kkeenan

Nick- Thanks for a very good explanation of the evolution of skydiving. These days, some students need to be made to "feel good about themselves", rather than muster up the internal motivation to succeed. People generally feel more value for something that they have to earn through some effort and hardship, rather than something that is just given to them. I think that the "dumbing-down" of skydiving has altered the cross-section of average jumpers today. I think that the good ones are as good as they ever were, but it's easier for those of below-agerage skill to get by. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

First off, getting oneself into this situation requires a lot of inattention. What I'm saying is if you find yourself at 2.3k and a couple of feet away from someone, try to get at least a little seperation before pulling. Opening at 2k probably won't kill you, whereas eating a canopy may. I'm not advocating lowtimers dumping low, but as an emergency measure, it may be necessary to avoid the greater danger of a canopy collision. If you're concerned about your pull altitude, don't be next to someone when you pass through it. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Message from Brian Pangburn. Contact Brian at pbpangburn@gmail.com if you have any questions. ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Hello everyone and welcome to April! The Lodi list continues to grow along with those wonderful grapes. Don't be the one to miss out on the cheap jump prices and great times in Northern California! The Lodi list: (as of April 1) 1. Sharon Shumway 2. Scott Sumway 3. Craig Stapleton 4. Gary Peters 5. Bill Mershon 6. Mike Lewis 7. Chris Gay 8. Brian Pangburn (160) 9. Shawn Vineyard 10. Dave Bassinger 11. Chas Bunch 12. Jackson Hoffman 13. Marc Van Apern 14. Jim Walton 15. Dave Hillebrandt 16. Cheryl Michaels 17. Ken Oka 18. Marcie Alana Lovell 19. Frank Lupica 20. Brian Fairhurst 21. Jenny Gordon 22. Russ Pinney 23. Eduardo Guillen 24. Doug Pleatman 25. Dave Holmvik (193) 26. Robert Reger 27. Brett Higgins 28. Roger McClelland 29. Sonny Lounsbury 30. Hairy Bob 31. Linda Ruiz 32. Erik French 33. Terrina Marchant 34. Barbara Cuddy 35. Bob Lyon (143) 36. Brett Higgins If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop me a line. Thanks. Brian Pangburn 2007 Canopy Formation World Record Committee *Training/Try-out Camps:* March 2, 3, 4 @ Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales, Florida May 26 - June 3 @ Empuriabrava, Spain June 8, 9, 10 @ The Parachute Center in Lodi, California July 4 - 8 @ Jumptown in Orange, Massachusetts August 10, 11, 12 @ Carolina Skysports in Louisburg, North Carolina October 12, 13, 14 @ Perris Valley Skydiving in Perris, California *100-way Canopy Formation World Record Attempts:* November 17 - 25th @ Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales, Florida _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

In my opinion, that was way too close. Unless you were much lower, you should have devoted a couple of seconds to tracking. 2,300 ft is fairly low, but not low enough to justify that kind of proximity. At your jump numbers, you should jump with someone who can help to monitor altitude and separation. It's a big sky, but if all the factors line up just right, this exact situation could have killed both of you. Kind of like hitting all of the Lottery numbers - only bad. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

There is legal precedent for this sort of thing, and it is very likely that someone could be found at fault in a wrongful-death lawsuit. And it's possible that a DZO could be seen as complicit if the hook-turner had been performing that way before with the DZO's (presumed) approval. There was a case in Colorado in which someone skiing negligently was found responsible in a fatal accident. And in Canada, a jumper who deployed below someone and caused a collision was found to be at fault. As has been said before, a lawsuit like this could ruin a DZ. Even the possibility of such a suit could drastically change the way DZs operate. People must be responsible for their actions. If you are clearly acting in an unsafe manner when something bad happens, it is no longer considered an "accident". Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm sure you will find plenty who agree in this forum. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That was one of the most bizarre ads I've seen anywhere. Not particularly sexist, just very strange. Stranger still was the response from readers. Some letter-writers were as outraged as if Skydiving had reprinted a Hustler centerfold. A lot of folks really freaked out. Very entertaining. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Anything except: Sabre Toggle Swoop Racer Pullup Crossfire Vector etc. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I would like to publicly thank the Moderators of DZ.com for the work they do here. They are all volunteers, and mostly what they get for their trouble is bitching, moaning, and cursing-out by the lunatics who inhabit this site. Thank you, Greenies, for all the time you spend keeping these forums running and (somewhat) orderly. I think that the education and sense of "community" that DZ.com has brought about has really made a difference in skydiving throughout the world.

