Teuge June 2009

“On the 5th June 2009, about 6 hours ahead of the time when green lights started to go on over Normandy 65 years before, I completed my 5th jump in 2 days and earned my Dutch Military 'B' type wings. The jump was from an Antonov AN-2 onto the DZ at Teuge in Holland and I was No.5 in the first of two 5 man sticks.

The whole week had been one of frustration because, although the sun was shining and skies were clear, the wind had been too strong for us on the Pathfinder Parachute Group's basic course to even attempt to jump. The second to last day of the course most of us got a single jump done in spite of the continuing 'sporty' conditions. Then on the final day we all of us succeeded in getting in the jumps we needed for our Dutch wings, some jumped 5 times in the one day, the rest of us 4 times !

This the last jump of the day , was the best yet, ...side door exit in 5 man sticks from the Antonov. We'd been practicing on the ground all week, we'd been jumping all day and packing like f*** in between to be sure we all got our jumps in, ...this was the culmination, ...all the learning and practice was coming together in this final descent, ...and it was perfect ! Good aircraft drills, good tightly-spaced exits, great awareness and drills in the air ensuring that we all landed safely on the DZ, some of us a mere 20m from the RV point. The following stick looked from the ground to be equally as good. The last person to land was the Dutch lady on the course who came out at number 3 on the second stick but just seemed to hover above us, ...the Sun seemed to be setting faster than she was descending !

Naturally enough we started out with ground training in the classroom, outside or in the Hanger; Exits, Canopy drills, Hazards and how to deal with them, Malfunctions and how to deal with those, packing the canopies, and PLFs... The plan was for us to jump 2 different aircraft (Cessna Caravan and the Antonov AN-2) so we needed to learn 2 different exits, the caravan exit involved shuffling on your bum to the door, dangling your legs into space facing to the rear, then pushing off on the 'Go' ! For those ex-Airborne Forces amongst us, the Antonov exit was the much more familiar side door exit, albeit through a door that was half the height and half the width of a C-130 (best to duck on your way out !).

Our Training team consisted of Ian Marshall (Pathfinder's senior instructor), Roy Mobsby and Lance Owens with Hervé Steimer helping out on the packing piece. We covered all the topics within the first 2 days and were raring to go, ...unfortunately the weather was not cooperating. The first 2 days were beautiful, so much so that some of us got sunburnt, it's just that the wind was too high for us to jump. By the Wednesday it became much colder and overcast with rain showers moving through from the North, ...and still too much wind, so much in fact that the temporary bar tent blew down! By Thursday morning we were all of us becoming 'Hangar happy', ...all we wanted to do was get up in the Cessna or Antonov and get our first jump in, ...but the high winds continued

Sadly not all of us got away with it, our oldest student hurt his leg on landing and was later found to have broken it.

Once we got back to the hangar Ian gave us a debrief on our performances, I got a rollicking for not capewelling sooner (they're there for a reason Guys, use them if you have to !). Then it was time to pack the canopies to be ready for our next attempt, which was not to be until Friday. Even with all the problems that we'd all had on the jump, even having seen one of our numbers limp off to Hospital we were all of us on a high, ...we'd got the first one in ! We sat in the Bar that night swapping our 'No Shit !' stories.

The next day made up for everything... it dawned bright although with some rain showers moving through, but the best of it was the wind had gone ! All the windsocks in sight were hanging limp, there was not a breath of wind. We couldn't wait to get breakfast out of the way, get kitted up and go for our second drop. Once again the weather disappointed us, just at 09:00 (the earliest we could jump) a rain shower came through and the cloudbase came right down to the deck... this was just not our week. At 11:00 Ian thought he could see a bright patch, so 10 of us kitted up to drop from the Antonov.

We got away at 11:20 or so and although the Antonov was skimming the cloud at 2,000 we all got out on two passes in 5 man sticks. Compared to the previous day this was like chalk and cheese, it was a joy to jump that old Russian biplane and the conditions for our drop could not have been better.

