Raefordite

Cool! If you run into John Tippy at the DZ, let him know Kate and Spider say hello!

Thoughts and prayers to those lost and families left behind

Two Dollar - I say - Two Dollar is my bid for the ass car!

I'm 50/50 between Bud Lite and wine. No hard stuff My liver is too wimpy

I've jumped the Talon, Racer, Vector, Javelin. For small folks - I love the Javelin Odyssey, especially with an O yoke (smaller than an A yoke) and the low profile reserve handle (for those that still like a metal reserve handle)

Hey at least crazy people rank above bird shit!

Ok Sam - cough it up! Tell the story of how you got the nickname of Loco!!

No problem! Hello to you!

What kind of music does Sissel play/perform?

When you strip the line, assuming you cant pull the handle far out enough, should you just wrap your hand around the cable and keep pulling? NO Keep your hand on the handle, pull to full extension or straight elbow, the stripping is with the opposite hand. With a flat palm (like a karate chop) clear the line from the end of the housing. Most folks have long enough arms that this is never an issue. But for short armed jumpers and over zealous cutaway techniques, stripping is helpful. Also, should you not pull the reserve until the line is stripped completely out? Absolutely!! Sounds like you are on the right track! Keep trackin

Speaking of Billie Bob - I'm thinking he is looking a little more like "Double Stuff" again!

Great news about your Grandmother doing better! It is a hard pill to swallow but try to give the social worker a little space to check things out. In many areas if a child or dependent senior citizen has any questionable positive signs - it automatically starts an informal check on the home situation. Answer their questions and I am sure your mother will invite them to check out your home as well. Just hang in there and keep loving your Grandmother.

Chris: You have a single point riser release system (your cutaway handle). In the "old days" of skydiving not all rigs had the same deployment, cutaway or reserve deployment locations or methods. Before the cutaway system you are familiar with was available, it took two hands to open and release the main risers from your container. Thank goodness enough early generation skydivers survived to tell us that there must be a better way - and TAAA DAAA! The single point riser release system was developed. Personally, I call myself a "new age skydiver". I am very gratefully to all those military and sport jumpers that figured the hard stuff out for us. "Stripping the handle" means to make sure the cable has cleared the housing. Especially if I have a short jumper, if my cable housing is long, they have the potential of pulling the handle and not extracting the pin. I do NOT know of a situation that this has occurred recently, but it never hurts to be careful. Time is not on your side with a malfunction. But you do NOT want to pull both the cutaway and reserve handle instantaneously or at the same time. Ask your instructors to clarify. I'm sure they will go over it thoroughly. Many DZ's do not require the student to join USPA until after their 3rd or 4th jump. Many find it more convenient to have the student get a 45 day temporary membership immediately and then remind the student to either renew in 45 days or then recommend a full year membership once the 45 day one has expired. The 45 day membership is good for out of country jumpers in town for a short while and want USPA membership, cost effective for the student who is not sure if they really are staying in the sport, etc, etc. If the drop zone is not a USPA Group member, they won't require it at all. Jim Crouch, USPA staff member of Safety & Training and I spoke today. USPA does not have a time or deadline requirement of exactly when a student is required to join USPA. Simply, both you the student and the DZ are not protected by USPA until the student is a member. Is it hard to pull the cutaway handle? The average pull force is 15 lbs. That varies greatly depending on the container, what reserve is in the container, and your rigger's skills. My recommendation is ask your DZ school to let you pull the cutaway and reserve handles of their next student rig that is due for a repack. Once you own your own rig, I recommend every 120 days when you get your rig re-packed, go through the emergency procedures and actually pull the handles. That is what I do with both my rigs. In other words, find out for yourself. Good luck! blue skies, Kate

We have 2 each Cessna 182's and a Twin Otter. The best part is they are DZ owned - so they can't fly away when needed elsewhere or during the slower season and leave us hanging! We also have a second Twin Otter and CASA on location when needed!

Forgot to ask - How is your arm?

