Merrick

I agree Trent, I only have about 70 jumps & I realized this weekend just how lax I've been about winds in the past. Pam & I went to the DZ Sunday to make a few jumps, but the 16mph winds with gusts up to 30mph kept us on the ground for the day. Now, I've jumped in winds like this several times before without taking the danger into consideration even for a second.... true, nothing happened and I'm obviously still alive.... but I've watched the wind pick Pam up at about 20ft & pitch her canopy sideways to where her body was almost completely parallel to the ground.... she compensated for it (SOMEHOW) & actually almost landed on her feet. Scared the Shit out of me!!! Anyway, I've only been able to make about 4 jumps in the last two months, I took this into consideration & kept my ass on the ground this weekend. There were several other experienced jumpers making loads, but for me & my currency it was just too much. I'm upset that I didn't get to jump, but I guarantee that it's a lot better than NOT being ABLE to jump, because of a broken bone or worse. The sky will always be there, it's simply not worth the risk of seriously, or fatally injuring yourself... just to make 'one more' jump! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Oh yeah, the wings is definitely in my top 3, but have yet to actually see one in person. I'm not in any big rush myself, I have a rig, I don't need another one.....yet! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

In my opinion it is definitely cheating... Would you even consider a fun sexual experience with another guy, and if you would, would you consider THAT cheating. As Indyz said, would you be OK with him fucking around with another girl OR guy? Just the first of MANY things to think about. LOL "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Hmmm - Isn't there an old saying.... Something about a pot & a kettle, and both of them being black! lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

This is certainly becoming a trend with Mirage.... service after the sale seems to be lacking, but if you're buying a brand new container then they don't seem to have any trouble at all processing your $1,500 order. Check out this thread And this one We had some problems getting some work done on Pam's rig, even after we'd been promised it would only take two weeks. These threads should give you an idea of how they operate. It's too bad too, cuz like you... I absolutely love the product... but it looks like I'm now seeing visions of vectors or jav odyssey's dance in my head! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Pam called me at work when that was on.... I think she said it was some people at Carolina Sky Sports. That's all I really know tho, other than they formation spelled out "USA." "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFL - Hmm... that sounds familiar Kris. Poor Larry.... he took me out on a "swoop" dive shortly after I graduated, the first few went really well, but I miss-judged my last swoop, was headed straight for his back, realized that it was already too late to flare out, went into sort of a flailing head-down to try to side step him, and actually clipped the side of him as I fumbled past him! lol I don't think I was going that much faster than him at that point, so I didn't hit him too hard... got really lucky on that one now that I think about it. And of course you know how laid back Larry is, he was like, "hey man, don't worry about it... it was fun!" with a big-ass grin on his face. Gawd, I hope everyone I try to kill is that nice! lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

1) 3000 ft 2) 2200 ft (Bi-plane jump at Quincy, right before I broke my leg LOL) 3) Ummm... night jump at about 55 jumps with no briefing & no light stick to see my altimeter. Also, attempted 4 way sit-fly with very little experience on the entire load (two of which were Pam & I). 4) no close calls so far (knock on wood). 5) SPEED!! The more the better. 6) Once (broken leg), but I don't really count that... (unless you want to count the time Pam got us kicked off the DZ.... LOL only for a week). 7) 8) 9) N/A Skydiving is a dangerous ass sport... those who try to rationalize it & say that it's "not really" are just kidding themselves. True, there are certain situations that can be controlled making it a "calculated risk," but that can only be done if you go your entire jumping career without getting complacent or stupid... or if you're just plain lucky. While I can definitely see the attraction of going as low as you can or exiting the plane sub-1500, I also know that there is a definite difference in "tempting fate" and tieing her up & bitch-slapping her for 60 seconds! lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Of the two, I personally like the white with blue ribs (stripes/no stripes... doesn't matter - although the stripes might let everyone know that it's not a reserve). I've seen a white Cobalt with blue ribs... they're pretty cool lookin, it gives it a nice stained-glass effect... it also looks like the blue kind of fades from darker to white (nose to tail). I like it. I've also seen one that was white with rainbow ribs, white with black ribs, and Pam's Sabre is silver with pink ribs... all are very cool in my opinion.

Is this the video where as he's landing you can see his shadow on the ground and he's very close to some trees. If so, take a look at the shadow again, look where the slider is on the canopy (that is if this is the vid I'm thinking of).... he WAS hurt, that's the edited version. I don't recall who it was or what all was broken, but I know that he was severly injured. Take a look again, you'll see what I'm talking about. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Yeah, that's who they're talking about. He used to jump in OK a lot I think, and came down a few months ago for a visit. That guy's a riot, we had a great time hangin out with him... although I don't think he ever landed on the DZ... he has some pretty funny video of an off DZ landing there... Let's just say it involves a prison and some local rednecks! LOL "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Well, no packages from Florida, but one came from Australia yesterday. I just got my brand new Freefly suit from Tad's Sportswear... It's BAAADDD ASS!! And, was really cheap too. Can't wait till I get to jump it!

