Twin engine wing-jumper [Archive]

February 15th 08, 04:17 PM

On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
> On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > -c
>
> > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > > balls!
> > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed with
> > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate was
> 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
> 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do I
> know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> 9-29-85

Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).

What was your favorite jump plane to fly?

I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
or similar was always a hoot.

Ol Shy & Bashful

February 15th 08, 05:21 PM

On Feb 15, 10:17*am, wrote:
> On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > > > empennage or something. * What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > -c
>
> > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > > > balls!
> > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed with
> > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate was
> > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
> > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do I
> > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > 9-29-85
>
> Thank you! *I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> the pic. *I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
'85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
Cheers
Rocky

[email protected]

February 15th 08, 06:39 PM

On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
> On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > > -c
>
> > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > > > > balls!
> > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed with
> > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate was
> > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
> > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do I
> > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > > 9-29-85
>
> > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> Cheers
> Rocky

'59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
"warts".

I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
horizon to horizon.

The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.

A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
would be interesting.

I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)

Blue skies,
Richard

Ol Shy & Bashful

February 15th 08, 10:02 PM

On Feb 15, 12:39*pm, wrote:
> On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > > > > > empennage or something. * What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > > > -c
>
> > > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > > > > > balls!
> > > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech.. Was
> > > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed with
> > > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate was
> > > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
> > > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do I
> > > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> > > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> > > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > > > 9-29-85
>
> > > Thank you! *I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> > > the pic. *I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> > > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> > > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> > > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> > > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> > > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> > That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> > As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> > BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> > Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> > '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> > Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> > suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> > USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> > started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> > Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> > Cheers
> > Rocky
>
> '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> "warts".
>
> I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> only sprained my ankle. *Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> one around. *Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> semi-hypoxic. *Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> horizon to horizon.
>
> The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> A C130. *Sigh. *Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> at Quincy would have been fun too. *Slow down to terminal velocity
> would be interesting.
>
> I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. *;-)
>
> Blue skies,
> Richard- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Richard
I did a lot of hanging around with the Paraventure Inc guys, Bob
Sinclair, Dave Burt, Jim Hall, Don Rumble and a host of other old
timers. What adventures they were! Some of my most fun jumps were out
of country like down in the Andes when the DZ was at 10,000' in Quito,
Ecuador. Hit like a ton of schitt!
Cheers
Rocky

Ted[_2_]

February 16th 08, 06:34 AM

I bought a poster of this sometime ago. I think the whole plane flipped
inverted during one of these attempts and everyone got dumped off. AWESOME
poster!!

"Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in message
...
On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> -c

Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
balls!
I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
over Perris,CA back in the 80's

BakedandFried

February 16th 08, 11:37 PM

"Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in message
...
On Feb 15, 12:39 pm, wrote:
> On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" >
> > > > > wrote:
>
> > > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up
> > > > > > > in the
> > > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > > > -c
>
> > > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever
> > > > > > since
> > > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes
> > > > > > some
> > > > > > balls!
> > > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin
> > > > > > Beech. Was
> > > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed
> > > > > with
> > > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate
> > > > was
> > > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle,
> > > > about
> > > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do
> > > > I
> > > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> > > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> > > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > > > 9-29-85
>
> > > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> > > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> > > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> > > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> > > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> > > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> > > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> > That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> > As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> > BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> > Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> > '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> > Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> > suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> > USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> > started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> > Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> > Cheers
> > Rocky
>
> '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> "warts".
>
> I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> horizon to horizon.
>
> The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
> would be interesting.
>
> I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)
>
> Blue skies,
> Richard- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Richard
I did a lot of hanging around with the Paraventure Inc guys, Bob
Sinclair, Dave Burt, Jim Hall, Don Rumble and a host of other old
timers. What adventures they were! Some of my most fun jumps were out
of country like down in the Andes when the DZ was at 10,000' in Quito,
Ecuador. Hit like a ton of schitt!
Cheers
Rocky

Rocky,

Did the 'whole plane' get flipped inverted on 'one of these' attempts?

I don't see how...but still.

I remember ****ing off the pilot on a hop'n pop and whacking the stab with
my throw out chute....

Ol Shy & Bashful

February 17th 08, 03:09 AM

On Feb 16, 5:37*pm, "BakedandFried" > wrote:
> "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in ...
> On Feb 15, 12:39 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" >
> > > > > > wrote:
>
> > > > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up
> > > > > > > > in the
> > > > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > > > > -c
>
> > > > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever
> > > > > > > since
> > > > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes
> > > > > > > some
> > > > > > > balls!
> > > > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin
> > > > > > > Beech. Was
> > > > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed
> > > > > > with
> > > > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate
> > > > > was
> > > > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle,
> > > > > about
> > > > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do
> > > > > I
> > > > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> > > > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> > > > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > > > > 9-29-85
>
> > > > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> > > > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> > > > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> > > > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> > > > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> > > > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> > > > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> > > That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> > > As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> > > BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> > > Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> > > '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> > > Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> > > suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> > > USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> > > started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> > > Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> > > Cheers
> > > Rocky
>
> > '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> > "warts".
>
> > I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> > only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> > one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> > with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> > O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> > semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> > bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> > watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> > exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> > then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> > horizon to horizon.
>
> > The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> > appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> > way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> > A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> > at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
> > would be interesting.
>
> > I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> > realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> > week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> > 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)
>
> > Blue skies,
> > Richard- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Richard
> I did a lot of hanging around with the Paraventure Inc guys, Bob
> Sinclair, Dave Burt, Jim Hall, Don Rumble and a host of other old
> timers. What adventures they were! Some of my most fun jumps were out
> of country like down in the Andes when the DZ was at 10,000' in Quito,
> Ecuador. Hit like a ton of schitt!
> Cheers
> Rocky
>
> Rocky,
>
> Did the 'whole plane' get flipped inverted on 'one of these' attempts?
>
> I don't see how...but still.
>
> I remember ****ing off the pilot on a hop'n pop and whacking the stab with
> my throw out chute....- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