Ok - I refused to vote since I knew all their real names I mean - sorry - I had to protect myself from the possibility of any association with these crazy monkey lips!

http://www.uspa.org/Publications/SIM/SIMtext/Section2.htm#e 2. All students are to be equipped with the following equipment until they have obtained a USPA A license: a. a rigid helmet (except tandem students) [NW] b. a piggyback harness and container system that includes a single-point riser release and a reserve static line, except: [FB] (1) A student who has been cleared for freefall self-supervision may jump without a reserve static line upon endorsement from his or her supervising instructor. (2) Such endorsement may be for one jump or a series of jumps. Dear Groundrush: The above is from the USPA SIMS manual. If you are at a USPA Group Member Drop Zone, they have agreed to adhere to the Basic Safety Regulations (BSR's). As you can read, an RSL is mandatory. I bet they do have an RSL, or perhaps following the link and reading about it yourself may help. Then, turn to your instructors and ask a few questions. I bet they can help and will be happy to answer. As for the cutaway procedure - what you have learned is fine. If teaching a two handed technique, I like the following: Look at the cutaway device Reach with both hands for the cutaway device Look atr the reserve handle, then Pull the cutaway handle Strip the cutaway cable, Reach for the reserve handle Pull the reserve handle Strip the reserve cable Some think that is too confusing. I am sure your instructors have had much discussion and have agreed on the method of teaching you for a reason. Ask them what is that reason! If I have a small female or someone with less than what I hope for developed triceps and grip strength, I like the two handed approach. In my last (of two) cutaways, I had too much g-force and needed a two handed method to cutaway my main. So my first cutaway was a one handed method, my second cutaway was a two handed method. BOTH worked fine and I was safe and kept all handles! You are asking all the right questions. Safety is always first!

What type of student container are you using? If it is the new Student Javelin, even if you pull the handles out of sequence, the main will cutaway and then the reserve deploy. Good reassurance but not to be depended on. That is what our DZ uses. Just the same, listen to Skymama and practice touching those handles - in order - before every jump. I had over 700 jumps before my first malfunction and cutaway. Doesn't matter if you have 3 jumps or thousands of jumps. Your first cutaway is your first! I found it to be very reassuring that everything went by the book and turned out fine. Keep your training current! I'm sure your home DZ is planning on events on March 8th for Safety Day. Take advantage of this and attend.

Welcome to skydiving! Raeford has groups come from the UK to learn to jump or for coach jumps. With your weather and cost of jumps, many find it cost effective to jump the pond and play on our side. Hope to meet you skydiving some day!

Greg: Thanks for the update. Your Dad is a good guy and I know he works by the books. I saw and spoke with Tony D. today. I hope this doesn't rearrange any military careers due to their injuries. blue skies and calm winds, Kate

Triathlon 210 ft² & 108 jumps and now have a 170 Stilleto. Don't get me wrong, Stilleto's are great canopies. I have over 1000 jumps on them. But I got to give you the big - Ditto - is your profile current? If so, I'm curious, did you purchase it from an individual or dealer (dealer or individual names not important)?

Careful Squeak! Downsizing from a 230 to a 170 is quite a transition. The Skymaster is a good canopy. What is the 170?

Tattooed: We see a lot of you bloaks that transition to freefall. Your first jump course includes all the same stuff as anyone else, you just learn a different exit position from static line(and why), a few changes in the aircraft emergency procedures, and we rarely need to do any training in a PLF (parachute landing fall). Usually you guys can outdo any civilian jumper on a PLF. Your number of jumps can count, but not toward meeting your TLO's (Targeted Learning Objectives). We'd love to see you in Raeford if in the area. blue skies (SkyMonkeyOne's boss at Raeford ), Kate

Although I didn't know John Adams, I know a number of Canadians as they have traveled to Raeford to jump. So sorry - God's speed, Kate

All you crazies that consider jumping in below freezing weather are beyond me. I must admit - I am a fair weather fan! At least 5C on the ground and winds that don't scare me! The days are already getting longer and a little warmer