weavermc

Okay - so my personal experience from earlier this month is below. Feel free to ask me questions for more specifics if needed... Posted as FYI. Middle of the day Tandem jump from 18,000' (rig had been used previously during the day). Astra was turned off between jumps, I personally turned it on before getting on the plane. Uneventful skydive and landing. I disconnected student, walked to our gear van, placed the canopy inside the van and slipped the (Eclipse) tandem rig off my back to the ground - heard a POP - and saw the reserve pilot chute. I immediately froze and told the DZ Manager (standing next to me) that I may have accidently pulled the reserve - while both watching, I laid the rig down and saw the reserve handle still in place. When we looked at the reserve, the reserve loop was cut. There should be absolutely NO reason this thing fired and the DZ is looking into replacing them all. Weaves

Juju come home brother, the beer is cold, the PAC 750 nice, and its all the same people having as much fun as we did before (just doing it 20 minutes quicker....i'll leave that one open). Take care of your commitments, let them know you want to move, develop a mutually agreeable timeline, and when you can nicely break contact---move back up the road. If that fails, tell them you are having a sex change and need time off... Besides - do you really want to miss Woody's 3 foot skin-removing "swoops" ???? Weaves

I don't have an IPod, BUT..... I would highly recommend against getting this particular one.... http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=939363C7-F379-4F87-A005-F50D82D65FF7 I'm sure he'll claim it was "pre-loaded software" Weaves

I'm on the band-wagon.... I was taught to "Fly Big" and worry about myself. That seems to work about 95% of the time. The other 5% are those jumps that make you realize why not everyone is a Tandem Master and why you have to have some experience first. I've hooked legs when I feel the student has "crazy legs" that are making me less-stable than I like. On a very few rare occasions, I've grabbed arms and hooked legs. So far - I've only had one I dumped high because the student's position put me in a continuous and fast turn that I could not control from above. Weaves

The new owners are Mark Pollack and his wife, and they came from Skydive Taft in California.

Mark fully plans on flying this weekend (3-5 March). We met him last sunday when he flew in and said he's ready to get going, although I'm not sure if he's doing student work this weekend or not. Feel free to call the DZ (254)947-3483 (www.skydivetemple.net) I'll be there, beer in hand!!! Weaves

Not sure yet, didn't talk to the new owner's too much yesterday. I'm sure that by the end of this coming weekend he'll have the rest of the details out Weaves

Good news! The PAC 750XL is here as of today and Mark Pollack (new owner) is looking to get going no later than this friday (3 March). Get your gear dusted off..... the new DZ website is here: http://skydivetemple.net Later Weaves

I should be in Taji within a year so if y'all get the dz started, let me know - i'll put my gear in the Milvan Weaves

Voodew... Sam left you a Voicemail, but it arrived at Skydive Temple this afternoon. (That's in Salado, TX for those that don't jump here) We got to meet Mark Pollack, and the plane is really nice. We start jumping no later than Friday (I put a message in Events & Places to Skydive) - he's already created a new website (www.skydivetemple.net) and he's ready to go. We gonna see you soon? Weaves

Just wanted to pass along the great news that Skydive Temple in Salado TX is reopening, and has Mark Pollack's PAC 750 XL! Mark arrived today with the PAC 750 and exclaimed that he's ready to get things going. He expects to start jumping no later than this friday (3 March) Check out the new website http://skydivetemple.net or call the DZ at (254)947-DIVE (3483) Weaves

Moffett, I like these two... www.break.com and http://www.uglyjackass.com/media/?id=videos Later Weaves

Great news... Just got this from Rich yesterday: SKYDIVE TEMPLE WILL RE-OPEN WITH PENNY AND MARK POLLACK AS THE NEW OWNERS! THEY WILL BRING THEIR PAC 750 TO THE DZ FOR THE ONLY JUMPSHIP, AND WILL BE FLYING ROUND TRIPS JUMPS TO 13500' IN 16 MINUTES! COME OUT AND JUMP THEIR GREAT AIRCRAFT, THE ONLY AIRCRAFT SPECIFICALLY MADE TO FLY SKYDIVERS! BRING YOUR "FIRST PAC" BEER TOO AND STAY AROUND TO GET TO KNOW THE NEW OWNERS. THE SAME TELEPHONE NUMBERS WILL BE IN OPERATION, 245-947-DIVE (3483) TO GET THE EXACT OPENING DATE. SEE YOU HERE! RICH

My wife just sent me pictures of my new Mirage and i'm so excited - -too bad i'm stuck in Baghdad till March... Of course, by the time i'm home, my new Cobalt will be there too!

Mirage has been great - I ordered one a little while ago and they made it very easy - and they're super friendly. With the price of rigs - the discounts really add up - mine will be ready here soon - too bad i've still got another four months here in Baghdad before i'll ever see it!

