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Exercise Dragon Fall
Author: Paul Armstrong
Date: May 1985
Exercise Dragon Fall was planned to give Dental Corps
personnel the opportunity to begin and gain experience in the sport of
Free Fall Parachuting.
It was decided that the exercise would be held in Florida at Zephyr Hills Parachute Centre.
Zephyr Hills is a small town situated about 40 miles north east of Tampa. The parachute centre is regularly visited by international parachutists, in particular, various British military free fall teams.
The participants of Exercise Dragon Fall were:
Paul Armstrong (exercise organiser)
Bruce Karczewski
Steve Lomax
Simon Gallier
Terry Donelley
Steve Wharton
Pete Carroll (Red Devils Instructor)
The itenerary for the exercise was as follows:
31 May 1985 - RAF flights from Brize Norton to Dulles International Airport, Washington DC.
31 May 1985 - Trailways bus from Washington to Tampa Florida (this leg of the journey took 20 hours!)
01 Jun 1985 - Car hire from Tampa to Zephyr Hills and for the duration of the exercise.
20 Jun 1985 - Return to UK by the same means.
Permission for the exercise to take place and RAF
flights was applied for and granted. Each participant, seven in all,
had to contribute financially towards the cost of the exercise. Several
dental companies were approached for sponsorship, the response to which,
was very encouraging.
The big day finally arrived and we made our way to RAF Brize Norton and boarded a VC 10 aircraft for the seven hour trip across the Atlantic to Washington. From now on we were on our own and everyone was excited at the prospect of what lay ahead.
The bus journey from Washington to Tampa was exhausting and uncomfortable; We didn't relish the thought of the 20 hour return journey!
We arrived in Tampa, rented a hire car and made our way to Zephyr Hills. After a good nights sleep and introducing ourselves to George Kabeller, the centre's owner and his staff, jumping began in earnest.
The parachuting experience of the participants varied; Simon Gallier, Steve Wharton and Terry Donelly were all static line students and had not progressed to Free Fall. Their jumping experience varied from one to twenty jumps.
Bruce Karczewski and I had 135 and 145 jumps respectively.
Pete Carroll, our instructor on loan from the Red Devils Free Fall Display
Team, had 900 jumps to his credit. Steve Lomax was unable to jump because
of medical reasons, but he assisted in ground photography and exercise
co-ordination.
Jumping took place every day, weather permitting, except for Mondays when the Centre was closed. Our evenings were spent eating at the multitude of restaurants to be found in Zephyr Hills, followed by the inevitable visit to the local bars!
Sadly, the time came for us to leave Zephyr Hills. We had spent almost three weeks at the centre and in that time, some 150 jumps had be made by our party. The three students all progressed to 55 second free fall delays. Bruce and I both gained invaluable experience. Pete Carroll proved to be of immense help. Steve Lomax got a good suntan and took lots of photographs!
Everyone benefited greatly from the exercise and it was an unforgettable experience for us all; An experience we were to repeat in the future.