Head

Congrats Froggie! Sounds like it was a great jump. Hang in there babe! Head

Pammi, Good luck on finishing your A! Before you know it, you'll be jumping all over the place! If you come to Skydive Wichita, though, you'll be jumping a 182. However, this 182 is retrofitted to climb its ass of to 12,500 in about 12 minutes. You're thinking of the other dz in Wichita that occasionally has a Caravan. Not sure of their schedule though. I think it's great that your loyalty will remain with all of your buds at OSC and I'm VERY glad to hear they're not shutting down! Talk to you and hopefully see you soon. Head PS, no major implications by the nick, just ask my hubbie why he nicknamed me that! (Hint: it came from a movie)

Neil, Another Kansan that I know! It's Mandi from out at Kingman. Wondered what happened to you! Just thought I'd drop a line to say hi. Love to see you again. Hope all's well at the AFB. Later, Mandi

Pammi, Hey, is Cushing closing down? Hopefully just a nasty rumor. I am from Wichita also like FFF#2. However, I jump at Skydive Wichita up there. Check out our website if you're headed up and come play with us!!!!! Bring FFF#2 and we'll all jump our tails off and party it up! Sincerely, Head

Froggie, I have had one malfunction that someone else packed (it was on student gear). I have almost 800 jumps. My husband has 1100 jumps and no malfunctions. He and I are the only ones that pack each others rigs and we only do each others when one of us is too tired or busy to do our own. My belief is that packing your own the same way consistently gives you the best chance of avoiding a packing-induced malfunction. Head

I have been jumping a Bonehead sidemount with a 35mm still on top for about 3 years now. As of yet (knock on wood) I haven't had any incidents as a result of my cameras. I have had openings that pinned my head down at the neck, so that I couldn't look up, and been able to clear them. My camera was never a factor in these. When I throw I sit up a little bit and my head usually gently ends up behind my risers with me looking up. I think that having your helmet as low profile as possible is a good idea. And any camera flyer will tell you that decreasing the number of possible snag points on your helmet is important. I feel that just like any other skydiving incident, camera incidents can be multifactorial. A number of things should be addressed when jumping camera gear. Like I said before, a low profile setup is helpful. Stability upon opening is a must. And lastly, nothing can take the place of safe, consistent packing. Head

I, too, refuse to jump without a Cypres. A perfect example is the jumper in my area who recently had a Cypres save after both arms were dislocated by another jumper in freefall. And I understand the point of choosing who you jump with. However, even the best jumpers can make mistakes. What about the woman that was hit on the record attempt a couple of years ago? Surely the jumpers on that attempt had enough experience to avoid a collision. But like I said, even the best jumpers can make mistakes. No attacks here, just stating my case! And anyway, my husband, father and I have an extra rig that we all jump and are familiar with whenever we need it...it too is Cypres equipped!

Sangiro, Sorry to break you heart, honey, but my nickname isn't exactly what it sounds. In the talk back check out my discussion with slotperfect under "Life Doesn't Suck". It will explain all! However, you can dream up whatever juicy thoughts you wish and they'll be all yours! Blue Skies, Head Edited by Head on 4/8/01 12:02 PM.

SP, Could have been a marketing gimmick I heard when it first came out. Who knows? Anyway, I'm not buying much on-line right now, but I'll definitely be looking into it. Blue Skies, Head

Hey Skreamer, Guess I should set the record straight on my nick, huh?! I'd love to say that it has some great sexual story behind it, but no, that's not the kind of head I'm nicknamed after. My husband gave me that nick while we were still dating. We watched the movie "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and there was a kid on there with a huge head. His father called him Head and my hubbie thought that was just so damn funny. However, let me assure you, he is a very satisfied man on the other end of that nick! And yes, we are skydivewichita.com. The only reason I haven't posted us is that I'm working in western Kansas right now and I don't have our address with me or memorized either. As soon as I get back home I intend to post us. However, you can visit the website if you haven't already. It's probably in need of being updated though! By the way, how do you avoid working hard and get to have so much fun? I was going to try that once but couldn't quite live the way I wanted to...and medicine called to me too much. Well, good to hear from you. I'll get that dz posting asap!Later! Head

Cloud9, I'd love to throw in a skydive and on a normal day, that would definitely be added in. However, I am on call this weekend and 4 hours away from my dz. Therefore, I'd be happy with just the first three. But, the hubbie is not here and I can't drink when I'm on call. So, in actuality, the only possibility is rock and roll. Let's try this again and assume it's a normal weekend for me: 1. Sex upon waking 2. Go make some skydives 3. Party and drink some beer 4. Sex again that night!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's all a pipe dream until next weekend...blue skies to all!

SP, Thanks for the info! That all sounds pretty much like what I do. I almost always use shutter priority and set the depth of field on the ground. And I set my PC-1 up the same way you set up your TRV-9. Hey, by the way, was it the TRV-9 or TRV-900 that supposedly had the feature to see through clothing? That just popped in my head. Anyway, yes I agree about that pic on the cover of Parachutist. Very cool! I'm confident that those guys used a fisheye lens, and God knows how expensive those things are. I have this man in California that owns a camera shop keeping his eye open for a decent used fisheye for me. I'm still waiting! I by no means am a professional photographer either! But I definitely want to start expanding my capabilities. Any great tips I learn I'll definitely pass them on. Blue skies to you since I can't jump this weekend (on call in the boonies!). Later, Head

Hey all, I've been doing freefall videos and photos for a couple of years now. However, they've almost all been tandem/AFF. Now I want to expand into other things and attempt more challenging photos. But my knowledge is quite limited. I've always done what it takes to get good shots for my students but that's about it. So, I'm working on buying a wider angle lens (I have a 28-80 currently on a EOS Rebel 2000). How wide is wide enough for decent shots (I do a lot of freeflying)? And how successful have any of you been with auto vs. manual focus lenses? Any tips on these questions or anything else you have to offer would be appreciated. Thanks! Head

Hey kids, I'm new to the forum and I'd like to say...go out and get it all!!! Frank is absolutely correct. There is no reason that you can't have it all. I'm married (to a skydiver of course!), in my last month of Physician Assistant school, and own a drop zone. And I'm only 25. Now don't get me wrong, I work my ass off! But that is the beauty of life...free will. You choose what you do with your life and go out and do it. It doesn't last long enough as it is. Don't let anyone make the short time you have here a bummer!

SEX Rock and roll Beer and then some more SEX! Sounds like a damn good day!