Wow, I have an idea for a poll, ask any soldier, sailor, marine or airmen that is out on the street to tell you if they think the media coverage of Iraq is accurate. I can guarantee what you will find. I sit here in Baghdad working with soldiers who have been in and out of Baghdad's notorious slum SADR CITY. Since April when we lost a lot of soldiers to the Mahdi Army ambush and the subsequent fighting, we have made great strides. THere is a cease-fire in place, we provide humanitarian assistance, and are spending millions of dollars to do what Saddam never did: rebuild their power infrastructure, water system and sewage systems. Have you seen this in the papers? How about the soldiers that are guarding powerplants around Baghdad to stop insurgents from blowing them up? I missed that article. Oh, wait, how about the one were our doctors went to all their clinics to donate medial books lost during looting and then gave hands-on teaching to show them what they were never allowed to learn under Saddam? or was that lost in the classified section? I wont go on, but i'll just remind you that the media has an agenda. If they can find a story with SOME truth that will make people say "OMG!" then they sell papers... if its boring, and shows that we are making progress... they'll skip it. I have lost friends here, and many friends have been wounded. I refuse to let people believe that the media is telling you what is gonig on here. okay, my 2 cents is up Mark

My tandem packer was so good - I married her!

Hmm, well I will give you ONE perspective. I'm a 12-year veteran of the army. I spent a few years enlisted working on blackhawks, went to West Point and now i'm a tanker (armor officer). Right now, its 5am in Baghdad, i'm on the night shift in our Operations Center for an armored battalion that's been here for 8 months. Before deploying here I was doing field training (at my home station and in other parts of the US) for six months, and a year before that, I was in Kuwait and Afghanistan. Not doing anything sexy, (i.e. i wont claim i'm SF or doing anything outside of what a normal soldier does on a daily basis - work), but gone from home a lot and pulling lots of long hours. In all this time, i've learned that you have to be in the military because you want to be here. You have to enjoy what you do because you do it A LOT. My soldiers routinely pull 14-16 hour "work" days, and my first six months in Iraq I had 1 day off. The pay is "okay," and definately better since we do receive combat zone entitlements, but - I could still make more in the "real world" The rewards are there - but mostly internal. I am most happy when I see that my work is making a difference, which these days is simply defined as when an Iraqi waves back as we drive by instead of staring at us - i'm most unhappy when a friend i've known for 11 years is blown up by a roadside bomb and I have to sit there thinking about the video tape he had just shown me of his wife and little girl. In today's army, the distinction between soldier and pogue is narrowing - it still exists, dont get me wrong, but dont let labels and visions of glory guide your decision. Pick something you think you will enjoy, pick something you think you can do, over and over and over again, and most importantly, pick something YOU want. Finally, I have been blessed and not had to find myself on the wrong end of an insurgent's attack - but I have many friends by my side that have, to include some that have been hit my maching gun fire and RPG fragments. Don't rush to the firefight, as you might regret what you find, at the soldier level, war isn't nearly as sexy as it seems. Sorry this is long-winded, I have nothing but time on my side. I have 128 days, or 3,107 minutes, or just over 11 million seconds till i get to go home and see my family again - but who's counting. Serving proudly, and loving what I do Mark PS: there aint no jumping in Baghdad, although my first 7 monts here i never saw a cloud in the sky - sure makes me miss home

Voodew - what's up brother ... no-one's paying for jumps in Baghdad yet, but... At my home DZ $20/TANDEM (I dont pack it) $20/AFF 1-3 $25/AFF 4-7 $25/student in AFF Course While visiting other DZs, i've made as much as $40/AFF Currently dont get discounts, but i hear its in the works! Weaves SGCOT#9 PS:SCCOT#4 says what's up

I've got over 1,500 jumps and have been very lucky so far. As an accuracy jumper my first few years I had a few twisted ankles and the occasional sore tailbone (from acc jumps into peas instead of a tuffet). I think that you can do everything right and still get hurt (freak hole that your foot finds on landing breaking your lef), but I have always tried to keep my desire to do new and cool stuff down to a dull roar. I jumped a Cobalt 120 at a wingloading of 2.0 but never got "wild and crazy" and always tried new "tricks" slowly and after talking to other jumpers to get their coaching. Blue Skies (it's always blue skies here in Baghdad, too bad we can't jump) weaves

cuz i'm stuck in baghdad!

I know the feeling brother! I'm sitting here in Baghdad and watching our satellite tv. They play the same thing OVER AND OVER - so of course, I've watched George Sr jump about 30 times already! Oh well, I get my R&R leave in a little bit and I'll get to jump with my honey! Enjoy it while you got it, sure sucks being here! weaves

Forgive me for not knowing - but I am deployed to Baghdad and didn't hear what happened to Raff... he was my AFF evaluator a few years back and an awesome guy!

Since you asked for experiences on Line Over openings.... I had a line over on a Sabre 150 wingloaded at about 1.5. It opened okay enough, but I had enough time to look up, see the line-over, and then the canopy started spinning violently with me on my back. Needless to say, it was less than a desirable body position for reserve deployment.

I agree with the others here--i have only 200 tandems but mentors taught me early to fly big and fly my own body... so far i've only had to 'manhandle' two or three studens so I'm a big believer in the "X" Weaves