slotperfect

Great job, Kai! What's next?? Arrive Safely John

A huge "Amen" to that. Arrive Safely John

In order of importance for me: -Professionalism -Vibe -Facilities (specifically aircraft) Arrive Safely John

Flight Concepts lists their Clipper 9-cell as being 195 sq ft. It's my opinion that: 1) you should get some better opinions from highly experienced canopy pilots at your DZ that know how you fly your current canopy. 2) you consider shifting to a semi-elliptical zero-p canopy of the same size, like the Sabre2 and get really good at flying and landing it before going elliptical. 3) with the canopy mentioned in #2, you complete billvon's downsizing checklist before moving to a fully elliptical canopy. I have done almost exactly what I described above: -at about 600 jumps, I was jumping a Raider 220 (one size up from the Clipper). -I made the USAPT and jumped 7-cell F-111 canopies doing demo accuracy through 1700 jumps -I then jumped a Falcon 235 for a while and began learning how to do 90 degree turns to landing on approach (through the 2000 jump level) -Next I jumped a "tapered" F-111/zero-p hybrid (Silhouette 210) through about 2700 jumps. -My first zero-p canopy was a Sabre2 190, which I still own. I have completed all of billvon's checklist except landing with rear risers, which I will get coaching on in August. -I am currently jumping a demo Stiletto 170 and am having quite successful swoop landings with it, despite their being a new learning curve. -note: I still do only 90-100 degree (front riser) turns to landing. I hope this will help! John Arrive Safely John

1) I edited the title of original post by request of the DZO of another DZ with the "Adventure Skydiving" name - included the exact location of the incident. 2) There is a post in Incidents HERE and a remembrances/condolences post in The Bonfire HERE. 3) Quasimodem asked to have this post deleted, but since it already has some visibility and responses, I'm choosing to lock it and keep it here. Let's continue the conversations in the other two threads. Thanks. Arrive Safely John

Where is Adventure Skydiving located?? Arrive Safely John

An update . . . Gene Paul told me last night that Parkton now has a King Air, and that both the Casa and the Barney Otter will fly at Raefrod tomorrow. Good news, cause it's gonna be swarming with jumpers tomorrow. Arrive Safely John

VIEWING 7 PM - 9 PM, Saturday, 10 July Rogers & Breece Funeral Home, 500 Ramsey St, Fayetteville FUNERAL 4 PM, Sunday, 11 July St. James Lutheran Church, 1424 Morganton Rd, Fayetteville Pall Bearers provided by Raeford Parachute Center BURIAL Immediately Following Funeral Lafayette Memorial Cemetery (Across from VA hospital) Military Detail FLOWERS/DONATIONS Flowers OK or Donations to St. James Lutheran Church Questions? Call me at RPC School tomorrow (910) 904-0000. Arrive Safely John

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Nice. I'm not sure what the "record" is, but you guys have a candidate! I'd be interested to gear the mechanics of it . . . how you set it up, experience levels of the participants, etc. And of course a pic would be nice! Arrive Safely John

Updates . . . Carlos had just arrived at CSS and while in mid-conversation suffered a massive heart attack. Skillful efforts to revive him both on the scene and at the hospital had no lasting effect. The family is very thankful that it happened on the ground. They are doing as well as can be expected. The funeral will be in Fayetteville, date & time are fluid as of now. More details to follow. Arrive Safely John

First of all, I acknowledge you for your huge accomplishment. You honor yourself and others by not being a slave to alcohol. Second, when your next "first" comes up, why not take a road trip to Raeford so you can hook a brotha up with a Root Beer float? I'm all about that! Arrive Safely John

