Airman1270

...I am sure I will be more than a tad nervous but then again what fun would it be if I wasn't... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Something I tell first-timers likely applies here: You will be scared, but you'll notice that you're not as scared as you thought you'd be. My injury only kept me out for nearly ten months, between jumnps #1 & 2. Welcome back. Cheers, Jon S.

Broke my left ankle in an outfield collision during a high school softball game in 1975. Broke my right ankle on my first jump in 1982. The same doctor treated me both times. After the jumping injury, he suggested I shouldn't be jumping out of airplanes. I asked "Why didn't you tell me to give up baseball?" Cheers, Jon S.

You're too old to want sex anymore? WTF? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Short version: In her 20's she had a series of, um, brief relationships, while I had a series of steady girlfriends. I was never a womanizer and spent little time doing the one-night-stand thing. Therefore we have different attitudes about this. I looked at marriage as "Hey, it's legal now, yahoo! No sin, no guilt..." As the years went by, things changed for her. With these other relationships she didn't have to deal with the snoring, the bathroom noises, raising the kids, money problems, etc. Also, she had held the same job since she was 20 and was making lots more money than was I. My career got off to a late start, and after a few good years things have dropped off, so I'm back to delivering pizza. I'm a big disappointment. Few women get horny for a 48 year-old pizza guy. She actually said recently that I'd be more valuable if I'd go in, because at least she'd get a bit of insurance money. I guess I can't blame her. But did I mention she can cook? Cheers, Jon

I was 33. We dated on/off for five years, but the breakups weren't working out. Perhaps I should have tried harder... Actually, there have been some bright moments. Three nice kids, and she's an OUTSTANDING cook. As long as I don't try to maintain a physical relationship we get along pretty well. (We're too old for that. I know this because she told me so.) Sure I'd do it again, but I now have a better idea of what to avoid the next time around. Hope I'll get the chance someday. Meanwhile, in May we'll "celebrate" 15 years together. Sigh. Cheers, Jon S.

QuoteI once paid for a regular repack and the rigger "didn't like" something about the diaper on my round reserve (this is another story from the old days, yawn...)... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I've used a few riggers since moving to Georgia 15 years ago. One time I had a new guy pack my Strong Lopo. Several months later I returned to my usual rigger & watched as he opened the container and slowly dragged the canopy out. We discovered together that the guy hadn't used the diaper. He just folded the fabric neatly and continued. The rigger said it was (almost) just fine, and that it would have deployed, albeit a bit more abruptly than I would have preferred. As far as pencil packing goes, I did it once, very young in my jumping career. I lived a long way from the DZ and couldn't get out of town regularly, so I forged the name of the DZO because he sold me the rig. He even called me on it, and I explained why I chose his name. (I believe he was the last rigger to pack it anyway; if not, I don't know why he wasn't more annouyed with me.) Anyway, I didn't do it again, but there have been a few times over the years where I did invite my riggers to pencil in their own names, on their own pack jobs, and offered to pay full price. Cheers, Jon S.

...A Western Digital 250G external hard drive, about the size of the average Bible... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Not sure we're dealing with someone who might have a clue what a Bible is, let alone how big it would be... At first I was hoping someone had put it away for safekeeping, but when it didn't turn up by the afternoon I began thinking the worst. I hope it "turns up" very soon. A very nice time otherwise. Thanks to Hans & Sandy, etc. Calvin REALLY enjoyed the golf cart. Cheers, Jon S.

QuoteUmmmm............how about naked partying in my trailer. All are welcome except Peanut. Unless he brings Lucky... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Don't forget Freebyrd! Cheers, Jon S.

...so should i bring some Vodka?... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ If you want to, but remember the folks at the Farm aren't really into drinking or staying up late... But, hey, I'll join you. Cheersh, Jon S.

Yes. I was preparing to celebrate my first two months on this side of the birth canal. Happy day to you. Cheers, Jon S.

How are we defining "safe?" If by "safe" we mean the absence of any risk, then, no, it's not safe. If we mean a high probability of success, and a low probability of failure (provided the participants follow proper procedures and make few errors) then we can state with some credibility that the sport is safe. Fine. So why am I still scared? Cheers, Jon S.

Is the DZ a USPA group member? I believe it would be wise for the leadership to consider a policy of denying group membership to DZ's which do not welcome up jumpers. (ASSuming the purpose of USPA is to look out for the best interests of the membership.) Cheers, Jon S.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I tell them it's the safest way to get a parachute ride. Sometimes I ask if they've ever jumped. When they say "no" my eyes get big and I say "REALLY? You've never jumped? What's it like? Can you breathe", etc. Cheers, Jon S.

