kkeenan

Makes me wonder who's insuring Jeb Corbin's Wingsuit landing... _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I think it's a pretty good analogy. In skydiving or in SCUBA, you could have 100 great dives before any problem or you could have it on the very first dive. Both disciplines are equipment-intensive, so that means that there will almost always be issues - big or small - to deal with. The main difference between the two is the time element. Most SCUBA anomolies need to be solved fairly quickly, but nowhere as quickly as many skydiving malfunctions. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I, too, hold the coveted PPA award. That was a memorable boogie. I remember some folks getting sick following the green beer. Not a pretty sight. And, yes, drinking the beer while standing on your head is a strange experience, green or not... Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It's good that you are trying to find out about this sport before trying it. Unfortunately, the incident you have read about is true. To go into this sport with the idea that it is, "incredibly safe", is a bad idea. It is as safe as each individual can make it, but is subject to all the same frailties as other human endevors. One thing it has that differs from a lot of activities is its high-speed, high-energy aspects. That means that any mistakes can happen very quickly and can sometimes have very extreme consequences. There is also a random aspect to it that can cause bad things to happen sometimes to someone who's doing everything "right". It is a sport of risk taking. It is practiced by people who (hopefully) understand these risks and prepare themselves for them. There are many safety procedures and devices, but people who are inattentive, either continuously or just at the wrong time, are removed from the sport on a regular basis. Skydiving has many beautiful and fulfilling things about it. The risks can be managed, but there's no way it approaches "incredibly safe". It's best that you understand this before getting involved. If you don't come to grips with the fact that the name in next Monday's Incidents Forum may be yours, then you may well want to try something different. Kevin Keenan Florida _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Here's a great story featuring National Champion and World Record Holder Dave Hillebrandt. Dave designs and builds spacecraft recovery parachutes, a fairly specialized field. http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS02/711190324/-1/aftershuttle _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Will Americans be allowed to jump on the European Big-Way Record, or would that make it too easy ? Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The CRWDogs have some little canopy stamps for illustrating canopy formations. There was a lot of ink used on the recent 100-way in Florida. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I came to DeLand in 1977, and was jumping Mr. D pretty regularly. One of the first stories I heard, as it had happened a bit before my arrival, was about Mike Cerasoli and the landing gear incident. Before each load, jumpers would congregate under the left (door side) wing, waiting to load. The way I heard it, Silly Cerasoli was up in the cockpit, showing some folks around, when someone accidently hit the landing gear lever. This normally wouldn't have done anything, but apparently the lock on the right main gear was not working just right, and the right main folded up, dropping the wing to the ramp. This totally freaked out all the folks who were under the other wing, who scattered in all directions, expecting to be squashed like bugs any moment. This whole story was told after I asked about a newspaper front page hanging on Silly's wall - it was one of those that you can have printed at amusement parks. It read: "Silly Cerasoli Wrecks Mr. Douglas". Luckily, DC-3 landing gear remain out a bit when retracted, so the engine didn't bottom out, but there was damage to the prop. And they had to lift the wing up with a crane to extend the gear. That one was sure talked about for a while. Then again, I wasn't there. So, if anyone has any corrections to details, please feel free to elaborate. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

If you really want to rat him out, contact the gear manufacturer of the tandem gear he uses. That's where the certification comes from. I think they will share your concerns. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Apologies if this is old. I just found it to be an incredible stunt and a hell of an organizational project. http://www.gadling.com/2008/02/01/best-prank-ever-stopping-time-at-grand-central-station/ _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The one without the funky arm. What ever happened to DFave Armtwist ? We jumped a lot together in Texas, but I moved to FL in 77. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Yeah, that's me. It's been so long since I had hair, I didn't recognize the photo. I think that's Silly's green 260Z in the background. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That system worked pretty well, but the development of the big ram air was tied to the X-38 Crew Rescue Vehicle, which had its funding stopped several years ago. Veteran Master Rigger and Champion CRWDog Dave Hillebrandt worked on that one and is currently working on the development of the new Constellation recovery system. No ram-airs, however. It uses big rounds, just like Apollo, only better canopies. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Information about the Constellation Program, follow-on to the Space Shuttle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a2PaTECVSk _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Happy Anniversary, World Teamers !! It's sad that after only 2 years, several are no longer with us to celebrate this anniversary. I miss you, Taz, Bob, and the others. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

One does what one can. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

At least that one doesn't originate with a phrase meaning, "...to whack in the balls..." _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Jerry was a very strong player (both physically and in his teamwork) on the CF World Record Team of 2005. We really missed him at the 2007 CFWR in November, which he could not attend due to overseas committments. Jerry was a very accomplished CRW flyer and a good guy. He will be missed in the CRW Skies. Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

$2500US - $2800US You can match these prices with a bit of looking and patience. The general rule is, the more you are in a hurry or lazy in your research, the more $ you will spend. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Maybe if your mind spoke English, you would make more sense. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

This always cracked me up. When I abbreviated the word "engineer" as "engr.", it told me I had misspelled it and it should be "Negro". _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The large Codpiece. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codpiece _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I agree with you. Going by Walt's avitar, I think he looks more like Jacko in his younger days. Maybe Walt is a lost relative... _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It should be obvious from reading these posts that jumping a full-face helmet is not without additional complications. It's very common for newer jumpers to feel fully qualified to do anything and to see any restriction as unfair. If you have not yet mastered the tasks required for advancing in the license structure, then you seem to have plenty to occupy you without fighting for the rights of the oppressed helmet-wearers. Being able to operate with a full-face simply requires a higher level of general competence and awareness, which is difficult to quantify in a specific requirement. So, the powers-that-be are probably wanting newer jumpers to be a bit more experienced in general before adding to their overall workload on a jump. You wouldn't believe the number of boned-up mistakes a newby can make trying to look like the "cool kids". Just mellow out and concentrate on the things that will keep you out of a hospital or morgue until you are actually competent to make these decisions. Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Please remind me why we give a rat's ass about this... _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?