Re: Paratroopers
By: HusTler to All on Fri Aug 04 2023 07:48 pm
Got question for any of you servicemen or someone that knows this stuff. No
w
I'm an old-timer but tonight a saw a youtube video showing the 82nd and 101s
t
Airborn jumping from a C-17. What a site! I had no idea someone could jump f
rom
a Jet. That thing is big! How fast is that thing going when they jump? That thing can be slowed down without falling from the sky? I've been to many airshows but never seen anyone jump from a C-17. Wow! Crazy!
Greetings,
This is an older message from back in August, but I just stumbled on it afer going through some of my message bases. I spent a number of years in the 82nd at Ft. Bragg <sorry, "Ft. Liberty" now, lol> in the 2/504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. As the C-17 Globemaster was just being phased in right around the time I would ETS, I only got to jump the C-17 once. All my other jumps were C-141 Starlifter and C-130 Hercules. As for exit drop speeds, it was determined by aircract. IIRC, C-130 was ~120 to ~130 knots, so C-17 just ~+10 knots from the C-130. If you would like to get a more technical information, information about procedures, etc, google for the "Jumpmaster Student Study Guide", which I'm sure will be on a website for the "Advanced Airborne School" at Ft. Bragg <sorry, "Ft Libery" now, lol> and all that information will be in it, plus probably more than you care to know.
As for airshows, there were a blessing and a curse. I vounteered to fill a chute for the "Dayton International Airshow" as I figured it would be a fun weekend since I'm from that area. I arranged for family and friends to attend the airshow, where I would meet up with them and go home for a at least a day. We would do a jump on Saturday, I would meet up with family and friends, go home for the night, do another jump on Sunday, then fly back to Bragg <Liberty>, well Pope AFB anyway which is right next to Bragg <Libery>. We would jump in hight winds that weekends and many were injured, including myself. In fact, I'm service connected disabled for injury to my left hip on that jump and eventually going to need a hip replacement.
I enjoyed my time with the 82nd, but it wouldn't be without tragedy. The "Greenramp Disaster" that occured at Pope AFB involved my unit. The accident involed an F-16 that collided with a C-130 on final for landing. The falcon driver punched out, turning his F-16 into a projectile that crashed into a C-141 on the tarmac as we were preparing to load for a jump that day. Many injured and 23 fatalities, including a couple good friends. As we had been training intensely for an invasion of Haiti <thats another story> during that period it payed off by everyone on Greenramp instinctively to go into triage mode to take care of the injurned and burned as best as possible using every and any resource available.
Anyway< i didn't mean ot go on a tangent, but just remembering those times, both good and not so. After the Army, I went to a university for a numbery of years, then rejoined the military (Air Force) working in communications.
Hoepfully that gave some insight to your question along with were to find more information. Have a great day!
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