Guru312

I thought you'd NEVER ask! I hold the World Record for parachuting night pukes. http://aicommand.com/PukeDuke.htm After all these years! And no one has tried to break my record. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Easy question; simple answer: When the student is ready the teacher will appear. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

In PA, NJ and MD we called these rigs cheapos. The 'rag' word meant any rig marginally jumpable or airworthy...or just as a mild put-down of another jumper's rig. When I went through jump school at Bragg in March of 1960, the Army team was jumping 7-TU rigs. My first sport jump in June was on a 5-LL because "...7-TU rigs are too hot for students to jump." This thread got me thinking: Do any of you know of a site with word definitions and descriptions of parachuting/skydiving terms in general? I'd find it interesting browsing through such a list. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

The above says it all for me. Jumpers are the most wonderful people I've ever met and I feel out of place and ill at ease in any group of people bigger than five...unless they all jump out of airplanes. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm approaching the point where I've been a non-jumping jumper longer than I spent 'in the life.' Fortunately, I have a 13 year old daughter who can't wait to jump and I'll be jumping with her...a long five year wait from now. This 'sport' we all love is really a life-style, a unique perspective, a view on the world which totally embraces the freedom of one's personal spirit. My daily shot of DZ.com helps me to remember what it was like to strap on a 28' cheapo that I modified on an old peddle-driven Singer machine into a *fast* 7 gore TU just like the Golden Knights were jumping. Damn I love this sport and the people!!! And Scotty is the craziest jumper I've ever known...and I've known a few. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I'm from the old school, so to speak. I owned DZs back in the late '60s and early '70s when *all* first time jumpers did static line jumps. No AFF and no tandems existed. I taught a few thousand first jump students. After getting out of the DZ business I began flying jumpers at a number of DZs which had S/L first jump programs. I flew at Pelicanland in Maryland for a few years and saw another thousand or more first jumps. VERY few people came back for another jump after their first jump. The next largest 'fallout' of jumpers was after their first freefall. My thought: It isn't money; it isn't time; it isn't distance. It's the inability of most people to *literally* take their own life into their own hands and pull their own ripcord. I've been thinking about writing an article with the premise of something like: Parachuting as a Metaphor of Life or "Living life to the fullest means packing your own parachute and pulling your own ripcord." The majority of people can't face life that squarely. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Many years ago...like 40...when I owned a DZ I was driving to it early one morning. I had a van at the time and had a few student rigs in the back. I picked up a guy hitchhiking. When he saw the rigs he said, "Hey, you must skydive." I told him that I did. He then went on and on about how well he knew the guy who owned the DZ that *I owned* and was driving to that morning. He told me that I had taught him how to jump a few months prior. Obviously, he didn't know who I was. I had a difficult time keeping a straight face. I just let him ramble on about his jumping experiences--with me. Over the years, I've experienced dozens of people telling me about their jumps when they never did any of it. I've always been amazed. Clearly many of you have had similar experiences. Why do so many people bullshit about being a jumper? Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

When I went through jump school at Bragg in 1960 all our runs were up hill in 3 feet of snow. The worst part was doing it in barefeet. Somehow, they were able to get Longstreet Road to run uphill in both directions. Also, the cadre at jumpschool talked to Niels Bohr about putting a quantum reality bubble near the steam plant which caused gravity to triple when we were doing PT. Doing pushups for gigs with triple gravity was the worst part of jumpschool. You young guys just don't know what *real* jump school was like. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I haven't a clue where he is. I can't say I jumped with him but the name sure is familiar. '64 is a long time ago when you are 64 yourself, you know! I googled 'tim mcgrath' with 'skydive' but didn't find anything familiar or helpful. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

