Bush parachutes for 80th birthday [CNN gets it right; AP, NYT and Drudge get it wrong]

CNN ^ | June 13, 2004 | CNN's Elaine Quijano and Jen Yuille

[summer]

Bush parachutes for 80th birthday

Former president plans two jumps Sunday


Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, at the start of his 80th birthday celebration at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- Former President George H.W. Bush plans to jump from a plane -- again. It's all part of this weekend's events celebrating his 80th birthday.

The nation's 41st president will make two parachute jumps in the skies over his presidential library in College Station, Texas, marking the fifth and sixth times the former president has jumped out of a plane.

The first time wasn't his choice. As a young Navy pilot during World War II, Bush had to bail out of his plane after it took enemy fire. The other three jumps occurred after he left the White House.

Earlier this week, Bush told CNN that he wanted to send a message that "just because you're 80, that doesn't mean you can't do fun stuff or interesting things."

The first jump Sunday will be at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. ET) and closed to the media. That tandem jump -- with an experienced jumper attached to him -- is being made so that the second jump will give Bush the five official jumps needed to earn a skydiver's pin.

The second jump, several hours later, will be solo, with Bush pulling his own cord to deploy the chute. Members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team will jump with him to provide assistance if necessary.

[....]

[summer]

First of all, Happy Birthday to our nation's former president, Gov Bush's dad! :)

Now, here's my gripe, which is simply that these news outlets can NOT get a simple set of facts straight. From CNN, which appears to have reported the full facts:

The nation's 41st president will make two parachute jumps ...

Then I found the NYT, AP and Drudge couldn't get an article that correctly stated the former president would make TWO jumps, the 2nd one being a solo jump. The AP article, now posted on the NYT and elsewhere, reported it as only one jump:

Ex-President Bush Plans Birthday Skydive

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: June 13, 2004

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Former president George H.W. Bush made his first parachute jump as a Navy pilot shot down over the Pacific during World War II. On Sunday, he will do it for fun, celebrating his 80th birthday by parachuting from an airplane flying 13,000 feet over his presidential library in a reprise of a stunt he made when he turned 75.

``The view is really unbelievable,'' Bush said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. ``It's really hard to describe. The most tranquil part, for me the most wonderful part, is when you're floating alone down to earth. It's total quiet ... peace, total peace.''

Well, not total peace. An Army parachute team will accompany the 41st president and capture the moment on film.

The jump caps two days of festivities.....

One such jump for any 80 year old is quite a story, but TWO jumps -- well, that's even more incredible!

[summer]

FYI.

[MEG33]

Only minutes until the jump...Brit jumped with someone and is now down and reporting....

[Bob]

His second jump was planned to be a solo jump (which required him to do the earlier tandem jump). By the time of the second jump, though, winds at altitude were too strong to permit it and he had to make that one as a tandem jump also.

[gorush]

By law (FAA), one must make 5 static line jumps before soloing. You must not come w/in 1000 feet of a cloud for visibilty to other aircraft concerns (this was/is an often broken law...clouds are cool (in both senses of the word and damp on your earthward side). Novices must open their chutes above 3000 ft AGL.

[summer]

That's OK - but these news outlets were only reporting one jump to begin with (except for CNN). Thanks for the update though. :)

[Robert Warren Linville]

I wonder if kerry will have enough courage to try a jump ? after all he was in vietnam wasn't he, while he's at it why not invite hillary as well ( snicker )

[NicknamedBob]

"I wonder if kerry will have enough courage to try a jump? (And Hillary)"

Many people would volunteer to pack the parachutes for Kerry and Hillary.
I would be willing to donate any help they would require, and any ballast necessary.

[deport]

The first jump was a tamdem jump this morning.. It was planned he'd make a solo this afternoon.... But the winds at the jump level were too strong so it was a tandem jump again.......

[Indie]

I wonder if kerry will have enough courage to try a jump ? after all he was in vietnam wasn't he?

Kerry was in Vietnam?

[sorry...lol]

[mikrofon]

Dated joke, but your post brought it to mind...
___________

An airplane was about to crash, and there were 5 passengers left, but only 4 parachutes.

The first passenger, Bill Clinton said "I am president of the United States, and I have a great responsibility, being the leader of nearly 300 million people, and a superpower, etc." So he takes the first parachute, and jumps out of the plane.

