steve1

Clay, I wish I knew more about knives. I work as a counselor in a town they call stab city, so I do have some good stabbing stories to tell. When we finished Special Forces training back in 71 everyone had to have a gerber killer knife. Actually we thought we had to have one because we imagined ourselves to be trained killers, so most of us went down to the PX and bought a gerber (dagger style) with the tie down sheath. It has a handy little knob on one end for hitting bad guys on the head and rough out handle. One of my friends, who may not have been all there, was pretending to commit harry carry one day in the barracks. He slipped and they had to take him to the hospital at Ft. Bragg. As I said this guy wasn't all there, and he ended up shooting himself a few years ago, but that is another story. I knew another guy who was a Special Forces captain. When he got out he went to college for a while. He ended up taking a speech class. He didn't know what to give his speech on, so he decided he'd do it on silent kill techniques with a knife. He had a friend of his put a board under his shirt and he demonstrated the proper way to sneak up on this guy, and then he started stabbing the guy several times in the chest (actually in the board under his shirt). Of course he did this in fatigues and beret for a more dramatic effect. At any rate one girl in class started to vomit, so I guess it was a little too dramatic. I don't know where he got his training in knife fighting, because I never received a class in it. (Probably out of a comic book). At any rate my gerber killer knife has sat quietly in my closet for the past 30 years. It's nice to have, but I don't really have a use for it. If a burglar is in the house I have a short barrelled shotgun or 9mm. I do know a fair amount about hunting knives though. I've had some that were a bitch to get sharp because they are such hard steel. I prefer the ones that are hollow ground. I don't like too big a knife for skinning purposes. I think it's handier to have a smaller knife for this. So that's about all I know about knives.....Steve1

I really think the day will come when the government does come looking for peoples guns, even though it is a constitutional right. In many states some types of guns that were once legal a few years aren't now. I think the trend will continue. If you look at individual rights that people once had in this country, compared to what they are now, there has been a tremendous degradation. I suppose this stems from our increase in population that we have now compared to what it was when our country started. Think of the laws we have now that weren't on the books in the old days. Most of these infringe on a person's freedom. I doubt if this trend will change, and it does apply to gun laws. At any rate I've often thought what I'd do if the government banned the guns that I own. They'd be kind of hard to hide, because of gun sniffing dogs etc. I've thought of burying them in some kind of waterproof container. I'd find a way somehow. There's no way I'd just give them up....Steve1

I went last year for about three days and made about five jumps a day. I had so much fun that I plan on spending the whole week this year. It's more than I can afford, but you only live once, right? I've got about $700 rat holed away, which should be enough. But then again it all depends on how much beer you can drink......Hope to see you there......Steve1

It's too bad that physical appearance does play such a big part in what we think of other people. I'd like to think I'm above all that and not a shallow person, but it does affect how I feel about some people. I mean how many men are attracted to a grossly overweight, bearded woman. She could have the greatest personality in the world and still not have a boyfriend. I wish things were different, but I think we all have predjudices we need to work on. I recall listening to a speaker who was severely injured in Vietnam. His group was in a fire-fight and he was in the process of throwing a white phosphorus grenade when a bullet hit the grenade. It exploded in his hand taking his arm off and scarring him for life. He was horribly burned and looked like a monster. But talk about an inspiring person. His wife remained married to him and he seemed like one of the most heads up people I have ever listened to. I listened to another speaker who was born with no arms. Your first impression was that this might be some kind of freak. I mean the guy ate with his feet of all things. But five minutes of talking with the guy and you realized he was made of better stuff than most of us are. Adversity can make one a better person. Too bad we don't all have more understanding when judging a person by their appearance.....Steve1

Sorry for your loss. My black lab and pheasant dog is getting really old now. I've had him since a pup. I'm dreading the day that he goes. I counsel a lot of kids that lose relatives. This may not help much, but maybe another perspective that may help, is to think of those memories of your dog as a gift. Instead of dwelling of how awful it is to lose him, maybe try to think of all those happy times together as being a gift that you can fall back on. This may be something to work on later. Right now it's okay to feel the pain and loss of a good friend......Steve1