NO the airplane did NOT flip inverted. Didn't even get close to it. It
wallowed after a fashion as the jumpers got outside and it got
"dirty". I did have pretty close to full aileron holding the wing up,
and a lot of rudder. That was the reason I pulled the power back on
the left engine to reduce prop blast so they could get out without
fighting the airflow. I had it going downhill to maintain directional
control at a reasonable speed. None of us knew how it would fly as
they got outside and the drag increased. I was very pleasently
surprised at how controllable it was. The 13 were all outside for at
least a minute while pics were taken and then they began peeling off.
One of the guys on top turned to dive off the top of the fuselage and
when he kind of "popped up" to jump off, the airblast caught him by
surprise and he smacked the horizontal or vertical stabilizer (not
sure which) and it knocked him silly, split his lips and sprayed blood
all over the place. One of the other jumpers grabbed his harness and
stayed with him until the guy pulled down around 4K. I think video was
taken but I never saw any of it...just the stills.
A Marine name of Bob Thundercloud was the instigator of the jumps and
was on the first one. Several of those jumpers have since died from
different causes and "TC" was the only name I can recall. Oh, the name
of the chase plane pilot with the photog is Bruce Folks. Long time
friend of mine and another pro pilot.
Best Regards
Rocky

muff528

February 17th 08, 04:00 AM

"Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in message
...
On Feb 16, 5:37 pm, "BakedandFried" > wrote:
> "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in
> ...
> On Feb 15, 12:39 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
> > > > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > > > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> > > > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" >
> > > > > > wrote:
>
> > > > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up
> > > > > > > > in the
> > > > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > > > > > -c
>
> > > > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar
> > > > > > > ever
> > > > > > > since
> > > > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes
> > > > > > > some
> > > > > > > balls!
> > > > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin
> > > > > > > Beech. Was
> > > > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > > > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers
> > > > > > stuffed
> > > > > > with
> > > > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> > > > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted
> > > > > > text -
>
> > > > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate
> > > > > was
> > > > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle,
> > > > > about
> > > > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How
> > > > > do
> > > > > I
> > > > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made
> > > > > that
> > > > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the
> > > > > 13th
> > > > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> > > > > 9-29-85
>
> > > > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> > > > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> > > > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> > > > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> > > > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> > > > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a
> > > > C182
> > > > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > > The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> > > That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> > > As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> > > BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> > > Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> > > '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> > > Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> > > suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> > > USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> > > started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> > > Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> > > Cheers
> > > Rocky
>
> > '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> > "warts".
>
> > I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> > only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> > one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> > with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> > O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> > semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> > bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> > watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> > exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> > then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> > horizon to horizon.
>
> > The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> > appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> > way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> > A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> > at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
> > would be interesting.
>
> > I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> > realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> > week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> > 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)
>
> > Blue skies,
> > Richard- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Richard
> I did a lot of hanging around with the Paraventure Inc guys, Bob
> Sinclair, Dave Burt, Jim Hall, Don Rumble and a host of other old
> timers. What adventures they were! Some of my most fun jumps were out
> of country like down in the Andes when the DZ was at 10,000' in Quito,
> Ecuador. Hit like a ton of schitt!
> Cheers
> Rocky
>
> Rocky,
>
> Did the 'whole plane' get flipped inverted on 'one of these' attempts?
>
> I don't see how...but still.
>
> I remember ****ing off the pilot on a hop'n pop and whacking the stab with
> my throw out chute....- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

NO the airplane did NOT flip inverted. Didn't even get close to it. It
wallowed after a fashion as the jumpers got outside and it got
"dirty". I did have pretty close to full aileron holding the wing up,
and a lot of rudder. That was the reason I pulled the power back on
the left engine to reduce prop blast so they could get out without
fighting the airflow. I had it going downhill to maintain directional
control at a reasonable speed. None of us knew how it would fly as
they got outside and the drag increased. I was very pleasently
surprised at how controllable it was. The 13 were all outside for at
least a minute while pics were taken and then they began peeling off.
One of the guys on top turned to dive off the top of the fuselage and
when he kind of "popped up" to jump off, the airblast caught him by
surprise and he smacked the horizontal or vertical stabilizer (not
sure which) and it knocked him silly, split his lips and sprayed blood
all over the place. One of the other jumpers grabbed his harness and
stayed with him until the guy pulled down around 4K. I think video was
taken but I never saw any of it...just the stills.
A Marine name of Bob Thundercloud was the instigator of the jumps and
was on the first one. Several of those jumpers have since died from
different causes and "TC" was the only name I can recall. Oh, the name
of the chase plane pilot with the photog is Bruce Folks. Long time
friend of mine and another pro pilot.
Best Regards
Rocky

Very interesting story Rocky,

I've seen these pics over the years but never heard any details. BTW- we
jumped a Beech 18 at Zhills for an entire summer. The DZ's Casa had been
replaced by a DC3 which a few months later crashed with about 40 jumpers (no
injuries!) so we were left to jump the Beech. Never could get used to diving
and tripping on that little door threshold on the way out. I preferred rear
floater position on that plane because I was spooked by the stab. My long
arms allowed me to hang low at the rear of the door and just drop off. When
the winter season came into full swing the Beech 18 was replaced by a King
Air....., one of my favorite jump ships (next to the DC3!)

Blue Skies, Tony P.

