Nowadays, there's a pretty straight road from Tan Son Nhat airport. About 95 km.

Add 50km to that, and probably a 145km one-way flight to the DZ.

A Huey (UH-1 Iroquois) has a 293 mile range

Bell (model 205) UH-1D (1963) had a longer fuselage than previous models, increased rotor diameter, increased range, and a more powerful Lycoming T53-L-11 1100 shp engine, with growth potential to the Lycoming T53-L-13 1400 shp engine. A distinguishing characteristic is the larger cargo doors, with twin cabin windows, on each side. The UH-1D, redesigned to carry up to 12 troops, with a crew of two, reached Vietnam in 1963.

The UH-1D has a range of 293 miles (467km) and a speed of 127 mph (110 knots)

So could the helicopter have made it to the DZ and back?
Round trip to the DZ
So 2*145km = 290km
that's 180 miles

Yeah it could...

He said the helicopter climbed to 12,000 feet
I think they limit the operational altitude to 10,000 feet on these things? The service ceiling is 20,000 feet though

So I think Sheridan got all the details realistic.

Post removed...

Here's a bit of Cooper trivia

NOWHERE in any of the FBI FOIA docs does it mention that Cooper asked for "negotiable currency"
Carr did mention it on DZ.com
(I don't think anyone will be able to prove me wrong..or ??)

The only place that is mentioned, is on page 4 of the notes Schaffner took.
Remember Carr provided those, and they are on Sluggo's site. I did a transcription of them. "?" where I'm uncertain.

Here's page 4, transcription, where "negotiable currency" is mentioned.
I wonder why the FBI didn't highlight that, like they highlighted other phrases Cooper used.
I"m assuming Cooper actually said it, and that Schaffner didn't write that down as shorthand or her own interpretation

page 4
2259 - T. called plane
being hijacked
no joke.
2202 [sic. really 2302?] - Flo in cockpit with
note
2305 - 2nd call from
Tina concerning
?prser.? has bomb
with a
2310 - wants money in
negotiable currency
to be passed ?+? a
crew member
2320 - wants everything
ready before
landing

Also mentioned in the crew TT..

I believe that and the use of "American" or "US" currency indicates that Cooper was a person who had a strong international influence, spending most of his time outside the US.

from the schaffner note, it sounds like "negotiable currency" was told to Tina, and Tina passed that info by phone to the cockpit..
since the note talks about a call from Tina

One thing I noticed in Sheridan's book, that I editted out..

He used the non-American spelling for some words

-calibre instead of caliber
-humour instead of humor ...."winking good humouredly" ... he separated words that should be single words a lot too

maybe reflects his exposure to international use of English.

In the exchange where Sheridan uses the word "intrigant" that I highlighted before...
Grecco is talking to a hooker that's been proferred to him. Note Sheridan also writes "Francais" which is the French. I changed it to "Francois", but now, researching some more, I'm going to change it back to Francais.

I wonder if Sheridan was mistaken for French much.


"You American?"
"Yeah," Grecco said nodding.
"Oh, I thought you Francais? You not like American."

Ckret liked to claim Cooper did no planning.

But asking for a knapsack to carry the money, apparently while on the ground, or maybe also for easy/reliable attach to harness, shows some foresight.

Seems to me to also imply Cooper thought he'd be hiking out of the woods, not landing somewhere he'd get a quick ride in a car or something, or planning to bury it, etc.

I mean, if he thought he was landing somewhere not remote, he could bury/hide it, then come back later with his own knapsack.

The knapsack seems to imply thinking about preserving the money on the jump (good attach) and maybe a need to walk with it for a while after jumping.

To be fair to Sheridan, we should let his words speak occasionally. At the very least, the Vortex can be a platform for his own thoughts he wants the world to hear.

Sheridan, 2016:

That Was Then
In essence, I whole-heartedly agree with T. Freedman's "Let's Get Busy" (Letters, Dec. 14). However, what he advocates is no longer possible. I met Harry Belafonte briefly in the 1960s. I marched with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee led by Stokely Carmichael in downtown Jackson, Miss. I was beaten and incarcerated by the cops. I registered 35 blacks to vote in KKK-controlled Amite County, the first to ever register in that county. Yes, we won then. And, no, contrary to Belafonte, it was the rednecks that did the kicking and killing. Lots of it.

Nonviolence will be useless against the mad-dog generals Trump has brought out of retirement for his cabinet. When Trump, draft-deferred for a spur in his foot that magically disappeared, saw that those running the military were not in sympathy with him, he found those who were.

As a civilian with USAID Refugee Division in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, I did not recognize these generals' names, but I did recognize their lunatic-fringed, murder-mad faces. They looked like the captains and majors I met working with the CIA's Phoenix Program. They would tell me frequently, "If I were in charge, I'd nuke Hanoi. That would bring the war to a sudden halt." Well, they'll be in charge soon. China may feel that it's wise to strike first?

Now with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of predator-drones armed with nuke missiles, they'll put civil rights advocates like me to a sudden end. And they would not shed a single tear.

Michael Moore said that there would no longer be any elections. And there won't be.

-Sheridan Peterson

After reading the Oregonian piece about this latest suspect I'm struck with the fact that yet again there is nothing pointing to this guy as DBC. I've said many times before, any credible suspect has to answer some very basic but critically important questions:

1) How did he know about the 727.

2) Did he know about parachuting?

3) How did he get titanium, stainless, aluminum, rare earth elements, etc. on the tie.

4) What is it about this guy's alibi that is unverifiable?

5) Do the physical perimeters match?

6) Was he familiar with the Seattle area?

7) Does he have the personality to embark upon such a bold crime?