sailshaw

Orange1: I agree with you there is too much talk about the chutes other than what DB chose and why. We all thought he had a choice of a Paracomander sports chute or a military round chute. Now, we find that the two chutes were very similar and both were round chutes. The choice was being used to show that DB was not a skilled skydiver and now that is not a possible question. Bob[email]

377: The ownership by two people could of resulted if Cossey sold the two chutes to the provider. They could both claim ownership at one time or the other. Cossey said he was dealing in selling jump gear, so it all fits. Would Sheridan have known about the two back chutes when he was getting his Instructor certification at Issaquah Sky Sports and knew which chute was the best choice? I wish Cossey would tell us if he remembers Sheridan at Issaquah and if he thinks Sheridan could have done the caper. Bob

377: When Peterson was questioned by the FBI, he mentioned that he was not Cooper to the direct question and added that it was obvious to him that Cooper did not know what he was doing (a beginner) and would have died in the attempt. Sheridan was almost too clear that it was an impossible jump and that he did not do it. What would you expect for an answer from the real DB Cooper.? I do not know where the interview was mentioned in the DropZone but I am sure that was what he said when interviewed by the FBI. The jump was actually an easy jump for a person with Sheridan's experience and he was only exposed to the weather for less than five minutes and was then on the ground at 47 deg F. It was a cake walk of a jump for Sheridan. He had done many night jumps before. Bob

[email]Snowman: The jpg 18 picture in your post looks exactly like the Year Book photo of Sheridan Peterson 1963 Lake Washington High School. The tie is different color and patern but the pose is exactly the same and the smile almost the same. Where is your jpg 18 photo from? Do you know who it is a photo of? Bob sailshaw@aol.com

377 You are right on with your description of the passenger drop down oxygen masks! You say: "The passenger drop down O2 systems I have seen are not tank fed but have individual O2 generator cans feeding each mask. The cans contain chemical ingredients that mix when the mask feed tube is sharply pulled and begin a VERY hot exothermic oxygen producing reaction. They have caused more than one fire. The Value Jet DC 9 crash in FLA was caused by a bunch of these carried in the cargo bay. They ignited and caused a fire that resulted in loss of the acft and all pasengers." I would like to add to the description that by pulling down on the mask, the small lever snaps on the end of the oxygen generating can (about the size of a coke can) and starts the oxygen generating process. Before I tested the system in the Boeing lab, I thought the passengers were connected to the large oxygen bottles that the flight deck uses. Big surprise to me that all you have as a passenger was in the coke size can. It functions from 5 to 10 minutes but by that time the pilot dives the plane to a safer altitude. Bob

Robert99: The latest posts on the Aft Airstairs from Farflung and 377 just go to show me that I can't remember enough to add more to these mass amounts of information. I will talk to some of my 727 Commercial Pilot friends and see what they remember. Bob

Robbert99: The info in my post about the Aft Pressure Hull door is close to correct. However the Lever to drop the Aft Airstair is as Farflung posted with drawings. I had forgotten the lever and assumed/remembered another lever which was not true. There was only one light in the cockpit that indicated when the Airstair was deployed. I may be wrong but don't believe there was another light to indicate the pressure hull door open. Sorry about that. Bob

Robbert99: You ask: One question, does anyone know the physical location of the controls for the aft stairs? Are they outside the pressure hull? The answer is the pressure hull door (aft door) has a rotating lever that unlocks the door by rotating the lever handle aprox 180 degrees counter clockwise. Then the door is free to be pulled inside the pressure hull to the left of the door operator and against the fore and aft bulkhead. The Aft Airstairs are unlocked and drop by gravity by a similar rotating lever handle, located on the Aft Airstair door, which also rotates about 180 degrees counter clockwise. DB may have never opened a real door before but knew all about it. In practice the crew sometimes have a hard pull if the pressure inside and outside have not equalized. That could explain why DB asked for help in getting the door open. Bob

Georger: DB probably knew all about the Aft Airstains but did not have experience with actual deployment. If there is some difference in pressure across the door, it can be difficult to open. The Flight Attendants knew how to work it as they have actual experience. There is nothing like on the job training! Bob

377: Good you mention Sheridan and remember he is about 6 ft tall, brown eyes, and a very olive complexion with a burning desire to "Beat The System". I will go tonight and talk with Gray about his book and why he was not aware of Sheridan but is pitching Kenney Christansen who is too short at 5ft 8in, light skin and not olive, and has the wrong color eyes. Bob 73's PS I worry about your skydiving at your age.

