kimemerson

I should have seen it coming too. I did her AFF from level 3 through 7 and that girl was easily among the very best I'd had. I don't remember giving her much constructive criticism because there just wasn't much to offer. She was excellent. (I know this is off the P'head topic. So sue me) On level 7 Amy was back-sliding ever so slightly so I gave her the "legs out" signal, with no response beyond that smile of hers. So I gave it again and got the smile again. Whatever, I figured, it's so damn slight and all I'm trying to do is be an Instructor and not just a jump buddy, which is sort of all I had been on all her dives. Back on the ground, later over a beer, I asked Amy about the legs out and the no response. "Legs out?" she said, "I thought you were saying, like, 'peace', 'cool', 'skydive!' or something." So I signed her off. If anyone sees Amy please tell her hello for me. Now back to Brian, folks. Thanks for the intermission break.

At the Ranch (NY) someone had made a potato launcher that could shoot a good sized Idaho several hundred feet. That's "several" and "hundred". So one night Brian put on a Bell motorcycle helmet and let someone - likely a good friend - shoot a potato damn near point blank at his head. By "point blank" I mean maybe six inches away. Could have been three. Well, it cracked the Bell helmet. Imagine the force and impact that must have taken. Next morning the newly annointed "Potato head" mentioned to me, "Gee, I've got a splitting head ache and I don't know why." I'd seen the night vision video of his amazing stunt by then and so the "why" wasn't such a mystery, that is, to those of us who had not taken a potato to the head the night before. He was sort of amazed at my suggeston that the spud might have played a role. After all, that was hours ago. Brian was always on a lot of people's short list of those who are going to die young and we weren't always certain it was through skydiving either. We knew it might be a tad colorful and worthy of a good tale, but we just couldn't promise a parachute would be part of the scenario. Once when we were sitting in my car on a rainy day about to enter the fuenral home for a dead skydiver, Brian told me a lot of his friends were dead. A lot. Dead. So I told him to get out of the car, I didn't want to be his friend. For what it's worth I may have been his AFF instructor. It's been a while and there were so many, so I can't really say. I do know I was an Instructor when he went through the program, and I'm actually fairly sure I was his. I'm just afraid of confronting this dark moment in my past (I'm also partly responsible for Bruno Rodriguez. I suppose I owe you all an apology. But then again, I had a part in Sean McCormac and Amy Chmelecki too so I'm hoping these two shining lights help balance out my Karma thing.) Please find it in your hearts to forgive me.

If you don't already know, is anyone curious as to how Brian got the moniker, "Potato head"? It's a beaut.

"When I die I want to come back as the center cell of a womman's canopy." Jim "Pip" Pipines Ditto

Methinks you have the wrong person here. You're quoting or addressing someone else's. Right until you get to the Hell's Angels part. That's about the only part that was in my last post. Go ahead, don't take my word for it, re-read them.

Right you are about motorcycle as a sport. As a non-motorcyclist, I hadn't even thought of it that way. And it illustrates for us the different aspects of one activity: Sport vs recreation or, in our case and this discussion, sport vs stunt. It is this type of distinction, I think, which protects our sport from the scrutiny of the feds when one is engaged in a stunt and not in the sport. Both have their valued place and both can be respected. As an aside (unless someone else has already brought it up) there are countless examples throughout all sports where the stunts and the daredevil acts - even the accidents - serve to teach the rest of us something new, a new meneuver, something we can all do intentionally as a way to enhance and add to the sport. A number of aerobatic airplane flying maneuvers were "discovered" through someone fucking up. I think that when hearing of one of the very few who step out of the contemporarily accepted norms, we would do well to study and learn from them before we discard prima facie their exploits as wrong, bad, or unacceptable. And you are also right to point out that these events draw sports into the spotlight. Positively so, I suggest. I believe that for the most part any negative spotlight is limited at best. Sometimes it gets the lion's share of the publicity but that's the press. The locker-room and bonfire discussions are commonly more positive. Especially if it is only the one participant who is hurt or killed. What's wrong with the Hell's Angels?

Yep. I did wonder about Evel Knievel's affect on the motorcycle - as you call it, "sport". But wonder was all I could do becaue I really don't know. And of course, not every motorcycle rider or enthusiast would say they are involved in a "sport". A "passion" or "recreation" or transportation, maybe. (Just for clarity, what is the motorcycle "sport"? )And as far as I can tell from a layman's position, Evel didn't do a damn thing to affect motorcycle sales or ridership or poularity or leaglity in any negative fashion. Maybe he did. But I would argue it didn't last long and didn't spread far. So maybe he didn't. I have no clue. Which is why I doidn't bring him up earlier.