Back at the Hanger the work began, the weather was forecast to hold for the day and it seemed possible we could all get our jumps in, but it would take some hard work on the packing floor. That was the day we learned that PLF isn't really the abbreviation for 'Parachute Landing Fall' it stands for 'Pack like F***', ...and that's what we did. Between us that day we packed the canopies 53 times and we ALL of us got our jumps in, some doing all 5 in the one day !

  As soon as canopies were packed they'd put people up in the Cessna, on one lift 10 of us went up in that plane. By 6p.m we were most of us 1 jump short, but that was when the Antonov pilot returned. The 10 of us short the one jump got kitted up and at 7 p.m. walked out to the Antonov for one of the BEST parachuting experiences of my life.

This was without a shadow of a doubt in my mind the best course I have ever done and the best holiday I have taken in my life bar none ! Even with all the frustrations, even with our 'sporty' experience on the Thursday and seeing one of our number limp off to Hospital, even with the uncomfortable bunk beds and ersatz eating arrangements, this was an outstanding experience !!

The whole reason for me to do this course was to qualify for the commemorative drops at Arnhem on the 65th anniversary in September. We had what for us was an extreme experience on the Thursday which generated its fair share of 'War stories'. But I can't help comparing our minor mishaps to the experiences of The Lads over Normandy on nearly the same day 65 years before. We had a fraction of one percent of the problems that they had to face, and then they had to move on to deal with the Germans !! We can all read about Normandy and the subsequent Airborne operations in the hundreds of books on the topic, but doing this course has maybe given me a little more insight into what it was they had to go through, ...it has certainly given me a greater appreciation for what they achieved on our behalf and an even stronger desire to honour them properly in September.”

Teuge June/July 09 – A jump too far

So having set off from home early on Sunday 28^th June, and having stopped off at Arnhem on the way to Teuge, I finally arrived at Paracentrum Teuge in the early evening.

I was the first to arrive at the centre from the Pathfinder group and after settling in to the bunk room I made my way outside to watch various people dropping from the sky and walking off the airfield smiling and in one piece.

I was very interested in the drops and then met up with Eric another member of the  group. A little while later Roy, Ian and Lance arrived and we all began talking about the course and getting acquainted with the strange sense of humor that all three seemed to share, which namely centered around parachutes not opening and other things that might go wrong.

It certainly put me at ease…Not.

After talking long into the night and sharing a few beers we retired for the night in the knowledge that we had a long day ahead of us on Monday learning drills and going through safety exercises.

The next morning after breakfast our group expanded to three with the arrival of Monique, the owner of a famous airborne pub in Oosterbeek who was also a novice.

The day was intense and very enjoyable with Ian going over the things that can go wrong and how to successfully deal with them should they arise. We then went out onto the field and carried out PLF’s and how to land properly….a subject that was to become very dear to my heart and of great relevance to me the next day.

The day was a mixture of classroom based lessons and field drills. I learnt an awful lot and began to feel more relaxed about things particularly as Ian, Lance and Roy were more than happy to answer any questions we had, no matter how many times they had been asked the same questions before.

The evening consisted of parachute packing with Ian and Lance which was also very enjoyable and interesting.

Off to bed and surprisingly slept very well. We got up the next morning and went through some more ground drills and then drove out to the drop zone for a look around.

We wandered into some woods and then had a look at some very high trees and Ian took great pleasure in telling us about previous jumpers who had landed in the trees and how long it took them to get out of the tree….oh dear.

Back to the hangar and we waited for another two guys to arrive. They were delayed and so finally our group which now consisted of 4 started putting our Parachutes on and checking equipment.

The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining and the skies blue and clear. We were numbered off and then walked out of the hangar towards the Cessna.

Ian called us all forward and one by one we climbed into the aircraft and had our static lines hooked up. I was second in the stick and had Monique sitting behind me. As the aircraft taxied up the runway we all looked at each other and nodded and gave the thumbs up.

