slotperfect

At Thanksgiving, my nephew recounted a true story of the music teacher at his high school . . . This lad, about 26, has been struck by lightning eight times. After those around him noticed the obvious pattern, they had him checked out by the docs. After extensive testing and examination, it was determined that he is one of a few special humans that carry a neutral charge. I am not medically inclined, but apparently we average folk produce positive ions from within our body. He does not. Therefore, he sucks in positive energy from his surroundings. It gets a bit out of control when he gets very excited or upset. He fried his entire computer lab in high school, and cannot fly because his "personal electronic device" cannot be turned off. My nephew says when he walks by any equipment such as a stereo with a VU meter, it affects the displays. I had never heard of this condition . . . have any of you?? He is not the bulls**tting type, so I trust the story to be true. Arrive Safely John

Check your PM's

I saw it and thought to be excellent as well. Arrive Safely John

A B-17, exiting through the bomb bay doors. By far my favorite exit, and the coolest aircraft I have ever jumped (I have been fortunate enough to have a pretty long list as well). I was facing aft, with one foot on the structural rib of the left bomb bay door, and the other foot on the bomb rack in the center. I simply hopped up, putting my arms straight down at my sides, and my legs straight and together, and dropped into the relative wind. I then did a backwards gainer and dove down to join my friends who had exited before me (both from the bomb bay and the waist gunner doors). Arrive Safely John

My tracking partner my first year, SFC Bill Brown, had not been through tryouts either. He had been hired as an Operations NCO (no tryout required - interview process only). He later was taken on as a Demonstrator because of his extensive demo jump experience and proven track record on GK demos as a guest demonstrator (commonplace on the Team). I considered him a Team Mate and a brother, regardless of his not having been through tryouts. My Team Leader told me he was my Team Mate, Bill earned my respect, trust, and friendship, and that was that. I agree completely with Brian's assessment, and I acknowledge him for choosing such clear, concise, and powerful words on this subject. Thank you Brian, for your attitude and contribution. I too wish Adam the best of luck in his new career, and congratulate him on being granted a "skydiving scholarship." The Team changes as the world and the the skydiving community around it changes. I can only wish him well and trust that he will honor his Team Mates and his new environment by making good choices. 'Some people see the world as it is and ask, "Why?" I see the world as it could be and say "Why not?"' --George Bernard Shaw John Hawke Gold Demonstration Team '92, '93, '94

Because I do some rigging work for people, I send back about 4 a year. I have had some that were sent to SSK for maintenance that for some reason were subsequently sent to Airtec in Germany for further work. It cost more, but I don't recall how much more. Maybe one of the Airtec/SSK staffers that are members of these forums will chime in and help us out?!?!? Arrive Safely John

Based on the immediate results from purchasing your first Zip Code, I would say that buying the second is a worthwhile risk. On the other hand, living without medical insurance is not, in my opinion, worth the risk. My advice is to buy the second zip code, setting a goal as to when you will have it paid off, and work hard to close on enough houses to not only make the debt go away, but to make the investment propel your busines and you financial situation forward. In the meantime, come up with a plan to secure medical insurance for yourself. Love ya, Arrive Safely John

Th commissioned officer positions on the USAPT are: Commander, Executive Officer (XO), Operations Officer (Opso), and Aviation Section Officer-In-Charge (OIC). By rank they are (normally) respectively LTC, MAJ, CPT, and CPT/MAJ. There are Warrant Officers as well: the Property Book Officer (in charge of logistics), and the rest of the military pilots. All Officers, both commissioned and warrant, are Team Mates. They have a job to do and are an integral part of the Team. They are not assigned to the Demonstration or Competition Teams, and where this started I don't know. I will say that enlisted Airborne soldiers in the Army are more likely to have more military jumps, both static line and MFF, as their career paths are more likely to yield the most years in airborne assignments. Take my job skill for example. I am a 92R Parachute Rigger. I have been in an Airborne assignment for 19 years. A typical officer contemporary, Quartermaster Branch, likely an LTC, having also been trained as a Rigger, may only have a few years in various Airborne assignments. This may have some bearing on the facts. The GK CO, XO, and OPSO usually are trained to do demonstrations and will on occasion travel with the Demo Teams. They are treated as guest demonstrators, but the Demo Team Leader is still in charge. The only change in "protocol" is that the TL will defer to the "O" by giving him/her the front spot in the lineup after the show. Arrive Safely John

72.55% I must really have had no life back then . . . or had a radio implanted in my inner ear. Arrive Safely John

Happy birthday, hombre! Arrive Safely John

CLINT! You were awesome, my friend . . . you are the bomb! What's next?? Arrive Safely John

