Decades ago I photographed a WWII fighter pilot’s reunion in Colorado Springs. Most of the pilots flew the Mustang and the P-47; all of them preferred the 47, which surprised me.
In chatting, they said the 51 was too sensitive to hits, the 47 would get you home. Another pilot said that in his year in Europe, he never saw one Luftwaffe aircraft that he could fight. By the time he saw one, there were several US guys on his tail. Then he hears about one pilot getting five kills in one day; which frustrated him!
07/03/2025 2:42:54 PM PDT
· 26 of 32 Loud Mime
to MinorityRepublican
NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on the games he was officiating. I worked in the sport a bit; one other official said Donaghy didn’t affect the outcomes of games, just the point spreads.
I am a former Jumpmaster and Instructor. On takeoff, all the jumpers move as far forward as possible. I have never seen them do anything else.
This crash may have been due to contaminated fuel, overloading, or some other failure, such as improper flap settings. They’ll find out. I highly doubt if any of the jumpers moved around and changed the center of gravity.
One of my friends was killed in the Golden Knights jump many years ago. I heard that the weight transfers had something to do with that.
There is nothing like freefall work. I loved exiting last, then having to dive to catch up with the other jumpers. In a dive one can exceed 200 mph...flying like superman. You cannot beat that thrill.....except for today’s wing suits. WOW!
One of my old jumps, the pilot aborted his takeoff, I had not seen so many helmets go on so fast.
Old skydivers like me have too many stories. I’m very happy I did it.