William Hung[_2_]

February 17th 08, 10:59 PM

On Feb 14, 7:42*pm, "gatt" > wrote:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> empennage or something. * What do you guys think of this?
>
> -c

Looks like fun. I would wear shoes though.

Wil

[email protected]

February 18th 08, 01:24 AM

On Feb 16, 12:34 am, "Ted" <TBBlakeley@comcastDOTnet> wrote:
> I bought a poster of this sometime ago. I think the whole plane flipped
> inverted during one of these attempts and everyone got dumped off. AWESOME
> poster!!
>
> "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in ...
> On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > -c
>
> Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> balls!
> I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> over Perris,CA back in the 80's

Oh hell yes.

I was shooting video for the 1994 Ballunar Fest in Houston and we were
jumping an older DeHavilland Caribou... The group of jumpers was
Deguello, a 20 person competitive jump team with about 35-50 persons
all told either in or out at any given time.

The PIC told the team capt that we could crowd as tight as we liked on
the ramp prior to exit as there was no way in hell we could stall his
aircraft, even jumping at 13K+ ft. This is filed under famous last
words...

I'm 1st out hanging on by literally a toe and my right hand while the
gang o' 40 is piling up on the ramp. I'd been either practicing or
jumping in competition for the past 4 years so I'd gotten used to the
'feel' of a group giving the exit count...as this one got to 'ready' -
'set' = 'go' I felt a beautifully timed change of pitch just as 'go'
was uttered...I mean it was if the pilot had been listening in and was
an excellent jumper...the ramp literally fell away beneath my 'toe!'.

On the ground after I found a few battered jumpers some of whom had
made their last jump for the weeknd having endured gashes and what not
upon the exit which I found was not the smoothly choreographed thing
of beauty after all but rather was a floundering en masse exit of a
plane in a high speed stall. Seemed that nice pitch out was the plane
stalling.....

So we did it again at a higher speed...but this time I was on trail
exit...and this time I got to not only stumble, fall and land on my
chest while watching the 'clump' fall away but got to experience
jumpers stumbling, tripping and stepping on me while I hung over and
finally pulled my way over the edge of the ramp to exit the Caribou.
Big fun...so much for 'you can't stall my aircraft'.

I'm sorry, but if you plant 40 jumpers at an avg weight of ~190lbs on
the ramp (all ON the ramp) of a Caribou...the plane is gonna
stall....because while they might start out spread out
comfortably...when the count starts they will literally be hugging
each other en masse. Think of an orgy only closer.

The exciting part was watching the video fo the jumps...each jump
captured (from the 1st exit video) a shot of the plane as jumpers came
out...and on each jump the port side was trailing a little
smoke...then a little more...then aliitle more....then a lot....

On sunday the PIC said...'enough' and we didnt' jump...he
taxiid...rotated...and blew a jug and did a nice 180 and landed with a
fist sized hole in one fo the cylinders.

Sigh. The good. Old. Days.

Ol Shy & Bashful

February 18th 08, 02:37 AM

On Feb 17, 7:24*pm, wrote:
> On Feb 16, 12:34 am, "Ted" <TBBlakeley@comcastDOTnet> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I bought a poster of this sometime ago. * I think the whole plane flipped
> > inverted during one of these attempts and everyone got dumped off. *AWESOME
> > poster!!
>
> > "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in ...
> > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > -c
>
> > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > balls!
> > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> Oh hell yes.
>
> I was shooting video for the 1994 Ballunar Fest in Houston and we were
> jumping an older DeHavilland Caribou... *The group of jumpers was
> Deguello, a 20 person competitive jump team with about 35-50 persons
> all told either in or out at any given time.
>
> The PIC told the team capt that we could crowd as tight as we liked on
> the ramp prior to exit as there was no way in hell we could stall his
> aircraft, even jumping at 13K+ ft. *This is filed under famous last
> words...
>
> I'm 1st out hanging on by literally a toe and my right hand while the
> gang o' 40 is piling up on the ramp. *I'd been either practicing or
> jumping in competition for the past 4 years so I'd gotten used to the
> 'feel' of a group giving the exit count...as this one got to 'ready' -
> 'set' = 'go' I felt a beautifully timed change of pitch just as 'go'
> was uttered...I mean it was if the pilot had been listening in and was
> an excellent jumper...the ramp literally fell away beneath my 'toe!'.
>
> On the ground after I found a few battered jumpers some of whom had
> made their last jump for the weeknd having endured gashes and what not
> upon the exit which I found was not the smoothly choreographed thing
> of beauty after all but rather was a floundering en masse exit of a
> plane in a high speed stall. *Seemed that nice pitch out was the plane
> stalling.....
>
> So we did it again at a higher speed...but this time I was on trail
> exit...and this time I got to not only stumble, fall and land on my
> chest while watching the 'clump' fall away but got to experience
> jumpers stumbling, tripping and stepping on me while I hung over and
> finally pulled my way over the edge of the ramp to exit the Caribou.
> Big fun...so much for 'you can't stall my aircraft'.
>
> I'm sorry, but if you plant 40 jumpers at an avg weight of ~190lbs on
> the ramp (all ON the ramp) of a Caribou...the plane is gonna
> stall....because while they might start out spread out
> comfortably...when the count starts they will literally be hugging
> each other en masse. *Think of an orgy only closer.
>
> The exciting part was watching the video fo the jumps...each jump
> captured (from the 1st exit video) a shot of the plane as jumpers came
> out...and on each jump the port side was *trailing a little
> smoke...then a little more...then aliitle more....then a lot....
>
> On sunday the PIC said...'enough' and we didnt' jump...he
> taxiid...rotated...and blew a jug and did a nice 180 and landed with a
> fist sized hole in one fo the cylinders.
>
> Sigh. *The good. *Old. Days.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Then there was the time at Perris with the D-18 when I was pulling a
load up thru various altitudes, a couple here, a few there and we were
headed for 12.5 for some AAF with 4 guys left. Don Balch was the JM
and I was doing a racetrack pattern in the climb. As we were going
thru 11K, I lost the blower on the right engine on the jump leg and I
hollered back "JUMP RUN" and Balch comes forward pointing at his
altimeter saying "12.5" and I replied "We lost our right engine..."
and he didn't even slow down as he smoothly pivoted around hollering
"JUMP RUN" and they all headed out. I'm still laughing at how little
argument I got for the low jump run...!

