News crew gets too close to a Grumman Tracker

ZRX61, Hi,
We’re not talking about Gott el Afrag, or other delectable places in Area F in Libya, are we? Sounds suspiciously like it to me? There was a lot of bundoo in those parts!!
Resmoroh

Nope, middle of Edwards AFB actually 🙂

I was back at base one day & walked into the ‘chute tower where they sorted out the big chutes for packing after they’d been used & bought home.
I noticed a rather impressive collection of sticks, baseball bats, 2x4s & shovels etc lining the wall. I asked what that was all about & was told “sometimes the chutes rattle”:confused:

Found out what they were refering to at the drop zone a few weeks later. When a chute was being bundled up & stuffed back in the bag one of the guys put a rattlesnake in with it…:cool:

Def a DC-6 or DC-7.

Maybe twas one of those rare radial engined P-3’s through 😉

I should have watched with my ears rather than eyes.. Large piston aircraft….

Looks like a DC7 or possibly a DC6 to me
G-ANPK

That didn’t look or sound like a P3 to me, more like a big Doug. Look at the wing span & listen to those round engines:cool:

ZRX61, Hi,
We’re not talking about Gott el Afrag, or other delectable places in Area F in Libya, are we? Sounds suspiciously like it to me? There was a lot of bundoo in those parts!!
In UK (and elsewhere) me (the Met Man) and the DZ Safety Officer would stand at the IP and wait for the “stuff” to come down. The Paras rolled up their chutes and then walked to the IP counting their paces. When they got there the DZSO ticked them off on his safety sheet, and I noted their bearing and distance in yards. I then when back to the ranch and worked out what the Mean Equivalent Drop Wind had been. Then I compared it with what the Aircrews had been given by the Met Office(s) from the Mounting Base(s) – sneaky, Heh?!!
But I have to tell you that at 0300 in the morning, a big dollop of Para Stew was the only thing that kept you going! For those of you not acquainted with Para Stew it is (a) eatable whilst warm (not hot, please note!!), (b) can be moulded, when cool/cold, into a putty that will keep icy blasts out of a decrepit tin hut on Salisbury Plain on a mid-December night, and (c) – if all else fails – can be sawn into chunks and thrown at the ‘enemy’. A VERY LARGE RC Padre, who had dropped with his ‘boys’ one night, was of the opinion that throwing chunks of cold Para Stew at the enemy might, possibly, be outlawed under the Geneva Convention!!
HTH
Resmoroh

The safest places on a Para DZ are the centre Impact Points (IP) – the Alpha (for personnel), or the Juliet (for stores)! In 5 years recording (and subsequently researching) drops and drop winds I never knew anyone/anything actually hit the IP! Although some came bl***y close!
HTH
Resmoroh

Back in the day when we did night drops in the desert we’d set up the lights etc & then fire up the BBQ at the IP & settle down for the night. It was the safest place for miles..
The only “near miss” we had was the night one of the guys was recycling some beer into a bush away from the IP when his stream was interupted by a pallet of 55gal barrels full of water landing right in front of him.
That got his attention, he face was so white when he came running back he just about glowed in the dark:D

P3 it is

Thanks Zoot horn. Had a quick look again and it is a P3!

I know the Tracker flew past later but surely it was a P-3 that did the initial drop?

The safest places on a Para DZ are the centre Impact Points (IP) – the Alpha (for personnel), or the Juliet (for stores)! In 5 years recording (and subsequently researching) drops and drop winds I never knew anyone/anything actually hit the IP! Although some came bl***y close!
HTH
Resmoroh

Looks like they got their story!!!:D
Reminds me of the movie “Always” Have to rent that one and watch it again. Lots of great A/C shots.