DBC's "childlike" delight actually getting the money and then the light hearted offer of a bundle to Flo... That behavior (assuming it was accurately reported) has always intrigued me. I am not a psychologist so I can't ascribe useful meaning to it, but it says something. Sure isn't typical robber behavior. The ones I dealt with were high strung and nervous during the crime, never offered a penny to others, did not engage in banter. They had simple goals: secure the money, get out and avoid apprehension. Cooper was different. he answered questions ("Do you have a grudge?"), he showed giddiness and light hearted generosity when the money was in his hands, and although he displayed a purported bomb, he didn't make constant verbal  threats about blowing everybody up. I can't figure out what it all means. Wish I could.

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Georger wrote: "What were Cooper's 'tells'? What do you see? Clues into his background and identity. I think this is a very important part of the case that has received almost no attention."

I see aviation knowledge. Practical flight configuration stuff, flaps, speed, pressurization, altitude. Maybe a pilot, but any aircrew fits. Loadmaster?

The onboard behavior is distinctive, but I can't decipher the meaning.

I'd have been nervous as hell. Cooper was far cooler than I would have been.

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Were drugs such as this in widespread use in 1971?  But other drugs such as pot and LSD were widely used and advocated by people such as Timothy Leary.  The "turn on, tune in, drop out" culture was flourishing.

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Were drugs such as this in widespread use in 1971?  But other drugs such as pot and LSD were widely used and advocated by people such as Timothy Leary.  The "turn on, tune in, drop out" culture was flourishing.

Pills have always been abused..back then it was uppers & downers. early 80's we use to take speed in a pill form called black beauty, it was a prescription diet pill...we took them during Friday/Saturday nite rush hour at the pizza hut I worked at to get through the orders as quick as we could.

The key ingredients found in this pill are Dextroamphetamine and Biphetamine, which are both amphetamines. They boost the metabolism and may decrease hunger. However, some side effects may be experienced when taking Black Beauty Diet Pills. These include headache, heart palpitations, insomnia, and even stroke.

Black beauties were the drug of choice for truck drivers during the late 60's and early 70's, prior to the advent of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine became popular because drivers had the ability to sleep after the drug's effects wore off.

My God! Cooper was a truck driver, gone bad. 

I don't really see the need for them in the situation, unless he didn't have much of a plan after he landed with possibilities of being on the ground for an extended amount of time. people take these types of drugs for different reasons, we did it to get through the orders faster, while others take them to stay awake.

Any kind of upper (ranging from caffeine to amphetamines) would produce an effect 180 degrees opposite from what was observed. Our calm Cooper wasn't tweaking.

I avoid coffee on jump days. My resting heart rate is in the very low 70s. As many jumps as I've made you'd think I'd be calm exiting a King Air or Twin Otter at 14,500 ft. NOPE. My ham radio telemetry gear shows SPO2 and HR. Without caffeine, my HR spikes to over 170 BPM right before exit and during a jump.  With a morning coffee I would likely exceed that scary high rate. And that's a sport jump. No crime tension, sunny day, nice open landing area.

Jumping and its immediate prep is tense and scary, even under the very best of circumstances. Maybe Cooper popped some Valiums?

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