[email protected]

February 18th 08, 12:57 PM

On Feb 17, 8:37 pm, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
> On Feb 17, 7:24 pm, wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Feb 16, 12:34 am, "Ted" <TBBlakeley@comcastDOTnet> wrote:
>
> > > I bought a poster of this sometime ago. I think the whole plane flipped
> > > inverted during one of these attempts and everyone got dumped off. AWESOME
> > > poster!!
>
> > > "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote in ...
> > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> > > > -c
>
> > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever since
> > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes some
> > > balls!
> > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech. Was
> > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> > Oh hell yes.
>
> > I was shooting video for the 1994 Ballunar Fest in Houston and we were
> > jumping an older DeHavilland Caribou... The group of jumpers was
> > Deguello, a 20 person competitive jump team with about 35-50 persons
> > all told either in or out at any given time.
>
> > The PIC told the team capt that we could crowd as tight as we liked on
> > the ramp prior to exit as there was no way in hell we could stall his
> > aircraft, even jumping at 13K+ ft. This is filed under famous last
> > words...
>
> > I'm 1st out hanging on by literally a toe and my right hand while the
> > gang o' 40 is piling up on the ramp. I'd been either practicing or
> > jumping in competition for the past 4 years so I'd gotten used to the
> > 'feel' of a group giving the exit count...as this one got to 'ready' -
> > 'set' = 'go' I felt a beautifully timed change of pitch just as 'go'
> > was uttered...I mean it was if the pilot had been listening in and was
> > an excellent jumper...the ramp literally fell away beneath my 'toe!'.
>
> > On the ground after I found a few battered jumpers some of whom had
> > made their last jump for the weeknd having endured gashes and what not
> > upon the exit which I found was not the smoothly choreographed thing
> > of beauty after all but rather was a floundering en masse exit of a
> > plane in a high speed stall. Seemed that nice pitch out was the plane
> > stalling.....
>
> > So we did it again at a higher speed...but this time I was on trail
> > exit...and this time I got to not only stumble, fall and land on my
> > chest while watching the 'clump' fall away but got to experience
> > jumpers stumbling, tripping and stepping on me while I hung over and
> > finally pulled my way over the edge of the ramp to exit the Caribou.
> > Big fun...so much for 'you can't stall my aircraft'.
>
> > I'm sorry, but if you plant 40 jumpers at an avg weight of ~190lbs on
> > the ramp (all ON the ramp) of a Caribou...the plane is gonna
> > stall....because while they might start out spread out
> > comfortably...when the count starts they will literally be hugging
> > each other en masse. Think of an orgy only closer.
>
> > The exciting part was watching the video fo the jumps...each jump
> > captured (from the 1st exit video) a shot of the plane as jumpers came
> > out...and on each jump the port side was trailing a little
> > smoke...then a little more...then aliitle more....then a lot....
>
> > On sunday the PIC said...'enough' and we didnt' jump...he
> > taxiid...rotated...and blew a jug and did a nice 180 and landed with a
> > fist sized hole in one fo the cylinders.
>
> > Sigh. The good. Old. Days.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Then there was the time at Perris with the D-18 when I was pulling a
> load up thru various altitudes, a couple here, a few there and we were
> headed for 12.5 for some AAF with 4 guys left. Don Balch was the JM
> and I was doing a racetrack pattern in the climb. As we were going
> thru 11K, I lost the blower on the right engine on the jump leg and I
> hollered back "JUMP RUN" and Balch comes forward pointing at his
> altimeter saying "12.5" and I replied "We lost our right engine..."
> and he didn't even slow down as he smoothly pivoted around hollering
> "JUMP RUN" and they all headed out. I'm still laughing at how little
> argument I got for the low jump run...!

Well, they only love you for the altitude after all. I remember my
first *landing* in a Cessna 210 after 100's of jumps. We cleared the
pines at the end of the runway going at some gawdawful speed such that
I knew we were gonna die in a flaming twisted pile of gas soaked
wreckage....musta been just above stall speed but compared to the
20~25mph full glide approach then 0 mph flare and touch down I was
used to under canopy this suicidal madness. Never did like Cessna
landings, ****ers were better, especially from the right seat. Had a
chance to do a little wingover once when the last (tandem) group left,
looked good on video. If you worked the angles right (as a camera
guy) you could keep the tandem and plane in frame for a good 10-15
seconds.

Pilots are nuts.... ;-)

Jay Maynard

February 18th 08, 01:23 PM

(Please trim your quotes.)

On 2008-02-18, > wrote:
> Well, they only love you for the altitude after all. I remember my
> first *landing* in a Cessna 210 after 100's of jumps. We cleared the
> pines at the end of the runway going at some gawdawful speed such that
> I knew we were gonna die in a flaming twisted pile of gas soaked
> wreckage....musta been just above stall speed but compared to the
> 20~25mph full glide approach then 0 mph flare and touch down I was
> used to under canopy this suicidal madness.

Once upon a time, I was talking to a skydiver I knew, and gave him the line
about being nuts for jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. He replied
that I was nuts for landing in one.

