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THE BATTALION
TUESDAY. APRIL 11. 1978
Jumpers get their club off the ground
By KYLE CREWS
“Feed out!” The nervous Aggie
sits apprehensively at the open door
of the small airplane 2,800 feet
above ground level.
“Get out!” The confident jump-
master urges the student to step
onto a narrow metal step outside the
plane and hold on to the strut of the
wing with his right hand.
“Go!” The command is given to
jump away from the airplane and
the novice parachutist begins his re
turn to earth at 16 feet per second.
This scene is reenacted several
times a month at the American
Parachute Center in Gatesville,
Texas. Located at the city’s munici
pal airport, the Center provides the
necessary training for anyone in
terested in participating in the sport
of parachuting.
David Reganthal is the owner of
the Center and is a licensed instruc
tor for the United States Parachute
Association. His job is to instill the
knowledge and confidence that is
essential to the beginning
parachutist.
The school is housed in a con-
It’s ‘frightening as hell, ” says Aggie who tried
verted metal airplane hanger. In- least five of the static-line jumps be- need to know prior to making their activitates a gas cartiridge if the per
verted metal airplane hanger. In
side the building are several long
tables used for packing chutes and a
dozen folding chairs grouped
around a blackboard.
There also is a wooden mock-up
of an airplane in the hanger that is
used to demonstrate the proper
procedure for jumping from the
plane. Two parachute harnesses are
suspended from the ceiling. They
are used toward the end of ground
training to familiarize students with
how to get out of planes in an
emergency.
The Texas A&M Sport Parachute
Club, an organization which was re-
cendy re-instated as an official uni
versity organization, provides in
terested students with a means of
learning more about the sport.
There are presently 42 members in
the club.
Weather permitting, club mem
bers and other parachute
enthusiasts utilize the Gatesville
facility every weekend in an effort to
perfect their skills at static-line
jumps and free falls.
“Students are required to make at
least five of the static-line jumps be
fore progressing to free falls,” Re
ganthal said. “They also leam how
to pack their own chutes after they
are cleared for free fall.”
Static-line refers to the 12-foot
nylon webbing that automatically
opens the parachute pack and pulls
the chute out. While in this stage of
their training, students .use
parachutes that are packed by rig
gers who are certified by the U.S.
Parachute Association.
Inexperienced jumpers are re
quired to have a radio receiver
strapped to the top of their reserve
parachutes. Reganthal said he re
quires his students to be equipped
with radios on at least their first
three jumps so he has a means of
communicating with them during
their descent. By following the
instructions, students can be cor
rected immediately if they make an
error in navigating their parachutes.
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An average class at the Gatesville
school consists of approximately
eight students. They are instructed
on the morning of their first jump in
four major areas: canopy control,
aircraft procedures, malfunctions
and emergency procedures.
Students are given a written exam
at the end of their ground training
which they must pass before they
are allowed to make their first jump.
They are also required to sign a
statement which says that they feel
that they have been adequately
trained and know everything they
need to know prior to making their
first jump. This serves as a means
for releasing the school from liability
in the event of an injury or fatality
incurred during a jump.
There were four injuries reported
at Gatesville in the past year. Re
ganthal said that most of these in
juries were the result of students
not following training instructions.
The most serious of the injuries
occurred Oct. 30, 1977, when
David Slater suffered burns over 35
percent of his body when he became
hung on a high-voltage power line
near the drop site.
Slater, a Texas A&M sophomore
finance major from Dallas, spent the
better portion of the following
months hospitalized for injuries.
Jim Slater, brother of the accident
victim, said that the younger Slater
is recovering from the injuries but
that he is still badly scarred.
Reganthal said the most common
failure in the parachuting equip
ment is referred to as pack dis
closure. This term is used when the
main chute does not open properly.
When this occurs, students are
taught how to activate their reserve
parachutes.
“It kind of feels like you hit a
brick wall when the chute opens,
but it is better than doing a
P.L.F.(parachute landing fall) at 120
mph,” Reganthal said.
