CDRINF

2 in 705 jumps. First time was jump #201, and my first jump where my then fiance' was watching. This started her love for the sport Brake line got wrapped around some suspension lines and put me in a slow spin. I lost the main and freebag! Next was an RW collision where someone somehow snagged my reserve handle. There I was at 8000' under my reserve. CDR

I always wanted to go to both Airborne school and learn to skydive. I actually passed up the opportunity at West Point to take an FJC and join the cadet parachute team figuring that I wanted to have the foundation in safety and training provided by going to airborne school first. Not sure now almost 20 years later quite what I was thinking. Being on acedemic restriction for much of my cadet career did not help my participation in extracurricular activities either. What a missed oppotunity! The opportunity to skydive presented itself at my first assignment with the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell. The 101st is no longer on jump status, but in 1987 had a very active and well supported sport parachute club where I learned to skydive for the price of an $85 FJC and $25 a month membership. Jumps from a UH60 as fast as you could pack and the pilot could turn the bird! Now those were the days! The Army probably had 15-20 sport parachute clubs around the world at that time and those were the main places military sport parachutists learned. Unfortunately, the support for these clubs in the form of aircraft has gone away and I think the clubs at Campbell and Bragg are the only ones left, and they are operating off post with civilian aircraft on a pay by the jump basis. A shame. If I had not been able to see the Club at Campbell jumping at Zon DZ from my BOQ window, I probably would not be skydiving today. Interestingly, despite all my best efforts, I have suceeded in getting the Army to assign me to an airborne unit for only 2-1/2 years out of 17 so far (all in the name of career development). So, it was probably more the exposure to military sport parachute clubs than airborne school that got me skydiving. It's sad that today's soldiers do not have that same opportunity. CDR

If we substituted "too small canopy" for "brand new car" I wonder what everyone would be saying? CDR

One detail that has not been publicized much - I was at a briefing given by a very high ranking Army officer (multiple stars) who had talked to the soldiers who were captured. The one .50 caliber machine gun they had in the convoy, which might have got them out of the fix, jammed after firing one round. Not too heroic to say you got captured because your key weapon was poorly maintained and didn't work. CDR

DAMN! I miss it by 10 days! I get back from a year in Korea on the 17th! CDR

I always pack my own. I am too paranoid to let anyone else do it. Plus, I find that it helps you know your gear better. In my S/L First Jump Course back in 1988, you had to learn to pack as part of the course, and then have 10 supervised pack jobs before they cleared you to pack your own. This was at a military club with a week long (evenings) FJC. That system might not be viable in the commercial market. However, what worries me is I have seen people lately who had as high as a "B" license and either could not pack, or were not confident in their own ability to pack. CDR

Still in Korea, Katie. 44 more days! Woo Hoo! I'm getting so short I need to roll my socks down to see! CDR

I would NEVER let them go to West Point and be Ring Knockers!!! Let them go to college and have a little fun first!*** ....but you sure can't beat the cost! If you really want to indulge in a mid life crisis, I say send the kids to West Point and save the money for jumps and gear! Why should they get 4 years of irresponsible partying on your dime when you can spend it on yourself? Hmm, I like that idea. Too bad I'm 39 and have to wait 13 more years to pull it off. Oh, well maybe I can at least teach my son to pack for me in the meantime. CDR USMA '86 (knock, knock)

T-10 in 1985 at U.S. Army Airborne School, Laser 9 in 1988 for first jump course. First owned: Falcon 265. CDR

Ever been kicked in the head on exit or while doing RW? CDR

The argument about refusing service being likened to racial discrimination is convienient, but irrelevant. Discrimination based on race is illegal. There are plenty of exmples however, of businesses who refuse service based on behavior, dress, etc. ("No shirt, no shoes, no service") or a bar that forbids patrons to wear gang colors, for example. It's not necessarily logical, it's the owners judgement call. Heck, I have been asked to leave some establishments when my friends and I got too rowdy, too noisy, too profane, or refused to buy the two drink minimum. He's the owner and those are his rules. On a more skydiving related note: if you jump at a SD Arizona you follow their landing pattern and the set landing direction, even if it means a cross or down wind landing. If not, you get asked to leave. Again, I may not agree, but it's their rule. As for the USPA GM angle, here is an interesting dilema: We don't want USPA to over regulate individual jumpers, but some appear to want them to regulate the DZs, by requiring the DZO to let all USPA members jump without restriction. How far down the road do we want to go of letting USPA dictate business practices? They do, to an extent, by requiring GM compliance with BSRs, but beyond that, I am not so sure I want USPA telling a DZO how to run his business and who he has to let jump. As jump ticket prices climb, only the better off jumpers will be able to jump. Does USPA then get into the business of regulating prices so less well to do jumpers won't be prevented from jumping? This owner has decided to be stricter than the BSRs require, which is his call, not USPAs. Again I say, it's the free market. Vote with your dollars. We don't have a socialist DZ system with guaranteed access to all. No one has a "right" to jump anywhere. It's a business. You pay to play and if you want to play at some places, you play by their rules. Maybe this situation could have been handled better, but in the end, it's the owner's call. Just my opinion. Chris Reed D-15996

