skypuppy

How many jumps and what do you do on them in this progression? As opposed to doing 1 tandem and going on to regular AFF program? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I was a large economy size Pap user... I would often tear (re; blow up) a pannel or two on the back side of the canopy... I'd always stop at Rigger "Jumpin' Jack" Tillman's place in Pekin, Illinois to get it repaired. I was a broke college student, so Jack would fix the parachute...feed me a huge plate of spagetti, give me a beer and send me on my way... ALL WITHOUT CHARGE! Jack is in his mid 70's now and still jumps EVERY weekend... I see him now and then, and he always asks if I wasn't maybe puttin' a KNIFE to that ole Pap ~just to get a hot meal!! __________________________________________________ Airtwardo You should get him to write a book or something.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

While it wasn't the USPA AFF, Jim Hall and Dave Burt formed Para Ventures Incorporated in 1959 doing displays, adverts, stunts, film, supply drop, geological surveys by chute, and development work for gov't. In attempts to reduce fatalities/injuries by bale-out, the US Air Force wanted a parachute training program with max benefit in minimum time. Para Ventures came up with a 12 hour training program on freefall, conopy control and landings using a 'buddy system' using an instructor with a harness hold who could operate the ripcord if the student didn't, and which also used an AADas a back-up. It seemed to consist of two jumps, one from 8,000 and a second from 12,000 ft. Bob Sinclair and Bud Kiesow were two other instructors involved, and some if not most jumps were done at Elsinore. After the first two jumps several trainees actually made a 3rd jump from 12,000 'solo' with the instructor flying beside them in case of problems, and deployed on time themselves with no stability problems. So it was an established program with a curriculum and progression sequence in active use - to me it qualifies as the first accelerated freefall program. It is the program that Johnny Carson used when he jumped. Coleman, along with others refined the program for civilians using two jumpmasters, among other things, and adding different levels to get skydivers to the level they wanted (ie, turns, moving forward, tracking and waving off, etc), but Para Ventures was only concerned with allowing people to fall stable and deploy, I'm sure if the client wanted they could have added other levels themselves.... Several other civilian attempts at harness hold systems didn't work because civilians didn't use aad's for backups like the military did -- Mike Steele and a student died in California in the early 80's on one, and another very experienced Canadian jumper (Cdn RW Team Member, I believe) died out west on one when he opened his student's chute around 400' but couldn't get his own out in time.... Rob Laidlaw, Mike Zahar and some others were I believe working on a Canadian P(ogressive) FF program around the same time as Coleman, and so was Bob Wright, who still does his own system at the Grand Bend Sport Parachute Centre. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

The late Johnny Carson did a 'buddy jump' in July '68 with Bob Sinclair as his jumpmaster. The film was shown on the Tonight Show. Sinclair had been working on a freefall training system to use with the military, so it was, I believe, an actual approved progression method as far as the military was concerned, if not uspa. Sinclair is still jumping, maybe he will correct me if I'm wrong.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

saying that, I have grown older and wiser and walk with a limp and have much metal holding my leg together. I will never make a solo again (well, maybe not) - but I still look back and remember those pure happy times...... Love it for yourself............ __________________________________________________ Ain't that the truth. I broke my hip on a base jump in 1988. My next base jump, in 2002, I broke my left leg. I've done some since then, but a lot less radical than I used to be. But who knows, if I'm ever not married again, maybe I'll start soloing again..... At least it would keep me away from the booze! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

http://hometown.aol.ca/pricesmoneypit/myhomepage/specialtyinterests.html flame away If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Struggle, Struggle, Thump!

When men were men ..... And half the women were men, too! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

EEeeeeuuuuuuuuu. And I though demo smoke was bad for your jumpsuit. Imagine Green and Red jello! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Tried again last night and now 9;15 am my time and still can't get in. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

It's 10;30 my time, I been trying since about 8;00 and the only forum I can get on right now is the Errors and Bug reports... I seem to have these problems for a much wider time frame than the European posters.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Good to chat with you.....my crazy, dental hygenically challenged friend!!! __________________________________________________ And Jason if you leak to the NPS that BASE-jumpers never brush their teeth - we'll never get invited anywhere!!! The 'man' can take any comment and twist it around how he wish.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Personally, Jason, I think you're WAY over-exagerating the importance of the list... Anyone looking at it will see that 85 deaths over 25 years will compare favorably with all other sorts of sports such as rock climbing and scuba diving - expecially to a NPS ranger who is going to know how many people get lost and die of exposure while hiking in the USA per year, or how many climbers die per year in National Parks. Secondly, I think it would be a great idea to have a form for adding info that includes canopies, rigs (even velcro/pin), wing-loading if necessary, also BASE experience AND skydiving experience, however to lose the personal info in the entries would de-humanize a lot of people on that list, several of whom were my friends. I would be totally against that.... If you are worried about showing up on the list someday send Nick a letter - when you go in you can appear as 'unknown' or 'name withheld' as some people already are. The list should stay! PS some at the bottom of the list are VERY positive about people who died in car accidents/skydiving accidents but who had very positive lives! If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Sounds like a jump I was on once. We were doing the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto Labor Day weekend, not sure what year, could be any between about 88 and 93/94. Anyway I remember being in a biplane transitioning to a biside between 1500-1000 feet and watching one of our other pairs doing the same about 400 feet below us when - DANG! - wasn't that a hornet that just flew past in between us! My buddy started to freak out a bit 'Did you see that?" Well I'm not blind, but I think if he can see us he'll miss us and if he can't I doubt we can get out of the way anyway, so we might as well go on with the show.... So we did a downplane and got the hell out of there. I think we got the horses ass award that day for being about 20 seconds late..... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

