Jumping out of prefectly good aircraft

Ok, here's another one from a month ago. We did some combined airborne training with the Hondurans over on the drop zone on our base. I didn't jump because I, like most Air Force troops, trust the aircraft and prefer to ride it all the way to the ground. It's like at the amusement park -- "keep your arms and hands inside and remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop."

For those who don't live by the tilt-a-whirl mantra, we have them jump out of helicopters nearly every month here. Here's some photos I shot of the last combined op:



I lost a bit of my situational awareness when photographing this guy -- he almost landed on my head (missed by a couple feet).



This is not doctored, that's what it looks like when four jumpers go out the bird right after each other. At this point, six were jumping at a time, but I only captured four.



Yes, the hit the ground hard and bounce. Remember the mantra.

Blogged with the Flock Browser