Museums

[SansSuit 1]

We all know about the big skydiving museum planned for Virginia. Are there other museums out there that already have skydiving content? Isn't there something at Ft. Bragg? Is that open to the public?

I once stumbled upon an ancient wingsuit exhibit in Lansing Michigan. I had some time to kill and ended up at the R E Olds Transportation Museum. Way back in a corner is this exhibit. I'm not a wingsuit flyer buy you guys aren't using 1/4" round bar stock with hinges to stabilize your wings any more, are you?

I figure there have to be other nuggets out there.

Peace,
-Jeff.

Peace,
-Dawson.
http://www.SansSuit.com
The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving

[Tink1717 2]

The one place I thought would have something about parachutes and the history of the sport doesn't mention it at all: The Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I thought they would have, at the very least, had something about how parachutes are use to save pilots, but they have nothing. Weird.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[pringles 0]

I was at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum this week and they were playing Adrenaline Rush the movie in the IMax cinema there.

Matt Davies

[Tink1717 2]

Yeah, they played that when they first opened ti Udvar-Hazy center. But they still don't have any parachuting exhibits or any mention of skydiving as a sport or as an advancement of aviation. This is in spite of the fact that parachute and jumping pre date the airplane.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[jimjumper 25]

Last time I was at the San Diego Air and Space museum they had a static (and dated) 4-way suspended from the ceiling.

[NickDG 23]

The Smithy did have one at one time. The USPA spent a ton of money on four special mannequins that were posed as a four way team and suspended from the ceiling. This was in the 1980s. They picked four "real" jumpers from four different eras wearing gear of their times. Jerry Bird was modeled, and so was Bill Ottley, Jim Arenda was I believe the third jumper and an Army Parachute Team jumper who's name escapes me now was fourth. The gear represented included was the Army guy in trad gut gear, Bird with his "J. Bird Rip-off" reserve, and Ottley in a "modern" piggyback either a Handbury or early Wonderhog. The big expense on these mannequins, besides how well they were articulated, was the faces actually looked like the people they were supposed to be. The jumpsuits were all period too.

I don't remember how long this exhibit hung at the Smithy but it wasn't all that long. Then around the late 80s across the country in San Diego a really great aviation museum burned to the ground in an arson fire in Balboa Park. It was a real shame as not only did they have some great aircraft they also had a huge collection of WWII parachutes including a lot of "silk" Japanese and German versions. When the museum was finally rebuilt years later other aviations museums in the country combed through their attics and basements looking for "off exhibit" items to help San Diego get back on its feet.

So somehow the "four way" came to San Diego. When I went to visit the re-opened museum the four way, which this time was put up by wuffos, was in a sad way. Ripcords dangled from pockets, Ottley's throw out pilot chute bridle was hanging outside its belly band pouch, other parts of the gear were on wrong and the grips in the four way were comically awry. I convinced the museum staff I knew what I was talking about and spent an hour on scaffolding with one of the curators fixing it up.

Over the years I've checked on it, and the last time was about two years ago and it was still there. I'm up in LA right now but maybe some San Diego locals could get together and adopt this thing. It's just crying out for a free flyer to be included in order to make it a hybrid! If it’s not on exhibit any longer USPA should try and get it back for their new place. But I doubt there's anyone at USPA right now who's even aware of it . . .

NickD BASE 194

[howardwhite 6]

Here's a picture from Parachutist July '77 accompanying a story about the opening a year earlier of the Smithsonian A&S Museum.
NickDG's account of the exhibit mostly squares with the article except for the people involved.
At the 1 o'clock position is Jerry Bird, wearing the rig he designed and used as captain of the '74 US team, which won the world championship that year; his "Ripoff" reserve was kept closed by Velcro instead of pins. At left in the conventional rig and belly-mount -- donated by the Army Team -- is Dick Fortenberry, D-38, an original Golden Knight, world champion, and the first person to score a dead center in international accuracy competition. Opposite him, in the blue jumpsuit, is Bill Ottley; he's wearing a Super Swooper main and Pop-Top reserve. Closing fourth is Mike Johnston, who was then a member of the Exitus team; his rig is an SST.

HW

[lekstrom10k 0]

At the time Mike Johnston was working at the Jump-Shack in Farmington or Novi Mi He is now airport manager at Deland Fl with his wife Vicky also an employee of the Jump-Shack there. He was with USPA for years ,He and Jack Gregory went around the country doing AFF certification courses.
Mike Horan of Dayton Oh was starting a museum there while he was conference director for ME with USPA. I know he has the original 24ft chest mount sentinal with the altimeter you had to turn off after opening that I sent him. Inever knew how far he got with the museum though.

[JerryBaumchen 1,354]

Hi howard,

I remember when that story/photos came out. I thought at the time, 'Well, that is not correct.'

Why, because they have/had Fortenberry in a SuperPro or so rig (high mount reserve attachment). When he was jumping the gut pack would have been mounted on low D-rings; and when he won the World Championship ('64) he was jumping a Crossbow harness/container.

Just good eyes and some nit-picking.

JerryBaumchen