rgoper

**he was not known around the DZ for his canopy skills.** meaning what?? did you ever fly with him or jump form an aircraft with him, on what, may i ask, do you base your opinionion? Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

**Then you are sitting where I am, pricing out your gear that has all of 50 jumps on it and wondering if anyone would care or even notice if you just walked away.** number one, your good at what you do, number two, i would notice, as well as a lot of others. don't let the politics get ya, hell if i let politics get in my way, i'da stopped a long time ago. And ya can't say, it's not fun!! :) Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

**One point of clarification... Shane wasn't filming a tandem. He never filmed tandems, though he was learning to fly camera.** i now have a question of my own, well three, well now four questions. (i forgot to add question # 4) 1) did he have a camera helmet on this dive? 2) was there a tandem on that load? 3) if he did have a camera on that dive, what happned to the video?? 4) who was piloting the cessna 182? if the answers to these three questions are no, i've been terribly miss-informed by a source VERY close to shane, and i hardly think that person would miss-inform, and the fourth question is important as well, but i gotta know..... Richard

To Everyone: thanx for your sentiments, Tiae (Shane's Wife) appreciates them more than ya'll know. Shane once told me (sky diver...buddy talk) that if he ever got killed sky diving to tell everyone that he went doing what her really loved doing. i've left the same instructions with my wife (she doesn't jump) i know, every jump may be my last, we all know that, good, bad or indifferent, that's the way it is. a friend told me just the other day, "stay in this sport long enough, and somone close to you will die in the sport" he was right. let's all just try to learn from it, and teach our "newbies" all we can, to keep them safe! time to close this chapter.................."and the otter's keep flying, and flying...." Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Hook: What's Next? A 230 Main, And A VX-60? J/K But In The Event You Do That, Wait For Me To Line Up Video! :) Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

hook: damn skippy, i wanted to see a "high speed mal" remember, you told me you'd "ride it out" all went well, it was fun, the good thing is we have pertinent infiormation about canopy sizes/reactions now, good thing hook wants to do this, me.....no thanx! Richard "Gravity Is My Friend" P.S. Hook, your NUTS!

we didn't, next time we will (umm hook) i went out with him, had to see it for myself, all the video guys were busy with tandems, looks like i'll be buying a helmet cam before long! i must say, i was impresseed by hook's drive to test fly these canopy's in an intentional "Mal" but it never happned, i saw the whole thing, and i'm glad i did, i learned a lot, but i wished it would have gotten out of control! J/K! i gotta tell ya, when hook invited me to bail after him, give a 3 second delay, and beings as i was flying my new hornet today (2nd dive) that i bought from freaksis, i was hesitant, but after hook and i went ovet the dive plan, i was completely at ease, the only thing i wasn't braced for was the "prop blast" (back to earth inflation...different) opening at 13K....TRIP! YEAH. loved it, thanks hook! i'm still dissapointed i didn't get to witness a "downplane" at 13K........J/K Blues! Richard "Gravity Is My Friend" Sis: WHERE are the brakes on that thing? didn't stand it up once today, but it has a lot more "glide" in it than my 7 cell traithlon!

Fellow sky divers: listen to these words from a learned coleague, he speaks with wisdom, and truth. Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

only those close to Shane would've known his "depth perception" was bad f**ked up, he did not have his contacts in for this particular dive, at least, they weren't retrieved. Shane was a good canopy pilot, i"ve personally flown with him (i'm no expert) he knew what he was doing, he made a bad call.................we all know sky diving demands "snap judgement calls" make the wrong one, it may well be your last. we had a jumper just off of student status at the DZ today hit the power lines, thank god she only hurt her back.... Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Hey Everybody: there's a part of Shane that lives in all of us, that "dare devil" thingy, ya know? i made three sky dives with shane today, his smile in my heart, i will never forget him, nor do i want to. i just want everyone here to understand, Shane made a bad decision that ultimately costs him his life, and the community a "brother" all i can say on a positive note is "let's learn from what happned, and don't let it happen to us, or our fellow sky divers" Shane..............Sleep Well My Friend Richard "Gravity Is My Friend" P.S. Thanx To SDSL for collecting donations for Shane, there's a lot to be said for that............

