Krip 2 #1 May 21, 2011 Hi Old farts WAG maybe 1 out of 1400. I kind of remember OMFG I have to land with the plane Where's the seat belt When my back was turned the DZ rookie cessna pilot talked my girl friend into a few free rides in the empty slot as ballast so he would know what it felt like to land with a passenger on the plane. That happened around 73-74. Didn't find out till about a month ago. From my x girlfriendOne Jump Wonder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 186 #2 May 21, 2011 Nothing like a bunch of jumpers scared shitless landing in a Skyvan with the pilot hatch wide open by accident. Nothing like an Otter full of jumpers landing with one spinning thing not spinning. Nothing like landing in an Otter full of jumpers because of an accident in the LZ and the ambulance and firetrucks took up the room. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #3 May 21, 2011 I've had a quite a few, most were back in the day, riding the plane down after jump mastering a load to quickly pick up the next bunch. Some were on demos that were called for one reason or another. One of the worst was setting down in a C45 with a thunderstorm over the runway, and a tornado a couple miles out...bounced around like a cat in a clothes dryer! Another was a late night landing in a 206 after a demo. Pilot missed the grass strip and we flipped it in a bean field after collapsing the nose gear...Bell helmet saved my noggin on that one. One time in Springfield, Il we had to orbit @5500 in a 182 for almost 2 hours with no door. There was a crash on site and they wouldn't let us exit, land or change altitude...PERIOD. It was damn cold and finally the pilot had to declare a fuel situation so they let us in. Almost hoped WE'D crash, at least the fire might warm me up! Following the 100way demo at Kitty Hawk we flew a sky-van back to Carolina sky sports at night, full plane coming down between those trees had everybody screwing on their helmets & cinching up the seat-belts on that one! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,436 #4 May 21, 2011 Hi Jim, Quote back in the day, riding the plane down after jump mastering a load to quickly pick up the next bunch. 'Back in the day' the jumpmasters at Issaquah only wore pilot rigs because they were so busy. In the mid-70's Issaquah, one weekend did 144 S/L firsters; no tandem in those days. Quote Bell helmet saved my noggin on that one. So you think. JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #5 May 21, 2011 Quote Bell helmet saved my noggin on that one. So you think. JerryBaumchen Wait....WHAT?! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guru312 0 #6 May 21, 2011 Quote Hi Old farts I'd guess, maybe 5 or 6000. Oh, wait, you mean wearing a jump rig and not as the pilot. In that case a few hundred. I was a J/M and often had to land to pick up another load. It's a good question. Rather humorous how many jumpers really do not like to land in the plane. It's nice to read your salutation addressed to me. Ooops, not just me. Damn, I hate this getting old crap.Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 4 #7 May 21, 2011 Quote Following the 100way demo at Kitty Hawk we flew a sky-van back to Carolina sky sports at night, full plane coming down between those trees had everybody screwing on their helmets & cinching up the seat-belts on that one! “You couldn’t drive a pin up my ass with a sledge hammer.” Wait that would fit another thread….. I wasn’t scared…..I was terrified. Sparky Edit to add: You know someone will ask so…A C-45 is a Twin Beech, D-18 type. My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obelixtim 150 #8 May 21, 2011 QuoteI've had a quite a few, most were back in the day, riding the plane down after jump mastering a load to quickly pick up the next bunch. Some were on demos that were called for one reason or another Same same.....My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #9 May 21, 2011 Quote Quote Following the 100way demo at Kitty Hawk we flew a sky-van back to Carolina sky sports at night, full plane coming down between those trees had everybody screwing on their helmets & cinching up the seat-belts on that one! “You couldn’t drive a pin up my ass with a sledge hammer.” Wait that would fit another thread….. I wasn’t scared…..I was terrified. Sparky Kinda funny how it got REAL quiet for a couple minutes there huh! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #10 May 21, 2011 Three that I can remember - C-182 with 2 S/L students and a S/L JM. I was in the back. 2nd S/L student raked the back of the rig across the door, popping the pin, and in an instant was ripped off the strut and barely cleared the bottom of the horizontal stabilizer. There wasn't even time for pucker factor! Since the pilot was actually a fill-in for our regular, he got scared, even though the plane was flying normally. We rode it back down with him. Rear stabilizer had a tear at the fuselage several inches long from the parachute wrapping around it then slipping off. New Jersey 100 way state record attempt, Casa load. Fully loaded and enroute to doing an attempt when pilot was told to return to DZ due to a squall line that was fast approaching. Man did he put the brakes on HARD (or reversed the engines) after touchdown! If you weren't buckled up.... We barely made it back into the hangar before all hell broke loose. Casa boogie - full 30 way load on jump run just a hair trigger of exiting, then called off three times after go-arounds, because of cloud cover. One girl next to me had to go pee really really bad, she was getting delirious! Her friends helped her out of her rig while the plane was taxiing, and it hadn't even come to a stop when she hopped off the ramp and made a full speed dash to the bathroom. "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