Stunts is stunts, Skydiving is a sport. If he did a stunt it needs to be viewed as a stunt and not confused with what the rest of us do. Also, we don't need any main to be FAA legal. We could use a bed sheet for all they care. It's the reserve and harness that require a TSO. And the gov't is not actually always pushing down regulations while we beg for less. The FAA asks uys to stay safe and not kioll people then allow us to be self monitored. USPA has more stringent requirements than the FAA does. By FAA standards we can jump without any training using your granny's nightie as a main on a no moon night jump 40-way and pull at 200' so long as no one hets hurt on any regular basis. So keep in mind the regulations you mention are either requirements or reccomendations of USPA only. There are no proper waivers or paperwork for jumping without a main. There's no requiremet for jumping with one. The feds will get a tad nasty if the reserve is left on the ground, though.

Well, as long as we're doing You Tube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKhdijAzN_k&mode=related&search=

No one has mentioned body position during deployment. It's just one of the other factors affecting openings. An incorrect body position at pull time, or a premature opening when you are not even considering pull time body position, can affect the opening. Also, with head down flying,(Freefly ® Olav Zipser), you are falling at much greater speeds and if you don't slow yourself down sufficiently, your opening will be affected. As for your question about canopy size, size is realative to the jumper's exit weight (jumper's own weight +gear). What is a "small" canopy for a big person is a big one for a small person. But generally, it isn't the parachute choice. It's what you do with it.

That's just to confuse anyone from after back in the day. Anyone from back in the day or before back in the day knows the 99 years is a smoke screen. But don't tell a soul, ok? Our secret?

At Gus Wing's send off Norman made a point of giving Gus the credit he deserved in Norman's success, going so far as to say we all might not know of Norman if not for Gus.

I'm always hearing this phrase and I wonder when "the day" begins and ends, and if we aren't possibly in someone else's yet to be "day"?

Any asshole who calls anyone out for not jumping in marginal conditions, or any circumstance in which the jumper is not comfortable or has questions hasn't been hurt, or hasn't seen anyone get hurt and is a likely candidate to eventually get hurt or hurt someone else. And that asshole needs either to be shut up, shut down, or ignored all together. And of course, a good painful humiliation like only skydiving can provide is a solid way to get rid of the 'asshole' status. Leland Bendel once told me, "An accident is a series of bad decisions executed to perfection." And there's a difference between an accident and a mistake. It would be a mistake to assume you won't get into an accident and it would be an accident waiting to happen to make too many mistakes. Bob Hallet one time came to me when I was about to go up in some ugly winds. "I'm staying down," he told me. "You know how many jumps I have?" he asked. "No, but you're going to tell me, huh?" "About 5,000. And you know why I have 5,000 jumps?" "No, but you're going to tell me, huh?" "Because sometimes I don't jump." Took me the better part of the rest of the season to figure out what the fuck that meant. How do you get 5,000 + jumps without jumping, I wondred. By surviving well and long enough to make them all, I learned. He probably has 10,000 by now. Not bad for a guy who "Sometimes doesn't jump."

Then there's the true beauty of a nice downwind landing. I've been on several loads where we all choose to do downwinders. Well, the forst half opf the load, anyway. Not the young'uns.

Whuffo spectator at the DZ once asked me about the pilot chute that was spinning behinbd the canopy in flight. I told her it was the propulsion for the parachute, sort of expecting she'd never believe that. But she thanked me and then related the inside info. to her friend. "It's what maes them go forward." True story.

I just want to say thanks to all the budding film makers who helped make the second annual Ranch Film Festival the success it was. We had a total of ten entries in three out of four categories. The primary purpose of this Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving videography. Which is why the bigger purse and three place winners went to the category we called "What's the Story, Charlie?", while the remaining categories ("Llama Mama Drama 24 Hour Shooting Spree", "Mindless Music-Driven Eye Candy", and "Vintage) were awarded only a winner-take-all prize. First place for "...Charlie" went to Edson Pacheco of Deland for "Skydiving Shark Attack", which netted $200.00, a nice Drama trophy and a $50.00 gift certificate to La Staggione restaurant in New Paltz, courtesy of our own Jaynie Marie Aristeo of Ridgeline Realty. Second place went to Laci Andacs for his "How we do it", which got him $100, a Drama plaque and a gift certificate for Biggy’s BBQ Bistro in New Paltz. Third went to Rob Benatti for “Mikey Perfect” for which he received $75.00, a Drama plaque and a certificate for Sweet Spot ice cream in New Paltz. Kamuran “Sonic #2 won the Llama Mama Dram 24 Shooting Spree category, keeping the family tradition alive and well. Maybe next year we’ll call it the “Llama Papa Drama 6 Hour Shooting Spree”. No cash, but two $10 certificates for sushi, burritos and Go Wear clothing, which he can probably already get nice and cheap. Plus, he got a nice little trophy to brag about. “Mindless Music-Driven Eye candy” was tied by our own Jim “Punisher” Flaherty for the awesome footage of the awesome 69 way world record freefly® jump, and sometime Ranch Hand, Adam Leifer, for his “Cotton Fever”. There were over 15 raffle prizes won, ranging from a one of a kind Evo freefly helmet from Parasport and donated 100% free by Unfeathered in Pensacola, Fl. Performance Designs gave us - also 100% free – a pair of Gatorz. Skydiving Magazine gave a free 1 year subscription, there were % off certificates from Jump Shack for a main canopy, a reserve and a container. Flite Suits gave four % off certificates for Bomber Suits and anything else they make. We also had several nice deals from New Paltz businesses such as ten $15 gift certificates from Neko Sushi (Joe Richards won two of them), Yani’s Greek restaurant, Blockheads Burritos. I’d have a lot of explaining to do if I forget or neglect to mention the generosity of the Ranch PRO Shop, who, without my asking, gave us a free T-shirt, free hat, free sweatshirt and a critter – whatever that is. It looked like most people had a good time. I’m hoping some were inspired to give it a try next year. Thanks to all of you who came out to watch, everyone who bought t-shirts and raffle tickets. A very sincere thank you to all the entrants. And thanks also to all the sponsors. Without the sponsors a lot of this cannot be done. So please spend the rest of your money with them. And you don’t have to travel far to do it. (2nd floor – PRO Shop)

