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SkydiverRick

Any Indiantown, Fl jumpers?

By SkydiverRick, in Skydiving History & Trivia

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patmoore    14

patmoore
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just got home and checked my logbook;
december 1968
signed off by:
pop (?) d-47, john coppe (?) d265, bill burr c-5961, ed darey(?) d-241.



See attached photos taken at Indiantown. First is of Bill Burr (in white) and myself. Second is Ed Dorey who died in a plane crash.

There's also a shot of Pop's Howard.

When is this site going to allow us to embed photos???
DZGone.com
B-4600, C-3615, D-1814, Gold Wings #326, Diamond Wings #152.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
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tooslow    0

tooslow
this may be of interest to the 'younger' jumpers;
back in the day, many of us just didn't have much money;
TWENTY DOLLARS for a jump????
we made our own gear from retired air force pilot rigs... the ones they sat on (?).
we'd modify the heck out of the containers and cut TU's in the back of the 28 foot flat canopies.
the reserves were older than dirt.
it took quite some time before i could see my way clear to purchase a para-commander and a... tri-conical (?) reserve.

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RogerRamjet    0

RogerRamjet
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just got home and checked my logbook;
december 1968
signed off by:
pop (?) d-47, john coppe (?) d265, bill burr c-5961, ed darey(?) d-241.



See attached photos taken at Indiantown. First is of Bill Burr (in white) and myself. Second is Ed Dorey who died in a plane crash.

There's also a shot of Pop's Howard.

When is this site going to allow us to embed photos???



I believe Bill (Moriarty) Burr was killed in Hawaii in a plane crash while on the way to a demo. When he was jumping at Z-Hills, I lined up behind him on a big way one day and had to take a 2nd look at his piggy back reserve flap. It had a warning sticker on it that read "WARNING - EXPLOSIVE CUTTERS INSTALLED." He would sometimes adjust jumpers spines for them as his brother Robert is a chiropractor. I like that photo too Pat; I never knew Bill with short hair...

-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

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lodestar    0

lodestar
I'd have to take credit for the "education" of Bill Burr, Moriarity as we knew him, He had been at the DZ for some time doing his first static lines and jump/pulls and was hanging around the loft after most had left for the Wolverine.
He kind of hesitated and shyly asked if I could get him stoned for the first time....we did, had a smoke and iI finished up packing and we went to the Wolverine, he took off in front of me but had said a few minutes earlier that he didn't feel anything....
About half a mile from the packing shed, Bill in front, pulled up to a stop sign and sat there. After a few minutes I wondered why he didn't move and so got out of my truck to see if he was alright....he was...and totally wasted....when I asked him if he was okay, he just shook his head and said something like Wow man, this is sooo cool....
I had him follow me to the Wolverine and the rest is history.
Bill was a good friend over many years and it was sad to see him go, he will always be remembered.

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RogerRamjet    0

RogerRamjet
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I'd have to take credit for the "education" of Bill Burr, Moriarity as we knew him, He had been at the DZ for some time doing his first static lines and jump/pulls and was hanging around the loft after most had left for the Wolverine.
He kind of hesitated and shyly asked if I could get him stoned for the first time....we did, had a smoke and iI finished up packing and we went to the Wolverine, he took off in front of me but had said a few minutes earlier that he didn't feel anything....
About half a mile from the packing shed, Bill in front, pulled up to a stop sign and sat there. After a few minutes I wondered why he didn't move and so got out of my truck to see if he was alright....he was...and totally wasted....when I asked him if he was okay, he just shook his head and said something like Wow man, this is sooo cool....
I had him follow me to the Wolverine and the rest is history.
Bill was a good friend over many years and it was sad to see him go, he will always be remembered.



I didn't drink or smoke, but when we went up to the Valley View bar/restaurant, I would always ride with the smokers because they could still drive (mostly). I remember riding with Dan Steger one night and talking about why I rode with the smokers and I said they could still drive though they were still affected. He asked what I meant saying he drove fine while stoned. I said, well, the speed limit here is 45 and you're going 23...