Yeah, let's call in Triple F & get a ruling! LOL "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

No man, it's worse... he's stuck in Korea or somewhere for a year where there's not a DZ for thousands of miles! He has his rig sitting right in front of him, and probably has plenty of money to blow on jumps (can't imagine those little Korean girls in the red-light district cost too much... $5, love you long time. LOL). Hang in there JT... I was only out for about a month & 1/2 when I broke my leg (& I hadn't made any jumps for about 2 weeks or so before that) that was the longest 2 months ever.... I can't imagine going a year, or even six months without jumping. Just try not to think about it (I know, you'll try not to breathe either right?), and the time will fly by! Peace Brudda! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

I think what he means is that the canopy will stall without pulling the toggles down as low as other canopies. Meaning that the power in the flare is more between your head & waist than between your boobies & thighs. I know that the flare on my Sabre finishes out at about my waist, which seems a little high from watching others land, but that's just brake settings.... and I've been told that I need to lengthen mine a bit anyway (it bucks like a bitch in front riser dives). Hell, I could be completely full of shit, but that's what makes sense to me when people have talked about a higher control range. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Tee made some excellent points.... now, let me start by saying that I do tend to do more RW than Freefly dives, but from the exposure I've had so far, I'd rather freefly. Why? Simple.. probably because that discipline is newest to me right now. What gets me is the common misconception that freeflyers are somehow better 'body pilots' than someone whose chosen to do RW. The simple truth is, in my opinion, that RW takes a hell of a lot more dedication & determination.... have you ever seen some of these hard-core formation flyers, it's serious business to them (probably another reason I prefer freeflying LOL). While a freeflyer of a comparable skill level doesn't really care how many times he/she touches their partner(s) in the sky, just as long as it was fun (which is very cool). You almost never hear the term 'slot-perfect' in a freefly dive, but go make an RW dive with some competition team or former competitors.... I've had an old-school RW guy tell me that no matter where I am in the sky "this is your slot.. period!" So, I don't think it has anything to do with failure or missing your slot. Some people just prefer one discipline over the other, and regardless of which one you choose, as long as you stick with it & push yourself, you ARE pushing the envelope of your discipline... Have you ever watched a video of Arizona Airspeed or the Golden Nights 8-way teams.... tell me that crap's not intense!? Another statement that I hear a lot is that freeflying makes you better at RW (and visa versa). WTFever, I do RW all the time & I can't freefly for shit, and I've seen & heard of several hard-core freefliers that can barely dock on someone while in the box. I think freeflying makes you better at freeflying & RW makes you better at RW.... simple! It's not really fair to generalize & assume that freefliers are automatically better all around pilots because it simply isn't true. I know that I'm kinda riding both sides of the fence here, but, like most newbies now days, I want to become an "all around" body pilot. Someone that can do it all!

I posted the following on another thread a few weeks ago, I haven't gotten the jumpsuit yet, but with shipping from Australia I should get it some time next week.... The pants have pockets similar to those on the BDU's, so you might consider sewing them as well. However, we haven't, and have yet to have any problems. Oh yeah, the pants will turn into a sort of backpack thing! LOL "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Hmmm... A Spectre, Sabre2, and Lotus demos huh?? Does this mean that you're going to be getting rid of your Hornet sometime soon?? Hmmm... give me a call if you do, I'd certainly be interested in it.

I just wanted to take a second to update you guys on our friend Charlie.... Here's a PM I got from Kris a few days ago. This shit is fucked up!! I started to think that Charlie must have done something to really tick someone 'upstairs' off, but I'm starting to think that it was just the opposite. He needed serious attention & didn't get it, so someone made sure he did, even if it meant trashing his brand new Tahoe. Granted, I'm not a doctor, but I can't believe that the ER doctors & the 'specialists' in Cushing screwed up that badly... I mean hell, even I can tell what a broken bone looks like on an x-ray. Needless to say, if I EVER get hurt at our home DZ and any of you just happen to be there.... you'd better take my ass down the road to Tulsa! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

You could consider yourself very lucky.... This summer at our DZ the exact same thing happened to a level VII AFF student. He found himself on his back at about 5,000ft, he regained stability, but in his wave off flipped back onto his back & started spinning, at this point he was at about 3,000ft he remembered that #1 rule & pulled while on his back. The pilot-chute went up between his legs & the canopy opened fairly quick, he was upside down durring deployment & the opening shock caused his legs to snap down towards his ears (like an upside down splits or something)... it split his pelvis like a wishbone. Seriously, he had about a six inch gap between each half of his pelvis, it tore his urethra, and God knows what else. The guy still flew his landing pattern & flared on landing to cushion his fall... he blacked out almost as soon as he hit the ground. We saw him this weekend, he was actually out of his wheelchair already... still can't jump, but at least he's up walking already. it's amazing to think what all kinds of strange situations can arise, and I certainly think this one was definitely one for those infamous record books. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFL - Yeah, I remember Shan Hatfield, think I actually saw him on espn or somewhere a couple months ago. I'm not sure how much racing Matt did, he was more of vert innovator. He was from Edmond OK, so he used to kick my ass in vert comps in OKC all the time when he was still considered an amateur. LOL That's cool as shit... Clay, can I have your autograph! lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Yeah, I think I know someone like that!

I knew it... Knew I'd heard that name before, and that's where I was thinking I heard it too... That's cool. I had a friend named Brian Stephens that raced & won a national title in I think 88' or so, and I used to compete in a lot of amateur flatland & ramp competitions in the OK, AR, MS, and TX area so I followed the race circuit too. I never got anywhere near good enough to turn Pro... but I remember Matt Hoffman kicking my ass a time or two tho. LOL "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Now, either you purposely left out what "the sport" is because you were just trying to make your point without sounding like a bragging ass, or you're really embarrassed about your all male doubles naked ping-pong national championship! So which is it? Seriously, which sport was it, cuz the name Clay Fowler (besides the fact that it's your name smart ass) actually rings a bell, even tho I quit following the ping-pong thing years ago. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Ahhh. C'mon Kris, I loved Charlie's jumpsuit... his is still one of the coolest I've seen (hint, no sarcasm, I'm serious). You wouldn't happen to have a pic of it would you? That was the first side-tracked thought I had... "ahhh man, they're going to have to cut up his jumpsuit!" Ahhh well, Maybe Kris (diff Kris for everyone else) can fix it.... or we can all even chip in $20 or so to help him get a new one when he's ready! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"