View Full Version : Airborne !!!
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 16:56
The following Pictures were taken at Pope AFB and over St. Mere-glise Drop Zone at Ft. Bragg. These were taken in the Spring of 1970.
This first one is of Training Group, Weapons Class Pay Jump. Waiting for the next Load.
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 16:58
Me.
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:00
Lined up by the C-119 Flying Box Cars waiting to board.
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:02
The guy in front of me going out the door.
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:04
Typical predicament out of a 119, twisted !!
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:07
Bottom of pic is my reserve. If you look at the very top, just right of center, you can see the shadow of 2 canopies that are in VERY CLOSE proximity to each other !!
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:10
Two "other" jumpers entangled. Notice the next Aircraft approaching for the next drop. Rt side about 1/4 way down.
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:14
My entanglement. This happened quite often with the 119s because of the "stubby" tailcone and we did "Mass" exits! The slipstream behind the Aircraft caused the Jumpers to Criss-Cross behind the ship and entanglements followed!!
Ambush Master
04-23-2004, 17:16
My Feet, notice the other canopies and people on the ground.
Kyobanim
04-23-2004, 17:42
Great Shots!
AM: Your Photo's have taken my breath away. Incredible almost comes close to describing them. It is truly amazing what You, and You fellow Soldiers have done.
I am in complete awe. :)
Holly
NousDefionsDoc
04-23-2004, 18:06
Very nice.
Note that AM is calm enough during an entanglement to stop and take the time to snap a photo. I don't think I'd be quite that collected were I in the same situation.
Originally posted by Razor
Note that AM is calm enough during an entanglement to stop and take the time to snap a photo. I don't think I'd be quite that collected were I in the same situation.
Thats what I was about to say. I would've thrown the camera at the other jumper. "SLIP AWAY!"
AM must have big brass ones.
Surgicalcric
04-23-2004, 21:37
I guess this is about as close as I will get to doning a parachute for a few months still.
EDIT: to resize photo
NousDefionsDoc
04-23-2004, 21:42
What's an SF-10?
Get some sun. LOL
Surgicalcric
04-23-2004, 21:59
Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
What's an SF-10?
Get some sun. LOL
Its a newer chute thats reportedly more maneuverable, descends slower and has a softer landing. It even comes with a virtual trainer to practice steering on before actually jumping it.
And as for the sun, I will be getting plenty shortly down at the Ft Benning School for Boys. I dont have time to sun myself now. lol
Team Sergeant
04-23-2004, 22:12
Great Shots AM!
The AC was strange to me, but I found pictures of it in some of my military "history" books.:D
TS
AM, TS, and all the others who posted 'in the door' and 'geronimo!' pictures: As an underaged leg, the closest I can get to jumping out of a plane is in my head, with all the inaccuracies that result. Having pictures greatly enhances my concept of a parachute jump. So, thank you.
Solid
NousDefionsDoc
04-24-2004, 09:39
Originally posted by Team Sergeant
Great Shots AM!
The AC was strange to me, but I found pictures of it in some of my military "history" books.
TS
I think it was Pope AAF, not AFB. If you look closely, you can see Doolittle's reflection in the glass. :munchin
Ambush Master
04-24-2004, 10:09
Jump School, our first 4 Jumps were out of those and the 5th from a 141. First Jump, we're all loaded and are taxiing out when the plane lurches to a halt. The Crew Chief is talking with the Flight Deck and waving his arms all about, then he disconnects from the intercom and his safety line and jumps out of the airplane. Shortly he returns and throws this HUGE PIECE OF METAL into the plane and climbs back in. He reconnects everything and resumes his antimated conversation. We start moving again and he picks up this piece and stows it back in the clamshell, it was one or two of the cowl flaps off of one of the engines !!!
First jump, NO PROBLEM the damned plane was falling apart and they kept on going, we all wanted to get OUT OF IT !!!