Getting a reserve out “very low” is a failure not a success. It could have been a worse failure, obviously. My concern with un-current jumpers is not around their flying skills but instead is around EP’s. This is particularly true for unusual situation/malfunctions. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ You missed a point. My EP's were fine. First: Knowing I wasn't current I planned a high opening, pulling around 3500'. This is the part about being a heads-up jumper, knowing my limitations. I then had a partial malfunction, which I briefly tried to clear before the cutaway. I chopped around 2000'. I quickly flipped over and pulled my reserve. If it had deployed at this point nobody would have thought anything was amiss. I would have been open around 1500'. Not too shabby for a reserve. However, the reserve had been packed very tightly into the container, causing a pull force far in excess of whatever the recommended limit is. It took several tries and finally a two-handed pull before I could get the thing to move. As it finally began to give, and I felt the pilot chute launch, I watched the field below growing VERY big, VERY fast. The reserve opened around 400'. My ride lasted about 30 seconds. I was doing my job, and was confronted with a variable nobody had ever mentioned before. Still, I kept my head and did what I had to do, with no panic and without giving up. I learned a lesson from this: Since then I gently pull the ball end of the ripcord before the first jump of the day, making sure it moves. Part of being a heads-up skydiver is knowing your limits. Being an occasional jumper has never resulted in me placing myself or anybody else at risk. You would not hesitate to jump with anybody else at my level, provided they reached that level in just a few years. It's not the skill set that bothers you, it's the length of time it took to reach this point. This conversation is a good example of the attitudes newcomers will confront. They'd like to jump a bit, yet are being told it's too risky unless they can jump a lot. Imagine a young jumper reading this exchange. One guy says "Yes, it's possible to jump safely even if you don't jump a lot. I've been doing it for years." Then another guy, who's never met him, says "No, you can't and you haven't and you're lucky to be alive..." Cheers, Jon

QuoteChaplain Rev. Mychal Judge was killed when struck by a jumper as he paused to give the last rites to a dieing firefighter... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Um... Remember the two French brothers who were shooting a documentary about the fire department when the attacks occurred? Their videos were aired in March '02. Father Judge was shown praying as more firemen arrived at the lobby of tower #1. Later, the video shows them all scrambling around the corner and up the stairs as tower #2 falls outside. As the dust clears and they begin to see some light the guys are called to the base of the stairs where Judge has collapsed. They then carry him out and bring him to a nearby church, where he is listed as the first fatality of the 9/11 attacks. Anyway, that's the story I heard. Cheers, Jon S.

...Some of the photos I saw of people in freefall their body positions looked as if they were skydivers while others just fell out of control, I know it's weird for me to say that, but I had to wonder if that was someone like me a skydiver, making the choice to jump and flying not falling... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A year after the event FOX News did a special, including the time line and videos of the incident. One showed a guy who had just jumped from an upper floor: At first he was kinda "kneeling", but as he gained speed he flipped over on his back. His legs leaned to one side, causing a slow spin. After awhile he looked over his shoulder at the ground, as if to wonder why this was taking so long. He then looked back up and placed his arms behind his head as he disappeared behind a wall. The freefall lasted about ten seconds. I have a bunch of this stuff on tape, as well as several hours of Holocaust video. Sobering stuff. Cheers, Jon S.

QuoteI have made a decision to hang up jumping, at least for the foreseeable future... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ You're blessed to have reached the point where you'd consider making this decision. I've long thought that life would be less complicated if I didn't want to do this anymore. We never met, but I can see by the info on this thread that I would have had a great time and learned a lot if our paths had crossed. See you on the website. Cheers, Jon S.