So, why did you ride that one back to the ground?
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
http://www.hercules-390.org (Yes, that's me!)
Buy Hercules stuff at http://www.cafepress.com/hercules-390

[email protected]

February 18th 08, 01:41 PM

On Feb 18, 7:23 am, Jay Maynard >
wrote:
> (Please trim your quotes.)
>
> On 2008-02-18, > wrote:
>
> > Well, they only love you for the altitude after all. I remember my
> > first *landing* in a Cessna 210 after 100's of jumps. We cleared the
> > pines at the end of the runway going at some gawdawful speed such that
> > I knew we were gonna die in a flaming twisted pile of gas soaked
> > wreckage....musta been just above stall speed but compared to the
> > 20~25mph full glide approach then 0 mph flare and touch down I was
> > used to under canopy this suicidal madness.
>
> Once upon a time, I was talking to a skydiver I knew, and gave him the line
> about being nuts for jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. He replied
> that I was nuts for landing in one.
>
> So, why did you ride that one back to the ground?
> --
> Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.comhttp://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.nethttp://www.hercules-390.org (Yes, that's me!)
> Buy Hercules stuff athttp://www.cafepress.com/hercules-390

Business flight, sorta. The owner of the DZ and 210 was performing
demo jumps for Remax (9 cell Avenger canopy, we called them
'Revengers' for the landing characteristics) and we were coming into
Redbird in Dallas.

Funny anecdote, a few weeks later we had a demo in San Angelo and were
departing Waller CC. I noticed that we passed south of the Austin
airport heading west and kept waiting for the turn to a more NW
heading. After about 10 minutes I asked Ed (I was in the rear seats,
his GF was in the co-pilot position) to show me San Angelo on his
sectional. Annoyed he pointed to it on the map....which was (I
assume, not being a sectional reading kinda jumper) the San Angelo
VOR, not the town. I pointed out that we would be somewhere north of
Big Bend, and we could land in Lajitas but that would make us late for
our jump in San Angelo which is UP HERE TO THE NORTH YOU IDJIT!

As reward I got to fly home the next day.

Jay Maynard

February 18th 08, 01:59 PM

On 2008-02-18, > wrote:
> Funny anecdote, a few weeks later we had a demo in San Angelo and were
> departing Waller CC.

Funny you should mention that: my step-grandfather was the guy who built
that airport and subdivision. He was convinced that people would line up to
buy houses there right next to the field. Time proved him wrong,
unfortunately; Waller was just too far out in the late 60s. I'm told I took
my first flight there in a 172, but I don't remember it. I visited it many
years later, and barely recognized the place.

> As reward I got to fly home the next day.

Sounds like a fitting reward.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
http://www.hercules-390.org (Yes, that's me!)
Buy Hercules stuff at http://www.cafepress.com/hercules-390

[email protected]

February 18th 08, 02:11 PM

On Feb 18, 7:59 am, Jay Maynard >
wrote:
> On 2008-02-18, > wrote:
>
> > Funny anecdote, a few weeks later we had a demo in San Angelo and were
> > departing Waller CC.
>
> Funny you should mention that: my step-grandfather was the guy who built
> that airport and subdivision. He was convinced that people would line up to
> buy houses there right next to the field. Time proved him wrong,
> unfortunately; Waller was just too far out in the late 60s. I'm told I took
> my first flight there in a 172, but I don't remember it. I visited it many
> years later, and barely recognized the place.
>
> > As reward I got to fly home the next day.
>
> Sounds like a fitting reward.
> --
> Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.comhttp://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.nethttp://www.hercules-390.org (Yes, that's me!)
> Buy Hercules stuff athttp://www.cafepress.com/hercules-390

Back in '89 it was Skydive Texas until Ed Harris flew into some pine
trees in Lousiana and got himself killed. Then it reopened in '93 as
Skydive Houston and is still going strong. When I stopped jumping in
'95 even the swimming pool was up and running. Twinbo for awhile,
Casa 212 visiting, ****er, Cessnas. Fun times.

I used to be WB5LSF back in the '70s

muff528

February 19th 08, 12:55 AM

"John Smith" > wrote in message
...
> In article
> >,
> "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
>> Then there was the time at Perris with the D-18 when I was pulling a
>> load up thru various altitudes, a couple here, a few there and we were
>> headed for 12.5 for some AAF with 4 guys left. Don Balch was the JM
>> and I was doing a racetrack pattern in the climb. As we were going
>> thru 11K, I lost the blower on the right engine on the jump leg and I
>> hollered back "JUMP RUN" and Balch comes forward pointing at his
>> altimeter saying "12.5" and I replied "We lost our right engine..."
>> and he didn't even slow down as he smoothly pivoted around hollering
>> "JUMP RUN" and they all headed out. I'm still laughing at how little
>> argument I got for the low jump run...!
>
> Brownies Lebanon Airport, Lebanon OH, circa 1972
> After a wet Spring and several weeks of no jumping activity, the clouds
> parted and the sun appeared for several days.
> The C180 was untied and pulled out of the open T-hangar, the jumpers
> were loaded and off they flew.
> Passing through 3500 on the way up, smoke began waifting into the cabin
> from under the instrument panel. As the pilot realized the source was
> not within the aircraft cabin, he announced, "Boys, I think we got
> a...", and before the word "fire" was out of his mouth, the jump door
> was open and four jumpers were gone, leaving the pilot all alone.
> Being a jump pilot in an airplane directly over an airport, he wasn't
> about to join his recently departed charges.
> Putting the nose down and performing the jump pilot descent, he was
> quickly on the ground, stopped and shut down.
> Unbuttoning the cowling revealed a recently constructed birds nest on
> the rear cylinders on one side of the engine.

