slotperfect

Can I get a little help from my European skydiving brothers and sisters? I am trying to reconnect with a couple of German military friends I have lost contact with. If anyone can hook me up with their email addresses I will owe you a beer: Carsten (Casi) Thiel Andreas (Andy) Butzke Thanks in advance! Arrive Safely John

Crowded? Arrive Safely John

I vote for Grand Poobah Arrive Safely John

Can't help you there, I don't pay attention to what my heart rate is doing. Occasionally, doing something higher risk and very unique (normally a military jump), I notice that I am amped up and nervous. Focusing on the task at habd takes my mind off it. That still shows up for me every now and then, and I have been doing this for a while. Honestly, I hope that never stops - it renews my respect for the inherent danger of skydiving and keeps me from becoming complacent. I am lucky - all of my family has not only accepted it, but many have embraced it and made a jump or more with me. I am sure that it being part of my job from the outset helped with that acceptance. It is just part of what soldiers do. That is different for each person, and for me it happens separately for different aspects of the sport. As I get better at a certain task, it becomes second nature. The key is not becoming complacent. That crossover happened for me very shortly after I completed my military training learning to skydive as a sport jumper at the Green Beret Parachute Club in 1985. I hope that 1) I never stop being nervous about making a mistake, and 2) never stop making an occasional mistake - I learn from them and it makes me a better skydiver. It doesn't just apply to "noobs" - we are actually a little nicer to them than more seasoned jumpers. I mess with them and expect it when I do something like that as well. Arrive Safely John

http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/0,4644,5279,00.html#38_754 Arrive Safely John

Bear in mind that if you are not licensed your ability to lift and shift to a different DZ to skydive will be more difficult. You may want to call RPC School and discuss your options: (910) 904-0000. Ask for Tony. Arrive Safely John

If you're going to do that, I would choose your lodging location based on where you're flying into. If you're flying into RDU (Raleigh), then I recommend you stay in Southern Pines or Aberdeen (30 minutes from the DZ in Raeford and about 1:10 from RDU airport). If you're flying into Fayetteville then staying on the southwest side of Fayetteville is your best bet. Don't forget the ParacleteXP wind tunnel which is only a few miles from the DZ in Raeford. You may want to book a little time there as well. Why not bring your friend down from Raleigh for a day to make a tandem? Arrive Safely John

Ft. Bragg has a LOT of DZs, but they are strictly military training areas. You may be thinking about the military parachute clubs that used to run there for miitary members and their dependents - those have been closed down for a while now. Arrive Safely John

Raeford Parachute Center is about 1:40 south: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Raleigh,+N+Carolina&daddr=airport+dr,+raeford,+nc&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=35.779943,-78.642883&sspn=0.601617,1.230469&ie=UTF8&z=9 Adrenaline Air Sports in Jonesville is about 2:30 west: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Raleigh,+N+Carolina&daddr=swan+creek+airport,+nc&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=38.942321,-81.079102&sspn=9.22505,19.6875&ie=UTF8&z=9 Tradewinds is in Washington, about 1:55 east: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Raleigh,+N+Carolina&geocode=&dirflg=&daddr=200+Airport+Rd,+Washington,+North+Carolina&f=d&hl=en&sll=35.822267,-78.642883&sspn=0.574572,1.230469&ie=UTF8&z=9 Arrive Safely John

Where do you live? Arrive Safely John

My third tandem on Saturday was a young man from Australia. He came along with Mom and Dad (who had jumped with the GK's several years ago) and another young lady I assumed was a sister. When I was introduced to him I met the Mom who was obviously very concerned for her son's safety. She began asking me the "what if" questions - she didn't understand that I would be wearing two parachutes for the both of us. I took some time to explain the gear in further detail than the briefing provided. The sister asked me if I could catch him again if he separated from me in free fall (she obviously watches a lot of movies). I threw the rig on, hooked him up and hung him off the front of me so she could see that he wouldn't be going anywhere. As we were walking to the airplane, he told me this was the biggest decision of his life. I told him I hope this experience equipped him to make more important decisions later in life. The skydive went without a hitch, and under canopy he turned his haid and said things like "you changed my life" and "I will never forget you." That made all the extra effort well worth it. After I walked back in and geared down I went to derig him and he was nowhere to be found. This family had been taking tons of pictures along the way so I figured they were outside taking some more. After about 20 minutes I went looking for him. He was standing in the bar with his jumpsuit and harness still on drinking a Jack and Coke! Well done, James! Arrive Safely John

Years ago in the Army airdrop world there was a simple extraction system for lighter platform loads called a "Static Line Connector Strap Extraction System" or "SL/CS" for short. To the casual observer, it was a tangled mess of hardware, nylon, and cotton ties, although it served its purpose extremely well. Favoring common names or nicknames over acronyms and abbreviations, the Rigger field dubbed it the "Gang Bang." Arrive Safely John

Well, that is incredibly cool! Being in the door scares a lot of students and is the worst part of the skydive for them. It's refreshing to hear your outlook on that part of the jump. Best of luck in your training. Arrive Safely John

Send the GKs an email asking if Permissive TDY orders are acceptable. If so, request that your unit place you on Permissive TDY for those days. If you are active duty you likely have all four days off anyway (Veterans Day weekend) - Permissive TDY will mean that you have official permission to be at Laurinburg for those days at your own expense without leave days being charged against you. Arrive Safely John

Second reminder: This thread is for Skyhook Activation stories, not a pros & cons debate of using a Skyhook or devices like it. I detached the other conversation and gave it a home here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view&post=3346918. For those of you who want to engage in that discussion, now you have a place to do so. Any further off-topic discussion in this thread will be sent to the Recycle Bin. Arrive Safely John

Thanks for the correction - I'm not sure how I missed that. Arrive Safely John

Contact Bob Chaffin in Commerce, TX: (903) 886-7662 Arrive Safely John

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=bonehead+mamba&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=50 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=mamba+helmet&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=50 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=mamba&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=50 Arrive Safely John

. . . and the voice of Danny Clisham! Arrive Safely John

Is that true in all countries or just in the US? Remember that this is an international forum. Arrive Safely John

Happening again, yesterday and today, multiple forums. Arrive Safely John

Please note that this thread is for discussions of actual Skyhook activations, not for pro/con Skyhook or other spinoff conversations. At the request of the OP, I edited the subject line and added a comment to the original post to make that a little clearer, and removed the off-topic content. Thanks, Arrive Safely John

Yeah, you're right - I just used the verbage off the news. G'luck to the jet powered gentlemen tomorrow! Arrive Safely John

Other forums I frequent either eliminate or significantly reduce the amount of banner ads their Premium Users have to put up with. The recent rash of gawdy and incredibly irritating ads has prompted me to ask that Premium Members of this site be granted an ad-free or reduced ad view. Who is with me? Arrive Safely John

Cancelled due to weather. Arrive Safely John