Michael Kamen, Band of Brothers Suite 1 (rather than 2)
Drop altitude 1500 feet AGL, time of drop approximately 1200.
WX at 1200, 70/22, DP 44/7, winds N 12, unlimited vis. RH less than 40%
Great weather except for winds.
Today was wacky. Cold this morning, followed by gusty.
I ended up waiting about six hours to get on if for no reason than the plane had problems getting guys out the door, then broke the anchor line cable after the sixth lift (two before mine).
Winds today were unpredictable. I gained canopy control as the last man out (a.k.a. "stick-pusher"), and then dumped air to try to mitigate the winds at altitude. I had some bad oscillations and the winds were such that the canopy would bump steer in descent. I was oscillating at landing bad enough where I was afraid I'd have a hard landing, but had a pretty uneventful right rear parachute landing fall. Probably one of the diciest jumps I've ever done because of the shifting winds. The jumpmaster was looking out the OTHER side of the aircraft due to winds at altitude. The panel markings on the ground (for initiation) were so far off the actual personnel release point that it was literally that far off.
I like being the stick-pusher, though. I had about a 200 meter walk back to the assembly point. Nothing bad about that!
There were parachutes left; had I felt sufficiently froggy I might've asked for another, but today was probably not the day for it. Not after a jump like this one. A little healthy fear is good. It keeps you careful. Oh, and I did remember my six-thousand count today also. Also a good thing.
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