PARAWING

Thanks, but I'm told they actually shrink with age.

Hey, that was me. Nitrochute, were you there? We must know each other. Got on this thread by accident - I was Googling a document with my name on it earlier when this popped up. I don't believe it was during a Mid-Eastern meet - that was another occasion when I was under a reserve, caught on film by one of the jumpers on the ground. This particular jump took place in Maryland, in January 1972. Jim Gordon and I were the only two in the airplane or maybe the others had gone out on the previous pass, but on jump run, it was Jim Gordon and myself. You're probably correct in that the main was a Cloud. My memory is that it might have been a Parafoil, but you're probably right. Except for the occasional reserve ride, I stopped jumping round canopies in '68 when Steve Snyder came out with the Parawing, and started on squares with the Parafoil in mid-1969, so in January 1972 it might very well have been a Cloud. A white Cloud was one of my favorite parachutes. On this particular jump, Jim and I had planned a short delay from three grand, but I recall that the pilot of the 180 had climbed during jump run as the altimeter on the panel read 3400 feet when we left the aircraft. As it turned out, the extra 400 feet saved my life. After a short delay I fired off the main and found myself standing straight up with all the lines strung out, hauling the bag behind me. The bag had opened, but the main canopy was stuck in it. I released both Capewells, cut away the main, then went over onto my back to fire off the reserve. It was a Navy 26 foot conical on a chest mount. I can't recall whether it was a regular chest reserve container or the Strong pop-top reserve, but when I fired it off, it must have had a bent pilot chute spring because it whipped right back at me and the apex of the canopy snagged on my left Capewell cover. I was on my back, spinning, and recall seeing blue sky and this mess of red, white and tan garbage flapping away in the breeze, making one hell of a racket! I remember being surprised at the amount of noise the flapping nylon was making at almost terminal velocity, and saying to myself, "I can't die today!" You're right. The gore reenforcement tape was caught under the Capewell cover. I couldn't tear it loose with my hands, so I used the hook knife. I don't know of any other jumpers back then who carried a knife with them. I was probably the only one. Dick Morgan had given me this particular knife. It was an Air Force pilot's knife that was designed originally for cutting suspension lines in an emergency. It came in a sage green tie-up container but the container wasn't used. The knife was simply tied to one of the bungee cords on the top of the reserve and held under a couple of rubber bands, the type that's used for stowing suspension lines, and stuffed under the bungees with the plastic cap protecting the cutting edge. The rest is history - but there was still a way to go. After grabbing the canopy material at the Capewell and cutting it loose, the reserve did not inflate. The reserve was still in a wad, but by then I was standing up again, so I grabbed a suspension line and pulled on it to get some air into the canopy. There was a bit of inflation but the lines were twisted up to the skirt. I started to kick around to try to untwist the lines (thanks to my military airborne training) but I looked down and the ground was rushing up at me. I could picture my knees being driven up to my shoulder blades so I put my feet together and shut my eyes. I think I bounced a bit ... I remember a cloud of dust, but I was unhurt. As I stood up, the guys came out to pick up my dead body. They'd seen me go behind the trees with a streaming reserve and thought I'd gone in. I did write about this incident in "Parachutist" after I'd had time to settle down and sit down to figure out how close I'd come. As it turned out, from exit to landing, the entire elapsed time of the jump was approximately 28 seconds. Allowing for a short delay after leaving the aircraft and time to cutaway the malfunctioned main, it took all of thirteen seconds for me to chop loose the tangled reserve. I was under a partially inflated reserve for a whole six seconds. I know I wouldn't be writing this long-winded post today if I'd not carried a knife on that jump. USPA's records showed that there were three jumpers with horseshoe malfunctions on their reserves in 1972. The other two did not survive. As a footnote, the reserve was later repaired by Dave DeWolf, and passed on to another jumper. I got rid of those Capewells as soon as I managed to scrounge a couple of Koch fittings from a Marine rigger. This was before Dick Morgan showed me a set of prototype three-ring releases, so the Koch fittings were the best thing I could find. Paul Fayard stitched up a custom harness for me using these Koch fittings. Fortunately, they never had to be tried out in the air. Nitrochute - don't have your name but if you've been jumping for 48 years, we probably know each other. Shoot me a PM. Oh, almost forgot ..... still have that old hook knife and the piece of reserve material that was wrapped around the Capewell cover when I landed. I've been meaning to have them framed with an old Capewell release for the past forty years... :)- Alex Itenson