I am sad to report that Raeford Staff Member Carlos Rivers passed away this morning. Carlos was standing on the ground at CSS in Louisburg, NC having a conversation with one of the staff, and suffered some sort of physical collapse. I have no details as to the cause of death, or as to arrangements for funeral or memorial services. I will post them when I get them. Carlos was an active Tandem Instructor and Coach on staff at Raeford Parachute Center. He was 60 years old, and very fit. He will be missed by all of us at Raeford. I personally have known Carlos for a long time. He was a retired Special Forces Warrant Officer, and served his country for a large portion of his life. He was also a fellow Vermonter, which he reminded others of often when we were together. I shared a lot of airplane rides and skydives with Carlos, and I will miss him greatly. He was one of the most professional and team oriented instructors I have ever worked with, and treated his students with utmost respect. Please trust me to report details as they come in. To my knowledge, this incident was not skydiving related. I will post details as I get them. Please post respectfully, as Carlos' family will likely read this thread. Thanks, Arrive Safely John

coconutmonkey could give you some potato gun pointers. Shoot him a PM. Arrive Safely John

Nope . . . I used microline tube stoes. Thanks for the catch - I should have made that clear. Arrive Safely John

I know one in the Virginia Beach area. He is out of the country right now, should be returning soon. PM me when you get to Virginia and I'll put you in touch with him. Here's a list of RWS Examiners by state: Tandem Examiners - USA Arrive Safely John

I don't know a thing about them . . . howsabout posting a link so I can go educate myself?? I knew a lot of people that free stowed their lines like that. Of course that was on older 7-cell F-111 canopied like XL Clouds. I don't see anyone doing it anymore . . . maybe I just need to get out more!?!? My guess would be that the canopies that are being packed that way have opening characteristics that are very tolerant of different packing methods. How were you packing it? Were you using the standard pack job recommended by PD for the Stiletto? If so, the Stiletto falls into that category of canopies that are very tolerant as I mentioned above. BTW - I don't intend to match rigging wits with you . . . I love to learn new stuff, and do change my stance on things (like the stow band issue) when I gain new and better information. My personal experience with tube stoes: my work canopy is a Silhouette 210. It came originally with dacron lines. I flat packed it (a straight stack-pack) and used tube stoes and had comfy openings. I had it relined by PD with 825lb spectra, and it opened a bit harder. I switched from tube stoes to rubber bands and openings went back to comfy again. Arrive Safely John

The first audible I know of was the Paralert . . . an SSE product, if I'm not mistaken. L&B had the original Dytter out a few years after that. The Pro Dytter was released after the Time Out, if I remember correctly. If you search the forums for "Larsen and Brusgaard" or "L&B," you will find numerous customers that have been astounded by the incredible customer service L&B provides. I have owned L&B products since 1989, currently owning 2 Pro-Dytters. They work VERY well . . . the best audibles I have ever owned. Arrive Safely John

Dude, that comment made my day! ROFLMAO! My only issue with tube stoes, which I have posted before (the stow band conversation is one of the dead horses here in the forums), is that they don't provide as much friction as rubber bands during deployment. The deployment needs to be effectively staged, step-by-step during the packing process to allow the jumper to decelerate enough for the opening to be comfortable. Arrive Safely John

Thanks for reminding me . . . I just updated mine. If SA does not have awards for free fall time, or have a free fall time requirement for licenses and instructional ratings, then keeping track of it would only serve you if you like tracking numbers, especially about yourself. Here in the US, USPA requires a minimum amount of free fall time for licenses and instructional ratings, listed in HH:MM:SS format. That drives the train for us here in the US. As far as accuracy goes, I use the same free fall time calculator as mentioned above - my audible doesn't track free fall time. Arrive Safely John

Congratulations Michelle! Now you can hit the road and visit other DZs. Have fun and be safe! Arrive Safely John

I am a Rigger, but I prefer "Nylon-American." Arrive Safely John

I'll take "Infamous O.J. Lawyers" for $500, Alex. Arrive Safely John

The owner of the original post edited out the point of the whole thread and said "nevermind." At that point the thread becomes like a chicken with no head. Imagine a court of law, several days into an important trial, and "K" from Men In Black came in the room with his "deneuralizer" and removes the reason for the trial (the charges) from everyone's mind. Discussion from that point on would never again be on track. This happens a lot . . . Arrive Safely John

Congratulations! Welcome to the fold . . . Arrive Safely John