Funny!... Once, at a grass strip at a local airpark we had a visiting King
Air. Kind of a treat for the jumpers there that usually had only a 182. We
were 10-12 jumpers and were heading to altitude for our "big-way" jump when
we realized that a low cloud bank was moving south faster than we thought.
We were trying to squeeze a couple thousand feet more and got to about 10k
but by that time the DZ was fully covered. We decided to descend to the
cloud base and jump. We were on jump run at about 1800 with the plane up
into the clouds with just enough visibility to see. We decided, to heck with
it, a low hop n pop wasn't worth the trouble of repacking so we told the
pilot we would just land with the plane. He said that half of us would have
to get out or else he would have to land at a neighboring airport with a
real runway. I think he landed at the air park alone. :-) I also got to
make a high altitude jump there from that plane. 21,500 AGL.

muff528

February 19th 08, 01:30 AM

>
> I used to be WB5LSF back in the '70s

I used to be WN4GRG back in the '60s. I remember taking my General written
and code tests but I don't think I ever actually sent the
application......or maybe I did but don't remember getting the license. Went
off to college about that time and got exposed to other distractions. :-) TP

muff528

February 19th 08, 01:45 AM

> wrote in message
...
> On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>> On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>>
>> > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>>
>> > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>>
>> > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>>
>> > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>>
>> > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>>
>> > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in
>> > > > > > the
>> > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>>
>> > > > > > -c
>>
>> > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever
>> > > > > since
>> > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes
>> > > > > some
>> > > > > balls!
>> > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech.
>> > > > > Was
>> > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>>
>> > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed
>> > > > with
>> > > > T-10s and PCs.
>>
>> > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> > > > - Show quoted text -
>>
>> > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate
>> > > was
>> > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
>> > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do
>> > > I
>> > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
>> > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
>> > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
>> > > 9-29-85
>>
>> > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
>> > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
>> > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>>
>> > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>>
>> > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
>> > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
>> > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> > - Show quoted text -
>>
>> The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
>> That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
>> As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
>> BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
>> Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
>> '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
>> Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
>> suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
>> USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
>> started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
>> Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
>> Cheers
>> Rocky
>
> '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> "warts".
>
> I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> horizon to horizon.
>
> The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
> would be interesting.
>
> I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)
>
> Blue skies,
> Richard

OK Richard, NO EXCUSE!!..... I did my pre-second jump at 41 years old and
also am approaching 1000 jumps although I slowed WAY down after my son was
born. (It HAS been a pretty good while since my last one but I still own all
my gear so I guess I'm still "current" :-))

Blue'ns, Tony P.

[email protected]

February 19th 08, 12:54 PM

On Feb 18, 6:31 pm, John Smith > wrote:
> In article
> >,
> "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> > Then there was the time at Perris with the D-18 when I was pulling a
> > load up thru various altitudes, a couple here, a few there and we were
> > headed for 12.5 for some AAF with 4 guys left. Don Balch was the JM
> > and I was doing a racetrack pattern in the climb. As we were going
> > thru 11K, I lost the blower on the right engine on the jump leg and I
> > hollered back "JUMP RUN" and Balch comes forward pointing at his
> > altimeter saying "12.5" and I replied "We lost our right engine..."
> > and he didn't even slow down as he smoothly pivoted around hollering
> > "JUMP RUN" and they all headed out. I'm still laughing at how little
> > argument I got for the low jump run...!
>
> Brownies Lebanon Airport, Lebanon OH, circa 1972
> After a wet Spring and several weeks of no jumping activity, the clouds
> parted and the sun appeared for several days.
> The C180 was untied and pulled out of the open T-hangar, the jumpers
> were loaded and off they flew.
> Passing through 3500 on the way up, smoke began waifting into the cabin
> from under the instrument panel. As the pilot realized the source was
> not within the aircraft cabin, he announced, "Boys, I think we got
> a...", and before the word "fire" was out of his mouth, the jump door
> was open and four jumpers were gone, leaving the pilot all alone.
> Being a jump pilot in an airplane directly over an airport, he wasn't
> about to join his recently departed charges.
> Putting the nose down and performing the jump pilot descent, he was
> quickly on the ground, stopped and shut down.
> Unbuttoning the cowling revealed a recently constructed birds nest on
> the rear cylinders on one side of the engine.

Poached? Or over easy? ;-)

[email protected]

