A wide-spread notion exists that DB Cooper learned his considerable skills about jumping off the aft stairs of a 727 as a combatant in the covert and illegal military operations of the Vietnam War. In particular, he knew quite a bit about the parameters of skydiving out of a 727 – gear down, wings flaps at 15 degrees, and flying no higher than 10,000 feet with a de-pressured passenger cabin, and these elements were critical to his success.
In fact, Cooper knew more about flying a 727 with the aft stairs deployed than the pilots did, so, on Tuesday, July 19, I traveled to Seattle to discuss these issues over lunch with a former Boeing engineer, Bob Sailshaw, and to meet with his friend, Everett Johnson, a former 727 pilot. Continue reading
The Mountain News - WA 