to the center of the canopy are crown lines, which pull down the center. Small prize for identifying the jumper landing near the elephant. (He's still actively jumping in Southern California.) HW

Well, the name "Rogallo" (after its inventors) is rather generically applied to canopies (as well as kites and hang gliders) having this shape. So it may not resemble what you remember, but I think it's fair to refer to it as a Rogallo wing (even though Irvin did not, at least in this ad.) HW

See Beatnik's photos in the Bill Cole thread here for some pictures of Delta II canopies with the OSI clearly visible dangling from the bottom. HW

Probably not -- my Sky Diver collection is very limited because I never subscribed. I have a few issues and the USPA library has two pretty complete sets, one of them Ottley's. Some of the stuff I have posted here or will post at some point comes from scans I've done in Fredericksburg. My experience with Cherokee 6 jumping is limited to a few demos, but I remember losing close to 1,000 feet between the cut and exit with 2-3 floaters out. If I recall correctly, there is not only the door lip to contend with, but also a spar hump on the floor between the wings. HW

Among other things, it drops out of the sky like a rock when you have a floater or two outside. And you have to avoid stepping on the flap. HW

Obviously way too easy... From an ad by "Irvin Para-Space Center" of Glendale, CA in the April, '67, Parachutist. "IRVING'S(sic) PARAWING, the newest and most advanced canopy in our modern era, based on the most reliable and proven principles..... is now ready!!! "L/D 2.5 - 1.0 "Toe-down at 10 F.P.S." Yours, with sleeve, for $349.95. Dunno about the Army team part. Two pilot chutes were fairly common, in my experience, in the MA-1 days before manufacturers started making bigger pilot chutes. HW

I took the picture. Must mean I was there "in the day." HW

Did the Goulidge hanger look sort of like this inside? HW