Krip 2 #11 May 22, 2011 Hi G Quote It's nice to read your salutation addressed to me. Ooops, not just me. Damn, I hate this getting old crap. Quote I enjoy being able to get older every day.When I get too old to be happy, I hope I can't remember it R.I.P.One Jump Wonder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lodestar 0 #12 May 22, 2011 Don't know if many of you remember a guy named Paul Healy, a jumper at Zhills. Flying a load one afternoon in cloudy/thunderstorm weather we saw a sucker hole and headed up with a load, Paul was behind my seat with two other jumpers on the starboard side....we tried to get the hole lined up with the spot but after several tries, were not successful in getting the load out so I elected to land. About five minutes into the decent, I felt a strange kind of strumming vibration in the aircraft, looked around to see what it might be, tried all the controls, nothing, backed off on the engine, nothing, but it continued until it almost seemed to be affecting the back of my seat. I turned around to see Paul, sweat draining down his face, a pale expression on his face and clutching the seat back with both hands and literally shaking in terror. I asked him if he was okay and he couldn't even reply he was so shook up. Just stuttered something about not liking landing in the aircraft. Once on the ground and in a few minutes he was okay again and I asked him what was going on. He related that he had this insane fear of crashing in the aircraft and absolutely hated to land in one. Paul Healy, the worlds fastest man, as he billed himself, was a key figure in most of the early base formation at the Hills, it wasn't until he met Bob Sprague that he finally found someone who would fall as fast as he did. And the rest is history. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyjumpenfool 2 #13 May 22, 2011 Doing the Flag jump at the Cambridge Air Show back in the day. From a BT-13 (see attached). I had the canopy open on jump run and was climbing out when the pilot started dipping the wings back and forth? When I looked at him I could see him screaming at me. So, I crawled back in and closed the canopy. The ground crew radio'd up that ground winds had picked up and I was not to jump. At first I was really disapointed. But since we had to fly around for a while until the Christian Eagle team finished, it was all good. I really enjoyed landing in the plane that day. Birdshit & Fools Productions "Son, only two things fall from the sky." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #14 May 22, 2011 Seems like it happens to me about once every 200 - 250 jumps or so. The latest was last weekend. We had a 12-way RW dive, we were on jump run, door open, checking the spot, waiting for the green light. Suddenly, just as we're expecting a green light to climb out and exit, the red light comes back on. What the heck? Close the door, we must have a traffic conflict, and will just go around and try again. But then the pilot starts descending. Okay, I'm still thinking a traffic conflict, and this will just be short and temporary. After a minute I go forward to ask the pilot what's going on. Traffic conflict? Mechanical problem? He shouts something about a 50-mph dust devil in the landing area, the load is cancelled, and we're landing with the plane. I spread the word, and everyone spreads out on the bench seats, buckles up, and prepares to land with the plane. Back on the ground we find out a huge dust devil moved through the landing and hanger area, and it was so strong that it blew a trash dumpster sideways into a couple of cars, denting them. Granted, the dumpster was a half-size one, and on wheels, but that's still a strong wind. And when the ground crew folks saw it happening, knowing a load was in the air about to jump, they ran into manifest, got on the radio, called the pilot, and aborted the load. Just in the nick of time. If we had exited, and that monster had still been lingering while jumpers were landing a few minutes later, it could have been very, very ugly. Good call Skydive Houston! Thanks for keeping us safe. And there was no charge for the load. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #15 May 22, 2011 First off, I barely remember ever seeing seatbelts. They were rare, and regarded as something to get tangled up with, and so impede one's egress. Do they use those nowadays? I can't imagine jumping for any length of time and not riding one down for some reason or other--clouds, engine trouble before enough altitude, winds, or Oh wait, it really is dark For me, the most enjoyable memory in a jump plane (the freaking awesome helo ride is another story) is, when, I went up as an observer in the co-pilot seat in the Skyvan at Perris. After the last group went out, the pilot (Howie Somebodyorother) went in to a spiraling dive. It wasn't long (mere seconds) until we were even with the formation circling around it. We kept going and they were above us. We kept spiraling down until it was time to land. That was a pretty cool sight. I was back at the packing area before any of them landed. lisa lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drjump 0 #16 May 23, 2011 Too many to count! JM S/L students, 3 per load, land and repeat twice more. Repack all 9 student rigs and start over. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #17 May 23, 2011 I can remember three, but there may have been another one or two. My memory is shot.The first was on my first jump. We had a C-119 full of army paratroopers. We had sat in a quanset building all afternoon, waiting for the wind to die down. We were all geared up for hours, with even our steel pots on. It was really hot. I remember sweat dripping off my nose. Part of that was from being plumb scared. Finally a black hat announced the wind was going down, and we were gonna jump. I responded with a squeaky "Airborne" when the other troops hollared out. So, we flew around for about an hour with the back doors open. The wind was still too strong to jump. So, back down we came in that old C-119. I made my first one, the next morning, out of a 141, and sprained my ankle bad. A few years later, I had started sport jumping. We had barely taken off, when there was this awful banging sound. WTF?... Our woman pilot noticed that the cowling had come open on the right side of the motor. I volunteered to crawl out there, and close it, but our pilot decided that wouldn't be smart....so we landed. We took off again, and it came loose again. So, again we landed. On the third try, it stayed shut, and we were able to jump... Oh yeah, I just remembered another one. Back when I was still a leg, and a new recruit, I watched our guard unit jump a C-119 in Montana. I was hooked on jumping from that point on.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theonlyski 8 #18 May 23, 2011 Quote We took off again, and it came loose again. So, again we landed. On the third try, it stayed shut, and we were able to jump... Shoulda taped it the first time, and saved the fuel. "I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890 I'm an asshole, and I approve this message Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #19 May 23, 2011 Quote [ On the third try, it stayed shut, and we were able to jump... Shoulda taped it the first time, and saved the fuel. What can I say...We had a woman pilot! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #20 May 23, 2011 Quote Quote [ On the third try, it stayed shut, and we were able to jump... Shoulda taped it the first time, and saved the fuel. What can I say...We had a woman pilot!... ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krip 2 #21 May 23, 2011 Quote Quote [ On the third try, it stayed shut, and we were able to jump... Shoulda taped it the first time, and saved the fuel. What can I say...We had a woman pilot!Steve1 Your the second person I ever talked to that jumped out of a 119 you must be really really old. OTOH Montana ANG maybe not remember a yr? Since you got to jump the 141 you couldn't be "that old" Save fuel? It couln't have been more than $ .30/ gal. But that was actually a lot considering our income. "Almost back in the dayOne Jump Wonder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #22 May 23, 2011 reply] Steve1 Your the second person I ever talked to that jumped out of a 119 you must be really really old. OTOH Montana ANG maybe not remember a yr? Since you got to jump the 141 you couldn't be "that old" I went through Jump School in 1970. I was a twenty year old youngster. They were still jumping the 119's in both Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg in 70. I'm not sure what year they got rid of them.... The 141 was a fun jump plane. I got to jumpmaster, a few times, out of it.... Yep. I'm an old fart! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guru312 0 #23 May 23, 2011 Quote Your the second person I ever talked to that jumped out of a 119 you must be really really old. I went through jump school at Bragg in March, 1960. [That makes me really, really old.] I was lucky to have jumped 119, 123, and 130 aircraft. The 119 was the most fun except it was a terrible ride in formation and turbulent air. And Steve1, you young, sexist pig check out my two female pilots:http://berniesayers.com/March2010.html One an astronaut and one a skywriter. See March 9th and 10th on the referenced page. I can think of only two jump pilots better than either of those women: Mike Schultz, from Pelicanland and... me. Both of them are far cuter than Mike. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidlayne 5 #24 May 23, 2011 Quote reply] Steve1 Your the second person I ever talked to that jumped out of a 119 you must be really really old. OTOH Montana ANG maybe not remember a yr? Since you got to jump the 141 you couldn't be "that old" I went through Jump School in 1970. I was a twenty year old youngster. They were still jumping the 119's in both Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg in 70. I'm not sure what year they got rid of them.... The 141 was a fun jump plane. I got to jumpmaster, a few times, out of it.... Yep. I'm an old fart! I went through Jump School in 1968 and we did not use the C119 then, C 130's and C141's were our jump platform. I was under the impression that the 119 was no longer in the inventory then. Jumpmastering the 141 was fun!I don't care how many skydives you've got, until you stepped into complete darkness at 800' wearing 95 lbs of equipment and 42 lbs of parachute, son you are still a leg! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #25 May 23, 2011 [! I went through Jump School in 1968 and we did not use the C119 then, C 130's and C141's were our jump platform. I was under the impression that the 119 was no longer in the inventory then. Oh, no.....The C-119 was still in use in 1970. I made four out of five jumps in jump school out of one. When I started S.F. training at Bragg in 1970 they were still in use there too. Most of my jumps from 1970 to 76 were out of 130's. I've never tail gated one. We always used the side doors. We jumped a C-130 Black Bird one time. It had all kinds of classified stuff on board. I even got in trouble for taking a picture of it. The 141 was fun to jump. The wind deflector was kind of hard to see beyond, (when jumpmastering). It also took a fairly long drop zone. I never jumped a 123. I knew a lot of soldiers who have jumped it. I think they were kind of a mini version of a 130, if I remember right. I have some old pictures, under the thread..."Back When I Was an Airborne Trooper". Those might be fun to look at. There are some pictures of some 119's, at Bragg too. We used to chute up next to the old HALO building.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
