kas@hp-pcd.UUCP (kas) (01/31/85)
Speaking of cold weather, that reminds me of a jump I made back
in '73 or so when I was young and stupid (as opposed to now, when I'm
old and stupid).
I was living (i.e., jumping) in Arizona at the time, which as
everyone knows is always hotter than hell. Being a novice jumper, I
wanted to try a jump without the benefit of a jumpsuit--I had been
told that without a jumpsuit, the human body fell with the aerodynamic
stability of a greased watermelon. Sounded like fun. Since it was
somewhere around 100 degrees or so on the ground, I figured it couldn't
be too cold at altitude, so I boarded the plane with nothing on but
my sneakers, cut-off jeans, and a thin T-shirt (and my gear, of course).
I told the pilot to head for twelve-five, so figuring about a 3-deg
drop per thousand, one might expect the temperature to be around 60-deg
or so.
As the door-less plane rose ever higher, I began to get the (cold)
feeling that maybe this wasn't such a good idea. When we finally made
it to jump-run, I worked up the nerve to ask the pilot why the hell I
was so cold, when it was supposed to be 60-deg out there. He checked
the on-board thermometer and replied that it was because 32-deg always
feels that cold to fools who don't wear the proper attire. So much for
the 3-deg per thousand theory. Well, figuring that I was paying for
this trip no matter what, I may as well make the jump and get it over
with, rather than prolong my agony in this cold airplane. Anybody
know what the wind-chill factor is at 120-mph? Somewhere around 4-deg
above absolute zero, I think. About half-way down I discovered what
an inversion layer is. Almost instantly I passed from frigid air to
the welcome relief of air somewhere near 80 or 90-deg. By the time
I dumped at 2500' I was more or less thawed out.
I frankly don't remember if I fell like a greased watermelon or
not--all I learned from that jump is that I'll never leave my jumpsuit
on the ground again, no matter what the ground temperature is.
Ken Scofield C-9355
Hewlett-Packard PCD
Corvallis, OR
{ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kas