Evillejumper: I am about halfway through the book and totally agree with you. "It is a waste of my money and time". However, I keep reading as I wait to find out if there is anything new in the next chapter. That is just the way it is with the DB Cooper case. Bob

Johnnyringo: Christensen has two facts about him that completely eliminate him as being DB Cooper. First, he is too short at 5ft 8in rather than around 6ft for DB. That alone should be enough to count him out. However, the second fact is his skin color is white and not the olive color of DB Cooper. Those two facts and the DNA negative match, make him totaly not a candidate. Bob

Farflung: Good thinking about the DNA as that would have not been a concern of DB's as it was not used in those days by the FBI. The DNA from the tie clasp could have been from DB's girl friend that dressed him the morning of the skyjacking. She could have placed the tie clasp in her mouth while putting the clip-on tie in place and then finally placing the tie clasp in place on the tie. DB could have possibly not touched the clasp and it would not have his DNA. However, I believe that DNA will bust this case open when something with DB's DNA is found. Could it be the envelopes and/or stamps from the letters to the four Portland News papers would have DB's DNA? The cigarette butts would if they could be found or possibly the four envelopes are lost with the butts. Maybe, Snowman can research the envelopes and find if the FBI could get DNA from the envelopes and/or stamps? Snowman we need your help! Bob

Bruce: I wounder if Cossey was saying that the Amboy chute was not his personal chute that DB jumped with? He needs to address the Chest Chute dummy and did he actually know what was packed in the dummy carrier? Could he be covering for Sheridan who he must have known and the story that his personal chute would not function due to the modified rip-cord? That it could of not have worked was possibly a cover-up for Sheridan's sake. Bob

Jo: Thank you for your help as when we are over 75 things are much harder to understand. I did not know Bruce had posted the photos of Sheridan, but what I wanted to present to the forum is what was said under the photos. That may not have been posted by Bruce so I will just quote them here as I find them very interesting: 1) 1963 "B.A. University of Missouri. Sophomore and Junior English" 2) 1964 "has been a smoke jumper, a logger, a sandblaster, a technical writer for Boeing and a Marine. He now faces the most challenging career of his life: teaching English." 3) 1965 "Sheridan ... and Milton ... talk about the Repertory's interpretation of Hamlet. These friendly discussions are what lend life to a study of Shakespeare." From the Year Books of Lake Washington High School. Bob

Sorry to all. I have not learned how to make attachments to my remarks. My first try seems not to have worked. Any suggestions? Bob

Jo: Speaking of pictures, take a look at Sheridan Peterson in the Lake Washington High School year books of 1963, 1964, and 1965 attached. It is interesting what is said below the photos too! Bob inline attachment_Sheridan 1963.gif, inline attachment_Sheridan 1964.gif, inline attachment_Sheridan 1965.gif

Robert99: You did not answer the question as to how Cooper knew when to jump, you only provided your little joke answer: "He wouldn't try to jump from half-way up the steps. So when he got to the end of the steps there was only one thing left to do. Jump!" So Robert99 you really don't know how he knew and are unwilling to accept the theory that he used the cloud glow over Vancouver and Portland. Remember he was wearing his dark sunglasses to keep his eyes ready for the darkness and ability to see the glow in the clouds. Also, Eagleeye had very good vision and more places to look from including the aftairstair. The cockpit had a more limited view through a wet windshield plus were very busy trying to keep the plane flying in the "dirty configuration" (flaps down, landing gear down, and airstair deployed). Cooper could concentrate on just looking for the glow in the clouds. Believe it or not, it is an explanation of how Cooper was clever enough to know when to really jump. Robert99 you have no reason other than your little joke. Bob

Robert99: The aircraft was navigated as a normal plane would have in the same situation. The question to you, Robert, is how did DB know when to jump if he was not looking for the glow in the clouds over Vancouver and Portland? His navigation was without VORTAC receivers so again if you are so smart, how did DB know when to jump? Bob

