Superfletch

September 24 - 26 CASA Boogie Freefall Express Skydiving, Mt. Vernon, MO Exit 44 on I-44 between Springfield and Joplin Missouri Freefall Express is bringing in the CASA again! Registration is $15.00; Lifts are $20.00 Each load a name will be drawn for a free ticket. Bring your own booze and if you play an instrument, bring that too. We have a blast every year when we bring this bird in... Email Airwolf725@AOL.COM for more information Only 1 week left.... Put it in your calendars... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Oh, I know... His profile comes up Rick W. Blah blah blah... We have a Rick West at our dropzone that just recently achieved his AFF rating... The name of his company is Chute-A-Video. This guy isn't Rick. I believe him to be an imposter posing as Rick. I can tell you one thing for sure... This ChuteUAFFI is a bogus account. I'd like to see it removed from the forums... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I'd like to know who this ChuteU guy is? I don't know anyone who fits his profile but in other posts he seems to know who I am. I don't agree with much he's had to say up til this point. Email me ChuteU and let me know who you are... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Siloam Springs has THE Vibe... hehehehe It can't help it with Lenny running around. Steve, Lenny, Alex, Hoyt, Mark, Terry, Jessica and the gang all kick ass! I love those guys. They always come up for our boogies and we all have a grand time. If you are ever in northwest Arkansas you definately have to visit this place. The people are top notch! (and naked half the time) If I didn't think that my place (Freefall Express) were the best small dropzone ever, I would definately say that Siloam was. Blues, Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

The best small dz hands down would have to be the one I call home. Freefall Express Mt. Vernon, MO We have 2 Cessna 182's. The staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable. The owner is a gentleman by the name of Bryan Wolford. He tries to the best of his abilities to enhance the dropzone and the sport at every opportunity. When new people show up he goes out of his way to find someone for them to jump with or jumps with them himself if need be simply because he still remembers what it was like to go to a new dropzone and try and get involved. We have some of the best instructors in the midwest. The planes are all maintained to the highest standards. The landing zones are HUGE. What more can I say. It's a great place to be. There's always something fun going on ANYTIME of the year. Bryan has been bringing turbines in as much as he can. On fathers day weekend we had a CASA here and it will return sometime in September. Freefall Express is a GREAT little dropzone. If you are ever in the area stop by and see us. I'll jump with you! Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher USPA Coach, IAD Instructor, Videographer, Nylon Compression Specialist. 1-800-598-JUMP Open Thursday - Sunday

I have a Stilleto 150 that until recently I thought was a fantastic canopy. I don't have a lot of experience on other size or types of canopies. I got my Stilleto at about 150 jumps. I now have 385 jumps. I have been playing with swooping and have been having good and bad luck with it. Anyhow, getting back to the point, recently a friend of mine let me borrow his Sabre 150 for my second rig. I had never flown one before so I thought it would be fun to play with. What I am finding much to the surprise of everyone I know is that this particular Sabre has lighter riser preasure than my Stilleto and I am getting longer swoops with much more lift at the end of the swoop than I do with my Stilleto. Does this sound right? I would have expected that the Stilleto should out perform the Sabre hands down. My Stilleto has much snappier turns than the Sabre does and from the momemt I let go of my pilot chute until I start to enter my landing pattern I prefer my Stilleto hands down. However, once I start my downwind I'm finding lately that I wish I was flying the Sabre. In my opinion it hooks better and flares better at the end of the surf than my Stilleto. Is this a flook? Maybe perhaps my Stilleto is ragged out and just not performing the way it truly should. Any thoughts would be welcomed. I'm not sure how many jumps either canopy has on it or the line sets. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

PC 105 in a Bonehead Optik. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I have a 105 and it is almost identical to the 101 in size... It just has a few more features. You can't go wrong with a 105 I'd say. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