These guys are all from where I grew up...not more than 6 miles from me. Both the name McGrath and Zuchelli sounds familiar. I'd love to know what DZ. Did he tell you where he jumped? I'll have to check my log book; I can't remember where I was jumping in '64. Cool pics. Brings back lots of memories. Particularly the two-shot Capewells. I hated them. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Puking? Did somebody write about puking? I can puke like nobody else: http://aicommand.com/PukeDuke.htm Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I love that number 69...on a jump aircraft...or not. Years ago when I kept N69BS tied down at the Millville, NJ airport I saw a Grumman G3 at Airwork for an engine overhaul. The tail number was N69WW. I immediately thought "Wow, Sixty-nine World Wide". I went to the chief mechanic and asked who owned the plane. He said he didn't know but gave me permission to go into to the cockpit and look at the registration. The registered owner was "Uptight Airways, Inc." from somewhere in California. No one at the hanger knew anything about Uptight Airways. I knew some people in the main office so I went there to ask. Turned out, N69WW and Uptight Airways were owned by comedian Georg Carlin. N69BS for me and N69WW for Carlin was about right. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

N69BS Bravo Sierra was the Cessna 182 I flew at my DZs and at others around the Northeast. As many jumpers probably know, it is customary for a pilot to respond to transmissions from a tower or ATC with the last two characters of the number. I always got a kick out responding with "BS" On many occasions I had other pilots on an ATC frequency say with lots of laughter, "That's the best number I've ever heard!" Although I don't have the numbers on an aircraft at present, I have the number reserved in my name. The $10 a year I spend to reserve the number with the FAA is worth every penny. "BS" Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I've built one. Actually, I've built the same one over and over and...still have changes in the plan book. The UL I built has two engines. Believe it or not, 5.5 HP chainsaw engines. 11 HP total. Not very much power! And have you ever tried to keep a chainsaw running? I've been jumping, ballooning, flying and in general risking my life for most of it and I hope to continue doing so. But...I have to tell you, NOTHING scared the crap out of me more than the first 10-15 hours flying my ultra-light. The reason: under powered, very large wing area, very susceptible to wind currents--both up and down. But FUN!!! I can't wait to get my rebuilding job finished so I can risk my foolish old neck again and again. See this: http://www.aicommand.com/ultrlite.htm Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I hold a record in this area that even Jay Stokes hasn't tried to beat. I hold the "World Record for Parachuting Night Pukes". Which means I got sick jumping at night more often than anyone else in the world. See it here http://aicommand.com/PukeDuke.htm The record set by Jay is truly amazing. Having been there and tried that I know how amazing it really is. Way to go, Jay! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I have some experience building stuff. Matter of fact, I built a number of things similar to what you want to do. What you have ahead of you will be a BIG pain in the butt. That is if you are talking control of the ram air system and not just dropping it and having it float down. Considering your interests in RC my guess is that you want to actually control it. Your biggest problem won't be related to the canopy it will be related to rigging and control mechanisms. Even the slightest asymetrical tension will create a turn. If your control servo system isn't built properly you'll not be able to correct the line-length differences. My questions: 1. What type of control mechanism? 2. Size of aircraft from which you'll 'launch' the unit? 3. Method of deployment and packing? Comment: If you are going to go to all the trouble, plan for a bit more weight and add a digital camera. Have a jumper deploy your system at jump altitude and fly the thing with camera system attached from the ground. Cool idea...but what a pain in the ass to get it working correctly. See some of my stuff: http://aicommand.com/Personal.htm Good luck. Send me a PM if I can help in anyway. I wish I had the time! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

First, I think it only fair that you make a link to your presentation available to folks on DZ.com. Modern society is sadly missing an aspect of 'growing up' which is quite prevalent in less culturally advanced areas of the world. The missing aspect is known as "A rite of passage" meaning, a practice, a test, a challenge or other endeavor which acts as an entry point into adulthood. The act of parachuting, tandem, AFF or S/L, offers us our own Rite of Passage. Fortunately, that rite is so much friggin' fun that we want to do it again and again and again. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

