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Experiencing how you have created this site and made it grow in such an incredible way, you have my full support, cooperation, and patience. Thanks for everything you continue to do for this family, HH! Arrive Safely John

I am not assuming that this contributed to your mal, just thought it might help . . . I have been watching (and educating in a helpful way) those who are mixing and matching stow bands unevenly on their d-bag, along with double-wrapping some stows and not others. I have also seen some REALLY big line stows lately. My philosophy: -I use fresh, appropriately sized stow bands of the same type. across the board. Some folks use stow bands that are a bit larger for the locking stows to accomodate the extra line from the cascade lines - works well also in my opinion. -If one gets a little loose, I replace it instead of double-wrapping. -I like the stow bands to be snug so I can make nicely sized line stows that will deploy smoothly and evenly. -My main canopy has 825lb microline, and i use mini-rubber bands for everything. I helped out the packers a couple of weeks ago, and found a Triathlon with tube stoes (two different sizes), regular rubber bands, and the new black type rubber bands (super bands?). ALL of them were worn out. I gave her a fresh set of rubber bands, told her about the potential danger of her hodge-podge, and watched her next swoop. Please lemme know if this helps, and pass it on to anyone it might benefit. Arrive Safely John

I copied this reply to another post so it could show up here as an opportunity for others to learn from this incident that Murphy threw at me last weekend. Murphy will wait for the ONE time you change something in your safety routine (or leave something out of it) to jump in and make things exciting in ways we'd rather not seek excitement. Case in point: I ALWAYS jump my big floppy jumpsuit for doing tandems - recommended by the manufacturer for more flying surface & control of less than perfect student body positions. Well, two Saturdays ago my first tandem student got sick on my big floppy suit under canopy. So, I jumped my RW bootie suit on the next one with a 120 pound very athletic woman. Murphy chose this student to put me in my first side-spin. She went into a rigid pike position out the door, grabbing for my left arm (I did NOT let her get it). I stuck to what I was trained . . . wrapped her legs, rolled over like a cat, and got the drogue out in a very close to normal belly-to-earth attitude. The rest of the skydive was same-as-it-ever-was, smiling for the camera. I won't say I will NEVER jump that suit with a student again . . . the lesson here is that I had not had a side-spin in almost 170 tandems. I knew it was coming eventually, though so I was well-prepared. I rehearse all of my tandem EP's often. Once I get the video digitized I will post it on DiverDriver's website for everyone to use as a training tool if they like. I want to acknowledge Dan Doyle, my Tandem Examiner, for the excellent training, and Bill Morrisey from Strong Enterprises who did extensive test jumps and video on this subject for our benefit. Tandem Masters - if you don't have a copy, call Strong and get one . . . it will be a great help when your first one comes . . . And yes, I bought cold frosties for eveyone to enjoy that night . . . I knew some of you were wondering. Arrive Safely John

The Saturday reunion was a fantastic experience. We had 10 of 19 classmates and 6 teachers show up for pot luck, stories, and "where are they now?" I could not have been happier with the result. We plan to do it again in 5 years. One of the things I brought up for us to celebrate was that all 19 of us were still alive, while other classes had lost people to accidents, suicide, and illness. We felt blessed to still be complete on Earth, even if all of us weren't in the room Saturday. Sadly, after returning home, I found out that one of our mates who could not make it was killed in a terrible wreck Sunday morning. For currently unknown reasons, his 18-wheeler milk tanker crossed the interstate median and hit another vehilce, killing him and injuring the two occupants of the other vehicle. This leaves me shocked and a bit confused as to how the timing of this could come so close to our special celebration at reunion. I won't look for the "why," because I know better. I will instead see how our class can help his wife and four kids get on with their lives. Until we meet again, Doug . . . we will miss you. Arrive Safely John

Sweet! Cool! Awesome! Woohoo! Wedding night? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Arrive Safely John

I have an idea for the next one: Stellar Swoop SkyMonkey (with Kung-Fu Grip) Arrive Safely John

Beautiful! Congratulations! What a sweet idea! Arrive Safely John

Way to go A12!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Arrive Safely John

For me, there would be lots of contributing factors: -family life in the evenings -how much I liked/disliked my job -what the payoff would be for changing from 9 to 5 Using the 9-hour and every-other-Friday option, and taking your 45 minute commute and inserting it into my own personal schedule, I see things would look like this for me: PLUS: Fridays to run errands, make my appointments, do household chores, etc. FREES UP MY WEEKENDS! PLUS: The last hour of work would be extremely productive because of less interruptions after the 9-to-5'ers have gone home. PLUS: Three day weekends open up a lot of mini-vacation possibilities that are just not worth the drive time for a two-day weekend (BOOGIES!). PLUS: Less traffic on the drive home 'cause you're catching the tail end of rush hour. MINUS: I would miss or delay the evening meal with my family. MINUS: I would not be available to get my kids started on their homework. MINUS: It would ALWAYS be dark on the drive home in the Winter. Hope this helps. Let us know what you choose!! Arrive Safely John

May your pie be sweet and sticky . . . let us know how it went! Arrive Safely John

I am in Vermont, about to head to my hometown for my 20 year class reunion. I am EXCITED! There were 19 of us that graduated in 1982, and 12 of us have agreed to be there, along with 8 teachers. There are several maybe's that may add to our small number. All of us have changed in many ways . . . I spoke to our guidance counselor last night who was excited about interacting with us as adults! It will be great to see these folks again. Although I was not a class "officer," I set the whole thing up over the phone and over the internet. Bring in a small town, we were not prone to set up anything elaborate (no "Prom II"), just a pot-luck with a chance to visit and catch up! Good folks, home cooking, lots of stories, and more memories to add to the files. Wish me luck! Arrive Safely John