February 19th 08, 12:59 PM

On Feb 18, 7:45 pm, "muff528" > wrote:
> > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > On Feb 15, 11:21 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
> >> On Feb 15, 10:17 am, wrote:
>
> >> > On Feb 15, 10:12 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> >> > > On Feb 15, 9:56 am, wrote:
>
> >> > > > On Feb 15, 9:43 am, "Ol Shy & Bashful" > wrote:
>
> >> > > > > On Feb 14, 6:42 pm, "gatt" > wrote:
>
> >> > > > > >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> >> > > > > > (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> >> > > > > > As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in
> >> > > > > > the
> >> > > > > > empennage or something. What do you guys think of this?
>
> >> > > > > > -c
>
> >> > > > > Intreresting but not spectacular. People been doing similar ever
> >> > > > > since
> >> > > > > the 20's and a lot of wing walking sans parachute. That takes
> >> > > > > some
> >> > > > > balls!
> >> > > > > I've got pics of 13 jumpers crawling around outside a Twin Beech.
> >> > > > > Was
> >> > > > > over Perris,CA back in the 80's
>
> >> > > > Yeah with the 'old style' big suits and Strong containers stuffed
> >> > > > with
> >> > > > T-10s and PCs.
>
> >> > > > I wonder what the sink rate of the plane was.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> > > > - Show quoted text -
>
> >> > > If you are talking about the Twin Beech over Perris, the sink rate
> >> > > was
> >> > > 1000fpm @ 90-kts with the left engine pulled back to near idle, about
> >> > > 10deg of flap for a step for the jumpers. Started out at 14.5 How do
> >> > > I
> >> > > know all that? Simple...I was the pilot. Two attempts were made that
> >> > > day and on the first jump the lead jumper lost his grip as the 13th
> >> > > was coming out the door so we did it again later that afternoon.
> >> > > 9-29-85
>
> >> > Thank you! I'd been seriously wondering about that ever since I saw
> >> > the pic. I started jumping in '84 on a paracommander and quickly
> >> > transitioned to a 9 cell after I stood up (once!) a PC (at 210#).
>
> >> > What was your favorite jump plane to fly?
>
> >> > I liked Caravans (nice big door) and Casa 212s (nice big ramp)...but
> >> > for just fun hanging upside down by your feet from the wing of a C182
> >> > or similar was always a hoot.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> > - Show quoted text -
>
> >> The only time I ever got hurt jumping was a PC and I broke my heel.
> >> That was jump #130+. did a hook turn too low and BAM.
> >> As far as a favorite jump plane to fly, hard to say. Enjoyed the Casa,
> >> BE 18, and of course all the usual singles. I began jumping in '59 at
> >> Elsinore and my last one was in Perris out of a ****ter back about
> >> '85+-. My wife did a tandem from 14.5 out of a ****ter at Moss Point
> >> Mississippi a few years ago. Jumps from helicopters were fun and I
> >> suppose my favorite was out of a C130 at 21,000 back in 61-62 in the
> >> USMC. Early days of the HALO development near Yuma AZ. I think I
> >> started pulling jumpers around 1964...with C-172's out near
> >> Barstow,CA. A variety of aircraft since then.
> >> Cheers
> >> Rocky
>
> > '59....back when men were men, chutes were round and reserves were
> > "warts".
>
> > I performed my hook turn under my 9 cell and literally bounced but
> > only sprained my ankle. Never had a chance to jump the 18 but we had
> > one around. Did a high altitude out of a twinbo (noisiest airplane
> > with that 'charger on it) which was fun (22'K feet and had to go off
> > O2 to gear up for about 5 minutes...felt really interesting to jump
> > semi-hypoxic. Jumped a Cub once and hung off the little step (greasy-
> > bad move)...but it was the little things that made it enjoyable-
> > watching a C-47 fire up at dusk with the blue flames popping out the
> > exhaust...jumping into a crystal clear spring se texas morning sky and
> > then looking down 45 seconds later to see nothing but ground fog from
> > horizon to horizon.
>
> > The most fun might be the Longranger jump and gave me a new
> > appreciation for the use of safety cables in movie stunts as I see no
> > way a man hanging on a skid could climb back into one.
>
> > A C130. Sigh. Always wanted to jump one of those....and the jet jump
> > at Quincy would have been fun too. Slow down to terminal velocity
> > would be interesting.
>
> > I jumped video from '89 til '95 and quit just shy of 1000 jumps when I
> > realized that my ears weren't clearing until Thursday the following
> > week and my neck was getting beat up from the video gear...approaching
> > 40 at that time didn't have anything to do with it I'm sure. ;-)
>
> > Blue skies,
> > Richard
>
> OK Richard, NO EXCUSE!!..... I did my pre-second jump at 41 years old and
> also am approaching 1000 jumps although I slowed WAY down after my son was
> born. (It HAS been a pretty good while since my last one but I still own all
> my gear so I guess I'm still "current" :-))
>
> Blue'ns, Tony P.

Yah, I blame my son (now 11 as I approach 50) and my ears & sinuses
(and a little TMJ from the helmet cam chinstrap- all that chin
thrusting to hold it on tightly). I'd still jump video though if I
started up again and wonder how the 'rolling' shutter on my HV20 would
do in the air. Still have my gear packed up from 10/15/1995 and
occasionally take my old main out the closet and inflate it on the
yard like a big kite. The altimeter is my barometer.

muff528

February 20th 08, 02:35 AM

>
> Yah, I blame my son (now 11 as I approach 50) and my ears & sinuses
> (and a little TMJ from the helmet cam chinstrap- all that chin
> thrusting to hold it on tightly). I'd still jump video though if I
> started up again and wonder how the 'rolling' shutter on my HV20 would
> do in the air.

Mine just turned 11 a couple of months ago. He likes going to the DZ with me
but he's much more interested in NASCAR. I thought I'd like to try
videography at one time and I tried out a friends camera helmet two or three
times a few years back. Definitely not as easy as it looks to get decent
results! Also I didn't want skydiving to turn into work so I gave up the
idea.

> Still have my gear packed up from 10/15/1995 and
> occasionally take my old main out the closet and inflate it on the
> yard like a big kite.

Isn't the reserve repack cycle still 120 days? ;-) I had my most recent
reserve ride 3-4 years ago and noticed that my old 5-cell Swift landed a bit
hard. Not sure if the canopy is getting too porous or if I am! :-) I think
I'd get a new one if I get back into jumping more frequently. Getting a
Cypres wouldn't hurt either.

> The altimeter is my barometer.

I "zeroed" mine before each of the hurricanes that came through here in
2004. I live within a few miles of the tracks of 3 of them. Interesting to
watch the house "ascend" 150 -200 ft during their passing.