A few minutes ago I pulled my local Bridgeton, NJ newspaper from my paper box only to read this terrible two-inch high headline: "Bridgeton Skydiver Dies" Although where Sara lived is only 10 miles from where I live, I never had the pleasure to meet her. I've been kicking around jumping for a whole bunch of years and I've seen many more injuries and deaths than I care to recall. But, for some reason, this fatality touched me more than most and I didn't even know the jumpers involved. As I type, my eyes are filled with tears and are dropping onto my keyboard. My toughts and tears and go out to all who knew and loved these folks... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Oh, dang, I thought you wrote '...in NJ!!' Seriously, tho, I've been kicking around jumping for quite a few years and I've never been able to truly relate to non-jumping women. Non-jumping people in general, actually! There is something about the jumper perspective that sets jumpers apart from those who don't. ALL of my close friends...some going back 40 years!!...are jumpers. I can't relate to wuffos and don't want to. Find a jumper...... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Why would I kid you...and the world!...about something as important as changing underwear?! You DZ.com folks are so great. I'm getting many chuckles from this thread. And my daughter will be able to say, "See, Dad, I told you!" Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I talked about planning for a four day trip over Father's Day weekend with my 12 year old daughter. She asked what I'd be taking for clothes. I mentioned two pairs of underwear among other things. She didn't believe me because she said she changes her underwear every day. I told her that when I was in the Army I often went a week or more without changing it. I told her that in combat guys go way longer than that. "Oh, Dad, that's so gross!!" So...how often do you change *your* undies? Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Oh, yeah!? That's interesting... The mother of my twelve year old daughter is 30 days older than my oldest daughter. My two grand children are 1.5 years older and 1.5 years younger than my twelve year old daughter. You wouldn't be visiting New Jersey any time soon, would you? I'm a grandfather looking for a friend with benefits... Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

I'm sure you mean skydiving but my first few jumps were from C-119, C-123 and C-130 aircraft while with the 82nd Airborne at Bragg. My first 50 or so skydives were out of a H-21 helicopter. The H-21 was a fantastic jump ship. Almost no prop blast and a huge door we could just step out. That took some getting used to after prop blaster aircraft. Favorite aircraft: Skyvan and DC-3. I owned a small DZ with a Cessna 182 which I loved to jump and fly jumpers. Aircraft I want to jump: hot air balloon, an ultra-light and a Boeing 727. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Well it looks like I'm way too late for your request, Jen, but here is some information for you. My sister, Susan, is with First State Greyhound Rescue and she lives near Reading. Not terribly far from where you live. Sue has been doing rescue work for almost 20 years. She loves the work and the dogs. If things don't work out for you regarding the dog you mentioned in your last post contact her from the First Greys contact page. Here is the website: http://www.firstgreys.org/ You can find her email on the contact page. Greyhounds are a very special bred. You'll definately love having one in your life...no matter where you get your dog. They are greyt!!! Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Back in the mid-70s I was flying at Pelicanland in Ridgely, MD for Mike Schultz. One weekend Mike had an Instructor Certification Course and JM certification course. I'd been an I/JM for a few years and had the opportunity to evaluate the candidates in addition to being one of the pilots. One guy in the class was a complete and total jerk who had all the answers and always knew a better way than everyone else. He got on everyone's nerves with his arrogance. He and I got into a number of arguments over various issues. Turns out, he was on my flight in my C-182. During the practicum, experienced jumpers acted as the S/L students but actually jumped their own rigs. On the second pass around this jerk was the JM candidate. Just to see what kind of altitude awareness he had I climbed as fast as I could without letting him sense that I was doing it. By the time I circled around onto jump run I was well over 5000. As he was getting his 'student' ready to move out of the door, I yelled at him "Do you always put your static line students out at 5300 feet?" I voted that he shouldn't be rated and he wasn't. I'm sure that in his mind I'm the pilot from hell. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper

Roberta! Roberta! I'll say! See this: http://images.google.com/images?q=%22Roberta+Mancino&btnG=Search+Images If you want to see the more kinky pics be sure to turn your SafeSearch OFF. Interesting woman. I'd love to meet her. Too bad I'm probably older than her mother. Guru312 I am not DB Cooper