...But it is not easy to remember some of this stuff... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wrong. You will advance. Not as quickly as the guys showing up every weekend, but you will learn this. You will learn much faster if you have an occasional chance to jump with these guys, rather than spend your time doing solos or small-ways with other people at your skill level. A DZ I used to jump at turned into this. One guy was a very talented load organizer. Many of the best jumpers gravitated to this group. They made quality skydives. The rest of us were mostly left to teach each other. Even at 30-70 jumps per year, I would have learned to fly much sooner if I had had more opportunities to be the least experienced guy on the load, without being made to feel like I was wasting everyone's time. ...When your not current you are a random. Randoms are not that easy to deal with in this sport. You will never advance in the sport if you make 15 or 20 jumps a year you will continue to learn the same lessons over and over forever... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wrong. It took me nine years to make 200 jumps (including ten months between jumps #1 & 2 after breaking my ankle on my first.) I never placed myself into situations I was not ready for. I didn't fly very well, but I WAS improving. Being a non-current novice never posed a threat to myself nor to anybody else. In fact, it was during this time that I kept my head in an emergency and got my reserve out very low following a very hard ripcord pull. It was my first jump in six weeks and my second in five months. You seem to be saying that anyone who cannot commit to jumping regularly should not jump at all. SKYDIVING recently ran an editorial discussing declining USPA membership numbers. I believe the current DZ culture, which encourages strict definitions of "currency," is sending such a message to people who show up for that first jump and are thinking about jumping again. They are told, in so many words, that if they don't commit to the sport full-time and make at least several jumps a month that they will be in over their heads and die. They do a quick cost/benefit analysis and return home to watch their video, thinking "Damn I'd sure like to do that again someday..." Cheers, Jon S.

Get older. You'll point more easily in the direction that matters most. Cheers, Jon S.

Struggling to understand... You mean there are women who WANT this sort of thing?... If anyone's desperate, perhaps I can help. I can still do everything I could 20 years ago; I just can't do it again... Sigh, Jon s.

Ah, the one aspect of the sport about which I am an expert... Don't fret. Jump when you can. Just keep the dives within the parameters of your ability. I have been jumping sporadically for 23 years. It's not any more dangerous than what the others are doing, as long as you don't try anything beyond your current level of expertise. Also, a dirty little secret: Large canopies rock! There's no shame in landing last. Besides, you get to hang out and enjoy the view much longer. Isn't this one of the reasons you started jumping in the first place? Cheers, Jon S.

QuoteYou should wear a helmet too. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Don't forget the condom. Cheers, Jon S.

You're gonna be waiting a long time... the profiles in Parachutist are written by Brian Giboney. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Thanks. I knew R.H. wasn't the guy who did the profile we're talking about here, but I didn't remember B.G.'s name. I used R.H. as an example because he's written some interesting profiles for SKYDIVING in the past. Cheers, Jon

I sang in my church choir in NY from 1985 - 1991. In 1990 one of the women in the choir was found shot to death in her home. Several days later her husband, a respected doctor and an elder in the church, was charged in the death. We were all stunned. He later confessed. He had been having an affair with the organist and wanted her out of the way, blah blah blah. The story made PEOPLE magazine. The organist's husband later wrote a script which was turned into a made-for-TV story about the event. It aired in March 2002. They have reconciled and next year will have been married for 30 years. Meanwhile, the guy who sat behind me in the choir now resides in an upstate NY prison. Sometimes life sucks. Cheers, Jon S.

As a side note, I think it would be somewhat interesting to feature dull, everyday (or every-other-month) jumpers such as myself; people who have achieved nothing that would attract your attention, but continue to jump out of airplanes because we can't imagine not doing so. I've already practiced some of my potential answers to questions such as "What is the most bad-ass thing you can do in the sky?" (Achieve stability within five seconds of exit), or "Describe yourself in five words or less" (No, it can't be done.) Prepared I sit by the phone, waiting for Robin Heid to call. I wait some more... Cheers, Jon S.

Funny you should mention it. This past weekend I made two dives after a four month layoff. I was a bit apprehensive in the door, but that's almost ALWAYS the case no matter how current I am. I planned a short solo, but the plane kept climbing and my "hop 'n' pop" began at nearly 8000'. I spent 25 seconds watching the ground get big, thinking "Okay, I'm falling." Real nice opening (after being packed for four months), a stiff wind and VERY bumpy, but I had a smooth landing on target. Next I went last on a 5-way, docking real nice on the base as one guy went low. In the plane we had sorta decided on a horny gorilla, if we happened to get together high enough, but two people were planning high pulls, one guy was now somewhere below us, we didn't have high grips, and it would have been a first H.G. for at least one of the participants. Given the variables, I called off the H.G. and we just smiled and watched the scenery for awhile. It's great to be back. As for the various currency rules, it's a damn shame we have to deal with this. I have spent months on the ground, with far fewer jumps than you have, and have been able to function just fine when I did finally get back in the air. No retraining, no fretting about whether I'd remember to pull, etc. Just a quick briefing regarding wind direction, etc. and off we went. The best thing I had going for me was the absence of a DZ culture that would cause people to believe there's anything unusual/dangerous about this. Cheers, Jon S.