First jump a buddy-buddy?

[aj4218 0]

I was incredibly lucky to have met and made a great friend of the late Frank Donnellan (BASE 12) who, to cut a much longer story short, got me to Perris in October 1980.

I'd had 4 years flying hang gliders, there was no AFF, I'd spent 6 months hanging around DZs with Frank, learned how to pack and 'convinced' a few people that I had about 40 unrecorded jumps while I was living in Spain flying. Had absolutely no interest in static-lining at all.

We got to Perris, forged about 45 jumps in a logbook and I only had a BPA membership number.
We borrowed a rig from a friend of Franks (Comet 228 inside), somehow scammed our way through manifest, went to 14 grand, took a 2-way out the door of a DC3, flew around, tracked, dumped and landed in the pit. Second jump managed a 7 pt random 4-way RW with Frank and 2 girls from the ghetto, Robin and Lesley.

What I'm fascinated to know is how many people do we think have managed to get into the sport full time by 'the back door'.

I know it's not everyone's chosen training method, but it worked well for me and saved me a shed load of money!!

[skybytch 273]

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What I'm fascinated to know is how many people do we think have managed to get into the sport full time by 'the back door'.

"Someone I used to know" used to tell a story about his first jump back in the late 60's. It involved a "cheapo" rig, several forged logbook entries and a big set of cajones.

Things were different back then...

[Newbie 0]

Ah the "good ole days"

Nice story, thanks.

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[kevinwhelan 0]

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What I'm fascinated to know is how many people do we think have managed to get into the sport full time by 'the back door'.

What I'd be fascinated to know is how many people didn't survive trying to get into the sport full time by 'the back door'.

"be honest with yourself. Why do I want to go smaller? It is not going to make my penis longer." ~Brian Germain, on downsizing

[The111 1]

A 7-point 4-way with 60 seconds of freefall experience? I find that hard to believe...

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[JustChuteMeNow 0]

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Second jump managed a 7 pt random 4-way RW with Frank and 2 girls from the ghetto, Robin and Lesley.

4 years of hang gliding must have accelerated your learning curve tremendously. Turning 7 points on a 4-way on only your second jump ever is incredible. I only wish I could have learned as quickly.

Think of how stupid the average person is and realize that statistically half of them are stupider than that.

[bodypilot1 0]

There were ALOT of drugs going around DZ's at that time.

Sounds like you got some good ones!

I say BS on the 7 point 4way, unless there's video of course.....



Be safe.
Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[tdog 0]

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There were ALOT of drugs going around DZ's at that time.

Sounds like you got some good ones!

I say BS on the 7 point 4way, unless there's video of course.....



Be safe.
Ed

I agree, I was hoping someone with more jumps than I thinks this guy's story is a little too good to be true... Now, maybe if they used a leash to real him in from backslides...

Dude, all I can say is, where is the video (and/or the three other people who jumped in the 4way?)

[nbblood 0]

No really, I saw Keanu Reeves do something similar with Patrick Swayze in Point Break. Of course they had more like 4 1/2 minutes of freefall on the first jump.

Blues,
Nathan

Blues,
Nathan

If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

[aj4218 0]

Look, I'm too old to be bothered with posting BS and ego-massaging. Maybe some old Perris ghettos members could identify the girls? Robin was a local jumper and Lesley was a visiting Kiwi. Sheila Baigent, Frank's ex-girlfriend who was living at the ghetto, was there and could confirm it if she's still around.

A real disappointment that other people's post make me feel I have to prove anything at all.

[The111 1]

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A real disappointment that other people's post make me feel I have to prove anything at all.

It has nothing to do with *you* having to to prove anything. People aren't doubting you, they don't even know you. We just know that freefall skills aren't natural, and I've never heard of anyone learning that fast... I was also under the impression that the whole level of freefall skills was lower back then which would make your feat even more unbelievable.

Does hang gliding help freefall skills? I honestly know nothing about it. Are you flying your body at all or just the wing?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[aj4218 0]

I agree with you up to a point. Freefall skills certainly aren't natural. Nevertheless, if you've spent 6-700 hours flying hang gliders and are therefore very comfortable in the air, have hung around skydivers for over 2 years (Spain and UK), been on observer loads, been in possession of a 16mm copy of the Visions (?) 8-way film, read hundreds of copies of Parachutist (especially the incident reports) and have enough imagination and confidence, it can be done.

With that background, Frank's most basic piece of advice was that as long as I was stable and face to earth at dump time, it'd be cool - and it was. I had 12,000 feet to learn how to get stable but didn't need 11,950 feet of them apart from just after he fruit-looped me at about 6 grand.

As far as the second jump is concerned I owe an apolgy to the forum; I dragged the log book out an hour ago and it was a 5 pointer not 7 and almost all the flying was obviously done by the other 3. The jump was signed off by Mike Kemp.

The only intention with this original post had nothing to do with anything other than an interest in finding out if there's peole who've had similar experiences and how it happened. I feel priveleged to have been able to do it and have to thank Frank Donnellan (who, by the way, got into the sport in a similar fashion, but I didn't find out til years later) for the following 15 years skydiving.

[NickDG 23]

Hi Al,

Years ago we were discussing Frank Donnellan and Jimmy Tyler who both died the same year (1982), and it was mentioned Frank had spent some time at Perris. Sure as hell, your story came up, and it was basically the same way you just told it.

The reason it came up is because earlier that day we'd been at Elsinore where a BASE jumper, and good friend of mine, had just went up and jumped after some parking lot coaching. He had a 100 BASE jumps, but had never skydived before.

Many jumpers don't stop to think that current accepted training methods are mostly geared to the masses but isn't the only way to learn. Skydiving is still young enough that there are plenty of experienced jumpers walking around who never had a traditional first jump course. My friend Lupe G. made his first jump in Texas after a friend with something like twenty jumps "taught" him. Then he had to go up alone as all they had was a Cessna 150.

Come visit the BASE section of this forum. Any Frank stories you could tell would be most welcome . . .

NickD BASE 194

[aj4218 0]

Nick - fantastic to hear from you and I'll post some stuff about Frank on the BASE forum.

[SkyMissy 0]

I happen to know of at least one similar story (second hand), involving willing private pilots, rented Cessnas and lots of solos starting with squeezing out the non-in-flight door. I don't have permission to name names, but I'm sure there are also plenty like this.

________________________________________________
Mike

[The111 1]

Thanks for the clarification. I guess maybe it sounds believable now. You're probably right that fear (or lack thereof) has a lot to do with initial freefall preformance. I've seen newbies (non-jumpers) get in the wind tunnel and fly pretty good the first time, since it's not as scary as a real skydive.

I'll let this thread get back on topic now. I have nothing to contribute as far as that goes, I went through AFF like a normal person.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[velvetjo 0]

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just after he fruit-looped me at about 6 grand.

Is that something like getting your salad tossed?


Gotta agree that there are lots of crossover skills between aviation disciplines. It was kinda fun watching my CFI flinch everytime I flared lower than he was used to while I was learning to fly.

Lance

[The111 1]

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It was kinda fun watching my CFI flinch everytime I flared lower than he was used to while I was learning to fly.

Maybe if you looked at the ground and not him he'd flinch less.

(I know what you mean)

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[beezyshaw 0]

OK, since the statute of limitations has long since passed, I'll tell you that when I was in my twenties (back in the 70's) we took several of our non-jumping friends on skydives with "quick progression". I know of a few of our friends that have a SCR number and only made one jump in their life! How we didn't kill somebody I don't know, but it certainly wasn't because we were so smart.