slotperfect

I searched and found the other month old thread. I must have missed the listing the first time around. I usually scour the skydiving equipment listings daily. Oh well . . . Arrive Safely John

Not advertising, just marvelling at the fact that in amongst the other skydiving gear is THIS Only 50 Grand! He gives you 50 Grand worth of description, too! Arrive Safely John

March 18, 2001 I explored the site for a long time before that . . . I jumped into the forums last. Arrive Safely John

That video just plain kicks ass! You guys did great, and I'm glad you and Greg are carrying something home with you to create momentum for you in Croatia. Well done, congratulations, and rest easy for . . . well . . . an hour or so! Love Ya! Arrive Safely John

From the "Forums" window, go to "Who's Online" then "View Member Directory" You can search from there. Arrive Safely John

-I have a big head . . . hat size 7 3/4. -The word for head in Spanish is "Cabeza" -"Cabezon" means "big-headed one" That would be me! Arrive Safely John

The ones I usually search are first name, last name, user name, home dz, state, country. Thanks, HH! Arrive Safely John

What happened to the "Skydivers" link on the home page? How do I search for people now? Help please? Arrive Safely John

Cute! Kids are such a gift! I love mine too.

I got to ride in the cockpit for one of the "Fat Albert" JATO takeoff/STOL landing demos. I rode on the bench seat next to the Navigator. It was an awesome experience! Edit: spelling (doh!) Arrive Safely John

I count them as Tandem Master jumps. I log the jumps with me as student passenger separately and don't count them as Tandems. Just my $.02 Arrive Safely John

I am collecting powerful and inspiring quotes that in some way refer to skydiving. I will post them on my website, which is currently a work-in-progress. I have the famous quote from Leonardo Da Vinci on the home page: "For once you have tasted flight you will walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return" Any additions would be greatly appreciated. Post them here or email them to me slotperfect@dropzone.com Thanks! Arrive Safely John

Galadriel Of course there was no reference to gender in the questions. I could do worse, I guess! Arrive Safely John

Yes. The Main Side Instructor had a camera, and we had video from above as well. I plan to do the editing this week, and I'll post it somewhere!?!? The pics I pull off the video will et posted here. Arrive Safely John

ROFLMAO! Arrive Safely John

I experienced the highlight of my AFF career today. Bill Jolly (US D-26, Canada D-10, UK D-3), made his first skydive in over 25 years, and I was his Reserve Side AFF Instructor. Chuck Blue (SkymonkeyONE) gave him his training (basically a first jump course), Golden Knight Greg Windmiller (DALAILAMA) was the Main Side, and (LouDiamond) shot video. Bill is 80 years old, and began skydiving in the early '60s as a Navy Rigger. He has over 3000 jumps, and is now back in the air because his Grandson Jeremy (a US Marine) has taken up the sport. It was a real treat to skydive with him, and of course I got his signature in my logbook. He agreed to do an interview of sorts with me via email, which I will use to produce an article of some sort. I will post pics here when I get them next week. Arrive Safely John

Congratulations, Jessica! Check your PMs! Arrive Safely John

2864 jumps and still no A License! I went straight to a B (back in the day). Arrive Safely John

Welcome back, sweetie! See you this weekend?!?!? Arrive Safely John

Happy birthday, Senor Honcho!

My personal reason is not listed in your poll. I do tandems for two reasons: 1) I love sharing the sport with people for their first skydive, up close and personal. I can literally feel their energy, and their thrill becomes mine. 2) I thrive on the responsibility. Not just from the increased risk, or being responsible for two lives instead of one, but mainly because people are trusting me as a safe space for them to bust up their comfort zone, conquer fears, and go where they have never gone before. It is an honor for me to be that space for them. Tandems are at times a lot of work, and on every jump require additional strength and concentration. I love all of it! Arrive Safely John

I saw the video of DOn Zimmer's apology via the press this morning. I experienced him as being genuinely sorry and humble. He is clear with me; I hope others see him the same way. Arrive Safely John

1) Skydiving is inherently dangerous. The more one respects the danger, and takes steps to mitigate it, the safer it gets. The more individuals that make this effort, the safer the group/DZ/discipline/sport gets. If you are one of those skydivers who always respects the presence of said danger, and never sacrifices the steps taken to mitigate the risk, you can consider yourself as a source for safety in our sport, with that influence radiating out from you. Many of those around you will be affected in a positive and forwarding way, and you just don't realize how many people you might affect. Thus, there is great value for all of us in the safe practices of one individual. 2) I support TomBuch's statement that statistics should be suspect. They can be easily manipulated to the benefit or detriment of the person/group they are referring to. Example: Patricia graduated in the top 5% of her class in high school. In my graduating class of 19, Patricia (a real person) was our valedictorian, top of the class. In a graduating class of 500, she would be in the top 25 students. So, would Patty rather have others say she was at the top of her class, or in the top 5%? Also, if we live our lives always looking to achieve what is possible in our lives, we will always be taking ourselves to another level, forwarding our contribution to those around us. Conversely, if we never try because the "odds" (stats) are 1:1,000,000, we create unnecessary self-imposed limits for ourselves. 3) Complacency is what kills most people in this sport. Some people just plain ignore the danger, others are just out there to push limits as early in their career as they can. Unfortunately, before they meet their demise these folks have a huge influence on others as well - especially low-time jumpers. One should consider very carefully how their actions around the upstarts may affect the sport in the long run. 4) Whuffos who are considering skydiving must decide for themselves. I will never take a student into an airplane that has been coerced by a friend or family member. I want it to be their choice - the experience will have much more value for them that way. They will be able to see that they created the experience for themselves. Recently I had a very analytical tandem student ask me what would happen if the reserve parachute did not work. I commented how interesting it was how many people ask me that question, but would hop in their car to drive 70 on a busy interstate without a thought as to when the last time the brakes were serviced, or what the chances were that they would fail. That's one example of the driving analogy working for me.

No. I have heard Bill Booth address this question in his Sigma presentation at PIA 2001 . . . he doesn't want to add more friction to the cutaway equation. I know that the newer Strong rigs have this mod, though. Arrive Safely John

It's from Norman Kent's Movie "From Wings Came Flight." You can watch the video and read the credits to see the musician(s) name(s), or email him through his website