skylord

Got it, thanks, Bill! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Question on the dive exit. Skylord here, reporting from Hong Kong as I write this. Also, on the PM front, I've written skyyhi twice, shark, and cajones once. For some reason, the pms don't go through. Anyway, I'm at my grad dive. How about that! I don't swim very well, so any analogy to water diving is lost on me. I plan on picking a target during my spotting, and diving toward it, at about a 30 degree angle, Superman style. Any pointers are welcome, and I will of course defer to my JM. Legs tucked up tight, and have fun. Is that how it is done? Let me know. I am concerned I'll tuck the exit. I know I can recover, but I want this jump to be perfect. Any help is appreciated. Bob ps: Darcy, Mark, Ed, I am pm'ing you all, but not getting replies. I'm back in the US on Sunday, the 28th. Talk to you then, if not before! Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Aubrey, Congrats! Good work! Great to meet you at Elsinore last month! Skylimp PS: But I did get 6 and 7 out of the way, grad dive when I get back from Hong Kong, from whence I type this. I think we're going out for eel testicles tonight for dinner. Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I currently travel 140,000 to 180,000 miles a year, and have been in the last year to DC several times, Boston, Seattle, Anchorage, San Francisco, Phoenix, Key Largo, Buenos Aires, London, and as I write this, Hong Kong. I like traveling, and although nearly all of it is on business, I try to take a couple days to see sights and relax. I'm all jet lagged right now. It is 2 am at home, and only 6 pm here. Plus I have to wait for my grad dive until I get home. Oh, well. It is great to see the world and eat strange food like octupus tentacles. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Thanks, man! It is only getting better from here! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Benny, I got stable right away. It was different from my tumbled AFF-6 exit. I just went with it, and popped out of the instability without even knowing exactly what I did. Doug demonstrated a backflip for me, and then I tried. I arched a bit early and ended up head down. Recovered without a problem, but being pointed head down was a new experience. The track went great, although I thought I had my legs out all the way, Doug gave me the legs out signal twice. Shit, that air pushes hard, don't it? It's weird, that door thing. Really, it is getting better for me, and in the air I'm cool as a cucumber, but I fall like one too, initially. It's that first step..... Doug explained to me that it is so important for us newbies to learn stability early in order to have time to perform all the maneuvers with time to spare. If you tumble an exit, you spend valuable time and altitude recovering. Good point. And one that applies to future jumps with other skydivers. Anyway, that's why I'm a student. I'm learning, and I think that will never, ever stop. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Thanks, Darcy! I'll do my best to get out there, but we had a bad crash at Santa Monica last night I'm involved in right now. Plane crashed into a house in the fog. Bad news. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Yep, I passed AFF-6. Off to AFF-7. Instability is the key here, and boy did I help that. I suck. I can't help it. Doug put me in the door by myself. Shit. I locked up on the initial exit count. I'm outside the airplane, and for some reason I locked up. Sorry. Out, in, and for the first time I didn't go. Repeat, and relax. Doug is great, and was laughing at me. I re-did the exit count, and tumbled the exit. Damn it to hell. I realized what I did, arched hard, and was back under control above 11,000. Long story short, I passed AFF-7. I bombed the exit. For whatever reason, I have a hard time making a jump without a JM outside with me. I am a wuss. Any advice is appreciated. Grad dive Thursday AM! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Hi everyone! Sorry for the extended absence! Let's get caught up on all that stuff first. I did my last AFF jumps in mid January, went on a business trip, and had some issues with vertigo and head colds. I self-grounded, and now am back in the air. I had hoped to do this in mid-January before my trip but Elsinore had a fire. I was at AFF-6. I tumbled the exit badly, and was set up to repeat. Then the fire happened, and my little vertigo incident. So, today, I went up and jumped! Driving to the DZ, I was a bit nervous and apprehensive. I did a test tandem about ten days before, and felt very good. Jumping on my own was a bit different. I met up with Doug Forth, who I have jumped with 5 times now. For those of you who don't know him by name, he is an incredibly knowledgeable instructor and skydiver in general. He sets up these 80 way jumps, but also did my first tandem. When you draw him as an instructor, you are his only priority in the universe. Skyyhi Darcy showed up, and it was great to see her again. She is a true inspiration to me, having gone through AFF at about the same time I started. She has her A license, and I'm not far behind. She is a hottie, too, but that is a digressification Anyway, gear check, out to the plane, and up we go. I concentrated on the fact we were climbing out of upper 80 ground temps, and into cool, clear air. Doug and I were last out on a planeload of people who spoke questionable English. But skydiving is a universal love, and I nailed the handshake stuff that scared the living bejeezus out of me early on. Skyyhi Darcy and I shared a handshake. She's great. Door open. I purposely concentrated on the positive qualities of that insanity. Darcy looks back at us, and jumps. Shit! Mmmmm. Fresh, cool air. The door is no longer the Maw of Hell. Doug has me spot, I give him the thumbs up. Climb outside. Wow, the wind blast is stronger than I remember before. Check, OK, ready, set, arch! I'm back out on my own! Sweeeeeet! Good exit, and Doug put in a PRCT before the 360s. Doug flies up in front of me before we're off the hill. A couple signals, relax, arch. Right turn signal. Off I go. Nailed it. Left turn, done. Stable. Check altitude. Cool. Doug writes in my logbook what a good arch I had, and that made the difference. Plus freefall is much more comfortable now. I did start a slow spin a couple times. Doug flew up to me and steadied that. I mugged at him, and he mugged back. To me, not a bad jump. Arch, reach, pull. I'm flying a new rig since the others got burned up. Wow. It has the dual side handles with a split bottom. Hard pull. Different but I did it. Good canopy stuff, could not do many maneuvers since my spot sucked, but landed in the peas. Stand up. Debrief. Cleared to AFF-7. Off I go! I decide to jump again on the next load. I LOVE skydiving, you are all great, and I know what I write is old news to many of you, but it is still fun for this middle aged enthusiast. Time to post my AFF-7 jump stuff! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

