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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0833.PDF
FLIGHT International, 24 May 1962 S PORT AND BUS NESS 831 Alec MacQuibban follows his team-mate Trevor Shipston down from 4,300ft on a I5sec-delay spot-jump. The step they have just left may be seen in the bottom left-hand corner World Championships: New Zealand Parachutists Prepare ALL round the world parachutists have been going up and down like yo-yos, competing in national competitions and jump-offs to decide just who will be lucky enough to re present his country at the forthcoming World Parachuting Cham pionships to be held at Orange, Mass, in August. For the first time, New Zealand has decided to send a team of five men to compete in the championships. The competitive spirit, therefore, was never more apparent than at the three-day national competitions held recently by the NZ Federation of Parachute Clubs. Rukuhia Airport, Hamilton, was the venue, and it was here that 20 competitors from four clubs converged, some quietly con fident, some not so quietly (or so confident) but all determined to jump their best. The first event, a spot jump from 3,300ft with immediate opening, got away to a fine start. Winds of 12 to 14kt on the Friday and Saturday left no room for errors, but some of the best jumping seen in NZ was nevertheless done. Most of the jumpers were using steerable 'chutes, double-Ts and TUs being most popular. The performance of the TUs, particularly when the last turn was made down-wind, was spectacular to say the least—especially when seen from the harness. After one such effort, two deep grooves in the turf marked the first point of contact with the feet, whilst a third, even larger, scar marked the impact of the seat-strap— about ten feet away! As in all the events, two jumps were made by each competitor, both to score, and this event was won by John Charnock, Auckland, who set a NZ record by averaging 12ft from dead-centre. In second place was Alec MacQuibban, Christ- church, whilst third place went to Bill Adams, Auckland. The Sunday morning brought perfect jumping weather. An early start was made, and the sound of a Cessna throttled back on the dropping run quickened the pulse while the dew still sparkled on the field. The second event, a spot-jump from 4,300ft with 15sec free fall, got under way, but was interrupted for the purpose of holding a parachute pageant, the proceeds of which were to cover such items as aircraft hire costs. The public responded won derfully, and were thrilled by a varied programme which included attempted baton-passes, a demonstration jump with the amazingly complicated Borinquen Ranger IX, and a simultaneous descent by eight jumpers. The 4,300ft event was eventually won by Ben Gwilliam, the surprise star of the show, who, with only 33 jumps in his log-book, set a NZ record for this event by averaging 9ft from dead-centre on his two jumps. Peter Dawson came in second, with Bill Adams third. Ben is a member of the Hamilton club, while Bill and Peter are from Auckland. The third and toughest event was a 30sec delay from 7,300ft with all points scored on style, and bonus points for set manoeuvres. The jumpers who opted to do manoeuvres had to stabilize on air craft heading, then perform a 360° turn to the right, a 360° turn to the left, a backloop, and finally another right turn and left turn. Speed of manoeuvre gained extra points. Charnock took the honours in this event, with Adams second and Dawson third. Over the weekend, 130 descents were made, and the standard of parachuting was the highest yet seen in NZ. On overall points, Adams was top scorer, Charnock second and Dawson third. Team placing were: Adams and Dawson, first, Charnock and Fullerton, second, Hutchinson and Hollick, third. The official team chosen to represent NZ at the World Championships, based on a combina tion of points scored and individual finances (as the team has to finance itself completely) consists of Bill Adams, John Charnock, Peter Dawson, Ted Hollick, and Harvey Hutchinson. JOHN CHARNOCK (Left) The official team that will represent New Zealand in the World Parachute Championships in America in August. Left to right, John Charnock, Peter Dawson, Bill Adams, Harvey Hutchinson, Ted Hollick. (Right) Bill Adams coming in on target. His parachute has a triple blank-gore modification, and the deployment sleeve and pilot 'chute may be seen hanging to the right of the canopy t
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