The second passenger, said "I'm Antoine Walker, one the best NBA Basketball players, and the Boston Celtics need me, so I can't afford to die." So he takes the second parachute, and leaves the plane.

The third passenger, Hillary Clinton, said "I am the wife of the President of the United States, a soon to be New York Senator, and I am the smartest woman in the world." So she takes the third parachute and exits the plane.

The fourth passenger, Pope John Paul the second, says to the fifth passenger, a 10-year old boy scout "I am old and frail and I don't have many years left, so as a Christian gesture and good deed, I will sacrifice my life and let you take the last parachute."

The boy scout said "It's okay! There's a parachute left for you. The 'world's smartest woman' took my BACKPACK."

[NYCVirago]

The nation's 41st president will make two parachute jumps in the skies over his presidential library in College Station, Texas, marking the fifth and sixth times the former president has jumped out of a plane.

I think the numbers are incorrect. I thought the reason for the two jumps today was that he'd get some pin if he did five jumps. At least that's what the WaPost is reporting.

[OldFriend]

Expect Kerry to try an Evil Knivel trick and jump his motorcylce over some cars.......maybe we can convince him to try to jump from the American side to the canadian side of Niagara Falls.

[Republican Red]

Fox went live for about an hour with the jump. They were reporting from the start on two jumps. There was so much time to fill in between Brit's jump and President Bush's jump that they repeated it many times.

They also had coverage of the ceremony were Bush 41 got a jumping certificate and some sort of medal. You only get this after successfully completing 5 jumps (any kind).

I tuned on CNN and they had a shot of Bush 41 after his jump standing with Chuck Norris and Brit Hume. They refused to say Brit's name. They identified him as a correspondent from another network. No jealousy at CNN. LOL

[Hermes37]

not to nit-pick , but,,,

DISCLAIMER, I have been on the ground for over a year, but the basics can not have changed too much.
I am not now and never have been a 'jumpmaster'.
I decided to concentrate on teaching people to "FLY" after they had been trained to 'jump'.
It takes between 50-100 jumps for most people to BEGIN to become proficient at freefall with others in formation!

The FAA and skydiving have an unusual relationship.
There is no 'law' requiring 5 static line jumps before a solo.
A static line jump _IS_ a solo jump!!!
Sr. has not done any static line jumps as far as I know.
He has done tandem, AFF, and made solo landings!

Skydiving in the USA is 'sheparded' by United States Parachute Association (USPA). It is _JUST_ a club, and there is no FAA requirement that a skydiver be a member.
The FAA does recognise USPA 'licence' as a measure of proficiency and it _IS_ the way to go, but not law.
USPA membership mainly provides liability INSURANCE!!!
Most drop zones in the USA are USPA members and require membership.

There are 2-3 common ways to learn to skydive.

The 'old fashioned' way is static line.
The pilot chute is attached to the plane by a 'static line' and the chute deploys when the jumper seperates from the plane. This is IMneverHO the hardest way to learn. This requires you to teach self how to fly. After a static line student has made 1-2 _STABLE_ exits with the static line, they are then cleared for practice ripcord pulls (PRCP). After 3-5 _good_ PRCP's the student is cleared for freefall. The freefall is lengthened for longer freefall as the student progresses. The only external feedback on the flight portion of the jump is provided by the jumpmaster who is still in the plane. (I started with 2 static line jumps)
The process begins at 3500 feet AGL and goes up as skill progresses. A static line jumpmaster need not have ANY freefall skills to do their training.

The next advance in training was 'Accelerated Free Fall'(AFF)

A student and two experienced AFF jumpmasters exit the plane with the student at 'altitude'. The jumpmasters have the student's harness in hand, but the student is free to maneuver with arms and legs.

During the first jump the student does a 'circle of awareness', 3 PRCP's, signals awareness/passage of 5,500 feet, and actually deploys their own chute at or above 3500 feet.

Each AFF jump has Targeted Learning Objectives (TLO's)
When a student has successfully completed a level 3 jump, the remaining jumps are done with only one AFF jumpmaster.
It is possible though not too common to be cleared for solo freefall in 7 AFF jumps.

