PLFKING

That was a good book, as is everything by Patterson. Have you read anything by Baldacci ? Don

My thoughts exactly, Frank. How've you been ? Hadn't seen much of you around here..... Don

"Clay Fowler......posting from a city near you." (lock up your daughters....AND your farm animals.) Don

And another DZ.commer......my B# finally got in there too. Btw Lisa......great letter. Well-informed, and very well written, also. Now the whole world knows of your "canopy-Nazism" !

One of the TMs where I used to jump had a guy hurl in freefall. He was the last tandem of a group of 5 guys who showed up looking "really bad" (after a night of debauchery). My friend said it just came shooting into his face over the passengers shoulder, and he *thinks* he probably swallowed a little of it ! He got out of the way the next time. Then, to top it off, the guy blew again while under canopy, and it got all over my friend's leg. (and you thought a total mal was your biggest worry....

That was a good story.......(Phree, I *think* she prefers "Scrappy".....)

Well....that WAS my favorite part ! ( I ALMOST scared the shit out of myself one time). Very good bio, Carlos.....and well-written also. Don

LMMFAO !! (Excuse me while I wipe the tears off my face....) Clay, you are too much, dude. And during your eulogy, the preacher would say " Even at his moment of death, Clay was still trying his damnedest to be an asshole..."

"One man's insanity is another man's revelry." Don

Thanks for the great info, guys......certainly made me think, and gave me some new stuff to try. New Years can't come quickly enough ! Don

Careful, Weid......."Grammar Nazi" Jessica reamed me about the improper use of this word a couple of weeks ago (but I still can't remember its exact definition !) Yeah, the additional UV exposure does cross my mind......I'm jumpless for another month (buying myself a Hornet 190 for Xmas), but since I'm still under 100 jumps, I figure I'll be downsizing within the next 200-300 jumps anyway. I'm very careful with my canopies' care in all other respects. Thanks for the great info, Phree. I will say that playing with my stall point ALWAYS stops before 2000 feet, no matter what altitude I deploy at......no reserve rides yet, and not wanting one either ! And I've been clocked in a hard arch at 130 several times, and three different head-downs between 180-200.....the "170-190" was just a guess. The 145 sit makes sense.....I've done a few hybrids where I could almost stay with a sitflyer trying to slow down. And the majority of my jumps are at a Cessna DZ, so most of the time I don't have to track anyway, since I'm out last......that's why I was wondering about the speed issue. Even if I'm with someone, I generally pull in place (but ALWAYS check the air above, just out of habit), since the guys I jump with usually ride it down to 2000. I throw out no later than 3500, unless I'm at a big DZ with lots of traffic. Thanks for the insights, guys. Don

Hey all.... Two questions for the price of one......

Wow. Skreamer's still trying to teach dead dogs new tricks. Sigh.... Don

Damn, Pam....you come up with some of the wildest shit.... Might be a good purchase.....invest $5 or so to buy it, then rub it awhile, and after it swells to 3 times its normal size, you can sell the excess for a tidy little profit. Capitalism in action. Don

Uh oh....looks like he's trying to decide if he could take AggieDave or not..... Don

Is it just me, or does anyone else look back fondly to the time when Skreamer had no Internet access ? (j/k, Will...)

Nice write-up, ZenMeister.....sounds like y'all had a blast ! Good pics, too. Don

That's not good.... I've landed off 5 times, and someone always came and got me...usually before I could even hike out to the nearest road. Were you at a new DZ where no one knew you, or maybe last one out of the plane .......? Don

Michigan Stadium....except there would be 111,000 plus.... Don

Now I'm confused.....I thought Pyke lived in GEORGIA ????? (sorry, dude....couldn't resist....)

Hahaha !! Too funny, Ramon....

Nice colors, MM....does it feel like Christmas came early to the Wren household ?

Hey Dan.... Don't mind Clay....he's just working on his "grumpy, surly, radical old man" routine in preparation for his later years...

Okay, guys, take this line of reasoning one step further...... (I ask because I had a bad dream about this last month....always happens after too many tequila shooters !) I dreamed that one of my very good friends and i are in on a four-way....she gets knocked out in freefall, we chase her down and pull her reserve, then another jumper hooks into her canopy "CReW-style", and steers her back to the DZ, where jumpers on the ground catch her, or at least break her fall....(weird dream, I know...but I've wondered about it ever since.) Is this even possible to do ? My 72 jumps contain no CReW work....can you steer another's canopy with no input from them at all ? "Curious in N.C."

I learned at a one-Cessna DZ, and we started with "helping" spot on load 5.....one of the requirements before we could get off student status was to successfully spot two loads completely on our own, and everyone on the plane had to make it back.