Pink Floyd "Learning to Fly"

Time investment? You're being funny, right?

This won't help with why we yell "Shawanga" followed by the "fly, baby, fly" on take off, but here's the scoop on why we say it for the exit count. http://theblueskyranch.com/sta/ke8.htm

Guidelines & Information The first mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film making. The Festival is open to any amateur film-maker regardless of skydiving experience. None or tons. All submissions (except those in the Vintage category) must be on DVD. All submissions (except those in the Vintage category) should be a copy for the Festival organizers to keep for the Festival Archives. Guidelines: An entry fee of $15.00 is required All entries must have a Title All entries except those in the Vintage category must be shot in 2007. All entries MUST show some relation to skydiving in some manner. Whatever else it includes, it must at least include a skydive. Skydiving - or a skydive -does not have to be the central theme or motivation, or even a major player. It can have a cameo, “walk on” role. But it does have to appear in the film somehow. This may not necessarily mean freefall: It can be just the canopy portion. Anything goes, as long as skydiving figures into the film. All entries are to be no more than 10 minutes in length. This will not include opening or closing credits. All entries (except Llama Mama Drama 24 Hour Shooting Spree) must be submitted no later than one hour before the Festival’s first screening. Categories “What’s the Story, Charlie?”: Tell us a story. Get a few actors, write a script, be a director, shot video that tells us a story. You must own or have the right/permission to use any images or music used in your film to qualify for top prizes. • Fiction: (Drama, melodrama, comedy) Must have original plot and characters. (The primary mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film-making. This means that top prizes i.e., trophies, larger cash awards and/or restaurant gift certificates will be awarded to entries in this category) • Non-Fiction: (Drama, melodrama, comedy, documentary) “Llama Mama Drama 24 Hour Shooting Spree”: Begin conceiving, shooting and editing no earlier than twenty-four hours before the Festival’s first screening. Then submit your entry no earlier than twenty-four hours before and no later than the seconds before the Festival’s first screening begins to roll. “Mindless Music Driven Eye Candy”: No plot required. No ownership of original material required. No editing required. Skydive reference IS required. (Just because something is not required, does not mean it wouldn’t be accepted. Or be seen as a nice flourish, or even be awarded more points...). Vintage: Films in this category can include anything shot before 1997. These may be in any other category (excluding, naturally, Llama Mama Drama 24 hour Shooting Spree) i.e. Fiction; non-fiction; drama; comedy; mindless music driven eye candy. Prizes *The first mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film-making. This means that top prizes will be awarded to those entries in the “What’s the Story, Charlie?” Fiction category. Trophies Cash Merchandise Local restaurant gift certificates T-shirts for all entrants Please note • The Festival’s first screening of the evening will take place after the Pond Swoop Meet has finished for the night. The exact hour will be determined during the day. Sunset for August 25 is 7:41 pm. Screening time is tentatively set for 8:00 p.m. Sort of. • Quality of the skydive is irrelevant. The Ranch Film Festival is not a skydiving competition. As an example, tandem, student and pond swoop chows carry as much weight as Arizona Airspeed turning 40 points in time. We don’t really care. • Submissions to the Ranch Film Festival may be used by Festival organizers, Freefall Express or the Ranch Parachute Club for publicity purposes in promoting future Ranch Film Festivals, Freefall Express or the Ranch Parachute Club. Submitting a film to the festival constitutes permission by the film makers for the exclusive rights of these entities to use portions of the film maker’s work for publicity purposes. If you do not wish your film or portions to be used, please do not enter the Festival. • Entries cannot be entered in any other festival or competition either at the time of the Ranch Film Festival or prior. • Entries must have been made in 2007, though it is not necessary to make a film just for the Ranch Film Festival. If you have already made a film in 2007, and it meets all the requirements, you may submit it. • Print out and complete the provided Entry Form and include it with your submission and fifteen dollars entry fee. Entry forms will be available the day of the Festival. • Submitted on DVD only. Festival organizer is Kim Emerson. Please direct any questions to him. No one else has a clue what the hell is happening. To a point, neither does Kim. But he will fake an answer with more authority than anyone else.

