Jumping at Casa Grande

Absolutely right, Zing. It was Tommy Willsey. A great family, with about four functioning brain cells between them.

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I think you mean the Willsey Brothers ... Tommy, Jerry and John Boy, aka The Whiskey Brothers.
I think it was Tommy who had a toe transplanted to replace a thumb. I remember seeing photos of the operation around Ghoulidge after the Gulch was shut down.
Somewhere, I've got a copy of the Enquirer photos of Cartwright going in. The last photo is a cloud of dust at impact, not far from the palm tree in the next to last shot.

Yep, Hod was on that load. He was pretty shook afterward...he really liked Dave.

I was driving home from the Gulch when I heard the news on the radio. I immediately turned around and drove back. I tried to find Bob Iverson to tell him; he was in a van with Suzie Natoli (I think...a real cutie!) and wasn't happy that I interrupted him. Told him the news, and shortly afterward, Larson called to tell us. They jumped in about 45 minutes later...pretty shook up, and barely got a 4-way together.

The funny thing was Cartwright had pulled high (about 4 grand, if I heard right) because he wanted to fly the Paraplane around for show. The week before when he jumped it for the first time, he'd attached it backwards, and had to flare looking over his shoulder.

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No, Dave Cartwright was killed doing a demo for a health club opening in NW Phoenix.

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Hod Sanders told me a story of a load he was on, doing a demo into a Health Club in Arizona. When they got on the ground he found out one of his pals had gone in. So, I'll bet this was the same guy. The year was probably around 75. He and B.J. were jumping at the Gulch then....

Hey Skratch,

Didn't you have kind of a mobile rigger van? I remember you and Strange Dave Casehagen (sp?) doing a lot of the rigging during that time.

That was indeed a great time to be at the Gulch. The birth of the USFET, and some of the best people to be around.

I funnelled a 16-way (although I think it was Bunky's fault); if that wasn't bad enough, I bought two cases of Budweiser for my penitance. I was almost lynched for not buying Coors!

If Shafe is still alive, he's probably CEO of Enron or something. The guy had charisma!

I hear Bullet Bob is still around. He was a true Sky God...although he swore he'd never jump a square canopy.
Steve1, thanks for the encouragement. I'll check out the local DZs. Next time you see Hod, ask him if he ever kept track of Linda. (Don't ask him if his wife's around.)

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> everyone wanted to go to Casa Grande

In 1975 I was living in Los Angeles and driving
every weekend to Casa Grande because I thought
that was the best, most inspiring skydiving in the world.

It was the jumps, the people, the vibes.

It was also a 1,000 mile round trip, so the week got
really shortened, like down to about Wednesday,
because you had to start getting ready on Thursday
so you could drive over on Friday, and after the
first weekend I gave up trying to leave early on
Sunday, so I would pull in to LA at about 6:00 on
Monday morning, and it would take till Tuesday
to start recovering, and then you had to do your
whole week on Wednesday because tomorrow
is Thursday and it's time to start getting ready
for the weekend.

It was wonderful!

Skr

It's kinda crazy to read all these story. I actually jump out at Casa Grande now, there is a new operation out there with a Cessna. I'm still a baby in the sport, and well at 21 i guess at life too, so I some times have that typical "nothing existed before me" thought process. Never knew Casa was home to skydivers before us. Great to hear it used to be a skydiving mecca, good juju for me! Lets just hope the BSBD doesn't follow

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It's kinda crazy to read all these story. I actually jump out at Casa Grande now, there is a new operation out there with a Cessna. I'm still a baby in the sport, and well at 21 i guess at life too, so I some times have that typical "nothing existed before me" thought process. Never knew Casa was home to skydivers before us. Great to hear it used to be a skydiving mecca, good juju for me! Lets just hope the BSBD doesn't follow

Honey,

Mecca wasn't the word for it. It was more like a concept; an ideal. Revel in the knowledge you glean of those ebulient times. They will buoy your spirits. They can feed your soul.

BSBD!

jon

Hey Frank,
That just might be me in the background. My guess it was taken at Ft Carson way back in the day.
Corky

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Didn't you have kind of a mobile rigger van? I remember you and Strange Dave Casehagen (sp?) doing a lot of the rigging during that time.

Strange Dave had the Bookmobile, a converted former mobile library in which he'd do his rigging. Strange is still rigging, now working at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, NM. Pic attached of him back in the mid-80's. Still looks the same.

