C-17 Jump 10 FEB 2009 (PICS!!!)

[DRM]

No in-air shots. Jump was too low and I had twisted risers that by the time I unfucked my chute I was about 200ft up and burning in. But here are some decent shots...

Me before getting in my harness and rigging up.


After rigging up that anchor of a rucksack. Heavy sumbitch!!


All of us filing on the bird.


My chute after I landed.


And me after the jump.


It was a good jump. It would've been a night jump had we exited 5 minutes later. I landed in a huge mound of snow so the landing was like a soft thud.

And that was my day.
-David

[Cleveland Metal]

Another day at the shop huh? Jeeez... Not sure if I could jump out of perfectly good plane, haha... Had the urge for a while... It went away...

Thanks for being there and doing what you're doin' man...

Be safe!!!!!!!!

john

[rjohnstone]

You walked away... it was a good jump.

It's been 21 years since I last stepped out of a perfectly good aircraft.
I miss that rush of air as you step to the door and then that weird feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as you step out. Then you see a fully deployed canopy over head and all is good in life and you can enjoy the ride down.

[DRM]

You walked away... it was a good jump.

It's been 21 years since I last stepped out of a perfectly good aircraft.
I miss that rush of air as you step to the door and then that weird feeling you get in the pit of your stomach as you step out. Then you see a fully deployed canopy over head and all is good in life and you can enjoy the ride down.

I had twisted risers all the way from my neck halfway up my suspension lines. I was bicycle kicking like a mofo to get those untangled. By the time I gained canopy control, I had to drop my ruck and prepare to PLF. We jumped MAYBE 800ft today. It was low as FUCK.

Gotta love being Airborne!

[rjohnstone]

Did you pack your chute or did another rigger do it for you?
800ft!!! That leaves 0 time for the reserve.
Balls brother... you got a set.
The lowest I've ever dropped was 2,000 and that was my first, and last static line.

[DRM]

Did you pack your chute or did another rigger do it for you?
800ft!!! That leaves 0 time for the reserve.
Balls brother... you got a set.
The lowest I've ever dropped was 2,000 and that was my first, and last static line.

Oh hell no. I did NOT pack that. Far above my MOS.

We have an entire MOS devoted to it. 92R: Parachute Rigger.

Static jumps are so easy. I haven't had the chance to go to HALO school yet, but maybe someday.

[DRM]

Balls brother... you got a set.

Haha. It's either that I have balls or I don't have any sense of self preservation. Either way, I'm still afraid of heights.

[rjohnstone]

Haha. It's either that I have balls or I don't have any sense of self preservation. Either way, I'm still afraid of heights.

I was going for my A license. Had a jump that didn't go so well and called it quits.
Hit hard enough to severely sprain both ankles.
Fucking downdraft nearly sent me into a free fall. Only had 300 ft to go before touchdown and bam.
I crawled away, but I was still breathing.

[rjohnstone]

Oh hell no. I did NOT pack that. Far above my MOS.

We have an entire MOS devoted to it. 92R: Parachute Rigger.

I'd be just a tad pissed at the a-hole that rigged your chute.

[DRM]

We fall at about 12ft per second, I think. With that ruck today, it was close to 15ft per second. A jumper today completely snapped his ankle when he hit the ground. I heard him screaming while I was packing up my chute...poor guy.

FEET AND KNEES TOGETHER!

I slammed against the side of the bird on the way out today, that's why my risers were all fucked up. That sucked ass, but it's a part of being Airborne...take the good with the bad, ya know?

[DRM]

I'd be just a tad pissed at the a-hole that rigged your chute.

Wasn't the rigger. Twisted risers happen because of weak exits (like mine today...try jumping 36 inches out with that rucksack strapped to your legs! ) heavy winds also cause twists, and just jumping sometimes will cause it to twist as you exit the bird. Not a biggie at all, it's not a malfunction and it's easily corrected. Almost everyone gets twists when they jump.

[rjohnstone]

HALO jumps are some serious shit.
I hear that some guys will hit upwards of a 200+ MPH in free fall.

[rjohnstone]

Wasn't the rigger. Twisted risers happen because of weak exits (like mine today...try jumping 36 inches out with that rucksack strapped to your legs! ) heavy winds also cause twists, and just jumping sometimes will cause it to twist as you exit the bird. Not a biggie at all, it's not a malfunction and it's easily corrected. Almost everyone gets twists when they jump.

I've only had 3 jumps, so I guess I was lucky.
No line issues on any of them, just the one run in with a wicked down draft.
Of course I wasn't dragging nearly a 100lbs of extra shit with me either.
I'm sure if I had stuck with it, I would have run into a few.

[Norton]

Dude, how old are you? You look pretty young.

[DRM]

Dude, how old are you? You look pretty young.

18