Twelve years on Jump status.

Thought I might list here with pics all the different aircraft I jumped during my 11 1/2 years in the active Army and 1 in the reserve (over 12 years on jump status). I had exactly 100 military jumps.

C-141 Starlifter. My first jump from one was at Ft. Benning GA during jump school. That one was from the original shorter version. AOL Image Search results for "C-141 history and pictures". The aircraft was still in wide service when I was a Jumpmaster. The C-141 had an air deflector that extended out in front of the jump doors. It made it hard for the jumpmaster to visually spot for the jump.

C-130 Hercules. I jumped this aircraft more than any other including my first jump at Jump School. I jumped and jumpmastered drops from both the side troop doors and the ramp of this aircraft. Several of the jumps were from the special operations MC-130 version. Troops only jumped from the Ramp of the MC-130 and it was quite a ride. They would fly "nap of the earth" at 200 ft. AGL and then pull up hard and we would get the green light to jump just as they reached 800'. You really had to be in shape wearing 200 lbs of parachute, rucksack, etc. to stay on your feet when they did that hard pull up because the "G" forces would try to smash you down. Here is what it looks like from the ramp looking out. with troops jumping Me jumping in Jordan pictures from military photos on webshots (not actually "me' just the name of the photo)
Here is one of paratroops "hot loading" (getting on with the engines running) a C-130. Air National Guard - Photos. As you approach the aircraft you can smell the fuel and exhaust from the engines. I always loved that smell. Looking into the aircraft on a hot day the air conditioning vents would be blowing a fog down into the cargo deck area giving it all a kind of mystical feeling as you lugged your heavily loaded butt into the aircraft. When you were jumping a whole load of troopers with full combat equipment anyone needing to go forward or aft on the aircraft would have to walk on top of the rucksacks of the sitting troopers.

Had one jump from the C-7 Caribohttp://www.1stcavmedic.com/glossary-files/c-7-caribou-lg.jpg

Had 4 jumps from the ramp of C-123 Providers.
My first jump as an SF soldier at my new group was a ramp jump, at night when it was below zero, with full combat equipment and snow skies, onto Turner DZ, at Ft. Devens. MA. You just haven't lived until you try something like that.

My most unusual jump was from an OV-10 Bronco. Three of us, sitting between each others legs in the small cargo compartment of the rear of the aircraft. It just pulled up and dumped us out. Not many paratroopers out there ever logged a jump from this aircraft.

Italian Fiat G-222.
I made one jump from this aircraft using an Italian Army parachute. It was during 'Muflone" the special operations exercise in Italy and it was an infiltration jump for the exercise and a night jump. We used Italian parachutes. The Italians dropped us 20 kilometers from our DZ. I came down in an Italian pig farm on a very black night. I could smell the pigs before I could see them as I descended.

C-160 Transall. C-160 Transall Cargo Aircraft Tactical Transport Aircraft Air Force Technology This was the primary troop transport for the Germans. I had 5 jumps from this aircraft using German parachutes when I attended German Jump School. I had two partial malfunctions jumping their equipment, the only parachute malfunctions I ever had in all my military jumps. Both malfunctions were line overs also known as a Mae West. In both cases after looking around and gauging my rate of decent against the other jumpers around me I decided to ride the chute in without deploying my reserve. It is also the only time I ever had to run off the top of the chute of another jumper.

CH-47 Chinook America's "Happy Hooker," the CH-47 Chinook. I had about 4 jumps from this heavy lift helicopter.

CH-53 . I made one jump from the Air Force special operations version of the CH-53 known as a Pavelow. Air Force Link - Fact Sheet Media


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