I jump at Freefall Express Skydiving in Mt. Vernon, MO. We're located a few miles west of exit 44 off of I-44 between Springfield and Joplin. We do NOT have a swoop course yet and as far as I know, don't have any plans to create one any time soon. There are only a handfull (if that many) of jumpers here at our DZ that can fly their canopies well enough to even attempt to swoop a course. We have plenty of jumpers in intermediate skill levels that would probably love to try and shoot the course, but then would probably end up in traction, or worse. I would fall into this category like an old lady getting out of a slippery tub. I've already bounced once this year just trying to swoop. That was without the added stress of trying to hit a gate. I only had one thing on my mind and that was to NOT hit the ground. I did anyhowm, and let me tell you, it hurt. Hopefully, I'll never make that mistake again. One of our jumpers had aspirations of setting a course up earlier this year and put up a gate made from swoop noodles. That was as far as he got. His plan was that he would supply the first two and the rest of us would get a set and turn his gate into a full fledged course. Fortunately no one took him up on his offer, so his swoop course, rather, his gate never quite took off. I know as sure as I'm sitting here that "I" would have been trying to enter that gate and swoop the course had it been up while I was on-site. Even knowing full well that I'm not ready. Seeing a course from above might well prove to be too enticing for some of our up and comers. As cool as swoopers are to watch I don't believe EVERY dz is qualified to have a swoop course in the landing area. It is IMHO that the more swoop courses we see popping up across the country, the more injuries and deaths we'll read about in the "Incedent Report" column. A dzo should think long and hard before rushing out there and putting in a swoop course. Swooping is dangerous. Period. It's also here to stay. In closing I would just like to say, "I'm glad we don't have a swoop course at FFE and I can't wait until we get one."

I am a brand new camera flyer so I don't know how much I can input here. I've been jumping an OPTIK for a little while now and have been wearing it all the time for all sorts of things. I film tanems in it occasionally and the sidemount does a great job. I've also had great results filming 3-Ways out of our 182. I don't jump with an SLR so I won't be able to anwer any of those questions. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

This sounds like so much fun. I can't wait! I hope I'll get some time to be able to participate. No matter what I bet it'll loads of fun to just watch the whole thing transpire. I can't wait to see all the video!

Yeah... the money. Definately the money. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Hello! Yes, we have been to Flagler. The guys we were with all did beach jumps. My father got his water training the hard way. He wanted no part of landing in water again. I didn't have enough jumps at the time. That's been a few years ago... good times... good times... As for Couch Freaks... I'd love to go to that. Unfortunately we have a show to do that weekend usually so I miss it every year. I'm usually in PA. Hopefully I won't have to work this year. I do get up to Winterset during the Bridges of Madison County Covered Bridge Festival. We have the pewter figurines booth there. Got to make a couple of jumps last year... Good times... good times... Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Actually on the 100 I believe you have to have the camera in VCR mode and hit the (2) button combination for recording at the same time. The buttons are in the bottom right hand of the VCR control pad, I believe. Don't quote me on this... I've only used a PC100 once. The previous way mentioned was for the PC9 and 101 if I'm not mistaken and probably several others as well. Anyhow, good luck. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

QuoteDo you like jumping with your dad? I used to... My father has been benched. He has had a rough road the past 2 years beating colon cancer. Fortunately he's on the mend. He's one of our jump pilots and we hope to get him back in the plane in the next few months. Hopefully we'll get him back in a rig by June, in time for our "Hillbilly Boogie". My father is also a Gary Fletcher. B-1978; C-2100; D-25929. He said he wouldn't have even gotten a D-License but he couldn't have me having a higher license than him. Hahahahaha I can't wait for him to get back in the air. The last time we jumped together I probably had 30 jumps or so... My airwork was terrible. The next time we jump together will be quite different now that I can fly. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer

Hello everyone. I've been checking out Dropzone.com for some time now. I thought perhaps I might start posting so I thought that I would introduce my self. My name is Gary Fletcher. They call me "Baby Fletch" at the DZ on account of the fact that my father skydives and they call him "Fletch". Oh well, I guess I could have gotten tagged a worse nickname. Anyhow, at the present time I have approximately 215 jumps. I just recently got my D License. I also recently invested in a pretty nice camera outfit. I'm gonna be a vidiot. Next week I'll be taking the IAD instructors course here at my home DZ of Freefall Express Skydiving in Mt. Vernon, MO. I made my first jump in September of '99 and since then I can think of doing nothing else. I couldn't afford to skydive so I taught myself to pack and started packing for jumps. The rest is history. I'm not the fastest packer on the planet but it's like I tell everyone, "My shit opens, and it opens nice!" If you are ever in SW Missouri, drop on by. I'll jump with you. Our dropzone is a great little place. We're all family here and it shows. We recently worked out a deal to have a King Air 2 Weekends a month too. Not just another Cessna Dropzone anymore! Hahaha Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I Videographer/Photographer