Later
Martin
NousDefionsDoc
04-24-2004, 10:46
My first was a C-123
Ambush Master
04-24-2004, 11:01
We jumped a 123 into Camp Mackall. It was bad weather and we had to fly around for quite a long time until it broke enough for us to jump. A friend of mine got airsick, took off his steel pot and puked in it. We were in the process of passing it to the rear of the plane, where there was a garbage can to have it dumped, when the Red Light came on and then the command Everybody Stand Up !! His helmet was passed back to him and he just looked at it with a horrible look on his face and then he PUT IT ON !!! He puked all the way to the ground, and we were in those clothes and without bath facilities forever. That was Camp Mackall !!!
NDD, the SF-10 is a slightly modified Smoke Jumper chute that USASOC adopted for high altitude jumps. They allow 10SFG to actually jump locally again, rather than load everyone up into a couple 141s and fly to NV to make mass pay jumps once a quarter.
Radar Rider
04-25-2004, 00:06
Those are some excellent pictures.
I've never had a mid-air entanglement (Thank God!), but I don't think I could continue to snap pictures if I did. Did you land like that, or were you able to get out of it?
brownapple
04-25-2004, 01:48
Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
My first was a C-123
Same here. 123s & 141s at BAC. UH-1s, UH60s, C-130s, MC-130s, CH-47s, C-7 and R4D later in life...
Ambush Master
04-25-2004, 09:00
The entanglement happened while the canopies were deploying. We were able to position ourselves like the ones in the previous pic, that is, we had ahold of each other and pushed away just before landing.
NousDefionsDoc
04-25-2004, 18:21
When I was the the 82nd, I was the victim of a mid-air entanglement. St. Mere, fun jump, not a cloud in the sky over the Eastern seaboard.
Supply clerk runs into me from behind and above - I never even saw him. I caught him on his way down as his collapsed and we landed like AM said.
He ran into me becuase he was taking pictures :D . I don't have any pics of the entanglement, I was too busy monkey stomping his ass.
Surgicalcric
04-25-2004, 18:37
Dont really have any entanglement stories from the jumps I have witnessed thus far, but I did see the damm'dest thing last drill.
While jumping Gadsden DZ (Gadsden Airport) one of the sticks encountered some sort of thermal up draft over the runway and 4 or 5 of the jumpers actually stalled in the air. I cant recall what the DACO actually called it. They floated left and right and a couple even went back up. Noone actually timed it, but they must have been in the air 5 minutes before landing. There was a couple near collosions but everyone avoided them.
So much for that 30-45 seconds of air time.
CommoGeek
04-26-2004, 06:24
Originally posted by Surgicalcric
Dont really have any entanglement stories from the jumps I have witnessed thus far, but I did see the damm'dest thing last drill.
While jumping Gadsden DZ (Gadsden Airport) one of the sticks encountered some sort of thermal up draft over the runway and 4 or 5 of the jumpers actually stalled in the air. I cant recall what the DACO actually called it. They floated left and right and a couple even went back up. Noone actually timed it, but they must have been in the air 5 minutes before landing. There was a couple near collosions but everyone avoided them.
So much for that 30-45 seconds of air time.
I've seen that rather frequently. Heat from the runways (or in my case from the sand of Weinberg DZ at Blanding) will create a thermal of hot air and if a jumper is caught in it their canopy time will increase.
Now, if you get out of the thermal the density altitude of the air is higher that day due to the heat, so you tend to land a little harder than you would on a cooler day.
Fett and knees, feet and knees....
Surgicalcric
04-26-2004, 07:41
Originally posted by CommoGeek
...Fett and knees, feet and knees....
What, no modified PFL's? :D
Plenty of PFLs (Pretty F'ed-up Landing). :D
CommoGeek
04-26-2004, 09:08
You want to see the x-rays?
I didn't have a strap for my glasses and didn't want to lose said glasses so I just put them in a posket and jumped sans eyeballs. Now, I'm 20/200 in both eyes (read: almost blind) without the specs.
I decided that I'd follow the others down. We were jumping MC1-1B's with no smoke on the DZ. I figured the other jumpers would have the windline figured out, right? (My previous 7 jumps were either at school or with smoke so I never bothered learning how to determine the wind line :eek: ) The winds were about 10 knots. I downwinded the -1B: feet, head, back. The crunching sound like gravel were my neck verterbra realigning themselves. Other than being VERY sore the next day, I was fine. I could've broke my stupid cherry neck.