-----------------------
Roger "Ramjet" Clark
FB# 271, SCR 3245, SCS 1519

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tuffjump    0

tuffjump
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Larry, At 64 your memory must be failing! When you were at Indiantown I made my 5000th jump,not 2000th.I made it out of Bill sweets loadstar at 4500'and yes I did take it to 500' because 28 others on the load were going to try and dump me at some unknown altitude so I left early and foxed em.Also got the disk with my trusty PC.That was 12-31-1972.Some of the jumpers on the load were,Steve Snyder,Bill Ottely,Curt Curtis,Dan Poynter,John Eiff,Paul Fayard, and many other personalities.
I made my 2000th at Clewiston,Fl.with most of the same jumpers present on 12-30-1965.
And the rule was no bottles on board (cans only)!!!
Those were the days and thanks for the memories.

POP D47 & OLD Instructor 21

Rules about bottles and cans had changed by 1974........heres my gf Bev holding on to a Bush bottle on her 1st jump.lol.

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tuffjump    0

tuffjump
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Pop still jumps. (Palatka)

I saw Pop this weekend at Palatka. He flies his yellow and blue Cessna 172 there every other weekend. He got banged up a bit 3 weeks ago landing and being dragged.a few stiches and bruses but doing fine. I ask him what happened and he said that he couldn't run anymore so he fell and got dragged...( not gonna say drugged about Pop..lol) imagine not being able to run at 77 years old. Gotta love that man.

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LowellH    0

LowellH
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Anyone ever jump at SFPC inIndiantown, Florida? How about Florida Skydiving Center in Okeechobee, Florida?

Rick



I'm not a skydiver but I have really enjoyed reading this thread about Indiantown and SFPI (SFPC?). I did make a bunch of jumps at SFPI back in 1966 and 1967. A few (4) of us from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft on the Bee Line Highway signed up for lessons under Paul Poppenhager. I no longer have my log book but I believe we made a mandatory minimum of 5 static line jumps and then advanced from there. I don't remember how many jumps I made, maybe 15 or so (the 15 is just a guess, maybe more, wish I could find my log book). I didn't get past the "student" phase so don't know anything about the intense parties at the Seminole Inn, although I do have many memories of the Seminole Inn as I had lunch and beer there a whole bunch of times.

Unfortunately I can't remember any of the names at SFPI other than Paul "Pop" Poppenhager. I see a pilots name on this site by the name of John Coppe, but I don't know if he was the pilot back in the 1966 & 1967 time frame.

I do have some photos from those days and will post them here if I can figure out how, as I just signed up as a member today (6-24-11), primarily to say hi and post the photos. If the photos stay in order, Photo #1 will be a picture of Pop's Howard DGA-15, although this plane appears to be a different plane than the Howard in the picture posted by Pat Moore above.

Photo #2 should be a picture of three of us from Pratt & Whitney that started taking lessons at the same time, I'm on the left, Paul G. is on the right and I believe the fellow in the middle was Ron but I'm not sure. I think this photo was taken right after we started taking lessons, still in the static line phase.

Photo #3 should be one of the SFPI staff, but I don't recall his name. Can anyone identify the person? He was talking someone down in this photo. He may also have been a pilot.

I seem to recall that jumps were also made from a bomber (maybe a B-25), but I may be wrong on that; my memory is not that great anymore.

Anybody remember the Rhodesian Ridgebacks that used to be in that general area? One of the other Pratt & Whitney employees that I jumped with tells the story about one time she landed way off the DZ, she says "I remember landing in an enclosure with the two Rhodrdisn Ridgeback hovering over me. They were huge and awesome but not vicious."

SFPI was a magical place and that was a magical time; and I'm glad to read that Pop is still jumping and flying. I have great memories of those days, although they are fading fast.

Lowell H (Arizona)

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LowellH    0

LowellH
I'm re-uploading the picture of Pop's Howard DGA-15, the first upload was scanned from a faded print. I finally found the original negative and made a scan from the negative, the colors are much better, I see the plane was blue and not green. Plus there's much more detail in the scan from the negative, although that might not show that much in these reduced size uploads. Anyway, here is a better scan of Pop's Howard DGA-15.

Lowell H (Arizona)

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LowellH    0

LowellH
Pop: Is there a story that goes with the Howard being totaled? Attached are two more photos I took in the 1966 to 1967 time frame that includes the Howard. The first one is of of a guy (and his wife) I used to skydive with, the second one is me.

Lowell

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