It's just a water landing training class for the A. Live training in the pool for the B. There used to be an intentional water jump required as part of the jumpmaster rating. USPA dropped that requirement in the late 80's. CDR

I have jumped at SD Kansas and know Jim and Jenn Sharp. They are good people with a low key, friendly, student oriented DZ. The DZ is also very child friendly since they have several small children. It's the first place I could bring my son with me and leave him on the ground while I jumped. The extended DZ "family" was happy to keep an eye on him while he played with the toys that are on site. Skydive Arizona it ain't, but it's still a nice place with good people that fills need in that part of the country. The Sharps are struggling to keep a small Cessna DZ open in an era of soaring insurance premiums that is slowly pushing the small DZs out of business. Add in some hostile neighbors on the airport grounds as another factor that makes them worry about having an incident. Last Memorial Day during their 4 Cessna Boogie and Pig Roast a low time jumper under a small canopy hooked into the ground and probably only survived because the ground was very soft due to recent rains. I have not been there for a while since I am stationed in Korea now, but I would bet that accident is the reason for the rule. Everyone has the right to run their business as they see fit as long as it's legal. In the free market, if you don't like it, you can take your dollars elsewhere. It's a nice DZ with good people and one of the better Cessna operations around. Maybe not cutting edge, but a fun place. Chris Reed D-15996

Hey Kate! Thanks again for the great (and even the not so great) jumps in Thailand ("Don't hurt Kate!"). I'd love to do one of your camps, but I will have just got back from Korea and owe my wife and son some time after having been gone for a year. Maybe another time. Blue Skies! Chris Reed D-15996

It's very slow to arrive overseas. I am in the Army in Korea and it does not show up until the last week of the month. CDR

Press charges! I lost my first canopy at Deland the same way 11 years ago. Precision Falcon 265, serial # 1799242. CDR

The Thai Sky Festival just ended. I was there for he 1st half and got 10 C130 jumps, most from 16,000 feet. World class load organizers. It was a blast! First class treatment all the way. CDR

Pro rating requirement has always been 500 jumps. CDR

Skydive Paris? - Say "hi" to JR for me. Chris Reed D-15996

A young pup! I just hit 39 on 27 Feb. Main thing I noticed is that at age 35, things just start breaking for no reason. CDR

I was at Eloy for last years Easter Boogie and this year's Holiday Boogie. Both were a great time. The Easter Boogie was less crowded, and thus a little less hectic. Good people and great facilities. Know the landing rules at Eloy (all traffic in main landing area runs east-west or opposite, regardless of wind) and be ready to land cross or down wind. If this is your first boogie experience, here's my advice: You're playing by big boy rules now. It's easy to get over-excited and get involved in jumps beyond your capabilities.Keep your head on a swivel because the only person who's going to look out for you is you. You are going with a friend, so that's good. I've only been doing this for 15 years, and it's just my opinion, but as a relatively inexperienced jumper, focus on learning, not banging out as many jumps as you can in a short time. You will get more out of 4 good, well planned, and post-dived jumps in a day, than 8 rushed, hurried jumps. Also, I recommend you pack your own parachute. You will develop more confidence in your gear and yourself if you do. Chris D-15996

I posted this on the "history and trivia" forum with no response. Thought I would see what happens with a wider audience. When and why did the break between Jacques Istel and USPA occur? I was at USPA HQ a while back and remember seeing a letter on the wall clipped from an old Time magazine (early '70's?) in which Istel lambastes the then current USPA leadership for smoking marijuana, jumping nude, and generally being out of control and bad for the image of skydiving. Anyone know the story? Chris Reed D-15996

I found the above on "wreckdot" Anyone have any further info? I jumped at Jerry's DZ in Waycross, GA from '92-'95. Had some good times there. I earned my "D" and my JM rating under him. He also owned the old Palatka Paracenter. He was retired Navy and lived in the Jacksonville area in the mid-'90s. I had lost touch in recent years. Blue Skies My Friend Chris Reed D-15996

When and why did the break between Jacques Istel and USPA occur? I was at USPA HQ a while back and remember seeing a letter on the wall clipped from an old Time Magazine in which Istel lambastes the then current USPA leadership for smoking marijuana, jumping nude, and generally being out of control and bad for the image of skydiving. Kind of humorous in light of some of the current intergenerational sniping going on between younger freeflyers and older RW types. Chris Reed D-15996

Fort Campbell Sport Parachute Club opened April 1958. First military parachute club and one of the oldest clubs in the country. Still in operation. Chris Reed D-15996