The Round Canopy Parachuting Team Basic Parachuting Course isn’t just for prior military. There were a lot of individuals in my class with varying lengths of military experience, but there were also plenty of civilians. Quite a few people were getting qualified in hopes of doing the jump at the 82nd anniversary of Operation Overlord in June. That jump is certainly in my future plans, but it’s not happening this year for me.
One of the biggest features of the BPC was endless Parachute Landing Falls (PLFs). For those unfamiliar, a PLF is a way to spread out the impact of landing across your body, so that you aren’t just slamming into the ground with your feet (tried that option – 0/10 do not recommend). The SF-10A parachute we used was designed for Special Operations and as a result is a lot more maneuverable than a standard military parachute, but still not nearly as soft-landing as a civilian sport chute. In a proper PLF, you hit the balls of your feet, calves, thighs, butt, and “pull up muscle” – your lat. It takes a lot of practice to land correctly, so a significant amount of time gets spent in the sand pit working on that piece. It’s repetitive and painful until you get it down, but the instructors are there to give feedback and get you where you need to go.
During the ground school portion, we also dedicated blocks of time to emergency and aircraft procedures. We learned which emergencies could be fixed and which required the use of the reserve parachute. We got dragged across the ground by our harnesses to practice the riser releases. We hung in the suspension trainer to practice flying the canopy. We used mock and actual aircraft to walk through every step inside the airplane from boarding to exit, with instructors working through every command. We learned each airframe one at a time (we jumped two separate airframes). And we learned to expect a sudden “jumpers, hit it!” signifying that we were to immediately execute our jump procedures from exit to landing.
We were drinking from a firehose, but the instructors excelled at keeping the flow to a manageable volume.
By day three, we were geared up and waiting for the fog to clear so we could jump. Our first jumps were three jumpers at a time out of the back of a Cessna 208 Caravan. I was number one jumper on all three sticks, which meant I was riding in the door once we got on approach to the drop. That’s an experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve ridden in the door of a Blackhawk before, but it’s been a long time and it wasn’t quite the same. You don’t jump out of a Caravan. You push yourself out like you’re pushing yourself off from being seated on a park bench. At 90 miles an hour.
For our first jumps, we had radios that allowed jumpmasters to talk us through flying the canopy. That was really helpful for learning how to read the wind and setting up for our first real-world landings. Now, my first landing was far from what one might call an ideal PLF, but as gravity would have it, I did land. I even walked away. And as they say in flying circles – “any landing you can walk away from….” Jump days are a little more chaotic than ground days, just because the jumpmasters are trying to maximize the number of students they can safely cycle through the airframe. Planes cost money and weather is fickle, so schedules are tight, especially when you’re only lifting six jumpers at a time. But as with the rest of the course, the jumpmasters got it done and got it done well.
On day four, the star arrived. The Tico Belle, an 85-year-old C-47 that actually flew in the invasion of Normandy, was our jump platform. I’m not entirely sure I can put into words what it’s like jumping from a plane like that. I think you really have to feel it to understand. But it stirs something in you to realize you’re sitting exactly where paratroopers like those chronicled in Band of Brothers sat 82 years ago. From a practical standpoint, jumping the C-47 is a lot more fun. You’re standing and jumping out the door, not scootching off a bench, so it does seem more natural. It’s also sticks of 10 jumpers at a time (20 per lift), so it just moves faster. Now, the other side to that is that instead of having nice open skies with only three jumpers to fly around in, there are more obstacles. You need to be very intentional about your flying and watch out for your fellow jumpers. On top of the number of jumpers, I’m a heavy guy, so I have a tendency to catch up to lighter jumpers who exit before me. Lots to think about, but still plenty of time to enjoy the peace of flying the canopy.
I did two jumps from Tico Belle to complete my five required jumps, then did an extra jump so I could capture some footage (you’re not allowed to jump cameras while a student). Since I was still feeling the landing from my first jump and I had a Norwegian Foot March to complete the next week, I decided to call it a day and see if there were places I could help out.
On day five, straphangers were actively jumping. I decided to sleep in a bit, then go in and see if I could help out or set up for the banquet that night. When there are that many moving parts, there is almost always a place to find something to do. On Saturday evening, we had an excellent banquet honoring all the members who helped set up and run the course, awarded wings to new jumpers and jumpmasters, and heard a very grateful speech from Mr. Noble, with his father (one of the WWII veterans) attending via Zoom. All in all, it was an outstanding week that really captured every element of the RCPT purpose.
Stay tuned for Part 3!
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