Yes. Cutting away with the brake line tied to your hand can lead to really bad problems. If you can't get it loose under canopy, you're damn sure not going to do any better in freefall. I once cut a steering line that had bound up in a knot at the keeper ring. Luckily, my hand wasn't in it. Steering line repair is way easier than a reserve repack. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It sounds relatively harmless, but a jumper was killed some years ago by this very thing. He had on heavy gloves, which caught in the steering line. I don't recall all of the details, but that is how the chain of events started, leading to a fatality. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That's BS. He spoke his mind about something that needed saying. He used some forceful language to get his point across. The fact that some people can't face the reality of their truth about their departed friend should not keep Walt from saying it. Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I've made my share of mistakes, as we all have. But I'm not known at a dozen DZs for my dangerous behavior. What we're talking about here is willful endangerment. The only "mistake" was that this time it didn't work out. But then again, I don't have the winning personality that makes people defend such insanity. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Yeah, well it could be worse. Maybe I'm a prick, but at least I didn't kill you. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

There's probably nothing to do about it after this long, but it's sure tough to deal with the dual condolence thread for Bob Holler and Danny Page. A lot of folks think Danny was a great guy. However, how great was he to carelessly and stupidly fly into a crowd of canopies, killing both himself and Bob. I personally think he was a self-centered prick, whose last act bore that out completely. I feel sorry that Bob's family has to read about what a great guy DP was while greiving the loss of Bob. This is the equivalent of having the town mayor driving drunk over your child in a school crossing, and then reading how he was a wonderful guy who made a "mistake". A bit hard to swallow. In my opinion, the two should be seperated. Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That is the exact reason for a heavy hackey. The mass propels it out into the clean airflow. The lighter, "whiffle ball" type handles do not do this. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Thanks for that little story, Caroline. Dakota is a very cool dog, and loved Bob a lot. She was much more expressive of her feelings than most of the rest of us. I'm not sure that Bob knew how much respect and admiration he had among his friends. I know I never told him how much he influenced my skydiving and even my philosophy of life. How do you tell someone something like that ? It's been a week since Bob's memorial at DeLand, when I heard a lot of people say that they felt the same way about him. People who were very experienced in doing very dangerous things in very dangerous places told of how they looked up to Bob and felt inspired by his presence and safer when he was on their team. Losing someone has a way of erasing their faults and magnifying their attributes. We tend to remember only the good things about them. Bob Holler led such a purposely good life that I don't think any of that is necessary. He always did the right thing. If it was harder to do it that way, he just took that in stride. He never considered shortcuts or half-assed methods. He was such a good leader because he held himself to such high standards that it was impossible to not do your best when around him. I'll truly miss Bob Holler. He was the kind of person that you encounter once in a lifetime, if you're lucky. kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I haven’t had a chance to thank the members of the East Florida CRW Club who came out for some jumps last Sunday at Titusville. Myself, Dave Hillebrandt, Don Bromley, Martin Clennon, and Damien Ristaino were joined by Guest Organizer Mean Dean Keating. Dean organized some nice sequential dives and also did the piloting. Those who are going to the upcoming AZ Skills Camp will definitely benefit from Dean being there, because that boy can fly a canopy. With jumps from 15k (the Skydive Space Ctr. King Air gets there in about 6 min.) we were turning points till we could barely hold the toggles. The weather was great, but some unpredictable winds led to a bit of sightseeing and parahiking, but we all had a great time. I was able to keep my reserve in its container for the entire day, which was a nice change. CReW Skies, Kevin 3 _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I hear it was pretty tricky landing on that aircraft carrier. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Yeah, ...definitely unusual. That was a pretty righteous tattoo. It was an intricate design featuring a bare-breasted woman and the saying, "PJs Do It Around the World". It's on Bob's ass, and a photo of it (on Bob's ass) was on the display boards with all his other photos. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Thanks for the photos. Yes, it was a very, very impressive event. I expected (foolishly) to be there for 2-3 hours. It turned out to be 9 hours. And a lot were still at the DZ when I left. From the USAF side, it was pretty much a "Who's Who" of the AF Pararescue Community. There were active-duty and retired PJs there from all around the world, as well as a complete USAF Honor Guard. There were North Florida and Georgia skydivers from Bob's Crestview FL days and jumpers from Quincy FL. There were World Team folks there from Bob's travels on the big-way circuit. There were people from the Bent Prop Foundation, who worked with Bob on the island of Palao to locate the crash site of a WW II pilot. There was every skydiver I think I've ever seen at DeLand. Seriously, there were tons of people. Bob's parents and his daughter and other family members and friends took turnd holding the leash of his dog. The whole service and ceremony was excellent. I think Bob would have liked the whole thing. It very well-done. The ceremony pretty much started the beer and whiskey service, which brought out some impressive bottles as the 3-plane ash-dive load took off. After the memorial dive, the flags were jumped in, and then given to Bob's family. Bob's dog, Dakota, kept looking up at the canopies as each load opened. I know she was looking for Bob. We all were, I guess. Bob's rig with his unpacked main sitting up in front made it clear that he wasn't coming back. It was great to talk to so many people who knew the guy and hear their perspectives of him. Someone was thinking about Bob arriving in heaven, and within five minutes, complementing God on the place, but adding, "I have some ideas that I think will make things run better and more effeciently". A group circled up at the peas, to tell Bob Stories. People circulated back and forth from that group all afternoon. Every time I thought I had seen everyone, I would run into more new people all afternoon. I live nearby, so I finally went home, but I know all the out-of-towners in DeLand will continue this for a while. I think it was really good of Bob Hallet and Mike Johnston, of Skydive Deland, to host Bob's Memorial. It was a chance to meet the greatest people for the worst possible reason. The overwhelming feeling I left with was that I was totally in awe of the effect that Bob Holler had on so many people. And Bob was just hitting his stride. He still had so much more to give to us. Anyway, for those of Bob's friends who weren't there, I hope this gives a little commentary to go with lauraliscious' set of photos. Bob was sent off in style. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I prefer the Psycho pack, also. Now I know why. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It 's hard to add to the words written here about Bob Holler. I had tremendous respect for him as a jumper and as a person. I know what it takes to be a USAF Pararescueman. They are tough, badass, brilliant professionals, who will walk through hell to save a downed airman. As a USAF aircrew member, I never needed rescued, but knowing that there were folks like that standing by, made flying into odd places a little easier. He left that line of work at the top, respected and admired in the Special Operations community. As a skydiver, Bob was the safest, most competent jumper I've seen. Everyone who jumped with him will say that he was the least likely person to have an accident - he was so careful and meticulous. And he was performing flawlessly to the end. I'll miss him mostly as an example. He had life figured out, and was navigating it on his terms. But not in a selfish or self-centered way. He was always generous with his time, knowledge, and help. He was truly a prince of a guy. We should all be so lucky as to have people say the things they are saying about Bob, when it is our time to be remembered. Attached is a photo of Bob and the "Super Sector Six" shirts that he passed out during the World Team '06 jumps in Thailand. Bob was pretty much the "First Sergeant" of Sector 6, and he was a big part of the success of World Team. Bob's not smiling in this photo. He didn't always smile on the outside, but those who knew him understood, and loved him. Kevin Keenan Bob Hollar's Teammate

The weather looks great this morning. Looks like we'll be doing the demo at the airshow. I wonder what the crowd will be like following the fatality yesterday. Video of the crash: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

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