Not in your case, Mike.

How about a hang glider at the hang glider place (they don't call it a drop zone, do they?) or from an ultralight at the same hang glider place?

2nd Annual Ranch Film Festival August 25, 2007 Guidelines & Information The first mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film making. The Festival is open to any amateur film-maker regardless of skydiving experience. None or tons. All submissions (except those in the Vintage category) must be on DVD. All submissions (except those in the Vintage category) should be a copy for the Festival organizers to keep for the Festival Archives. Guidelines: An entry fee of $15.00 is required All entries must have a Title All entries except those in the Vintage category must be shot in 2007. All entries MUST show some relation to skydiving in some manner. Whatever else it includes, it must at least include a skydive. Skydiving - or a skydive -does not have to be the central theme or motivation, or even a major player. It can have a cameo, “walk on” role. But it does have to appear in the film somehow. This may not necessarily mean freefall: It can be just the canopy portion. Anything goes, as long as skydiving figures into the film. All entries are to be no more than 10 minutes in length. This will not include opening or closing credits. All entries (except Llama Mama Drama 24 Hour Shooting Spree) must be submitted no later than one hour before the Festival’s first screening. Categories “What’s the Story, Charlie?”: Tell us a story. Get a few actors, write a script, be a director, shot video that tells us a story. You must own or have the right/permission to use any images or music used in your film to qualify for top prizes. • Fiction: (Drama, melodrama, comedy) Must have original plot and characters. (The primary mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film-making. This means that top prizes i.e., trophies, larger cash awards and/or restaurant gift certificates will be awarded to entries in this category) • Non-Fiction: (Drama, melodrama, comedy, documentary) “Llama Mama Drama 24 Hour Shooting Spree”: Begin conceiving, shooting and editing no earlier than twenty-four hours before the Festival’s first screening. Then submit your entry no earlier than twenty-four hours before and no later than the seconds before the Festival’s first screening begins to roll. “Mindless Music Driven Eye Candy”: No plot required. No ownership of original material required. No editing required. Skydive reference IS required. (Just because something is not required, does not mean it wouldn’t be accepted. Or be seen as a nice flourish, or even be awarded more points...). Vintage: Films in this category can include anything shot before 1997. These may be in any other category (excluding, naturally, Llama Mama Drama 24 hour Shooting Spree) i.e. Fiction; non-fiction; drama; comedy; mindless music driven eye candy. Prizes *The first mission of Ranch Film Festival is to promote original creativity in skydiving film-making. This means that top prizes will be awarded to those entries in the “What’s the Story, Charlie?” Fiction category. Trophies Cash Merchandise Local restaurant gift certificates T-shirts for all entrants Please note • The Festival’s first screening of the evening will take place after the Pond Swoop Meet has finished for the night. The exact hour will be determined during the day. Sunset for August 25 is 7:41 pm. Screening time is tentatively set for 8:00 p.m. Sort of. • Quality of the skydive is irrelevant. The Ranch Film Festival is not a skydiving competition. As an example, tandem, student and pond swoop chows carry as much weight as Arizona Airspeed turning 40 points in time. We don’t really care. • Submissions to the Ranch Film Festival may be used by Festival organizers, Freefall Express or the Ranch Parachute Club for publicity purposes in promoting future Ranch Film Festivals, Freefall Express or the Ranch Parachute Club. Submitting a film to the festival constitutes permission by the film makers for the exclusive rights of these entities to use portions of the film maker’s work for publicity purposes. If you do not wish your film or portions to be used, please do not enter the Festival. • Entries cannot be entered in any other festival or competition either at the time of the Ranch Film Festival or prior. • Entries must have been made in 2007, though it is not necessary to make a film just for the Ranch Film Festival. If you have already made a film in 2007, and it meets all the requirements, you may submit it. • Print out and complete the provided Entry Form and include it with your submission and fifteen dollars entry fee. Entry forms will be available the day of the Festival. • Submitted on DVD only. Festival organizer is Kim Emerson. Please direct any questions to him. No one else has a clue what the hell is happening. To a point, neither does Kim. But he will fake an answer with more authority than anyone else.

That was superb reading! I laughed out loud and vigorously a few times. Thank you so much for that. More!!