Saw something strange... (0/1)

Sorry, this is text only, it was one of the few times I've ever been caught
without a camera, dern it! I'm hoping some old guy knows what was going on
those 30 something years ago...

Back in the early 70's while chasing bunnies near Edwards AFB, I had a C-130
pass over head several times. The ramp was down and there was a single line
coming out the back maybe 150 - 200' or so behind the plane and there was some
poor ******* sitting on what looked like a plain old plank of wood, swinging in
the wind. He had a helmet and blue jump suit on and they passed over myself and
my Dad 4 or 5 times at no more than 500' off the deck. Circuit time was maybe
10 minutes or so.

They flew off for a while and then returned on the same route except this time
there was some other poor ******* (I assume) who also had a helmet but this time
a bulkier, orange jump suit on.

Mojave is known for its high temps but on this particular day it was colder than
the proverbial witches' breast!

I've asked several people over the years of they had any idea what the heck was
going on and the best guesses have been some sort of ground pick up. However,
this C-130 did NOT have the large "V" poles sticking out of nose. In fact, it
looked to be a perfectly stock C-130.

It could be there were testing some portion of that system but I've never gotten
anything definitive, just guesses. The only thing I know for sure is that the
first guy was freezing his ass off... he was huddled up, arms across his chest
(outside the lines that attached to seat) and, as I watched through my 10x
binos, did not look in any way happy. I could see his face clearly through the
binos and he was not having fun. There also did not seem to anything securing
him to the line or the plank he was sitting on, either. No harnesses, no belts,
nothing... it looked as if had he let go, he would have fallen. Somehow I don't
believe that but I didn't see anything. The second guy had his arms up and was
holding on to the lines that came off the seat. They joined the line from the
plane just above his head.

I suppose it might have been some kind of hazing ritual or even punishment of
some kind, I honestly don't have any idea. Do any of you actually know - for
sure - what they were doing?

Mojave and the surrounding area where I used to hunt & shoot was a lot of fun
back in those days. I have no doubt it's still interesting, although you can't
go and wander around the airport like we did in those days and I suspect the
security around the base is a bit tighter. There was always something
interesting going on at the RAF (Rutan's hangar) and quite a few at other
hangars as well. I still have original sets of both VariViggen (to this day my
dream bird) and VariEze plans. I suppose I should sell them, there's no way
I'll ever get around to them now.

I saw a whole lot of interesting things out there by Edwards, too. All kinds of
experimental stuff flying around, too. I'll have to dig around and see if I can
find some of those pics. Many of them were from quite a ways away as the fence
around Edwards is meant as a buffer to keep guys like me from seeing what they
were up to.

Still, we got to see things like the U-2 (maybe '68 or' 69, when most everything
about it was still classified) complete with an F-86 escort and once, what I
assumed was a photo op, of the B1, an F-111 and some other birds in early '86,
when most people didn't even know it had flown. I did a quick check and I can't
find any of them, so I'll have to make an effort to locate some to post later.
I've got the negatives and over the years they've gotten quite green with age...
as have I!
Cheers,
jc

Ok, I have to put some kind of picture in, right? Here's a shot of Burt (and
his first wife) as he gets ready for an airshow. I believe it's Mojave but it
could very well be Chino since he has his luggage carrier, a simulated bomb, on
the belly. The picture has been touched up some but not altered.

The second, very lousy photo, is me next to the Voyager. I had just dropped off
a few bits of hardward that I had, um.... ("liberated" shall we say?) gotten
from the hangar at TWA where I worked at the time. The picture has little
historical value other than the fact that Jeana took it for me. She's a much
better pilot than photog!