What's the oldest gear you've ever jumped?

[Yooper 0]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums, but I figured I might as well jump right into the action. I don't know about anyone else, but I get a kick out of searching through the storage closets at my dz and pulling out the oldest, scariest shit I can find, straping it on, and jumping it. I recently jumped a round from 1952, with a bellywart reserve. It was the dz owners very first rig. So, anyone else share my whacked behavior?
Chad

[ColdDuck 0]

HELL NO!

[lazerq3 0]

Can I be your benificiary on your life ins policy??jason

[Dirtsucks 0]

Hey, I got this rig I made myself. It was designed by this guy named Da Vinci. I can’t get anybody to jump it. Wanna try it?

[Yooper 0]

It's not as crazy as it sounds. All the gear is repacked and inspected by my rigger before I jump it and I get the proper training I need before jumping anything unfimiliar.
Blue Skies
"For once you have tasted flight,
You will walk the earth with your eye's turned skyard;
For there you have been,
And there you long to return"
-Da Vinci

Edited by yooper on 4/4/01 10:57 PM.

[Albatross 0]

Dude you are nuts. Even in perfect condition that old gear is not around for a good reason it is hard to control and hard on the landings. I know that we aall may have some odd ideas of fun but that one I don't understand.
Blue Skys and Safe Landings
Albatross

[Geoff 0]

maybe you already know - Adrian Nicholas jumped a parachute made from the Da Vinci sketches a few months ago. He didn't land it, though - chopped and landed a modern canopy, which made it a bit pointless to my mind.
Geoff

[wingnut 0]

well i've always wanted to jump a round (not as a reserve though) but the oldest piece of equipment i jump would be my racer. it was manufactured in 1983 and has god knows how many jumps. it has about a 6" portion of each riser exposed before it goes into the riser covers, compleatly external of the rig. lets just say i don't do much freeflying in it. (like i could anyways) and the para pack has held up quite well for being 18 years old!
<>

[Dutchboy 0]

Not much happening in the UP (yooper), eh? No need to get suicidal. Find some of those Escanaba girls and party.

[Grogs 0]

Well, I jumped a -1B (round, non-steerable) chute in the military. I don't know the date my particular chute was made, but I'm pretty sure the -1B is the same (or very similar) model used to air drop troops in WWII.

[Patkat 0]

Oldest gear I ever jumped was an early-eighties vintage Wonderhog, with a Unit 2 main and 28 foot Navy conical for a reserve. The Unit 2 is a big old seven cell, and the end cells didn't open for th first half of the jump.
Why did I jump this monstrosity, you may ask? River Jump!!!!!
For my wet training, after hopping in the Susquehanna and having a T-10 thrown over my head, I got to make an actual jump into the river. Cool as hell.
Blues - Patkat

[MarkM 0]

Hey wing, my EOS was made in '92 and it sounds like it has the same riser configuration.
"Hey dude, your risers are showing" - quote I hear all the time.

[Yooper 0]

Patkat,
Hey, you say that you've jumped a wonderhog? We have one of those at my dz ad it's one of our best pieces of rental gear. My girlfriend jumps it all the time.

[MC208B 0]

the rig I have now! All from the early to mid 90's. Suits me well tho for now since I stiil do the occassional ass slide landing!

[billvon 3,071]

let's see - my first student gear was a strong starlite, with a DC-5 as a main and a circa-1960 round reserve. i jumped a 1970's swift system for a while (anyone remember those? swift container, swift main, swift reserve.) also jumped a 1961 round of some sort for fun a few years ago. i cut it away before i landed, though. unfortunately the cutaway main floated into mexico, and that was the end of that.
-bill von

[Yooper 0]

bill,
we use dc-5's for water jumps all the time. sorry your canopy decided tocross the border.
chad

[skybytch 273]

Not a chance. My first rig was a 1984 Racer SST with a 24' NAA round reserve and a Fury main. That's the oldest gear that will ever accompany me out of an aircraft! I've bought a few "relics" in the past couple of years, but for decorating the dz I'm gonna eventually own NOT for me to jump!
I do have an awful lot of respect for those who jumped that stuff back when that was all there was. Without that gear and those people we wouldn't be jumping the gear we have today.
btw, welcome to the sick world of dz.com forum posters... you're gonna fit right in too I can tell...
pull and flare,
lisa

[Yooper 0]

skybytch,
I agree, the guys who started back in the day deserve a great amount of respect. I often wonder how many of us would have even started jumping if we were around back in the days of round mains and bellywarts.
Blue Skies,
Yooper

[NewGuy 0]

Hey Yooper,
Sounds like a lot of fun. If I'm ever out your way perhaps we can hook up and do a few jumps on old gear, have a few beer and a friendly game of Russian Roulette...
Cheers,
NewGuy

[propblast 0]

Chad,
How much old stuff does your DZ have? Are you the only one there that does this? Just curious. Everyone knows i love the rounds.
-e

[Yooper 0]

Newguy,
Sounds great. I got the old gear covered, but I don't drink anymore. And you better make it soon, I'm sellng my pistol to pay for my new rig. Peace
Blue Skies,
Yooper

[Yooper 0]

Propblast,
Unfortunately, my dz has extensive amounts of old gear. We are a really small dz and can't afford top of the line equipment. But even amongst my fellow Yoopers, I am considered insane. Peace.
Blue Skies,
Chad

[cloud9 0]

Actually that old stuff just wasn't as bad as a lot of you think. I started with a 28' round with what was called a double L modification (for steering) and a 24' round non-steerable reserve. The container was military surplus and the reserve was chest mounted. The landings were not all that bad. You had to have a good spot and most of the time you landed facing backwards, but it wasn't like it was painfull or anything. I then graduated to a PC which of course was round and we got a lot of stand ups out of them old rigs. I can tell you one thing you can land a lot softer on a square but you can damn sure land a hell of a lot harder on a square too. I have about 75 jumps on rounds with no malfunctions. My first mal came on a square. Anyway the old rounds could be alot of fun. Don't get me wrong nothing compared to the squares of today, but still a lot of fun. My first main was a 1961 model my second a 1972 I was really up town. I started in 1975. You all should try some of that old gear its not near as bad as you think.
Some fun eh!

[Yooper 0]

Cloud9,
Thanks for the support! I think it would do everyone a little good if they could get out there and see how it all began. You're right about the landings too. I've landed alot harder under a square than I ever did under a round. Peace.
Blue Skies,
Chad

[slotperfect 7]

My first introduction to skydiving was through static line progression using freefall MC1-1B's (modified military rounds). We packed 'em on the DZ, one end attached to a pipe in the ground, and your jump buddy holding tension by standing in between the line groups and leaning back against the harness & pack tray. We used 24' flat chest reserves, modified with a four line release (to make it steerable ), and an externally mounted FXC 12000. The RSL was called a "Stevens Lanyard," a piece of 1/2" tubular with a loop on one end and a french link on the other. The looped end went around the right (front?) riser, the french link end was attached to the reserve ripcord. I made 11 jumps this way (through 15 second delays, I think), then went through AFF after a brief hiatus.
Respectfully,
SP