There is no report or anything to suggest he jury-rigged the training reserve to himself.
why would you say that he did?

If Cooper took the non-functional reserve with him, he would have to jury-rig it.  Or do you think that he just threw it out the back of the airliner?

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So, - and this is pure speculation - is Cooper's use of a reserve in addition of a bailout chute indicative of a novice jumper? If skydiving is so easy that all you have to do is "pull the ripcord", then why ask for a reserve necessary? Moreover, why is a reserve chute necessary for an experienced jumper if jumping out of the back of a jetliner is easier than parallel parking?:

Also, since bailout chutes like the one Cooper chose aren't used with reserves, then isn't it possible that a reserve chute on his midsection, along with a bag of money enough to prevent his right hand from reaching the ripcord?

The fact that Cooper used the bailout rig is primarily indicative of that's what they gave him. He asked for 'two back and two front' parachutes. That sounds to me like he was asking for two complete rigs, sport mains and the reserves that go with them. Instead of sport mains, they gave him bailout rigs. Bailout rigs do not use additional reserves because they ARE reserves. The design of the canopy is for opening reliability rather than the flight performance a sport main might have. Unlike sport mains, they are required to be packed by a licensed FAA rigger, and at regular intervals whether they are used or not. The theory in an aviation situation that might involve parachutes is that you want to have a parachute that you do not intend to use. Aerobatic pilots or military aircrew take bailout rigs because their type of flying might require them to bail out. They don't intend to, and in effect their airplane is their main. A sport jumper intends to jump and use his main, so he takes a reserve in case it malfunctions. Mains might have design parameters to increase their flight performance that might increase the possibility of malfunction. I have heard the analogy that a skydiver wears a reserve for the same reason a driver wears a seatbelt. I prefer to compare it to a spare tire. I tell my students not to regard a malfunction as a near death experience, but more like getting a flat tire on your car. Swap it out and get on with your day.

I thought they gave him a bailout rig (NB-8) and a sport chute. Plus the two chest reserves? The FBI has used his selection of the NB-8 as evidence that he was inexperienced and chose the inferior chute.

What I’m getting at is:  if jumping out of airplanes is easy and if Cooper is experienced, then why ask for a reserve?

Second, with a bailout rig, a reserve fastened haphazardly to him, plus a bank bag tied haphazardly to him seems indicative to him of someone either really inexperienced or someone utterly reckless. He could have become asymmetrical and ended up in an unrecoverable spin or put himself in a position where the bank bag and reserve interfered with his ability to pull the ripcord.

I’m use brainstorming here, but I’ll bow to your better knowledge on this, Dude.

Chaucer, you have some good points above. 

Why do skydivers have reserves?  Is there a skydiver on this site (including myself) who has not come down on a reserve, some multiple times?

However, in the Cooper jump, he apparently jury-rigged the non-functional reserve to himself.  If Cooper used the non-functional reserve container to carry money, why didn't he leave the canopy in the aircraft?

He would have better survival chances, in my opinion, if he minimized the number of things tied to himself even if only jumped with the backpack.

I would agree.

Also, the parachutes are arguably the most important part of his plan. If he doesn't get chutes or they don't work, he's cooked. They are the essential element to his crime. So why not be more specific in what he wanted? The chutes are his getaway car. Wouldn't he want to make sure the car was filled with gas and wasn't a lumber truck?

some old pics that some might not have seen.
I like them for providing context

picture from 1963 two weeks before the national championships that were held at Issaquah.

Linn Emrich is second from left.

Note the jumpship is a old 1929 Travelair

The big bulky reserves in front are kind of huge!

rummaging around some more...
I love these two pics.

It's amazing that they were findable.

In 1966, Sheridan was teaching at Clark Air Base in the Phillipines. At Wagner High School.
This was right before he went to Vietnam. He did some jumping while he was at Clark Air Base.

