Pelicanland-Ridgely MD??

[howardwhite 6]

Mike is one of the 188 people on the list of those attending the old farts reunion in Raeford in a few weeks -- and a number of people I know are planning to attend are not on that list.
Should be an astounding event.

HW

[patmoore 14]

I recognize Ottley, Bob Holler, and Billy Gifford. I don't see Johnny Crews. I first jumped with the Pelicans at Manassas, Virginia in the summer of 1966 when they shared a drop zone with the Targeteers. Dave Dulin was the pilot. When I was home from the service in the late sixties I made a few jumps at Ridgely. The Pelicans were an amazing bunch.

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!

[Guru312 0]

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The Pelicans were an amazing bunch.

My first experience with The Pelicans was at MEPA meets. There was a long multi-year rivalry between the Pelicans and United.

If I recall correctly, the insanity shown by the Herd stemmed from Pelican/United rivalry.

Does anyone else remember MEPA meets? They were a way different kind of expression of what jumping is about compared to RW boogies and such.

Guru312

I am not DB Cooper

[3331 137]

Johnny Crews is in the picture next to Bob Holler. I've got him tagged on my Facebook page.

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[patmoore 14]

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Johnny Crews is in the picture next to Bob Holler. I've got him tagged on my Facebook page.

Thanks. I should have recognized him.

That looks like a large room I remember in the house at the DZ. Someone took a shot of me doing a standing back flip in that room with a whole bunch of the Pelicans standing around. After I got divorced, I forgot to retrieve a lot of those old photos.

I just bought a slide scanner. As soon as the cast is off my foot, I'll dig out my slides from 60s and update the Picasa album I posted a while back. There will probably be some shots from Manassas.

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!

[Skydive2 1]

Fun over ridgely @ skydivemaryland.aero on 4-18-09

[Guru312 0]

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Fun over ridgely on 4-18-09

That sure doesn't look like the Ridgely I remember!!! Those pictures depict a "real" airport.

It looks like they solved the water problem with a 'catch basin' design. What a pain that place was after a very heavy rain.

Never the less, without the old farmhouse and Maureen riding herd on the masses from the manifest it's not the same place.

I understand there is a 'tandem only' jump operation there now, is that correct?

Guru312

I am not DB Cooper

[Usetawuz 1]

I remember MEPA meets. I used to be in awe of some of the hardcore competitors (and hardcore beer drinkers after jumping). Folks like Dave DeWolf, Jay Harsh, Bill Jordon, Bob Hilliard, Hugh Bergeron, Tom Bryant, Johnny Crews. Martha Huddleston, and on and on.

_________________________________________
The older I get, the better I was!

[MrPeapit 0]

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I too jumped at Downsville , Woodbine , and Pelicanland in the 70-80s The photo of the beaver at Ridgely was cool;thanks Roger, A further trip down memory lane by way of my logbook tells me that after Mike Shultz, Tom Forsythe ran Pelicanland till its mysterious close. I made my 100th jump from that beaver by making a pumpkin-drop (Oct 79). I still smile thinking of that. Ray Mcully , Bruce Rogers , R. Kline Kim Harloff and George Kabeller were also in the logbook at the time (there were others).

Hmmm, I don't recognize your name, but that means nothing after 30 years. Maybe we crossed paths at one of those places. I put students out at Downsville to finance my jumps and I was in the first Woodbine 8 man star while I was there.

I might have been one of your students at Downsville. First jump August 6, 1977. Mike Zazadil (?) was the jump master.

Pelican was a great place to jump in those days. No rules, plenty of open space and zany people.

1st jump August 6, 1977.
Last jump July 8, 2006.

[RogerRamjet 0]

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I too jumped at Downsville , Woodbine , and Pelicanland in the 70-80s The photo of the beaver at Ridgely was cool;thanks Roger, A further trip down memory lane by way of my logbook tells me that after Mike Shultz, Tom Forsythe ran Pelicanland till its mysterious close. I made my 100th jump from that beaver by making a pumpkin-drop (Oct 79). I still smile thinking of that. Ray Mcully , Bruce Rogers , R. Kline Kim Harloff and George Kabeller were also in the logbook at the time (there were others).

Hmmm, I don't recognize your name, but that means nothing after 30 years. Maybe we crossed paths at one of those places. I put students out at Downsville to finance my jumps and I was in the first Woodbine 8 man star while I was there.

I might have been one of your students at Downsville. First jump August 6, 1977. Mike Zazadil (?) was the jump master.

Pelican was a great place to jump in those days. No rules, plenty of open space and zany people.

Well, firstly, you didn't supply your name and there isn't one in your profile, so not sure how I'm supposed to remember if you were one of my students? My real name (in my profile also) is Roger Clark (Ramjet was layed on me by Roger Nelson in 1975, probably so he wouldn't end up with it).

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

[3331 137]

Pelican Skydivers 1975 attached. I got this one from Julie Borel.

Many members of the Pelican Skydivers were at the Pioneers of Skydiving reunion in Raeford NC.

Check out this web site http://www.skydivereunions.com/

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[jonstark 8]

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Pelican Skydivers 1975 attached. I got this one from Julie Borel.

Many members of the Pelican Skydivers were at the Pioneers of Skydiving reunion in Raeford NC.

Check out this web site http://www.skydivereunions.com/

Names man. Names!

[3331 137]

The Pelicans Skydivers at the reunion were ME, Mike and Maureen Schultz, Johnny Crews and Sandy Amundsan, Billy Gifford, Betsy Miller and one other guy who looked familiar and a woman with him. There was no room for me at their table so I sat at Gene Paul Thacker's table.

"I'm not a Pioneer in this sport but I jumped with the guys who are".

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[jonstark 8]

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"I'm not a Pioneer in this sport but I jumped with the guys who are".

Me neither and I did too but this was one event I had hoped to get to. I was glad to see so many familiar faces in the videos.

[arregan 0]

I jumped there in the mid 70's up till '81. The best place with the best people. I went back around '83 on vacation to make some jumps and ran into 2 friends that were also on vacation from my current state - Oregon.

[33zulu 22]

Another Pelicanland photo..... From left to right, Joyce Evie (sp?), Pat Tansey, John Bordley, Nancy ?. Perhaps in '78 or '79.

My first jump there 4/73. Layoff, then back every weekend and often on Wednesdays from July of '75 to April '77.

Glad I found this thread. Nostalgia for Pelicanland runs deep.

[33zulu 22]

Ok...think I got the picture posting thingy down. Let me try a few more.

BTW, my last jump there was in April of 1977 before I moved out west. I was coming straight down on Schultz's wind sock and pole under my cheapo. Couldn't move away for the life of me. Thought I was gonna die impaled on the pole. Bam! Hit it and snapped off the wind sock hoop... slid down the 10' pole with my back against it and the canopy drifted over the pole. No way to discreetly recover my canopy. Had to get a ladder. Mike wasn't too happy! "Gee, Mike, hate to bust your wind sock and leave town....."

Loved that guy. And Mac, my first instructor.

[MrPeapit 0]

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Ok...think I got the picture posting thingy down. Let me try a few more.

Is that really TJ in '75? He was one of four of us at Chambersburg that would go to breakfast early every Sunday morning then come back and make the first Cessna load before most everybody woke up from the previous night's debauchery. It was a shock when we heard he went in.

1st jump August 6, 1977.
Last jump July 8, 2006.

[Guru312 0]

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It was a shock when we heard he went in.

Wow, that's a surprise to me. I flew at Pelicanland for about 3 years. Tom was one of my favorite people.

Does anyone know the facts regarding this? He was one of the more mature and sane people jumping at Pelicanland. I'm so sorry to read this...obviously many years after the fact. A great guy.

Guru312

I am not DB Cooper

[33zulu 22]

Tom Jordan was everyone's favorite. Nary a bad word. Always the great smile. Appreciator of life and beauty.

Here's another photo of him I took in Oklahoma one summer (or was it Fla?) just after he landed. It's how I'll always remember him.

His final jump, btw..... Nov. 3, 1988. Bummer.

[skydived19006 4]

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Ask and you shall receive (eventually).

These are from an article by Bill Ottley in the October, 1967, issue of Freefall, a short-lived publication from North American Aerodynamics.

If you want names to go with the faces in the group picture, I have them.

HW

Ok off topic, but it appears that one of the two airplanes in the picture Howard posted is currently hauling skydivers in Kansas! N8882X now has around 11,000 hours, of which about 8,000 (minus any time I don't know about) are skydiver hauling time. Gene Sawyer purchased N8882X in 1986 and converted it for skydiving at the OZ DZ in Lyons Kansas and flew skydivers there until 2000. I purchased it in 2001, from a guy who had moved it to one of the Wichita DZs at the time. I had no idea that it had earlier skydiving history.

You think you have any more old pictures of N8882X Howard? Not that you would have even knew you had the one you posted.

Martin Myrtle
Air Capital Drop Zone
Wichita Ks.

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[howardwhite 6]

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You think you have any more old pictures of N8882X Howard? Not that you would have even knew you had the one you posted.

I've just been through several thousands of pictures looking for ones of Gary Pond. And these are at least somewhat organized. I can't imagine trying to find any more pictures of an airplane.

HW

[skydived19006 4]

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You think you have any more old pictures of N8882X Howard? Not that you would have even knew you had the one you posted.

I've just been through several thousands of pictures looking for ones of Gary Pond. And these are at least somewhat organized. I can't imagine trying to find any more pictures of an airplane.

HW

I didn't think so. That airplane especially would not have been around much back then. My guess is that it was a "Take the door off and seats out for the weekend." kind of thing.

Martin

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[RickYoung 0]

The two Pelican 182's in the '60's were 02X and 62X. 02X was sold to Bob Horne in early '70, and crashed in NC after lift off because of contaminated fuel. Bob was flying with a full load of jumpers, but no one was killed. And 62X burned up at Pelicanland in 1970, shortly after it was repainted. I never heard of a 82X, and I joined the Pelicans in '67. I joined the the Army in '68. After serving with the USAPT in '69-70, went to RVN. Upon return, Mike Schultz and Wayne Beall had bought the operation from Bill Fravel, and the operation was flying a 180, 182 and Bob Murphy's twin Beech, which Mike crashed in '72. I quit jumping for good in '73.

[skydived19006 4]

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62X burned up at Pelicanland in 1970, shortly after it was repainted. I never heard of a 82X, and I joined the Pelicans in '67.

It's not 8882X pictured, but her sister rolling off the line two airplanes ahead of 82X. The picture is not clear enough, the "6" looked like it could have been an "8." Anyway, N8862X little sister has been hauling skydivers in Kansas for quite some time.

Reminds me of this line from the Outlaw Josey Wales:
"I didn't surrender, but they took my horse and made him surrender. They have him pulling a wagon up in Kansas I bet."

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