I did . . . back in the day (1985). I was jumping static line progression (my first & failed attempt at being a skydiving student) at the Green Beret Parachute Club at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I was doing a 5-second delay, rolled over on pull, had a brief horseshoe malfunction, and successfully cutaway (capewells!) and landed the 24' flat circular on my chest. I was young and weighed all of 200 lbs. Doing it now that I am . . . well . . . not fitting that description anymore, makes me shudder. And shudder again. Arrive Safely John

The town I grew up in is famous for cheese: Cabot The town I have lived in for the last 8 years is famous for golf: Pinehurst Arrive Safely John

Former Gold Team Demonstrator George Torrealba is organizing a US Army Golden Knights Alumni website, with his niece Heather doing the web design. He needs help rounding up any former members of the US Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, be they jumpers, pilots, admin, supply, or whatever. Do you have any former GK's on your DZ? In your neighborhood? At your work place? If so, give them this URL: GK Alumni Page and ask them to use the email link on the page to input their info. Or, you can shoot me their email address and I'll tell 'em about it myself: slotperfect@dropzone.com

This seller either simply wants a knowledgeable person to write an effective description of an item they know nothing about, or is a serial killer. Check It Out Arrive Safely John

Hook beat me to it. I'll add the link: E Thread From Para Gear You may save a coupla bucks by going through a dealer like SkyKat If you don't want to pay for a full spool, or need a couple of different colors, you may be able to call a gear manufacturer and buy partial sppols of specific colors. Try Sandy Reid at RI . You can tell him I sent you. Hope this helps! Arrive Safely John

Those requirements are in the IRM. They are listed in the beginning of the syllabus for each rating. If you don't have one, you can download what you need HERE PM me if you need more help. Edit to add: URL Arrive Safely John

Feel free . . . I am using them, and I got them all from someone else! This is an open source, so go for it!

I admire your modesty! Arrive Safely John

The last one looks like Mark Jones, GK S&A Coach. Hard to tell from that angle . . . Arrive Safely John

There is a 45-day temporary membership . . . if that's what you're talking about. I have not seen that one online, nor do I remember the cost. Otherwise, the basic membership that we members sign up for is HERE Arrive Safely John

Since my first post on March 26th, 2001 I have: -started working on staff at Raeford Parachute Center (May of 2002) -shared the wonderful world of skydiving with a whole bunch Tandem and AFF students. From those have come some incredible experiences for me, and some close friendships. -bought a personal skydiving rig for the first time since 1992. (In the middle there I had been using only my work rig). -jumped tandem with a 61 year old retired fighter pilot, a 6'6" 230 lb Air Force LoadMaster, and a 4'8" Air Force Lieutenant. -jumped AFF with D-26, who was getting back in the air after 25+ years of inactivity. He is 80 years old. -made some terrific new friends as a result of falling deeper in love with skydiving . . . here on my virtual DZ home, my home DZ, and my home away from home (SDAZ). -got appointed as an S&TA In the next year my goals are: -to bust 3000 jumps (February or so) hopefully taking my 74 year old Mom up on a tandem jump. That would be a very special way to celelbrate that milestone for me. My 1000th was a busted 18-way, and my 2000th was a work jump filming a tandem pair. -to get appointed as a USPA Coach Course Director to be able to serve the local military community and my home DZ in that capacity (April or so). -to break my personal record for oldest tandem student by taking up an 82 year old friend of the family. -to teach my 12 year old son how to pack parachutes and edit videos for the school. My goals for the next 5 years are: -earn my Relative Workshop Tandem Examiner rating -be appointed as a USPA Tandem Course Director -compete in 4-way (I got a taste of the real deal this year and I have the bug) -put together a demo rig and start doing demos again. I miss them. -make the Angel Falls (Venezuela) BASE jump trip with Tom Sanders and crew -after retiring from active military service (dunno when???) I would like to spend at least the first year doing nothing but working on staff at Raeford and volunteering as a staffer for The Legacy Center , a local organization that conducts life-leadership training. Thanks for the thread, Dave . . . it was fun to share all this. Thanks also to the fellow dotcommer who came up with the idea. Arrive Safely John

Hello, Dahling! I have about 400 jumps on a 2000 Javelin with that same chest strap, and about 75 on a 2002 Odyssey with the same setup. I agree with those who have posted before that if it is routed properly and the excess is stowed, it should not be an issue. Arrive Safely John

I don't even bother. Most whuffos that use that one liner are just falling back on a cop-out that sounds good to them, even a bit clever to them. It allows them to stay safely within their comfort zone. Skydiving is not for everybody, but that line is not for anybody. Arrive Safely John

Thank, y'all!