Two months later I developed my own method of landing and the rest is of course, history. (x-rays and fractured L5 included)
Believe it or not, RIT, your Blackhats are some smart mofos. Don't try to change the system when you have 7 jumps.
That was the worst feeling in my life, to have a stranger carry my gear off of the DZ because I was on a back board.
NousDefionsDoc
04-26-2004, 11:26
density altitude of the air is higher that day due to the heat
Are you saying heat makes air more dense? What is "density altitude"? You made that up.
Ambush Master
04-26-2004, 11:35
Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
Are you saying heat makes air more dense? What is "density altitude"? You made that up.
No, the air is less dense. Density altitude is determined by your altitude, the Air Temp, and the Relative Humidity. Following is a webpage that describes it pretty well:
http://www.futurecam.com/densityAltitude.html
Later
Martin
CommoGeek
04-26-2004, 13:20
Thank you AM. NDD was just trying to stir up some trouble.... :)
shadowflyer
04-26-2004, 15:43
Photographic evidence of updraft phenomenon.
Kyobanim
04-26-2004, 17:53
I would have had to clean my shorts if something like that happened to me. I hated every jump and couldn't wait to get on the ground.
I have a serious problem with heights that require a parachute.
Surgicalcric
04-26-2004, 18:28
I have a serious fear of heights as well, atleast where ladders and aerials are concerned. Dont stop me none though.
Originally posted by Surgicalcric
While jumping Gadsden DZ (Gadsden Airport) one of the sticks encountered some sort of thermal up draft over the runway and 4 or 5 of the jumpers actually stalled in the air. I cant recall what the DACO actually called it. They floated left and right and a couple even went back up. Noone actually timed it, but they must have been in the air 5 minutes before landing. There was a couple near collosions but everyone avoided them.
Crip,
I ran into the same thing jumping as a wind dummy on tht DZ. We were jumping Huey's and I thought I'd never land, just kinda hung there.
You guys still jumping the Sod Farm (Rhenda DZ) or that really bad one at McCellen with the stumps?
Surgicalcric
04-27-2004, 05:34
Maas:
The only one we use at McClellan is off main post near Pelham Range near SOTIC.
I have heard talk of the sod farm but have not seem them jump it.
ChaoticVirtuoso
04-27-2004, 08:26
Great photos...Ill try to get mine up asap.
It's great to hear that so many of you are afraid of heights, I thought I'd have a real problem. I guess the key is to bite the bullet and do what you have to do.
Solid
CommoGeek
04-27-2004, 09:50
Originally posted by Solid
It's great to hear that so many of you are afraid of heights, I thought I'd have a real problem. I guess the key is to bite the bullet and do what you have to do.
Solid
Soild,
I am afriad of heights; ladders bother me. The 34' tower at jump school wasn't that bad because I knew that I was in a harness connected to a cable. No worries, it is being on scaffolding or a roof that bothers me since I am unseure of my footing and balance.
Jumping? No problems at all! You are far enough from the ground that it doesn't look real. I always thought that I was above a model train set or something. It never looked real to me. That's how I dealt with it. The higer that you go, the more unrealistic things look.
Besides, there's always going to be a guy behind you to help you on your way even if you are afraid of jumping. :)
Kyobanim
04-27-2004, 10:23
Originally posted by CommoGeek
Soild,
Besides, there's always going to be a guy behind you to help you on your way even if you are afraid of jumping. :)
Everyone knew about my "condition", as SGT Airborne called it. There was always a helping hand behind me.
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 14:21
This is over Sicily DZ... (I think)
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 14:23
Waiting on a Chinnook jump here...
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 14:25
Forgot to lower my gear... *shrug*
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 14:28
my chariott awaits...
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 14:36
Convoy Live-Fire... that's me with the M249 SAW...
Team Sergeant
05-12-2004, 17:34
CV, two words. "photo shop"
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-12-2004, 17:36
Damn...sorry 'bout that *blush*
NousDefionsDoc
05-12-2004, 17:51
Originally posted by Solid
It's great to hear that so many of you are afraid of heights, I thought I'd have a real problem. I guess the key is to bite the bullet and do what you have to do.
