2 Good Chutes....
Today's Picture of the Day is one of my more unusual shots. See if you agree.
Somewhere, I hope, I still have a Beta format tape of a complete airborne drop from take off to landing. I didn't jump but filmed the whole operation from the cargo bay of a C-130 and from the cockpit. I haven't seen it in over two decades but as I recall it was really a great film. From the cockpit I got good shots of troops exiting the aircraft directly ahead. As I was usually going out the back it was something I had never seen before. One of the most memorable parts of any jump was that instant as the chute opened and you got a glimpse of the aircraft flying away, something very few people get to experience.
In all my jumps I never had a malfunction or was injured on landing, but I saw some close calls and had one myself. Once jumping from a group of five C-141's, one of the trailing aircraft was too low in the formation. As I exited the aircraft my first view after the chute opened was of a massive jet plane flying right towards me. Luckily the pilot spotted the problem and executed a quick turn raising his wing over me and my fellow jumpers. I can still imagine myself snagged on that wing or perhaps sucked into a jet engine! On another occasion I spotted a jumper near me with his chute in a "cigarette roll", where the nylon had wrapped around itself on opening transforming the chute into an olive drab streamer. This poor trooper was plummeting to earth at deadly speed. Luckily, the army trains it's jumpers well and he was quickly able to open his reserve chute and make a safe landing. All part of the job.
Today's Picture of the Day is one of my more unusual shots. See if you agree.
Somewhere, I hope, I still have a Beta format tape of a complete airborne drop from take off to landing. I didn't jump but filmed the whole operation from the cargo bay of a C-130 and from the cockpit. I haven't seen it in over two decades but as I recall it was really a great film. From the cockpit I got good shots of troops exiting the aircraft directly ahead. As I was usually going out the back it was something I had never seen before. One of the most memorable parts of any jump was that instant as the chute opened and you got a glimpse of the aircraft flying away, something very few people get to experience.
In all my jumps I never had a malfunction or was injured on landing, but I saw some close calls and had one myself. Once jumping from a group of five C-141's, one of the trailing aircraft was too low in the formation. As I exited the aircraft my first view after the chute opened was of a massive jet plane flying right towards me. Luckily the pilot spotted the problem and executed a quick turn raising his wing over me and my fellow jumpers. I can still imagine myself snagged on that wing or perhaps sucked into a jet engine! On another occasion I spotted a jumper near me with his chute in a "cigarette roll", where the nylon had wrapped around itself on opening transforming the chute into an olive drab streamer. This poor trooper was plummeting to earth at deadly speed. Luckily, the army trains it's jumpers well and he was quickly able to open his reserve chute and make a safe landing. All part of the job.