If this is the case, why did a pilot lose his licence over dropping a jumper at the Royal Gorge with a BASE rig, let alone a wingsuit and no rig at all? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

To classify as a BASE jump, the parachute must be used to save your life. So the general rule of thumb would be that if you can survive it without a parachute, it aint BASE. I'd probably say if you survive it 'without serious injury'.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I remember when I was jumping out of one the pilot just undid his seat belt and climbed into the other seat - all this without a door! He did this because he wanted to, not because he was in the wrong seat. Of course he also used to land on and then take off from the back of a pickup truck driving down the runway.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Borrowing a rig some years ago to make back-to-back loads. A buddy who is a rigger gave me another buddy's rig which he'd just repacked.... On exit, someone flipped onto my back and swam around there for 5-7 seconds before getting off. As I reached around for my pullout, I couldn't find it, and figured the guy on my back had knocked it off. I tried again and still couldn't find it, then went for the silver. As I reached down and pulled the silver I glanced down at my hand. As it got the requisite four inches from the pocket and dumped the reserve, I could just see the bellyband pilotchute pouch, right where it was supposed to be.... The reserve had only been packed about 40 minutes.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Or try to contact geronimo at parachutehistory.com - I don't know if she can help but she may have some contacts.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Have there been any studies on the long term effects (like possibly osteoporosis) of eating only Top Ramen Noodles (dry? or with water?) and peanut butter? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

2nd chuteless jump was in the USA. He was banned from the USPA. __________________________________________________ Bill was banned from USPA after he was banned by CSPA for the 2nd time simply because they had a receprocity agreement that those banned in one country would not be allowed to jump in the other. CSPA contacted USPA to notify them of Bill's suspension and then asked them to honor it as well.... Anything more you're reading into the article, which maybe I didn[t write so well. Incidently, the fact he was banned by CSPA and USPA both did not have any effect on his career at the time. He did most of his jumps under thisloud and still exposed more people to the sport in Canada with the high-profile articles and news clips on tv then any other 'official' CSPA representative that I've ever heard of.... Mike Swain also talks about his jumps with Bill in his book 'Endless Fall'. Mike filmed the chuteless jump. Anyway, I don't really want to argue here - if you want to get more into the facts maybe it would be a good idea to pm me rather than taking the thread in directions others won't be interested in? If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Because we think, and love, and caress. we pretend to be smarter and better than other species when really we aren't. No matter what we do, the life force will continue to evolve on this planet despite, or in spite of, what we humans do. It's either all natural or not. And I'm just as natural as any one of those Falcons . . . __________________________________________________ Tell that to the DoDo bird or the passenger pigeon. In this particular case you have to be sensitive to the arguments. I believe there have been proven cases where, say sea kayakers have caused nursing mothers to leave there young ones permanently by approaching too close... Anyway, after they closed the cave for pretty much the same reason you have to realize this is something they're looking out for. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

I have no problem with Kirk Verner nor any other Air Speed or Magic or other members who have in the 20000 jump range, my feeling however is that the criterium includes being an active jumper. Kirk Verner and others like him are in their 30's and 40's and will likely be doing 1000's more jumps over the next few years, doing what they're doing now and helping others learn. Cole on the other hand is in his 70's. He's jumped throughout the 60's and 70's, in the 80's, the 90's.... and last year did a tour of several states jumping, talking to clubs, distributing videos of the chuteless jumps, logbooks, jumpsuits, altimeters, and other various memorabilia. On his last jump he suffered an injury and due to his advancing age he may not do any more jumps.... So this is probably the last time he would qualify as an 'active' jumper and be able to be nominated as Skydiving's '2004 skydiver of the year'. I'm not saying he'd win, but I think it would be nice to see.... If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

Jumping 'rigless' out of an airplane (not once, but twice) goes against the FAA down here. Not only the skydiver would have his license revoked, but the pilot as well. __________________________________________________ Strangely enough, while on Bill's 1st chuteless jump he had the American pilot fly from Ohio to Canada before jumping (because of FAA), he still had no problems getting an American pilot to fly him in Ohio on the 2nd chuteless jump, or American jumpers to both hold the chute for him in freefall, film the jump, and fly safety.... The FAA may not have agreed with it, but obviously enough jumpers didn't seem to have problems with it that they were willing to go along with his and others' chuteless jumps. __________________________________________________ I wasn't there, nor am privy to all the information...however he got his hand slapped on the first one (suspension) and then did it again (he knew better, but said 'fuck you!' the second time). Just reading what was wrote in your posted article. __________________________________________________ The facts don't bear out you said - maybe I didn't do a good job writing the article you're talking about... Bill made his 2nd chuteless jump while still under suspension from CSPA - it was after that jump that he was allowed to re-join, made the FAI recognized Canadian high altitude record jump, and then was later banned again for some questionable motives.... Bill's feud now comes down to personalities - he won't back down, and the people at CSPA won't back down now either.... Incidently the 2nd person to do 2 chuteless jumps was down from your neck of the woods, Jimmy Tyler. He bounced off Half Dome in the '80's but not until making a big splash with the tv show 'That's Incredible'. He never received any flack for doing his chuteless jumps. Neither did the first American chuteless jumper (I think you can read about it at parachutehistory.com). Look up Cliff Winters at parachutehistory.com for another interesting early jumper.... Like Airtwardo said, if you're a pioneer you take a lot of arrows. Rob Price If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

how about Bill Cole? Bill did several jumps last year around the States. He has a solid background as one of the last of the Barnstormers and over the last year has donated videos and memorabilia to different individuals and clubs. I say nominate him. If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone