harding-D44 0 #1 September 9, 2010 I'm curiouse as to who holds the record, official or non, as being the youngest solo jumper (static line included), and what is the age Thanks Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 September 9, 2010 QuoteI'm curiouse as to who holds the record, official or non, as being the youngest solo jumper (static line included), and what is the age Thanks Dan I don't think you're going to find any verifiable records on that. No "Guinness" World Record exists to my knowledge. My guess would be Rook Nelson from Skydive Chicago, but it's entirely possible that another person did it and nobody ever talked about it. You could call up SDC for details, but I'm damn near certain they're too busy to talk for the next couple of weeks; Nationals is just getting started.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,363 #3 September 9, 2010 Hi harding, Back in the '60's there was a 11-yr old kid who was jumping in Virginia. He went in on a jump ~ 1965-66, though. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #4 September 9, 2010 And when did Rook start, 12 or thereabouts?quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #5 September 9, 2010 Perhaps one of the Mullins kids. There are a multitude of options because of the number of parents who worked at, or owned, dropzones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harding-D44 0 #6 September 9, 2010 Thanks Jerry The reason I asked is that at the time, 1969, we thought I was the youngest at 13. Didn't know about the VA kid at the time My dad was from your era, one of the pioneers from back in the day, (hence my "D-44 handle). The sport in those days was a huge part of my childhood and after years of hounding, he finally let me jump. probably not one of the wisest decisions, but it seemed like a good idea at the time lol Anyway, I've been away from the sport for decades and recently I'm considering getting back into it... which of course brought me to this forum to catch up Anyway, thanks for the info, and best of luck to you! Dan Harding Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patmoore 14 #7 September 9, 2010 The poor kid was Danny Rutledge. He was wearing my dad's reserve at the time. I'm swamped at work but will add more later.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! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,447 #8 September 9, 2010 I remember reading about him in Life Magazine. It's probably what got me first thinking about skydiving. Wendy P.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #9 September 9, 2010 Here's a news story about Dana Rutledge. The story of his death apparently spooked National Geographic into canceling a planned series of stories about parachute exploration (after the first one, about jumps into the Peruvian jungle.) HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
patmoore 14 #10 September 10, 2010 In the summer of '66 I was jumping at Manassas, Virginia at a DZ shared by the Targeteers and Pelicans. It was a tough summer with two unrelated fatalities: Chick Gates (streamer) and Bill George (mid-air collision). My father, my 18 year old sister, and my 16 year old brother were just getting into the sport. I was about to turn 20 and was enlisting in the Air Force. I had logged a little over a hundred jumps at that point. Carl Rutledge ran the DZ and allowed both his sons to jump. The older boy didn't continue after his first few but Danny did. By November I was at Lackland AFB in Texas when going to breakfast when I saw a newspaper headline that read "Dad sees boy, 11, skydive to death". I knew immediately who it was. I called home to learn what happened. Dad, a widower, was concerned after the second fatality and asked Carl to order a Sentinel automatic opener for his reserve. The Sentinel arrived in the mail when the rest of my family was absent from the DZ. Carl hooked it up on Dad's reserve and had Danny wear it for his first freefall. Danny had done his dummy pulls on static line flawlessly so Carl figured the Sentinel was just an added precaution. Upon exit, I'm told that Danny froze and never pulled. The Sentinel did fire but too low for the reserve to open. I recall Bill Ottley telling me later that a planned National Skydiving Center near Washington,DC was scrapped right after the fatality. Dad and my sister hung it up as did my younger brother although he visited me in Florida ten years later and made a few jumps. I came home on leave and Dad and I visited Carl. He showed us the new Mustang he had bought with the money he had gotten from a magazine article. I stayed active in the sport until 1976 and lost a lot of friends along the way but the one that hit me hardest was an 11 year old kid who should have turned 55 this year.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! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 279 #11 September 10, 2010 QuoteI remember reading about him in Life Magazine. It's probably what got me first thinking about skydiving. Wendy P. For those thinking of clicking through, that's a long & detailed article on the kid, within the Life magazine on Google Books. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,363 #12 September 10, 2010 Hi howard, The 'story' that I got from Jacques Istel, when I talked to him in Vancouver, Washington not long after it happened, was that Jacques had 'talked' Nat'l. Geographic into 'sponsoring' him on an around-the-country tour of dz's for an article on skydiving. When the kid went in they cancelled the remainder of the trip & the article. Or so JI told me, JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #13 September 10, 2010 I'm pretty damn sure one or more of the Mullins kids made their first jumps before they were 10. The oldest, Charlie, already had thousands of jumps when I first met him and he was still in high school. There's a picture on the wall at West Tennessee, actually a frame with a newspaper clipping IIRC, showing a photo of Charlie as a young kid posing with Smitty, known as the oldest jumper in the US, and I think it mentioned Charlie being the youngest jumper."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #14 September 10, 2010 I have a video somewhere from WFFC with one of the Mullins kids getting interviewed. He was 12. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #15 September 10, 2010 QuoteI have a video somewhere from WFFC with one of the Mullins kids getting interviewed. He was 12. Oh, yeah... I must have been thinking of the tandem jumps the kids did at a younger age. My bad..."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 6 #16 September 10, 2010 QuoteThe 'story' that I got from Jacques Istel, when I talked to him in Vancouver, Washington not long after it happened, was that Jacques had 'talked' Nat'l. Geographic into 'sponsoring' him on an around-the-country tour of dz's for an article on skydiving. When the kid went in they cancelled the remainder of the trip & the article. Roughly what he told me on several occasions. He did not go on the Peru trip -- health reasons -- but I know some of the others who did. I've been trying for years to get two of them to recall the story for Parachutist. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
happythoughts 0 #17 September 10, 2010 QuoteQuoteI have a video somewhere from WFFC with one of the Mullins kids getting interviewed. He was 12. Oh, yeah... I must have been thinking of the tandem jumps the kids did at a younger age. My bad... What I meant is that he was 12 and an experienced jumper at that age. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #18 September 10, 2010 Quote Quote Quote I have a video somewhere from WFFC with one of the Mullins kids getting interviewed. He was 12. Oh, yeah... I must have been thinking of the tandem jumps the kids did at a younger age. My bad... What I meant is that he was 12 and an experienced jumper at that age. Oh, silly me. Of course I remember that. Has to be Jeff Mullins. I believe he is now in the U.S. Marine Corps. Either him or his younger brother Joel. Can't remember which. Good fine young men that Mike has raised. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuteless 1 #19 September 14, 2010 I dropped a young boy who made three jumps when he was 12 yrs old. Bill Cole Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NealFitz 0 #20 September 15, 2010 more contemporarily i know someone who got their A licence on her 16th birthday. it made the BBC news :DDudeist Skydiver #170 You do not need a parachute to skydive, you only need one to skydive again Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captain1976 0 #21 September 15, 2010 Quote Here's a news story about Dana Rutledge. The story of his death apparently spooked National Geographic into canceling a planned series of stories about parachute exploration (after the first one, about jumps into the Peruvian jungle.) HW That was about the worst story I ever read. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