A pic, too, of the Gulch jumper pick-up truck stenciling on the door.

Corky that is you in the background, for sure. Most likely, as you said, taken at Ft. Carson "back in the day".
It has been a long time. Hope you're well

Just want to let y'all know. Doug Iverson is alive and well.
Still a wild man just doesn't jump anymore.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e108/rockingM/IverDeath.jpg

Bob Taylor, Keith Butler, Barry Brooks, and Doug Iverson.

Wow! I just stumbled upon this website and was flooded with a string of memories about the Casa Gulch days. What a blast from the past!

Lots of families were involved - - Bob and Jeff Taylor. The Inverson brothers Doug, Greg and Bob. The Farnsworth boys from Canada were also there, as well as the Wilkies. (BTW, Tommy lost his thumb from a firecracker as a kid. A hospital in Tucson did some experimental surgery on him by rotating his forefinger to become an opposing digit. Amazing stuff! Tommy was so proud of it.)

More info for the readers: Dave Cartwright's malfunction was due to his pilot chute hanging up on the smoke bracket taped to his shoe during a demo jump in Phoenix. The rally cry exiting the beechcraft was "Blue Skies, Black Death!" The first hand deployed pilot chute in the tandem pack was tested at the Gulch; Jerry Bird's team was outfitted with the new sleek gear design. Oh, I could go on for hours about this stuff - - lots of good, clean fun in those days. I hope everyone is doing well these days...

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In the old days everyone wanted to go to Casa Grande or Elsinore to jump. I had a lot of friends who headed to Casa Grande. I'm just wondering what happened to that jump center. Today Eloy is the hot spot, but I was just wondering if anyone remembers the history of what happened to Casa Grande. Steve1

Hi Steve,
"Remember the history of>>>>The Gulch!!!?" "Thoze were the daze my friend, I thought they'd never end>>[and the song plays on]!!! March '73 "The First 'Chute Out' at the Gulch!" 10-MAN Speed Star meet. I think there was 15 teams. I was on the "Otay Bunch" from Sandy Eggo. We did 2 jumps from Beech 18's and 2 from a DC-3. Sat night, the band in the hanger, 2 characters go up and do a night jump and 'bout bounce thru the roof but pull off the low pull and land in front of the open hanger door!! I don't remember the order but the top three teams were Hook, Columbine Turkey Farm and the Allstars, I think?? (This was over 30 years ago!!) I was there, did it and I still have the T-shirt in the archives!!! Sun eve after we left to go back to 'Eggo some joker in a Cessna 310 buzzed the place and clipped a telephone pole, cartwheeled and killed his dumb self!! All kinds of good rumors came out of that one, the dead guy was suppose to be a Nark and had like 10 ID's on him to cover his ass!! The only thing he got covered with was dirt!! Anybody else remember any good low down on that one??

PS, 'Got some 35mm print film in the archives from the meet. Gotta dig em out and see if I can get em put on a disc. Stand by for now.

I was at that meet also. A member of Clear-Eye Homegrown. We built a 10-Man Donut Flake for one of our "rounds".

The 310 was flown by George White, rumored to be a DEA agent I thought, but he was just there visiting his girlfriend Debby Z. That's the way I remember it.

We had just stepped out of a van and were gearing up when he buzzed the field. He may have saved my life, because we probably shouldn't have been about to jump.

In regards to the USFET. Charlie "Captain Smooth"" Greenfield, is still around and living in Ray Township between Utica and Romeo Michigan. Vickie married Mike Johnston who is Deland Airport manager . He and Jack Gregory were USPA's first mobile AFF instructor certification examiners.Carl Boenish did parts of I think "SkyDive" there. Charley told us some pretty bizarre stories from there.If anyone wants to get in touch with Chuck I can help

