SUSQUEHANNA Vol. 76 No. 35 September 1, 1976 Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Builetin MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA. Free-fall photographer of Maytown Airport Photo by Joe the camera. Master Rigger Joe Smith points to hard-to-obtain reflex sight, used to sight in pictures while thousands of feet in the air. Joe Smith is not an ordin- ary parachutist. Joe Smith is extraordin- ary because he is not only jumps out of airplanes, but also takes pictures while doing so. His hobby is so unusual that he had to make some of his own equipment, unlike photo- graphic scuba divers and astronomy buffs, who can buy everything they need. Joe, a member of the Maytown Sport Parachute Club, made his first jump in 1954. He has been par- achuting ever since, but only started aerial photo- graphy two years ago. “‘I just fell into it,”” he says. After a year he got serious and bought $3,000 worth of equipment. He also made a special helmet mount for his motor-driven 3S5-milli- meter camera. This allows him to point his head at his subject, press a button on his hand-held control unit, and take as many pictures as he wants while in free fall (before he opens his parachute to land). Jump- ers need their arms free to maneuver in free fall. Smith shows a ‘‘star’”’ forming above Mount Joy. The man in the background is flying toward When a group of para- chutists free-fall, they like to form themselves into geometric shapes by hold- ing hands and grasping each others’ ankles. By changing body position, they can fall at various rates (from 115 to 200 m.p.h.) and move horizon- tally also. Since they have only about thirty seconds to free fall on an _ average jump, it takes skill and teamwork to get everyone oriented and connected. The pictures shown here are of a ‘‘star’’, or circle, the simplest of many pat- terns such as Diamonds, Bipoles, Frisbees, and French Connections. Joe used a wide-angle lens for these shots to get every one in the picture. This accounts for the distortion. Even if he weren't a high-flying photographer, Joe Smith would still be an extraordinary parachutist. He has made thousands of jumps. Once he jumped from 27,000 feet— that’s [continued on page 2] Support Your Community Buy At Tocal Stores TES REY RR, FIFTEEN CENTS Hoxie’s Circus to come to Mount Joy Frank Good, Jr., Chief of Friendship #1, announced recently their plans to sponsor Hoxie’s Great American Circus in Mount Joy on Thursday, Septem- ber 30th. Appearing under a new Bicentennial red, white, and blue big top, Hoxie’s Great American Circus is one of the prominent cir- cuses of America. It appears in over 200 cities each year throughout the eastern United States. The real star of Hoxie’s (reat American Circus is not from Italy, India, or South America, but from Africa. Yes, KONGO, the largest gorilla on tour, is coming to town. Traveling New photo Due to the large number of requests for reprints of Susquehanna Times news photos, we can no longer afford to give free reprints. Starting this week, cop- ies of photos appearing in this paper will cost $2.50. Additional copies of the same picture cost $2.00 apiece. in a 40-foot steel-barred air conditioned cage, this rare giant creature is one you will never forget. Buy advance tickets now at reduced prices from any member or at Rutt’s Appli- ance. Hoxie’s Great Ameri- can Circus will give 6 and 8 p.m. performances at Boro lot, corner of Lumber and David St., on Thurs., Sept. 30th. Proceeds of the circus will be used for payment of the recently delivered heart monitor-defibrillator and the Hurst Power Rescue Tool, now in use by the Friendship Fire Co. These life-saving tools were pur- chased at a cost of $10,800.00. sale policy If want to buy a ph ease write within «eek of the time the _ «ture appeared in the paper. Include a check, the date of the issue, and the page on which the picture appeared. We will mail black and white within 10 days. SX7 inch photos
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