YEAAAHHHHH!!!! That's awesome news! True, despite my best efforts, I am now at my grad dive. I can't believe it. And I even have you and Skyyhi to jump with afterwards. Wow. Life is good in skydive land Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

OK, I'll cancel the ass-whupping Too much fun today. And just so there is no doubt, Rich is great to jump with, has a great sense of humor, and is an excellent instructor. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Excellent. Rich, let me be your pretend rider. Congrats, you'll make a great TM. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I missed the joke, my bad. I suppose I should have picked up on the threat of pretend violence, as well as the bluster of the initial post. I hope you have a great time at the DZ. I may go tomorrow, but the weather in Philadelphia sucks out loud right now. Blue skies, Winsor Winsor, No problem. Elsinore was beautiful today, upper 80's, light winds. Snow. (Not really!) No Rich. Perfect. I had the time of my life today out at the DZ, and made the same load as Skyyhi Darcy. That was cool. Passed AFF-6 and 7. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

SkyQueef, Skylimp, Skylame, ha!! Great names! Nope, not wimping out. I was there! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Hmmm...Sky Tyson? I think that I'm gonna have to go with the "Hell Yes" option... Sorry, Tom...I mean, "BOB"!!! Ha! Better than "Skylimp" I loved that name, atsaubrey!! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Rich, I'm here! Where are you???? Are you having chicken for lunch? Sky Tyson Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Boy Rich, I hope everyone "gets it". Someone could take this thread the wrong way. . . Not everyone did, apparently. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Winsor, With all respect, this thread is a running gag. There is no ill will between Rich or I. As to the vertigo thing, I got that thoroughly checked out, did a test tandem last week, and I'm cleared to go. I did take it seriously, which was why I was grounded for a bit. Yes, I'm a student, and I do understand my place. I'm taking to the sky again today, I'll see Rich, and give him a big hug for the both of us Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Ha! I'm coming up this morning, no intervention necessary! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Ah, there's Rich, the don't ask, don't tell AFF-I! Going to Texas is no problem, I will deliver a 55 gallon drum of California whup ass free of charge. Also, AFF is SOOOOO much easier without you humping my leg in freefall. (The real reason I bombed AFF-2). Shark, sorry for the no show, I'll tell you about that tomorrow. So, Skylord is not crazy, he is a responsible civilian with concerns about the military-industrial complex, and Rich's confused sexual orientation. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Skyyhi and VanillaSkyGirl, jump in as you see fit. Bob the sane Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Yes, Darcy is a hottie, but I must confess the confused looking gentleman is Tom. He looks puzzled because he is wondering how I got this far in AFF after jumping with Rich. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Darcy, Happy Birthday to you, the elegant skyyhi! I wish all the best for you, and for your birthday I promise a jump with me on me! Well, I mean I'll pay for it. If you are actually on me I'll have a hard time deploying. Darcy, you are a wonderful, exciting person to be around, and a personal inspiration to me!! Sorry I couldn't be at Elsinore today, but I'm hitting the DZ tomorrow or Tuesday to wrap up the supervised stuff before Hong Kong. Happy 25th birthday, Darcy!! Hugs, kisses and spanks Bob the skylord Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Uh, whatabout moi?! Shark, I'm just calling Rich out. He'll have some excuse not to be there, and poor Darcy won't get her birthday wish of seeing me pummel Rich into whining submission. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Ha! I should have been a dentist. See me hit that nerve? I'm in Reno right now for the Women in Aviation convention, tough duty but someone has to do it. I should be out Sunday. Beat the shit out of me??? There's a good one! Maybe I'll make a special request for you! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Ooooo...Bob is gonna kick Rich's ass!?! I wanna see THAT!!! Btw Bob, welcome back to the friendly skies. I can't wait to read more of your stories...lol. Also, when you eventually get your license, you and I are doing an awesome 2-way together!!! ~ Yep, you're on Rosa, and maybe I'll hold off on kicking Rich's ass until our two way. That will give him a little time to run away from Elsinore and the chance for you to see the ass kicking personally if he doesn't. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman