NickDG

At least he's alive. There was a DC-3 demo load in Del Mar, California some years ago and the last few out came up short of the beach. One guy found himself coming down into the surf line and worried (probably) about getting tangled up with his main in the big waves so he cutaway above the water. He cutaway low enough so the water entry shouldn't have been a big deal but his reserve popped up when he hit the water and broke his neck as cleanly as a well done hanging. Now when I see people doing low cutaways like that for fun over a lake or something I cringe a little bit . . . (Note to "nervous guy" - don't worry I'm just making this up). NickD

Dealing but not betting . . . NickD

You folks put too much faith in new blood turning things around. I remember when B.J. Worth first ran in the early days. His campaign motto was, "Burn the muther down!" And look at him now, he's frigging Dick Cheney . . . NickD

Geez, I try hard to write mostly in-depth, probing, witty, thought provoking posts on jumping and this is the one where I get 50 replies. There's something wrong with us . . . NickD

That's the bank where everyone walks up to the teller and says, "Hello, I'm the sister of a Prince and I'm currently living in exile in . . . " NickD

And when I did my first demo in Los Angeles it was into some guy's back yard and he said, "it's the one with the all the people and a pool." And this may say something about how isolated people stay from their neighbors, but every house down there had a pool and people in the yard. It's like until you touched down you never really knew if you'd get, "That was cool, man," or, "Who the fuck are you?" NickD

>>why dont YOU pack for yourself!?

I remember when those stupid "No Fear" shirts first came when everything was first beginning to be called eXtreme. The company came to an early 90s Bridge Day and set up a booth at the BASE trade show. When asked by a rep if I wanted to buy a shirt I answered, "Yeah right, when you get one that says "Big Fear" let me know . . . And to whoever told the OP that this is the internet and some stuff here isn't the truth that's actually one of the few fibs (probably unintentional) I've seen here. The skydiving community is small and we also hear about the incidents, accidents, and otherwise scary events in other ways. And very few of us that have been around awhile (and can smell BS a mile away) rarely read anything here we haven't heard of happening before. I do, however, sometimes think some people pose as newbies here just to ask stupid questions (at least I hope to hell some of them are) but if it's an interesting question I'll take the bait because some real newbie out there is probably really wondering about it . . . NickD

And this would be a neat avatar if anyone wants it (see attachment). Also here's a full episode list, the seller is short seven shows. Some of these titles are amusing . . . If you're not hip to Ripcord here's the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripcord_(TV_series) NickD

I've nothing to do with this, I just came across it while looking at alternative places to sell stuff besides Fleecebay. This guy has 69 episodes of "Ripcord" on DVDs for a decent price . . . http://www.ioffer.com/i/RIPCORD-NEAR-COMPLETE-SERIES-DVD-1961-SKYDIVING-SHOW-28099191 NickD

Right here: http://www.ratbike.org/motorcycho/outlawname.php I'm Ol' Ratso, Nut Busters MC . . . NickD

There a bit of precedence here. In the 1970s when Rick Sylvester decided he wanted to ski off El Capitan he wasn't a jumper either. So he showed up at some Nor Cal DZ because he figured he should make at least one practice jump. I can't recall which DZ it was but I have it written down somewhere. He told them at the DZ of his plan and they just looked at him and said, "Yeah, all right, sure kid, ya got the 40 bucks for the jump?" Of course that one jump woke him up to the fact he'd probably need a few more. And he eventually got the DZ on his side and made 80 jumps before finally successfully skiing off El Cap in around 1973. The jump caught Hollywood's eye and he did a similar ski jump off another cliff and that one is featured in an early James Bond movie. In any case I think all these latest high altitude projects are approaching it the wrong way. With all these millions of dollars available and by using off the shelf technology they should go the rocket route. It would not only get them up there in a hurry, it would be fifty times as exciting and generate much more interest and publicity. A balloon, even one going into the stratosphere, is just another boring old balloon launch. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . !!! NickD

>>why this different attitude? cultural differences? i dont want to call for prejudices, you know, the fat, lazy, ignorant american..

When I'm driving down the 405 Freeway here in California and it's nuts (like most of the time) I often think here I am doing high speed RW with a bunch of people I'm totally clueless about. Their skill level is all over the place, their equipment may or may not be up to snuff, plus a good percentage of them are impaired by either inexperience, old age, legal, and illegal drugs. Then when I hear someone at the DZ say they won't jump with someone they don't know I consider the fact they spent a hour on the freeway to reach the DZ and they sound ridiculous to me. NickD

Being the UK I'm not entirely sure how they'd handle you. But if you did indeed graduate AFF and have 15 jumps and two years out here's what I'd do with you here in the States. I'd sit you down for a one on one refresher to gauge how much you know and remember. If that goes well then a jump with an AFF Instructor. If every thing is still good you could then pick up where you left off. On the lost logbook thing. Get a new one and recreate the 15 jumps from memory as best you can. Then take it to an Instructor. They'll be able to tell if it sounds genuine or not easily enough. And then I would make a note in the logbook to the effect these jumps are being forwarded from a lost logbook and sign it off for you. On the bright side losing a logbook with 15 jumps in it is a lot better than losing a logbook with a couple hundred jumps in it . . . NickD

No, you didn't set a record, but you're one up on me, I don't have an "A" license. And I will forever defer to your A-ness . . . NickD

And they all jump at this place . . . http://www.ascskydiving.com/gayskydiving.html NickD

Seriously, your "current friends" will consider this interest of yours in skydiving as thrill seeking, but soon enough you'll dump them like the morons they are and make better, smarter, and cooler friends . . . NickD

Thanks and that's good, and I'm glad of it, Scott was a good guy and deserved to grow old. And yes the one in Wheatridge. I'd already moved and was in CA when it happened, so I wasn't too sure about what was what and who was who . . . NickD

>>I can't believe anyone would verbalize the old, "I'm an instructor and might have to chase a student down low." But are there people who think that way?

USMC Silent Drill Team Talk about your RW . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y90UPLLo6nY NickD

>>If the answer is yes, then I sign, if not, I'll explain why.

That's some cool stuff. I jumped at Littleton, CO in late 70s . . . and knew the DZO he mentioned, Bob Clark. Scott Brady I knew too. I'm pretty sure he was killed a few years later on a demo when their three way canopy stack collapsed at low altitude. All three jumpers were killed. NickD

>>It was a timer!! I'm sure that would have been helpful.

Thanks, Bill, I knew somebody was doing it that way. Are there still pieces of the Hindenburg laying around Lakehurst? NickD