Hope to see you there. Maybe we can get a DZ.com record attempt together.....Steve1

Pick up a used protec or ski helmet on e-bay. You may have to cut off or tape any snag pts. on the ski-helmet. I've made hundreds of jumps on the old open face motorcycle helmets. They offer a lot of protection, but are hard on your neck on opening, (due to the extra weight).....Steve1

That story reminds me of this one. Back in the early 70's there was this guy who could fall stable, but he always started spinning out of control. One day he came out to jump and needed a belly reserve. My locker pardner had one, so I loaned it to him. At any rate I was watching from the ground when he left the plane and started spinning. He pulled his main and ended up a perfect streamer. He wasn't trained to do a cut away, and pulled his reserve. Luckily they didn't tangle and the reserve saved his life. Then I realized this was my pardner's reserve that I had loaned him. When he got back to the hangar we discovered that the reserve had multiple burns and holes that needed major repair. This was caused by the reserve deploying against the lines of his main. And the end of the story is, the cheap-skate refused to pay for the repair work......Steve1

Great article. Valuable info. If folks like Arizona Air Speed do it, it must work. Positive mental preparation is so important for success. I remember watching a rodeo rider (behind the chutes) just before he got on his bronc. He had his eyes closed and was visualizing every jump his horse was likely to make. Noone else I knew did this 25 years ago. This guy was always one of the top qualifiers in our circuit and his mental prep. may have been what made all the difference. I knew another guy who used to slap himself, even pull his own hair before getting on his bronc. His mental prep involved trying to get as P.O.ed as possible before nodding his head. This might not work for skydiving, but it worked for him rodeoing.....Steve1

I know the feeling. That's what's great about jumping, jumpers, and even DZ.com......Steve1

Do you have a pilot chute for this rig? I didn't see one in the pictures. The container looks like it's in great shape. One thing to be careful of is the bungies or pack opening bands. They attach to the little clips on the main and reserve container. They pull the containers open and have a little clip on the end. These little clips can be a snag point. I used to tighten them down slightly with pliers to keep them from snagging a pilot chute on opening if they did come unhooked. It used to be kind of common for the burble above your back to keep the pilot chute from catching air. That's why you want a good pilot chute that will hopefully spring up above this burble. And watch to see that things are stringing off your back when you pull. More than once I've elbowed my back pack to get things moving off. Some old pilot chutes have a little spring and don't jump up much at pull time. The pictures look like your pappillion is packed in a bag or pod. I'm not familiar with these. Mine had a sleeve. Most people went to bags and pods later in the 70's. Your rig also has quick ejector hardware which was top of the line back then. I personally liked them, but it might be considered dangerous by todays standards. But then again everything about this rig would probably be considered dangerous by todays standards. But, I just wish I had another rig like this...Have fun!......Steve1

I'm considering getting some old gear for old times sake. The old hard cones work fine. Everyone checked them closely for bent pins in the old days, but this seldom happens (but check them every jump). The old belly reserves also have hard cones also (so double check them before every jump). I've only had two cut-aways on shot and a half cape-wells. They worked fine, but it would be good to have them checked out. Be careful what kind of reserve you get. It should be modified and hopefully it won't oscillate when you come down under it. I'd like to pick up a 26 foot coni, if I could find one for a decent price. On my second cut away on a 24 ft. reserve it ossillated wildly all the way down and slamned me into a rock pile (spraining both anckles). A proper reserve wouldn't have ossillated like this. My first ride on a different 24ft. round I got a standup. Have someone give you some lessons on landing a Pari-commander or Pappillion. I used to do a chin up on my back risers just before landing. Some people would flare with the toggles. I'd love to jump one again.....Steve1

Every student needs positive reinforcement (some more than others). You might have to make the best of it and get further training from someone else later. Just realize this is his flaw, not yours.....Steve1

Congratulations, I need to move to Texas where big things are happening!.........Steve1

Damn, here it is Monday morning, and it sounds like I missed the celebration. I did make a pretty good dent in a box of wine last night though. We can't afford the good stuff......Steve1

Michele, Happy belated birthday!......Steve1

There was a timber faller who was pinned under a log once who did the same thing with his pocket knife. I had an Alaska bush pilot tell me this story and supposedly it's true: Another Bush pilot flew a client in hunting. He landed his super-cub and the took off hunting. Somehow the client's gun went off shooting the Bush pilot in the leg with a soft point bullet. His leg was just dangling so he went ahead and cut it off. I imagine they also put a tourniquet on also. They later had to fly out of there, and he was the only one who knew how to fly. So being a resourceful guy he tied a stick to what was left of his leg so he could run the rudder pedals. He took off and landed safely. Alaska bush pilots are a tough bunch......Steve1

I'd sing happy birthday to you, but I can't sing. But I'm really good with wax paper on a comb. So try to imagine those sounds as I play them now!.........................(Happy Birthday!)......Steve1

I jumped with Pat Works at Skydive Oregon a few years ago. He was putting on a freefly clinic, and anyone who wanted to jump with him could. I think he lives in L.A. and jumps at Perris and Elsinore a lot.....Steve1

I knew some guys from Montana, almost 30 years ago, who moved to Arizona to jump. This was before Eloy and Coolage. Most of them were jumping at Casa Grande then. There was B.J. Worth, Hod Sanders, and a guy named Jeff Frangos. Jeff drove around in a black hearse. He called Sky Diving "Sport death". Actually the guy was a cool Dude and not nearly as crazy as all this implies. He may have spent too many years in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot though. At any rate Hod had been on a few loads (in Arizona) where a team-mate went in. I know Casa Grande had a terrible rep back then. Hod's wife Tina, told a story of watching a two way, go in there back in the good ole days. I guess I better quit, I'm starting to scare myself with some of these stories. At any rate is there anyone else out there who jumped in Casa Grande in the 70's? I hope I didn't exaggerate too much on these stories. Most of them I'm telling second hand, and I wasn't there......Steve1

Airwardo this is so sick, but yet so funny! I'm glad I wasn't there that day. I guess I have a sick sense of humor. This story is second hand, but I guess there was a wuffo who went to a drop zone in the old days to watch. On the very first load that he watched, someone went in. Everyone was sick, except this new guy, who said, "damn I got to try that." He later went on to train and jump. A lot of people bounced in the old days. I knew some folks who died that way. Luckily I've never been there to see it happen. I don't think that part of jumping would be any fun....Steve1

I'll quit joking around for a little to get serious on this one. A mid-life crisis is a very real thing for lot's of people. It might be around age 40 that it kicks in. Some people breeze through this period of time without much difficulty. For others it can be a time of great turmoil. It's a time when one looks back on his or her life and one tries to decide if they have succeeded or not. Most realize there may not be that many years left to make the most of. For some people it is a time in life when they reach the point where old coping skills no longer work and it is indeed crisis time. Someone mentioned that any time you are above ground it is good time. I like this perspective, but for some it takes time to work through a lot of shit, before arriving at that perspective. For many the mid-life years are like a pilot flying into a really bad storm, but if you can develop the right perspectives you can reach blue sky and smooth air again. Pretty deep huh!.....Steve1

Drove almost 300 miles, made two jumps out of a Cessna, weather turned to crap, and then drove 300 miles home. It's not easy being a jumper here in Montana (but it did feel great to get in the air again)....Steve1

What's an avatar? We're kinda slow up here in Montana? I hava some tar for my roof. Would that help?....Steve1

Like was mentioned earlier, it all depends. I've got a fairly open mind, and the guy who's advocating doing this sounds all right in my book. But I'm also not a believer and I really hate it when somebody tries to give the impression they are hollier than thou just because they go to church. Not all religious folks are that way though, and I have some super friends who are really religious. I get along great with them because they don't push their religion off on me. What the heck, this guy is ex S.F., sounds like he was once a sinner like the rest of us, and he's a jumper. What would it hurt?.....Steve1