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