[email protected]

February 20th 08, 06:17 PM

On Feb 19, 8:35 pm, "muff528" > wrote:
> > Yah, I blame my son (now 11 as I approach 50) and my ears & sinuses
> > (and a little TMJ from the helmet cam chinstrap- all that chin
> > thrusting to hold it on tightly). I'd still jump video though if I
> > started up again and wonder how the 'rolling' shutter on my HV20 would
> > do in the air.
>
> Mine just turned 11 a couple of months ago. He likes going to the DZ with me
> but he's much more interested in NASCAR. I thought I'd like to try
> videography at one time and I tried out a friends camera helmet two or three
> times a few years back. Definitely not as easy as it looks to get decent
> results! Also I didn't want skydiving to turn into work so I gave up the
> idea.
>
> > Still have my gear packed up from 10/15/1995 and
> > occasionally take my old main out the closet and inflate it on the
> > yard like a big kite.
>
> Isn't the reserve repack cycle still 120 days? ;-) I had my most recent
> reserve ride 3-4 years ago and noticed that my old 5-cell Swift landed a bit
> hard. Not sure if the canopy is getting too porous or if I am! :-) I think
> I'd get a new one if I get back into jumping more frequently. Getting a
> Cypres wouldn't hurt either.
>
> > The altimeter is my barometer.
>
> I "zeroed" mine before each of the hurricanes that came through here in
> 2004. I live within a few miles of the tracks of 3 of them. Interesting to
> watch the house "ascend" 150 -200 ft during their passing.

Used to take it on ski trips when I drove into the Rockies...you could
watch the low pressure zones track over.

Yeah, my reserve is a little over due...and it's a round Phantom 26';
the last time I used it was for a test jump of an under the container
throw out system prior to migrating to a wing suit in '94. 'Hard
pull' and dumped at 2K after a 4-way practice dive (jumping
video)...felt kinda a strange trying to get the silly thing deployed
and watching the girls (female jump team) all tracking off and dumping
while I fiddled Discovered the meaning of the word brisk by having my
head snap forward such that I darn near caught myself in the face with
my knees...then realized at 500 or so feet that a PLF was a bad idea
with $1500 worth of gear on my head so I *almost* stood it up...went
to my knees.

A *job*....yeah, that was another reason. I'd done all I wanted to do
with it and with the beating I was taking it was getting to be a whole
lot of work. Perhaps someday...again.

Amazing how the skills stay with you. I had a 5 month hiatus in '95
right before I *really* quit and on my first jump back put it 3 feet
of dead center in the peas. I wonder now if I'd get the elevated
pulse or if I'd just get back into the business like zone.

William Hung[_2_]

February 20th 08, 09:14 PM

On Feb 17, 11:47*pm, Clark > wrote:
> William Hung > wrote in news:afe16f3e-08bf-462d-8c63-
> :
>
> > On Feb 14, 7:42*pm, "gatt" > wrote:
> >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enz2YeYI1d0&feature=related
>
> >> (Jumper joy-riding on left engine nacelle)
>
> >> As soon as "Ogrish" popped up I expected to guy to tangle up in the
> >> empennage or something. * What do you guys think of this?
>
> >> -c
>
> > Looks like fun. *I would wear shoes though.
>
> Wot? And risk scratching the paint?
>
> --
> ---
> there should be a "sig" here

Didn't think of that.

Wil

muff528

February 21st 08, 12:43 AM

> ...and it's a round Phantom 26'

*shudddderrr!* ... never had a round on my back! .....although I did mention
to one of the long-time jumpers that I'd like to try a Para-Commander (not
REALLY a round, I suppose). He told me just to jump off of the roof of the
manifest building and it would be a good approximation of the landing I'd
get! :-)

> the last time I used it was for a test jump of an under the container
> throw out system prior to migrating to a wing suit in '94. 'Hard
> pull' and dumped at 2K after a 4-way practice dive (jumping
> video)...felt kinda a strange trying to get the silly thing deployed
> and watching the girls (female jump team) all tracking off and dumping
> while I fiddled Discovered the meaning of the word brisk by having my
> head snap forward such that I darn near caught myself in the face with
> my knees...then realized at 500 or so feet that a PLF was a bad idea
> with $1500 worth of gear on my head so I *almost* stood it up...went
> to my knees.
>

OUCH! .... I've had some pretty hard openings and I can only imagine having
one while wearing a camera helmet. ..No Thanks!

[email protected]

February 21st 08, 07:57 PM

On Feb 20, 6:43 pm, "muff528" > wrote:
> > ...and it's a round Phantom 26'
>
> *shudddderrr!* ... never had a round on my back! .....although I did mention
> to one of the long-time jumpers that I'd like to try a Para-Commander (not
> REALLY a round, I suppose). He told me just to jump off of the roof of the
> manifest building and it would be a good approximation of the landing I'd
> get! :-)
>
> > the last time I used it was for a test jump of an under the container
> > throw out system prior to migrating to a wing suit in '94. 'Hard
> > pull' and dumped at 2K after a 4-way practice dive (jumping
> > video)...felt kinda a strange trying to get the silly thing deployed
> > and watching the girls (female jump team) all tracking off and dumping
> > while I fiddled Discovered the meaning of the word brisk by having my
> > head snap forward such that I darn near caught myself in the face with
> > my knees...then realized at 500 or so feet that a PLF was a bad idea
> > with $1500 worth of gear on my head so I *almost* stood it up...went
> > to my knees.
>
> OUCH! .... I've had some pretty hard openings and I can only imagine having
> one while wearing a camera helmet. ..No Thanks!

My first few jumps were on a PC; for #2 I stood it up (weighing 210 at
the time) and was sore for 3 days. You ever get a chance try it,
actually has some 'drive' to it and not bad at all for a round.

Yeah, I always tried to pack a snively opening for just such a
reason. After that reserve ride I packed it in for the rest of the
day - it was jump #4 and I was feeling pretty beat up. <g>