Skyjack71 Hang in there Jo as you are entitled to your thoughts and theories just like the rest of us. We don't agree on the flight path as I except Sluggo's map of the path to the West of PDX Portland. It really does not matter to me either East or West but it was close either way and within walking distance to where DB left his car (at or near the airport). Janet's story is about something and as I stated in previous posts, she probably saw the jet plane that was reported to be 5 minutes behind DB's plane. She would not have been able to see the DB plane at 10,000 feet. The second plane was lower and most likely under the 5,000 foot cloud layer to land at PDX. The fire or flares she saw are still unexplained mystery and I have no theories about that observation. Robbert99 states: "And for the record, just exactly what are you "credentials" and also the "credentials" of Sailshaw? You two need the Janet myth to be accepted as fact and thus have a vested interest in it." Just keep your head in the sand Robbert or ask any of your retired Commercial Airline Pilots friends about DB's navigation using cloud glow. All my retired pilot friends agree that must of been what he used as he knew exactly when and where he wanted to jump. Robbert if DB did not use the cloud glow and you are so smart to think he did not, then how did he know where to precisely jump (which he did and escaped without detection)? Have you got an answer for that? No, well maybe you can start thinking clearly and except what others propose based upon their knowledge, not yours. Bob

Robert99: You say: "Sailshaw, You continue to ignore the simple fact that the flight crew (those three fellows in the cockpit, which is located in the forward part of the aircraft) has been quoted by several authors as stating they could not see the Portland/Vancouver area lights as they pass overhead. The reason was several layers of clouds plus a complete overcast." That is what the crew said about not seeing Vancouver or the PDX Portland lights. They were not asked if they saw the glow in the clouds over Vancouver and Portland. If you were a pilot you would have experienced this for yourself, but you don't know so you just can't believe it. That is your problem and not mine. Bob

Georger: Now this is the type of discussion that alows us to get to what could have happened. Georger writes: "As it happened, the jump occurred in the vicinity of Vancover-Portland - the first and largest landmark south of SEA until points further south. Now talk to me about: "no position fix"." Now we are on the right track. How does DB know when to jump? When he sees the glow in the clouds over Vancouver and Portland. Those of us that are pilots have seen this many times before and it works because there are no other sources of glow as there are no other cities south of Seattle big enough to cause it at that time in the flight. Navigation was not that hard and DB had plenty of windows to look out from and watch for the cloud glow. Anyway, good thinking Georger and 377. Do we have any more positive thinkers? Bob

Robert99: I knew it would be too technical for you to understand. You should just disregard my posts and stay in the dark with your head in the sand. You are wrong on just about all your nay-saying. Get with it and get over it. Bob

Smokin99: You say:"Yeah, I know. But with over 20,000 posts since this thread began in some form or another since 2001, what HASN"T been talked about already? Wink" Possibly it is time to talk about whether DB survived the jump or died trying as the FBI would lead us to believe. Let us consider the two possibilities: 1) He was un-experienced and died in the jump after all the great planning that got him to a place that he could do the jump. The FBI likes this possibility as they have been unable to solve the crime or find out who DB was and by dieing the case is closed (but not really as they have no body). OR 2) He was very skilled and knew exactly what he was doing. He out smarted the FBI and the System and the jump was not really as impossible as the FBI would want us to believe. Not much needs to be said for 1) above as he died. However, how much exposure did he have to the cold weather, snow/rain, clouds and the dark of night. I checked this possibility out with an experienced skydiver (377) and he believes my numbers are "right on". My thought is that he jumped from 10,000 ft and did not pull until 3,000 ft which would have been below the cloud cover. His free-fall at an average of 120 mph (176 ft/sec) would have taken only 40seconds. Then when he pulled at 3,000 ft the temperature was probably only 10 degrees below the 47 degrees F that was reported on the ground. So after just 40 second of free-fall he can see the ground, is at a fairly comfortable temperature, possibly see the Columbia river, and certainly see the bright lights of PDX Portland airport. His chute deploys and it only takes him 3 to 5 minutes under the chute to reach the ground and avoid being seen as the round NB-6 (same color as the clouds) decends at aprox. 16 ft/sec. and he is now at 47 degrees F but wet and his rain coat now comes in handy for his short walk ro his car that he possibly left in Portland close to to PDX. Total exposure from plane to ground possibly just 5 minutes and the time is about 8:30 pm. Now this will give some of you something to chew on rather than re-hashing the same old stuff, but it shows that it was a survivable jump by a skilled skydiver and DB lives on. If this has been hashed over before, please excuse me as I am only up to thread page 200 at this time and hope this post will create some good thinking. If this is too technical for you, just don't read it Bob