I was nervous but at the same time excited and glad that the waiting was finally over and I was about to complete the first jump of 5 to earn my Dutch wings.

After a while we had climbed to 2000ft and the door to the aircraft was opened by Ian. The next thing I know this Dutch guy is climbing out of the aircraft in bare feet with a camera.

I remember thinking what the hell is he doing….he isn’t wearing anything on his feet…is he nuts.

Then the next thing number 1 in the stick is getting called forward by Ian and he is positioning himself at the door. There is a tap on his shoulder and then he is gone.

Right…..I am being motioned forward…..I am in automatic mode now and shuffle forward and dangle my legs out of the aircraft. I glance out and unsurprisingly I am struck by how high up we are…a stupid thought I know as this is a parachute jump…..but there you go.

I hear “GO” and I lurch forward…I am pleased there is no hesitation, I drop into space and am shouting…”1 thousand, 2 thousand, 3 thousand, 4 thousand…check canopy”

At least I think I was shouting it…..I look up and see this beautiful green canopy fully deployed above me…no tangles or any of the other scary things that Ian had taught us about…..”Thank Christ for that” I smile and immediately look around to check for other canopies.

I see that I am well away from the next canopy to my right and quickly get my bearings on the airfield and the drop zone…..assess my drift….assess my drift.

I see that I am being blown forward and turn slightly to my left to aim for the DZ. I face into the wind and it seems that I am still travelling at the same speed, I turn back towards the airfield and it’s amazing, so quiet and peaceful.

I am getting nearer to the ground. I can see Roy shouting something up at me…I suddenly see a fence bordered by a barbed wire fence and I am heading straight for it….I can hear Roy shouting what I think is “right toggle, right toggle”  I am not sure, maybe it’s the wind but I am sure I hear “twat” in there as well.

I pull on the right toggle and the barbed wire fence is now on my left…..I glance at it to make sure I have cleared it and then ……..it’s too late. The ground is rushing up to meet me…everything I learned about PLF’s has gone from my mind it seems….BANG…..I feel my right foot hit the ground before I can get my knees and feet together….I am then on the ground and I feel a sharp burning pain in the right foot.

I get dragged along the floor by the canopy for a while and then stop….ironically underneath the barbed wire fence I was trying so hard to miss…..if it wasn’t so tragic it would be funny…ok…it was funny.

I hear Roy asking me if I am alright and then he says to me “ I think you might have got away with that…just a sprain”……I look down at my right foot and for some reason it is facing the completely wrong direction…now I never went to medical school but I knew that something was amiss.

I knew Roy was mistaken at that point and made a mental note to check his first aid certificate to see how many years it had been expired for.

Surprisingly, I was quite calm and quite free of pain….although I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Fast forward…the ambulance arrives and they give me something which takes me back up into the clouds above the DZ and I am going through drills again.

I arrive at hospital and receive great service…operated on that evening, with a visit from Roy and Monique beforehand.

Into plaster having had metal plates and screws inserted in my ankle. My wife arrives the next day and drives me to the centre just in time to see the guys receive their Dutch wings.

I was very pleased for them but would be lying if I said I wasn’t sad about what had happened to stop me getting my wings.

Despite it all….it was a great experience and Roy and Ian and Lance great guys who provide a top class course.

I will be out of plaster in August and will be back to complete my jumps to get my wings…I just need to have some remedial lessons on PLF’s again and put a bad experience out of my mind.

It was so disappointing to suffer an injury on my first jump of 5 ……but I stood or rather sat…at the door and jumped and will do so again.         

Des Connors

  All the Best

Pete Dahl

Monique van der Heijden. Schoonoord, Oosterbeek, has got her wings !

   Third course at Teuge

The third course of the year was poorly attended by the students as so many were being mobilized for Afghanistan and chose to spend their leave with their families instead of jumping out of planes. I can understand that.