Airborne

[ChuckS1]

I remember that our Hollywood jumps were from C141s. Really not a jump, rather just sticking your foot out the door and being sucked out. My first "real" jump I didn't jump out far enough and hit the side of the C-130...

Your son's never going to forget what he;s accomplished. It's a great confidence builder. If I can make it through Jump School, I can do anything. I kept telling myself that in Ranger School, though it took a lot of convincing...

 

[handejector]

My first "real" jump I didn't jump out far enough and hit the side of the C-130...

We called it "countin' rivets".

Best one I ever had was being near the end of a string in a 130. By the time I blew the door, the strings were in sync instead of staggered. Cleared well, but I hit the guy from the other door behind the plane- HARD. My head cleared in a couple of seconds, and as I swung to vertical, I saw his canopy fully deploy just below my feet. I was dead center- could see down thru the center vent. A quick check of my canopy showed that it was very hungry for air and wanting to fold. I was high-stepping rapidly trying to walk off it, but you go knee deep in it!
He was loudly insulting my mother in several different ways....
My canopy was beginning to settle towards me. Look up, run, look up, run! I couldn't ride his down because I stood a good chance of going thru it and killing us both.
I finally got close enough to the edge to dive forward off it. Kinda folded his edge as I went off, and his insults went up two octaves , but his canopy straightened quickly.
I fell a long way with a somewhat limp canopy. It offered enough drag to stay above me, and I was shaking my risers like your Grandma shaking a nasty throw rug!
It finally rounded out nicely.

Ever heard that thing about "couldn't drive a greasy 16p nail up his ___ with a 10 pound sledge"? It's true.

 

[Herknav]

Anybody jump Toy Drop last weekend?

 

[norsemanhp]

Congrats! When we went through jump school in 79 it was T-10's and MC1-1B's.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

43 years for me, January, 1969. We had a drop zone graduation on Saturday afternoon because the winds delayed our final jump.