He was advisor for the student paper I guess.

these are pages 84 and 85 of the 1966 Wagner High School yearbook.
Sheridan is wearing a skinny tie in the pic on page 84. Can't tell if there's a tie clip.
I remember at the time wondering "Could that actually be Cooper's skinny tie in the page 84 pic?
Is it a clip-on tie?"

on page 85, he's at the bottom at a desk with students around him.

The insane thing is the caption ...I kid you not.

"Alright, we are going to make this the best bomb scare yet!!!"

What the heck was that about? Isn't that wild? (thinking about cooper's bomb). Weird coincidences

You might not believe me, or think I modified the pic.
THe two pics are from
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or directly
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it's also interesting he doesn't mention his time at Clark Air Base in his book..he  pretty much mentions everything else in his life pre-Vietnam, though, in the book.
(childhood, bubbleator, boeing tech writer, other jobs pre-vietnam)

377 had posted some stuff for me at DZ.com when I was banned.
but I notice all the old pics seem to be not attached to old posts anymore.

So these are interesting...you can see what kind of stuff we were rummaging around through, back in the day (2008-2010)

EDIT: have to be careful typing. Hard to see right now. Got cataract surgery on 2nd eye today. 1st eye was great a couple weeks ago. Amazing what a huge difference it makes. Highly recommend if you have cataracts. Amazing to see colors without yellow tinge. Right eye was totally blurred before. Now great!.

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There is no report or anything to suggest he jury-rigged the training reserve to himself.
why would you say that he did?

If Cooper took the non-functional reserve with him, he would have to jury-rig it.  Or do you think that he just threw it out the back of the airliner?

It apparently got put on the plane.
It wasn't on the plane when it landed.
Somehow it disappeared. By Cooper's hand? Sure, that's most likely.

Me, if I was kind of worried about the jump, I might toss it out as a poor man's wind indicator, just to see how fast it whooshed out behind the jet..to get me ready for the blast.

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There is no report or anything to suggest he jury-rigged the training reserve to himself.
why would you say that he did?

If Cooper took the non-functional reserve with him, he would have to jury-rig it.  Or do you think that he just threw it out the back of the airliner?

It apparently got put on the plane.
It wasn't on the plane when it landed.
Somehow it disappeared. By Cooper's hand? Sure, that's most likely.

Me, if I was kind of worried about the jump, I might toss it out as a poor man's wind indicator, just to see how fast it whooshed out behind the jet..to get me ready for the blast.

That last sentence above would be a waste of time.

Were there any Army airborne units at Fort Lewis in 1971? I have not been able to find any reference.  Here is why I ask:

Cooper asked for two fronts and two backs, as far as we know.  His options for describing the chutes would be:

1.  Two fronts and two backs.
2. Two mains and two reserves
3.  A skydiving rig
4. A bailout rig
5. A combination of these
6. Other terms??

Why say two fronts and two backs and not two mains and two reserves?  This tells me he was not a skydiver, or he was trying to hide that he was.  He does not sound like airborne, because he likely would have said two mains/two reserves.  "If my main don't open wide, I've got a reserve by my side."  But, he mentions McChord Air Force Base and not Fort Lewis as where the chutes are coming from. Does this indicate an Air Force background or an Army background?  Why not say the chutes are coming from Lewis or from a skydive center?

I'm on the fence about him using the reserve for the money.  He may have done it, but it was not his original plan.  My suspicion is that he planned to jump with a back and a front, and put the money in a good spot on his body.  The money showing up like it did probably took him off plan.  But to me it makes sense he would want to jump with two chutes.  One because it is normal, two because he did not trust the FBI. 

The language on this had me interested a few years ago. Bruce has a good section in his book on this. 

Me, if I was kind of worried about the jump, I might toss it out as a poor man's wind indicator, just to see how fast it whooshed out behind the jet..to get me ready for the blast.

I've actually considered that as well. He specified flaps, wheels down, and a slow airspeed. He might well have wanted to check out the 'prop blast'.

Also, if he was familiar with the Thailand jumps and how the deployment bags got blown upwards, and he was considering pulling off the stairs...