Ripcord

Ted McKeever (75 episodes, 1961-1963)

Jim Buckley / ... (75 episodes, 1961-1963)

Charlie Kern (31 episodes, 1961-1963)

At one point during the series, two planes that were doing filming for an episode accidentally collided with each other. The script was subsequently revised so that footage of the crash was included in the episode.

The two planes collided over Somis California in about the end of 1961 while filming a transfer scene. They were flying in formation as a character was supposed to go from one plane to another when they contacted. One plane landed, one crashed. The pilot of the plane that was spinning out of control, Cliff Winters, had two parachutes in the back seat. One was real, one was fake. He just had time to grab only the one before bailing out, fortunately it was the genuine article. Unfortunately Cliff was killed at an air show in Orange County a short while later.

The series included several spectacular skydiving scenes. In one episode, there was a fist fight between two characters in midair. The scene was shot by a cameraman who was in free fall with the actors.

Ted McKeever: This is skydiving, controlled flight without wings - even for experts, the most dangerous game going. This jump, like every jump you will see on this series, is made by a highly trained man who is playing the game for the highest stakes there are - his own life. He has one, and only one, safety device at his command... his parachute and its ripcord.

Ted McKeever: (Alternate narration heard at the beginning of some episodes) This is the most danger packed show on television. Every jump, every aerial maneuver is real. Photographed just as it happened, without tricks or illusion. All that stands between the jumper and death is his ripcord.