Bob Sinclair Can Trace His introduction To Skydiving Back To 1945 When He Was A Member Of The 82nd Airborne Division

Skydiving as we know it today began with surplus World War II parachutes and guys like Bob Sinclair that saw what had been a war necessity could be turned into a sport.

Dana Hanbury’s Facebook page featured an obituary for Bob Sinclair written by Dan Poynter that reminded us of the early beginnings of recreational skydiving. Sinclair was a true skydiving pioneer who started his recreational use of parachutes with a 24 foot military surplus seat pack that Poynter wrote only cost Sinclair $10. In the early days he could be found skydiving in Fairbanks Alaska before it became a well-known sport in the lower 48 states.

According to the story, Sinclair was trying stunts well before they became popular today. An example was a 1953 attempt to jump into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena that must have looked like a good idea at the time, but he missed the Stadium.

Sinclair was also well known in Hollywood during the 1960s when television was looking for adventure programs. It’s reported he instructed many of the Hollywood stars and was one of the first freefall photographers. His services were widely used, and his freefall camerawork was featured on a television series titled, Ripcord, and many other TV action series of those days.

Probably one of his most famous encounters with a TV celebrity occurred when he performed a buddy jump with the Tonight Show host, Johnny Carson. This encounter has been viewed so many times it undoubtedly had a large effect on bringing the sport of skydiving to public attention.

Bob Sinclair passed away at the age of 89 in DeLand Florida. The recreational sport of skydiving owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Sinclair for being a pioneer in bringing parachuting into the realm of safe sport activities.

(Skydiver image from file is not Bob Sinclair)

FMI: http://parachutistonline.com/feature/ripcord