Lisa: Promise? Richard "Gravity Is My Friend" Your cause is very worthy...............I respect that

yes it was. he had a bad landing after filming a tandem sky dive, he lingered on life support, until the decision was made yesterday to let him go. Richard

**I'm going to do a cool-ass stunt tomorrow... jump out with a rig in my arms(arms routed through the leg straps)** i'm going to ask you to do me a personal favor, but in the end, you'll do whatever your going to do. but consider the impression of "newbies" in our sport, if they see you do this successfully, how long before they want to try it? i don't even know you, but we just lost one "brother" today, so reconsider. Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Shane Richertz, 27 years old passed this evening at 8:10 P.M. Shane was a lot of fun, i did some of my first head down dives with him, they were a lot of fun. we went through AFP together, and our wives became friends, and he and i became close. My heart goes out to his wife, Tia, his children, and the rest of his family. funeral arrangements will be announced shortly. sleep well Shane, sky dive with the angels for me, we'll all be able to join you in your eternal sky dive when our time comes. i will miss my friend very much.................... Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

***my question is, which one of you gals is going to return the favor, once we organize and break the record, assuming we will?*** still waiting for that answer.......... Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

when i was going to college, i waited tables at a stinking pizza hut for gas money, i was constantly broke. the other waiters/waitresses did in fact take better care, and offer more assisstance to those who tipped them, as did i. i'm not saying to get a guarenteed reserve re-pack you have to pay x amount of $, i'm just saying it doesn't hurt to take care of those who take care of us, there's nothing complex about that theory........ Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Chuck: In my opinion, your a highly skilled, experienced canopy pilot. What advice would you have for the newer canopy pilots? Before they even entertain the idea of swooping, what was your criteria that you personally had to meet before attempting swooping? just curious............. Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

(i.e. they flare at 50 feet then let the toggles all the way back up.) Bill: i pulled that stunt "one time" on student status. i hated the result, i could've been hurt.............. Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Hook: i have just the fellow in mind...........don't worry! Richard "gravity Is My Friend" P.S. Don't Forget The "Cut-Away Rig!" "Gravity Is My

i've noticed that this particular post has gone with more "views" than "responses" i know each, and everyone of you have an opinion on this subject.....let's hear it, unless it's defamatory...............even if it is, let's hear it......... Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Jason: good answers, just what i was expecting from you. a highly integral individual, with there priorities in order, are the exact people i do business with, you've got a good head on your shoulders! but nonetheless, it never hurts to tip your rigger..........EVER. Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Hook: we need to video document your next "test flight" so we can submit it to sangiro for posting to others. what do you think? Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

Jason: a quick, but decided question for you, let's just say, for funnies, you generally get $25.00 for a job that you do for a living, and however many times you can perform that particular tasks, depends on you income level. your back logged, one person wants to pay you the "standard" $25.00 for your tasks, another who, let's say called you after the first person, wants to pay you "double" the going rate, which would YOU choose, be honest. let's face it, service, and quality equates into dollars, like it or not, you can paint a trash can gold, but it's still a trashcan..... Richard "Gravity Is My Friend" P.S. Just FYI, the rigger i use would do just a good of a job, if i didn't pay him/her............

hook: you know WHAT i'm talking about, and WHY i'm bringing it up in this forum, i'm trying to get others to think, and save there own lives. and you are one of the two i was referring to earlier in the "reserve re-pack" thread. thanks for all you do! "it's all about living" a profound statement, made by a very learned individual early in my skydiving career, my FIRST jump, actually. see ya this weekend...hopefully, if the north wind doesn't make a fool of itself with the forcasted 30+ mph gusts. Take Care........ Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"

two words fix your problem forever, maybe costs a bit in lawn repair, but that will be decided where your priorities lie.......CLAYMORE MINE! done deal!! we make em' cheap where i live................J/K Richard "Gravity Is My Friend"