Times have changed.....we just climbed into the aircraft for a quick training run to see club procedures and an aircraft check out....and good to go. No cards back then.
In the helicopter....now that the "Old Man" cannot reach out and strangle me...used to swing through Sunderland when ferrying S-58T's and give my Jump Club buddies a free drop or two. Always reminded them to shut the door on the way out.
I guess one time the Biggest Boss Fellah had me on contract before I left Redhill but neglected to tell me. As I was a bit delayed getting to Aberdeen, my tardiness was noticed and some very "polite" phone calls were made wherein my delicate ears would have burned had I known what was said. I do know the second hand version did as well! Needless to say....as the Statute of Limitations have run its natural course I am free now to confess my Sin.
To give the jumpers a thrill....slow to just above ETL speed and let them loft out! It pretty much equates to a balloon jump where there is no forward speed to help them stabilize and the acceleration is all but straight down....a sensation they are not used to.
In a Chinook, at a hover, with the guys going off the ramp on static lines.....it made for a very interesting opening. We always added five hundred feet to the requested jump height when we did that to them.