North Pole Expedition: Skydiving into the Top of the WorldDan Poynter
There are many ways to get to the North Pole: You may go by dog sled in April, by ice breaker in August, you can even cross-country ski. Don’t try it in winter—when it is dark up there. Savvy people fly. In fact, of the few people who have made it to the North Pole, most went by air.
There is no airport at the North Pole. The polar ice cap is more than 1,000 miles across in winter. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean. It freezes over to 6-18 feet thick. The water under the ice is 14,000 feet deep. In April, the ice is still firm and the sun is always shining. The ice begins to compress and expand (break up) in late April.
During this expedition, the sun was at 16 degrees above the horizon; it circled around and never set. The North Pole is as dry as a desert; nothing lives there.
Dan Poynter is past president of the Parachute Industry Association, past chairman of the Board of the U.S. Parachute Association and past president of the International Hang Gliding Commission. He has written more than 120 books; seven on parachutes and skydiving. A pilot, skydiver and master parachute rigger, this Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) is a frequent speaker at aviation and other events.
North Pole Expedition: Skydiving into the Top of the WorldDan Poynter
There are many ways to get to the North Pole: You may go by dog sled in April, by ice breaker in August, you can even cross-country ski. Don’t try it in winter—when it is dark up there. Savvy people fly. In fact, of the few people who have made it to the North Pole, most went by air.
There is no airport at the North Pole. The polar ice cap is more than 1,000 miles across in winter. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean. It freezes over to 6-18 feet thick. The water under the ice is 14,000 feet deep. In April, the ice is still firm and the sun is always shining. The ice begins to compress and expand (break up) in late April.
During this expedition, the sun was at 16 degrees above the horizon; it circled around and never set. The North Pole is as dry as a desert; nothing lives there.
Dan Poynter is past president of the Parachute Industry Association, past chairman of the Board of the U.S. Parachute Association and past president of the International Hang Gliding Commission. He has written more than 120 books; seven on parachutes and skydiving. A pilot, skydiver and master parachute rigger, this Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) is a frequent speaker at aviation and other events.
1. MILITARY SECRETS A lot of life's problems can be explained by the applications of the common sense from these recently declassified Military Secrets Declassified Declassified Declassified Declassified
2. Don't draw fire, it irritates the people around you- advice to new guy F-18 Hornet
3. 'If the enemy is in range, so are you.' - Infantry Journal- 'Tracers work both ways.' - Army Ordnance Manual A-10 Thunderbolt a.k.a.-Warthog
4. Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last, and don't ever volunteer for anything- USNavy F-111 Aardvark
5. 'The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.' -Unknown Author- CH-47 Chinook
6. 'Five second fuses last about three seconds.' - Infantry Journal - C-130 Hercules AKA “Fat Albert” JATO rocket assist
7. Blue Angels flying the F-18 Hornet Nothing is so good for the morale of the troops as to occasionally see a dead general. - Field Marshal Slim
9. Airspeed, altitude, and brains. Two of these are always necessary to successfully complete the mission - Basic Flight Training Manual F-18 Hornet Carrier Take-off
10. A-6 Intruder If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid. - Naval Ops Manual
11. C-130 Hercules Having lost sight of our objectives we need to redouble our efforts.
13. 'If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.' - Infantry Journal- C-130 Hercules
14. 'Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your “plight” to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.' - Emergency Checklist C-130 Hercules
15. B-52 Bomber Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs always hit the ground- US Air Force
16. 'The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you.' - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot)
17. 'Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword, obviously never encountered automatic weapons.' - General MacArthur - Apache Longbow
18. 'If you hear me yell;"Eject, Eject, Eject!", the last two will be echos.' If you stop to ask "Why?", you'll be talking to yourself, because by then you'll be the pilot.‘ -Pre-flight Briefing from a Canadian F104 Pilot
19. Canadian T-33 Jet Trainer test ejection A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
20. Sukhoi SU-27 missing canopy due to a test ejection If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly. - David Hackworth
21. 'It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.' - US.Air Force Manual - Sukhoi SU-27
22. The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in military aviation are: 'Did you feel that?' 'What's that noise?' and 'Oh Shit!' -Authors Unknown- Thunderbird Demonstration Team F-16 Falcon
23. A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow- Gen George S. Patton Thunderbird ejection prior to crash - pilot failed to set altimeter correctly before airshow
24. Aim towards the Enemy. - Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher F-18 Hornet - carrier landing approach
25. When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend - USMC F-16 Fighting Falcon
26. When you're short of everything but the enemy, you're in combat. F-16 Fighting Falcon
27. 'Without ammunition, the Air Force is just an expensive flying club.' -Unknown Author- F-22 Raptor
28. RAF Harrier Jump Jet Everyone wants peace – and they will fight the most terrible war to get it.- Miles Kington
29. 'You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3.' - Paul F. Crickmore (SR71 test pilot)- SR71 Blackbird
30. 'There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime.' - Sign over Squadron Ops Desk at Davis-Monthan AFB , AZ. SR-71 Blackbird-the fastest aircraft in the world
31. 'Yea, Though I Fly Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 60,000 Feet and Climbing.' - Sign over SR71 Wing Ops- SR71 Blackbird
32. V-22 Osprey 'If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage it has to be a helicopter and therefore, unsafe.' - Fixed Wing Pilot
33. We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction. B1B -Lancer
34. You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other son-of-a-bitch die for his. - General George S. Patton F-4 Phantom
35. B-2 Spirit & C-130 Hercules 'When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane, you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.' -Multi-Engine Training Manual
36. As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives. The rescuer sees the bloodied pilot and asks,'What happened?' The pilot's reply: 'I don't know, I just got here myself!' A-10 Thunderbolt
37. 'You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.' Lead-in Fighter Training Manual F-16 Fighting Falcon
38. Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography. - Paul Rodriguez F-16 Fighting Falcon
39. Blue Angels fly over Liberty Island and The Statue Of Liberty Coffee tastes better if the latrines are dug downstream from an encampment. - US Army Field Regulations, 1861