Solid
I ain't afraid of shit. Jumping just isn't my preferred method of getting to work if I have another option. Too hard too keep the Team together, all the gear where its supposed to be and not get anyone hurt.
Team Sergeant
05-12-2004, 20:04
Originally posted by Solid
It's great to hear that so many of you are afraid of heights, I thought I'd have a real problem. I guess the key is to bite the bullet and do what you have to do.
Solid
Solid it's a simple game of controlling your emotions or they will control you.
TS
Thanks for the advice, guys.
Solid
CommoGeek
05-13-2004, 06:29
CV,
What's your MOS? I'm a former 74C2S and I noticed the 35th Sig patch.
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-13-2004, 09:48
31R/F
Robertson
05-13-2004, 15:19
I'm glad that those of you who are afraid of heights still jump. A friend of mine at my college gave up his slot this summer to ABN school because he was afriad of heights shortly after there was a Cadet who was extremely happy. (no - it's not me)
-Robertson
Kyobanim
05-13-2004, 19:32
Originally posted by Robertson
I'm glad that those of you who are afraid of heights still jump. A friend of mine at my college gave up his slot this summer to ABN school because he was afriad of heights shortly after there was a Cadet who was extremely happy. (no - it's not me)
-Robertson
I was scared to the point of almost pissing my pants on the 34' tower. Same in the plane. It's just another target. If you can't face your fears they will rule your life.
Robertson
05-13-2004, 19:43
If you can't face your fears they will rule your life.
I wish that I had this in my thoughts when my friend told me he gave his slot up. Maybe it was for the better?
I'm glad to hear that you faced your fear and like you said- didn't let it rule your life.
Has your fear of heights been done away with?
Craig
Radar Rider
05-13-2004, 23:31
Fear of heights is not such a bad thing. It's one of those built in instincts that assist one in self preservation. Avoiding heights aids in avoiding long falls....
When it comes to Airborne operations, it can be overcome. I am still not a big fan of heights, and I've got 68 jumps (plus one off of the 250' tower). The weird part? I HATE the 34' foot tower, and would choose a night/combat equipment/mass tac jump with several hours of NOE over a single exit out of that damn tower!
I suppose it all has to do with confidence in one's self AND the equipment. Army parachutes are excellent, and most soldiers in the Airborne community are extremely cognizant of any dangers assosciated with Airborne operations. It's a great way of life. :)
I had always heard that the 34ft. tower was chosen because of, through some weird facet of human nature, it's the highest you get before your brain stops measuring how high you are, and just lumps it all into, 'holy shit! we're way off the ground!' So that after 34ft, there's no sense in making it any taller.
Any truth to that, or is it just a rumor?
Surgicalcric
05-14-2004, 02:58
Originally posted by DanUCSB
I had always heard that the 34ft. tower was chosen because of, through some weird facet of human nature, it's the highest you get before your brain stops measuring how high you are, and just lumps it all into, 'holy shit! we're way off the ground!' So that after 34ft, there's no sense in making it any taller.
Any truth to that, or is it just a rumor?
I can tell you its not true as far as I am concernced.
In my line of work I constantly find myself on things much higher than 34', 105' Aerial Platforms, hanging from ths side of a high-rise structure, cliff faces, etc... I am still scared crapless each and every time I am subjected to it. I am confident in my equipment, but that changes nothing.
Someone said it best earlier, "if you cant face your fears they will control you."
James D
34ft, I've heard, is the maximum height a human can fall from with any decent chance of surviving.
That was from the Clancy book on SF, so take it as you will.
Solid
Kyobanim
05-14-2004, 03:42
Originally posted by Robertson
I wish that I had this in my thoughts when my friend told me he gave his slot up. Maybe it was for the better?
I'm glad to hear that you faced your fear and like you said- didn't let it rule your life.
Has your fear of heights been done away with?
Craig
I don't think it will ever go away, you just learn to deal with it.
Radar Rider
05-14-2004, 04:40
Originally posted by DanUCSB
I had always heard that the 34ft. tower was chosen because of, through some weird facet of human nature, it's the highest you get before your brain stops measuring how high you are, and just lumps it all into, 'holy shit! we're way off the ground!' So that after 34ft, there's no sense in making it any taller.
