Airman1270

May 1975 - Broke my left ankle in an outfield collision while playing softball in high school. Cast up to my knee, was walking on it within six weeks, the cast was removed soon afterward. Some pain, but I could get around okay. September 1982 - Broke my right ankle on my first jump (static line T-10, brain fart on the PLF.) Cast to my thigh for about six weeks, then cut down to my knee for another six-ish weeks. Note - The same doctor treated me both times. After the second incident, he said I shouldn't be jumping out of airplanes. I asked "Why didn't you tell me to give up baseball?" Cheers & a speedy recovery, Jon S.

It's been a long, tedious journey through the 790's, and I'm coming up on my 800th. The Farm, next boogie on the weekend of the 20th. Be there. Pray for good weather. Cheers, Jon S.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Wow. Wouldn't it be easier to concentrate on getting a good spot? Cheers, Jon

I have an old Strato-Cloud with around 300 jumps on it. Haven't jumped it since 1993. Last year I hooked it up to my Wonderhog. It's been packed for about nine months. Took it up last weekend at the Farm, intending to do a short delay, but we had a go-around and kept climbing so the exit was above 8000'. Took it to terminal and pulled at 6000' to give it plenty of time before the cutaway but BAM! it opened briskly. Not the fastest canopy in the sky, but a little faster than a round. Enjoyed the comments from the younger jumpers. Overheard one guy in the airplane saying "I'm glad I never had to jump that crap." A nice visit with the past. Anyone wanna borrow it? Cheers, Jon

Shortly after exit. Cheers, Jon

QuoteAs a relatively newbie to the sport, why would anyone not want to wear one?... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Several reasons. Some of us got into the sport before AAD's became ubiquitous and are quite comfortable jumping without them. Add to this the expense, the maintenance hassles, the possibility of a misfire at an inopportune moment, and the fact that the manufacturer cannot guarantee its reliability after as few as a dozen years. One of the biggest problems I've seen with AAD's is the fact that many people who use them become afraid to jump without one. On a spiritual note, I place my safety in the hands of the same God who knows when a sparrow falls, and trust Him with my ultimate fate. Not that something couldn't happen, of course. I'm not saying I would never use an AAD, but to date it hasn't become an issue. Cheers, Jon

1) Doors that close automatically. I've never been in a situation where I needed the door to close itself, but there have been many times where I wanted the door to remain open and it swung itself shut. For example, why to we insist on putting that little cylinder on the screen door that pulls it shut? It's fine if your hands are free, but if you're carrying something the door is pushing against you and can tear your clothes if you're not careful. 2) People who wait behind the line to make a left turn, rather than getting into the middle of the intersection. If you can't make the turn before the light changes, you (and I) have to wait another light cycle. Stop doing this! Cheers, Jon

No. Now, if the question was "Did anyone else ever think you were the biggest..." Cheers, Jon

By "A-licensed..." I know you're referring to novice jumpers, but shouldn't the SIM refer to "A-qualified", etc.? According to the current terminology, my "A" license & I would be required to pull higher and avoid the main landing area at many DZ's, despite my nearly 800 jumps. That said, I'm pleased to know I can still "legally" dump at 2000', and probably will again someday, but I've gotten into the pull-above-3000' rut and can't seem to get out. Oh well. Cheers, Jon

Many spectators would appreciate seeing the bodies coming out of the airplane. A simple plan would be a four-way, with three guys opening around 4000' and the other taking it down to 2500' or so. Everyone would think he's in trouble. And be sure to get a competent PA announcer. I witnessed a demo once at which the PA guy was so boring I'd have quit jumping if I didn't know any better. "...You can tell the jumpers apart by the color of their parachutes..." Sigh. I was invited on a demo back in 1997, but had plans and couldn't make it. The following weekend I had a streamer & a cutaway to my round reserve. That's the pack job I would have jumped at the airshow. Cheers, Jon

A few months - jump #14. Doing a 10-second delay with a T-10 rig w/unmodified chest-mount 24' reserve. Couldn't find the ripcord, dumped the reserve around 1200'. First malfunction/cutaway on #142, second on #540. So far my reserve rides have been on rounds, but the last two were steerable. Cheers, Jon S.

Last month I showed up for the first time since January (still jobless) with two out-of-date rigs. The rigger updated my reserve card so I could jump, with the understanding that I'd leave the rig overnight so he could do the repack the following morning. Of course, he's the same rigger who had packed it the last time; otherwise, he wouldn't have signed the card. If I understand what you're saying, the rigger who pencil packed the guy's reserve was not the same one who packed it. Wouldn't this be somewhat uncommon? By the way, I'd never jumped my old rig at this DZ. I understand the sight of my Strong lopo stretched out on the packing mat drew some attention. Cheers, Jon S.

I've told this before, but it it SOOOO relevant to this thread... Incident 1) 20 years ago, had recently graduated from the student program at a far-away DZ and was making my first few jumps at a "private club" DZ near my home. Though I was a bit of a pest, these guys were great and did much to help me. I asked for a pin check from a guy who held an instructor rating. He said if I was going to jump there I needed to learn to take care of myself. (I'm sure he was trying to help me become more confident and self-sufficient, but I had already seen other things that made me nervous and I didn't know how to handle this.) I discreetly sent a brief note to USPA explaining the situation and asking advice. (I did not identify any individual nor the DZ.) I never received a reply, and assumed my question wasn't worthy of anybody's time and let it go. Two months later my letter was printed in PARACHUTIST. This got me banned for life. Incident 2) A few years later, at another DZ three hours from home, I had my first malfunction, followed by a hard pull on the cutaway, a chop at around 2000', and a hard pull on the reserve. Got open at 400'. Expected praise for keeping my head and saving my life; instead got kicked off the DZ. Incident 3) Later that year, at yet another DZ, we reached 1900' before hitting the cloud bottoms. Two guys jumped, another lady & I rode down. While standing around afterward, I blurted out the exit altitude without thinking. The two guys got reprimanded. I apologized to them for my carelessness, and worried that I was continuing to make myself unpopular at every DZ within a day's drive of my home. (This did not happen, but I was getting real paranoid about such things at the time.) Incident 4) While visiting a large DZ a few years ago, I did a solo following three groups involved in an RW camp. After waiting ten seconds, I exited and went into a dive. I saw the last group and tracked over toward them, stopping about 100' out, and watched. I knew they weren't expecting me to be there, so I pulled before they reached their break-off altitude. I had removed myself from their sky before they started tracking, and there was no danger of a collision. However, one lady spent the rest of the afternoon freaking out about it. According to her, I just fell out the door on their heels and ended up in their space without any clue as to how I got there. I concede that, as a visitor, they didn't know me and had valid reason to wonder who I was and what I was doing there. I caused a distraction, and most likely interfered with their dive flow. In hindsight, I shouldn't have done that and won't do it again without first talking about it beforehand. But there was never any threat to anyone's safety, and I didn't appreciate being insulted and talked down to by someone who was in diapers when I made my first jump. I visited that DZ two years later and she was still telling people I almost got her killed. Sigh... But she sure is cute, though. Final Incident) A few weeks back, while preparing to board the plane, one of the younger guys (at this point, most of them are younger) suddenly grabbed my chest strap and pulled hard. He said he was just making sure. I thanked him and smiled. No shit, there I was... Cheers, Jon

Good post, sort of... If my kids acted the way you describe, I'd be pretty annoyed too. One of the better things about having kids later in life is that you can deal with all of the unfortunate stuff without taking it personally. They're having a bad day? Tough. I said you can't have candy right now. Cry if you must, but do so quietly while we pass through the checkout line. Meanwhile, they get hugged and loved regardless of their attitude on any given day. Funny thing, my kids have rarely ever exhibited "tantrums" except in their earliest years when such things are expected. No big deal. They learned it didn't work and moved on. Discipline? Yup. An occasional spank on the ass, even as many as two in certain situations. The result? Fairly good, well-behaved kids who don't get spanked very often. It could get boring being told how quiet and respectful they are in restaurants, except we don't go very often because I waste what little extra money we have on skydiving (Wife's perspective.) Perhaps you've seen them at the DZ. They're the ones who are not running around yelling, screaming, tripping over your lines or spilling juice on the packing mat. I hope you like them, but I'm glad you barely notice them. And no, I don't carry pictures of them because I never presumed you wanted to see them in the first place. Thanks for venting. Cheers, Jon S.

...Besides, I never hit on intellectual chicks anyway, none of them can cook... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ HEY! You take that back! My wife is an excellent cook. In fact, she can...um... hmmmm....oh, never mind. Cheers, Jon

...Absolutely. Virtually everybody here has felt the need to point out that they have Been There, Done That And It's Not Pretty, Little Man...but on many a night around the bonfire after a few beers you will certainly have someone discuss a death, then someone else will bring up another one they were closer to... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Might this be that places such as the DZ and this website are among the few places where we can discuss this stuff with people who understand? As a jumper with a sporadic history, I've gone months at a time not only without jumping but without interacting with other skydivers. In those early years I enjoyed those occasional barstool conversations with my whuffo friends, but it just wasn't the same as the DZ bonfire. They'll ask us a question and get us started. No shit, there we are trying to explain, in a way they'll understand, all about flying like superman and diving down to dock on the formation, or flying under canopy watching the clouds, the sunset, etc.. Meanwhile, they still can't get beyond "What if the parachute doesn't open?" There was one incident that happened at "my" DZ in the '80's. I read about it in PARACHUTIST. When I finally got to the DZ a few weeks later I asked one of the guys about it; he just said "Oh, Jon, I don't want to talk about it." For the regulars, they had already "shared" the event and it was becoming old news. Cheers, Jon

I'm not sure, but I don't think our friend really wants anyone to die. Perhaps he means that, IF it happens, he wants to be around to experience the event. This may be analogous (did I spell that correctly?) to the soldier who has never seen combat. When in the company of combat veterans, he feels that he's not quite up to their status. I never served in the military, but I watched "Band of Brothers" once so I know all about it... Seriously, I witnessed two: A guy with a main horseshoe that trapped his reserve pilot chute, and a guy trying out a small fast canopy that spun into into line twists as he turned on final. Another guy I knew walked into an Otter prop. Don't feel like your DZ experience is incomplete if you never see such things. Cheers, Jon S.

Out of work since January, when my radio station was sold. Applied at one of Atlanta's biggest stations, looking to do the morning show that was hosted by Sean Hannity in the mid-90's. Nothing they've done since then has worked, and the most recent guys lasted fewer than two months! I sent them a resume & demo back in February, then went down there & brought another copy of each last week, telling the receptionist that I was going to keep coming back until they told me "no." This week I went back and happened to cross paths with the program director as he got off the elevator. I asked if we could meet sometime; he said he's very busy right now but told me to call Monday and schedule an interview. Haven't jumped in four months...must get...job...visit rigger for repacks...get to DZ...oh, and support family... Cheers, Jon S.

September 30, 1982. First jump, static-line T-10. All was going well, then I had a brain fart on the PLF. Landed wrong & broke my ankle. My only skydiving injury to date. Funny thing, several years earlier I broke my other ankle in an outfield collision during a high school softball game. The same doctor treated both injuries. He ventured away from his area of expertise and suggested I should not be jumping out of airplanes. I asked "Why didn't you tell me to give up baseball?..." Cheers, Jon S.

Quoteokay, where to start, anybody? I'd rather talk to you guys about it than goggle info, so please help me. Should I try and find a used acoustic guitar or what? and one of them guitar chords posters?... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Some good advice going on around here... Get a decent guitar, something that will stay in tune and sound okay. It'll be years before you appreciate the difference between a good one and a great one, but you'll know a bad one right from the start. You can get something nice for under $200 at a store, or keep an ear out for something on one of those "swap shop" radio programs. I'm self-taught and have been playing for 30 years. I started with a chord chart and a Beatles song book. Get a book of songs you like, the kind with the chord diagrams printed above the staff, and begin. Stuff like the Beatles, Paul Simon, etc. is easy enough to learn without being too intimidating. After a few years, you'll be ready to try Steely Dan, but don't go there too soon or you'll go nuts and quit. And please, forget the part about "serenading" your DZ buddies. It'll be several years before that will be appreciated. Seriously, go for it. You won't regret it. Cheers, Jon S.

"One of us! One of us! One of us!..." Welcome, brother. Depending on where you go and what type of training you receive, as well as video, etc., the cost of a first jump can range from $150 - $250 or so, then the rest of your money for the rest of your life afterward. I'm sure raising African Violets is fun, too, but there aren't enough weekend days in a month... Cheers, Jon S.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "Snarge" HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HO HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HE HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO...... (Note to bystanders: Sarge & I go way back. He's not a jumper, but he took an observation ride once in the C-182 so he's cool.) Cheers, Jon

QuoteCongratulations! Wow, only 800 jumps in 20 years?? You need to get out more! So it took you two years to get through the student progression? Me too... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Hey Billy! Remember me? We made a few jumps together over Ellijay in May '96. Yeah, it was slow going. I won't go into all the details now, but I wasn't making much money and had to drive four hours to the DZ. Also, I broke my ankle on my first jump (no insurance), which took several years to pay off. After graduating, I got screwed by an unusual political situation at the only DZ near my home and was uninvited to jump there. It took me nine years to reach 200 jumps before I moved to Georgia. I've learned to live with this schedule, though. Unlike some who have burned out after only a few years, I'm still enthusiastic about my rare trips to the DZ. After all these years, I still like everybody. Cheers, Jon S. A-9459

After more than 22 years I'm still scared to jump. Not the paralyzing fear of a first-timer, but there's always some apprehension. Not nearly enough to persuade me to quit, though. Funny thing, there have been a few times when I wasn't scared at all. I can't explain why. One of these times occurred after a three-month layoff, when you'd think I'd be more nervous than usual. I average fewer than 50 jumps a year, so maybe that's why (I think) I'm more scared than the next guy. To quote a guy at the Ranch, with a schedule like mine "every jump is a first jump." Cheers, Jon S.

Today marks 20 years since I graduated from the student program at Albany Skydiving Center in Duanesburg, NY. Havent seen these guys since the late '80's, but many warm memories. Special thanks to Bob Raeke, Mike Clark, Jim Stahl, Scott & Brenda Rowley, and Bob Rawlins. Long live static-line T-10's. Cheers, Jon S.