Tom Phillips splattered on the highway just in front of the Casa Gulch town mayor. I was on the load. It was mainly the Elsinore A-1 Downers group who ate reds whilst jumping. When Stonely called the load on the PA his word-slurs scared me so that I grabbed my rig and got on a taxing plane, "Hey, ... you're not on this load!"
Me, "Yes. Now, I am." …. 9-way; I landed out. A whuffo watching me field pack points, "Say, what's that falling...?" I say, "Just a D-bag." He sez, "Well that 'bag' had a screaming man with it." (Dead Tom).
Like I feared, they broke off real low and hummed it. Reflexes slowed, Phillips pulled too low. Splattered he did. Sport Death.
Later, loveable Terry Ward brought a small chunk of Tom over to my van and fed it to my cat Wizard. Wizard gagged and upchucked Tom. .... You don't need to hear the rest.
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PS -- As Howard mentioned, the Gulch had a lot of bounces. Windy days we'd load onto the Trans Gulch flat bed w/ beer and do a bounce-crater tour of those who'd made their last jump. The famous Monty & Link dual crater is a highlight attraction. With respective holes about 4 feet apart, that was a dead serious two-way, that. Sport Death.
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PSS – Notwithstanding all that XXX stuff… Skr sez it best...Later on, with the sequential + USFET dives it was a Wonderful Time and place that changed our skies forever. [Ref. Watch "Wings" and see and agree.] BTW, both BJ and Randy DeLuca also made that long LA-Gulch weekend trip. On the trips home they’d stop by and share the weekend’s takes of "Wings" They flew our dreams

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that was the best, most inspiring skydiving in the world. It was the jumps, the people, the vibes. Skr

Hooper has better info than I re Bob Shafer... me thinks that he is mostly dead.
- Memory fades... but shafer and his brother and Simon Fraizer, big guy from Florida wore cowboy boots. ... all 3 died flying North under the radar in AZ (??) returning from somewhere South w/ the Lodestall. Nap of earth flying. They impacted a chunk of rock that sat higher than they flew. (? Power line?) Crashed and burned. Heard the Feds were lurking it too.
Big loss. Bob Shafer was jumping with us on the 1st CA formation team, Elsinore *Terminal Chaos * . ... at that time, we had to import Az divers like Bob to do sequential in Ca. because all locals were dedicated to round-only formations.

Ref. Terminal Chaos at the North American Sequential Sweepstakes. Our 8-man team out at Elsinore had only six people "How do you do 8-man team freefall with only six people??" https://users.cs.fiu.edu/~esj/uwf/uwf4.htm chapter 4, Competition

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Tom Phillips splattered on the highway just in front of the Casa Gulch town mayor. I was on the load. It was mainly the Elsinore A-1 Downers group who ate reds whilst jumping. When Stonely called the load on the PA his word-slurs scared me so that I grabbed my rig and got on a taxing plane, "Hey, ... you're not on this load!"
Me, "Yes. Now, I am." …. 9-way; I landed out. A whuffo watching me field pack points, "Say, what's that falling...?" I say, "Just a D-bag." He sez, "Well that 'bag' had a screaming man with it." (Dead Tom).
Like I feared, they broke off real low and hummed it. Reflexes slowed, Phillips pulled too low. Splattered he did. Sport Death.
Later, loveable Terry Ward brought a small chunk of Tom over to my van and fed it to my cat Wizard. Wizard gagged and upchucked Tom. .... You don't need to hear the rest.
---------------------
PS -- As Howard mentioned, the Gulch had a lot of bounces. Windy days we'd load onto the Trans Gulch flat bed w/ beer and do a bounce-crater tour of those who'd made their last jump. The famous Monty & Link dual crater is a highlight attraction. With respective holes about 4 feet apart, that was a dead serious two-way, that. Sport Death.
+ + + +
PSS – Notwithstanding all that XXX stuff… Skr sez it best...Later on, with the sequential + USFET dives it was a Wonderful Time and place that changed our skies forever. [Ref. Watch "Wings" and see and agree.] BTW, both BJ and Randy DeLuca also made that long LA-Gulch weekend trip. On the trips home they’d stop by and share the weekend’s takes of "Wings" They flew our dreams

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that was the best, most inspiring skydiving in the world. It was the jumps, the people, the vibes. Skr

Hi Pat,
That was the year I broke my leg and was "Grounded" for a while,,,,3 flat head wood screws in the right ankle and a long cast! Spencer and the guys from Otay were there and told us the story. Grim! Hard to believe that was over 30 years ago and it seems like yesterday!! Time sure flyz when yer havin' too much fun! Don't have the "Sport Death" t-shirt but in the archives I still have a "Monty and Link Sport Death Skull Crest from Ghoulidge" "They ignored the Ground that Cardinal sin, Monty Bounced and Link went in." I think there's more to those lines but that's all I know.??

Nearby at Ghoulidge, the flag would be lowered to half-mast for the bouncee (see pic).

It is still there my buddy does tandems

Bob Schaffer's fatal crash
http://newsok.com/article/2146587

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/alamogordonews/obituary.aspx?n=david-michael-kasehagen-kasey&pid=153191886