An AFF jumpmaster _IS_ required to have EXCELLENT freefall skills. 500 or 1000 jumps(i forget) to qualify for tryouts! It is one of the hardest things to accomplish in the sport. Only 60-80% of AFF jumpmasters get qualified in their first try. The eval dives can make grown men cry and the pressure is intense. The evaluators go out of their way to ruin the dive! AFF is the most expensive as the labor requirements are highest.

The newest way to learn to skydive is tandem progression.
Some jumps are made strapped on the front of an experienced tandem master, and the TLO's are met that way. At some point they must transition to either AFF level (x) depending on student or static line type of progressive delays.

Regardless, when a person has 20 stable freefalls they can jump with other qualified skydivers and are qualified for a USPA "A" license or equivalent. (novice)
They need not get the license, just be qualified for it.
Many skydivers skip one or more mid level licenses. (I did to use the license money to jump with)

All student parachute rigs contain an Automatic Activation Device (AAD) to open the reserve in the event the jumper fails to. It is an electric altimeter (barometer) that cuts the reserve container open with a pyrotechnic charge if the jumper passes a preset altitude AT OR ABOVE A CERTAIN RATE OF DECENT. It must _NOT_ fire when a jumper with a good chute passes the same altitude at a normal parachute rate of decent. (2 parachutes open not good)

AAD's are not required for experienced jumpers, but are becoming the norm. Helmets are not required, but are the norm. An altimiter is NOT required. I knew a guy that used only his eyes, claiming he had 2 altimiters.
He met his demise jumpin, but not an altitude awareness issue. (RIP Joe Leeth)

The one thing the FAA _IS_ involved in is the gear!!!
Each parachute 'container' must be FAA approved.
Each reserve parachute must be FAA approved.
Each 'intentional' parachutist must have an FAA approved reserve parachute and container.
The reserve must be inspected and (re)packed by a certificated rigger within the last 120 days.
Students must have an AAD equipped rig.
Parachutist can jump with a bedsheet for a main if they want, as long as they have an approved reserve and container.

FAA stipulates minimum opening altitude at or above 2500 feet, 2000' for experts. It is up to the DZ operator and/or peer pressure to enforce the minimum opening.
Low pulls happen, why waste freefall!
:-)

FYI,
I have 1500+ jumps since 1986.
I have USPA expert license D-12256. (also PRO qualified)
Former member of Georgia Eagles parachute demonstration team.
The Georgia Eagles jump at the Neighbor Day anually at PDK in Atlanta (Chambodia). They also jump every Flag Day in Elberton GA.
The Elberton gig is political, and conservative!!!
I once did a 'stadium demo' in Newnan GA on the 4th of July where Newt Gingrich was speaking! (in the late 80's)
I live in Illinois now though...
I am still an FAA certificated parachute rigger.
('PYW' is my parachute rig seal symbol)
I worked as a 'load organizer' at the World FreeFall convention for 5+ years.

(see http://www.freefall.com/load_whois.htm#JanFinegan)
(so much for anynonimity)

Pssssst... HEY KID, Wanna get hypoxia???

jumpinJan

P.S. I became a conservative while jumpin as I HAD to be responsible for my own actions. (I'm even my own rigger :-)

[gorush]

D-7166, SCR8604, FFB-693, SCS4429

[gorush]

...and, yes, I AM getting old.

[mathluv]

Fox got it right, and carried it live.

[El Gato]

some sort of medal. It's a qualification badge, not a medal. Of course his does have a combat jump device, for his WW-II jump from his shot up Avenger torpedo plane.

At one point GHWB was the youngest carrier qualified pilot in the Navy.

[Paulus Invictus]

George Bush's most important jump was his first. In WW II, his plane was shot up and he was able to guide it away from the island of Chichi Jima where he and his fellow pilots had attacked the nearly impregnable radio facilities the Nips had there. Heavy and accuraate AA fire shot down a number of our guys, some of whom were captured. Bush was lucky as he was rescued by a US submarine. His captured friends were not so lucky. When the nearby island of Iwo Jima fell to the Marines, The Nip commander of Chichi Jima ordered all the US prisoners killed and parts of their bodies cut out and eaten by these barbarians. I will never forget the atrocities of the Japs, but they are now virtually forgotten or unknown to Americans. For a good read of the matter, try "Fly Boys" by Bradley.