It would be like teaching someone to fly who has 200 hours in an airplane doing complex aerobatics, but has never taken off or landed. They still have a lot to learn to be complete as an AFF student. As far as telling me I'm doing it wrong . . . that's a personality thing. I would handle that by establishing clear parameters in the Instructor-Student relationship. I would not want to piss him off about it, because after the AFF is over, I just might learn something from him as well! Arrive Safely John

Steve1, The Green Beret Club still exists, and the bar is called exactly that. It has been in the same location on Smoke Bomb Hill since at least 1984 when I arrived at Ft. Bragg. Officially dubbed the "Green Beret Sport Parachute Activity," it and its sister organization the "82nd Sport Parachute Activity" both provide inexpensive skydiving instruction (SL, AFF, Tandems) to GI's and their families. I used to be a member of both, back when each one was supported by helicopters almost every weekend, jumping at the military drop zones around post. While I was away from the club scene, touring the country as a Demonstrator on the Golden Knights Gold Demonstration Team, the clubs lost their aircraft support (money, I think) and began jumping at Raeford, providing discounted jump tickets for students and instructors. Chuckie Blue (SkyMonkeyOne) was involved with the GB Club for a long time. Currently, the GB club is jumping at "The Skydiving Place," a smaller operation in St. Pauls, NC adjacent to I-95 South of Fayetteville. The 82nd Club remains at Raeford Parachute Center. I acknowledge you for your service in the Guard SF Groups. I would love to see the pictures when you get them. I am an Army Rigger who has been in the SF community for 14 years of my 18 year career. It is a special brotherhood. If you ever get down here, look me up! PM or email me and I'll give ytou my contact info. Arrive Safely John

Gene Paul Thacker is a great man. He has gone to great measures to help people on more than one occasion, and continues to be a gracious host for all that join us at Raeford for skydives and Southern hospitality. Miss Billie, his lovely wife, gets to be mentioned here because of her role in caring for all of us, especially those of us who were on the Golden Knights. She is a great lady. Arrive Safely John

Safe travels, brother . . . we'll be waiting for you when you get back from undisclosed. Drop us a note if you need anything. Arrive Safely John

Good call, Sebazz! Murphy will wait for the ONE time you leave something out to jump in and make things exciting in ways we'd rather not seek excitement. Case in point: I ALWAYS jump my big floppy jumpsuit for doing tandems - recommended by the manufacturer for more flying surface & control of less than perfect student body positions. Well, Saturday my first tandem student got sick on my big floppy suit under canopy. So, I jumped my RW bootie suit on the next one with a 120 pound very athletic woman. Murphy chose this student to put me in my first side-spin. She went into a rigid pike position out the door, grabbing for my left arm (I did NOT let her get it). I stuck to what I was trained . . . wrapped her legs, rolled over like a cat, and got the drogue out in a very close to normal belly-to-earth attitude. The rest of the skydive was same-as-it-ever-was, smiling for the camera. I won't say I will NEVER jump that suit with a student again . . . the lesson here is that I had not had a side-spin in almost 170 tandems. I knew it was coming eventually, though so I was well-prepared. I rehearse my tandem EP's often. Once I get the video digitized I will post it on DiverDriver's website for everyone to use as a training tool if they like. I want to acknowledge Dan Doyle, my Tandem Examiner, for the excellent training, and Bill Morrisey from Strong Enterprises who did extensive test jumps and video on this subject for our benefit. Tandem Masters - if you don;t have a copy, call Strong and get one . . . it will be a great help when your first one comes . . . And yes, I bought cold frosties for eveyone to enjoy that night . . . I knew some of you were wondering. Arrive Safely John

Pssst! Guess what?? Once you left the aircraft and stepped into the wild blue yonder, even if only once, you ARE a skydiver to me. See, you no longer feel a need to ask all of those "Wuffo" questions! Arrive Safely John

I have a big noggin, so I wear Oakley M-Frames with the big heater iridium lens. I don't wear them to skydive in; I wear goggles. I have another pair of sunglasses, Serengeti Drivers (the larger version) that I wear with nicer clothes. Arrive Safely John

There are people at Raeford that you would not even know they are in the military until you get to know them. "Pulling rank" in most 0ff-duty situations is really weak to begin with. All of us, military or not, are better off in that enviroment dealing with people on a human-to-human level. Arrive Safely John

Your age should definitely NOT be a factor. If you choose to be a "lifer" and put in 20 years like Chuck and I (Tom too, I think), you will be 42 when you retire. There's a lot of life left at that point. Besides, you'll be able to start your mid-life crisis with 2 years left until retirement, and ride around in your little red convertible and impress all of your firends! I am counting down to mine . . . Arrive Safely John

Beautiful! Great choice of colors! Arrive Safely John

EXXXXcellent, Jas! What a hoot! Arrive Safely John

We here at Raeford are endeared to www.skykat.com Arrive Safely John

It's here! I picked it all up this afternoon from SkyKat (thanks a TON, guys). I just wrote down all of the serial numbers for safe keeping. It's beautiful! I am really happy with the color selections - I promise a pic when it's together. I will inspect everything, assemble it, and get it packed next week so it's ready for its maiden voyage at the earliest opportunity. My big wish is to see a picture of it (and me) in freefall with more than 10 other DZ.com'ers at Raeford to set a new record! Whaddaya think? Arrive Safely John