Any truth to that, or is it just a rumor? That all makes perfect sense to me. I know that I HATE being that amount above the ground, but being 800 or 1250 feet above is ALOT less intimidating. I'll STILL take a jump over that damn tower any day.
The Reaper
05-14-2004, 05:46
It is difficult to put our fears of falling aside.
If you cannot conquer that, you may have trouble being shot at, blown up, etc.
As was stated, you have to dominate your fears and put them behind you.
Training helps with that, along with experience.
I have been injured a number of times over the years doing dangerous stuff and returned to do it again. You just have to put your brain on auto-pilot and follow the instructions you were given without worrying too much.
I believe that is a characteristic of airborne and SF.
TR
Kyobanim
05-14-2004, 06:22
After tower week, I think the harder part of jumping was to have faith in the equipment. I didn't know who was packing the chutes so there was always that nagging thought in the back of my mind, did they do it right?
I didn't have a problem with air assault school, in fact I loved rappelling out of a Huey. But there, I had more control over the equipment and my ability to control it.
Radar Rider
05-14-2004, 06:36
Originally posted by Kyobanim
After tower week, I think the harder part of jumping was to have faith in the equipment. If I didn't have faith in the equipment, I'd still be a homeless rat hiding under a bridge. Faith, whether it be in God or man, is necessary. If nothing else, I always had God with me. BUT, the riggers performed excellently, as well.
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-16-2004, 21:02
I've become devout at checking my canopy release out of fear of it malfunctioning ;)
Other than that the only thing that throws me off is when a JM is is JPMI'ing you while having a conversation with another... heh
monkeydan
05-21-2004, 00:13
I was in Ft. Carson one time and I was watching some guys from 10th Group making jumps from a CH-47. One guy caught an updraft and literally floated off into the distance. I have no idea where he came down at. The same day I watched a guy hit the ground and just not get up for a while. Brave men. On a side note my old flight sergeant (yep you heard right, I'm attached to the AF security forces currently) was in some PIR in Alaska before he "crossed into the blue". He said he used to get air sick, so he would always get put at the back of the line. When those doors opened he would be out the door pushing everyone in front of him.
ChaoticVirtuoso
05-21-2004, 05:13
Had a night-jump off of Sicily about 4-hours ago as an RTO... I wish I had the luck of ever catching up updraft... I always hit like a sack of shit and before anyone else.
7am...time for sleep... Viper Six, Out!
Working construction can sometimes help knock the fear of heights out of you, or at least improve your balance greatly. I remember many times balancing on a 2x4 2 stories up with my tool belt on and while holding a big piece of 9 foot sheet rock on my shoulders, and of course the wind always seemed to be blowing strong on those days. I found that I had better walk fast or I was screwed. I fell once but luckily got caught up in the nearby trusses. Most of the guys wouldn't do that higher up work, there were only a few of us that did. I actually enjoyed doing it, I think it's good practice for obstacle courses and what not.
Just a question :)
Anyhoo, the best way to overcome fear of jumping is do it regularly, get familiar with ABN Ops, and then it is managable. If you say, deploy somewhere for 6 months, then go back in a bird for the first time in a while, the fear feels brand new and foreign. Not cool.
Another personal observation...Combat Equipment is the very best motivator to get the hell out the door (ramp, whatever). That shit hurts.
Oh yes, and 5-6 racetracks on a bird with no A/C in August on Ft Bragg (C-130, MASTAC, 64 C/E jumpers). You'll beg for that green light.
Courtesy of the Mauritanian Air Force
mffjm8509
06-05-2004, 16:46
I've been looking for this pic for a while.....finally found it
A little different than some of the others in this thread....
mp
mffjm8509
06-05-2004, 16:49
I'll try it again.....
mffjm8509
06-05-2004, 16:51
Thats jump is over Helena, MT a few years ago..........
mp
Nice avatar, excellent pictures.
Dont really have any entanglement stories from the jumps I have witnessed thus far, but I did see the damm'dest thing last drill.