The reserve chute is equipped
with a device that opens it automati
cally by means of an altimeter that
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University Center
Scheduling Notice
■ •
Applications for Meeting Rooms in the Uni
versity Center Complex for recognized stu
dent organizations, clubs, and governing
bodies will be accepted for the 1978 Fall
Semester (Aug 28-Dec 15) in the Scheduling
Office, 2nd floor, Rudder Tower beginning at
8 a.m., Monday, April 17, 1978. Application
forms may be obtained in the Scheduling
Office.
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activitates a gas cartiridge if the per
son begins falling too fast for too
long a period of time.
Jack Shanklin and Ken Bost are
among eight Texas A&M students
trained recently in Gatesville.
“Jumping out of the airplane was
frightening as hell,” Shanklin said.
“I think that the training program
they have is adequate, but it is kind
of hard to get everything down in
one easy lesson. My mind kept
wandering and I kept thinking about
what it would feel like to jump from
a plane.”
Bost said that the feeling of falling
through the air was hard to describe
but that he definitely enjoyed it and
wanted to jump again.
“I feel that the training was
adequate for someone’s first jump,”
Bost said.
Perry Dillon, president of the
Texas A&M Sport Parachute Club,
said that since they are now a recog
nized student organization they
would apply for approximately
$2,000 of MSC Bookstore funds.
Jerry B. Mainord, residence area
coordinator for the office of Student
Affairs, is a member of the Student
Organization Board which granted
recognition to the Sport Parachute
Club.
“I voted to recognize them be
cause I felt that they met the re
quired safety requirements for a
parachuting organization,” Mainord
said. “They have qualified personnel
teaching the sport and their equip
ment meets the necessary require
ments. Our policy is that when a
group of students desire an organi
zation to promote their interest and
there is no organization in existence
to duplicate its activities, then we
give it an okay.”
Mainord said that there was some
concern among the board members
regarding the safety of the sport but
they were later convinced that the
group would comply with all possi
ble safety procedures.
Col. Logan E. Weston, reli
gious life coordinator at Texas
A&M, is another member of the
This scene is re-enacted several times a month by the Tei,
A&M sport parachute club of the American Parachiil:
Center in Gatesville, Texas. Located at the city’s munici
airport, the Center provides the necessary training for any
interested in participating in the sport of parachuting.
Student Organization Board who
voted for the recognition of the
Sport Parachute Club.
Weston said he was satisfied
that the group would comply with
the approved safety regulations.
Weston has participated in 995
successful parachute jumps during
his career as an officer in the United
States Army. He broke his back on
the 996th jump.
“It was my own stupidity that
caused the accident,” Weston said.
“I should have prepared a better
landing position but I was too busy
avoiding obstacles such as the
pointed roof of a pagoda and a ca
nal.”
His accident occurred in
Bangkok, Thailand, while doing an
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Clan
5 pei
whicl
exhibition jump for the king of
land.
“I think parachuting is ag
challenging sport,” he said,
thrill to conquer the unnatunl
to be able to maneuver yourd
after jumping.”
Weston said that parachu
came a popular means of in
enemy territory towards theej
World War II.
He commanded a regime!]
airborne Green Berets
Laos and Vietnam from 195S|j
1961.
“As long as you follow safetl^jq [
cautions and regulations, panBpor !
ing is safer than driving a car
the road,” Weston said.
vision,
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SEATTLE — Dog owners)
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Hurse,
says.
T. Mark Stover, a hunJP lr
ehologist who became intereij A j- tp
the canine psyche eight yearBi
said last weekend that there L ^ 0I
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said.
One common mistake!)
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HOSPITALITY
COMMITTEE
INTERVIEWS
Being held in MSC
Rm 216 L&M
Tues. AND Wed
There will be a general inform
meeting in Room 350 MSC.Ap
at 7:30 p.m.
April 18,
8:00-11:00 a.m. _
2:00-5:00 p.m. f,
Battalion
Classified
Call 845-26H