While jumping Gadsden DZ (Gadsden Airport) one of the sticks encountered some sort of thermal up draft over the runway and 4 or 5 of the jumpers actually stalled in the air. I cant recall what the DACO actually called it. They floated left and right and a couple even went back up. Noone actually timed it, but they must have been in the air 5 minutes before landing. There was a couple near collosions but everyone avoided them.
So much for that 30-45 seconds of air time.
That never happens to bigger guys!!! I was always around 195lbs in PT uniform, so I "burned in" more than a few times with combat equipment, but that was also with the T-10B/MC1-1B. I'd see guys who weighed next to nothing catch thermals, but they never did anything for me. I had a guy about 10m from me one day (canopy skirt to canopy skirt), we were eye level with each other (~600ft AGL) and he caught the thermal and stayed almost suspended and I just went straight down, so I'll say it's a function of light bodyweight. He weighed maybe 145lbs or so.
Anyone else notice similar a phenomemen?
Here's some pics from the late 80's. Some are from the 82D, the rest were from jumps in SOCOM.
Misc. pics. I'm the safety on the right in the OG's with manifests in the R/cargo pocket at the mock door.
That never happens to bigger guys!!! I was always around 195lbs in PT uniform, so I "burned in" more than a few times with combat equipment, but that was also with the T-10B/MC1-1B. I'd see guys who weighed next to nothing catch thermals, but they never did anything for me. I had a guy about 10m from me one day (canopy skirt to canopy skirt), we were eye level with each other (~600ft AGL) and he caught the thermal and stayed almost suspended and I just went straight down, so I'll say it's a function of light bodyweight. He weighed maybe 145lbs or so.
Anyone else notice similar a phenomemen?
I weigh 143 and my buddy is about 195. We just came back from BAC, but he was always three or four jumpers behind me. Anyway I'd stay in the air for at least 1 min to 3 min, while he hit the ground in 30 sec. It was pretty funny stuff.
We were jumping a C-130 on our 3rd jump and the JM pulled down on the Hook-up-Line and then duct taped it to the plane. I almost pulled my reserve as soon as I jumped out of the door, but do you think it was sort of a joke to scare the "newbies"?
Team Sergeant
12-19-2005, 08:21
We were jumping a C-130 on our 3rd jump and the JM pulled down on the Hook-up-Line and then duct taped it to the plane. I almost pulled my reserve as soon as I jumped out of the door, but do you think it was sort of a joke to scare the "newbies"?
Hook-up-Line :rolleyes:
LOL I know you didn't get that from Paratrooper.net.....
Now let's try again, what is that cable called you attach your static line to? I'll give you a hint, it starts with an "A".
Everyone else be quiet......
Team Sergeant
Edit to add:
I just viewed your profile..... Start knocking them out cadet, I'll be giving your school a call after my coffee is finished. Attention to detail.....
Kyobanim
12-19-2005, 08:37
Edit to add:
I just viewed your profile..... Start knocking them out cadet, I'll be giving your school a call after my coffee is finished. Attention to detail.....
Oelando, hmmm. Going to UCF, he can't be far from me. Maybe someone should witness those pushups. :munchin
:o Anchor Line Cable.
which reminds me of what one of my Sergeant Airborne's said:
"This isn't an Airborne school, it's pay attention to detail school!"
ObliqueApproach
12-19-2005, 10:26
When did everyone start calling it BAC instead of Jump School? I guess I have been out a while!:D
TS, don't you think those should be 4 count push-ups?:lifter
FearMonkey
12-20-2005, 12:09
Well, so long as we've seen St. Mere from a 1970's jump... Here's what St. Mere looks like from a 2005 jump. (courtesty of a friend in the weapons course)
5206
You can see someone getting under canopy in the bottom-right.
5207
Note: The pictures aren't really of the drop zone since my friend didn't really ever make it to the DZ as you can see from the 2nd shot. :boohoo
Surgicalcric
12-20-2005, 12:39
...my friend didn't really ever make it to the DZ as you can see from the 2nd shot. :boohoo
I have 7 jumps over that DZ and only two landing on it... darned cross winds and a 4 knot stall on the -1...
Crip
Great Pics Martin. I may have been one of those in first shot. Time frame is close. However, in Spring of 70, I had already finished Weapons course and Phase III.