steve1

If you're only 32 I'm easily old enough to be your Dad. At any rate, getting back to the M-16, I remember looking at several different versions that preceded the AR-15. Several were used by the Air Force and didn't have a forward assist etc. I recall about seven or eight different versions that we looked at in SF weapons training that led up to the development of the AR-15. Today I wouldn't mind buying a M-16. I always enjoyed shooting them. The new and improved models have my interest, but they cost way too much money. I'm wondering about how a Ruger Mini-14 would compare. They should be quite a bit cheaper.......Steve1

I've often wondered about SEAL teams and the weapons they carry. Do they use any special type of ammo, that is water resistant? I know they often swim with their weapons, and then fire them. You'd think water might enter around the primer. (Maybe not). I once knew a guy who hunted geese by floating down a river, here in Montana in the late Fall. He'd float down with a shotgun on his chest. He'd wear a wet suit and fins. He'd pour the water out of his barrel, pop up, and then start blasting away when he got within range. I guess skydivers aren't the only folks who might be considered crazy. At any rate he used regular shotgun shells, and I think they worked fine.....Steve1

When talking military specs it's worse for the 9. There's a geneva convention rule that ammo must be fmj ball ammo, no hollow points, etc. That's a good point. Soft point, or hollow pts. are out for military actions. Somehow I forgot about this. I've heard some reasoning behind this, but still wonder why. With all the high tech. weapons out there, that are deadly has hell itself, why would something like hollowpoints be considered against the rules? I remember a true story of a policeman who was shot through the chest with a M-16 and ball ammo. He went to the hospital and the doctor put a band-aide on the entrance and exit wound and then sent him home. So anyhow I can see your point a 45 would probably leave a whole lot bigger hole than a 9mm. I still love shooting a 9mm. though with little recoil, high magazine capacity, etc. but maybe a 45 would be better with ball ammo in a fire-fight. Steve1

Personally I thought it was a big step up when the military switched from the 1911 A-1 to Beretas. All the 1911 45's that I shot in the military were shot out and really loose. I've never shot one that was tight, reworked, and tuned or I might have a different opinion. I lot of folks swear by the 1911 A-1 though, and maybe I just need to shoot a good one. It might be hard to find an accurate one in most military arsenals though. I've seen some equipment that the military uses that is really crappy. Maybe things have changed, but twenty-five years ago I could name several items of equipment that were far from top of the line. Moving on to another argument: The 9MM vs 45. I sure wouldn't want to get hit with either of them. I know there have been times when perps. have been hit with 9mm's and kept going. I wonder though if they were hit with the wrong type of bullet. I'd sure hate to get hit with a heavier hollow pt. around 38 caliber. It would be much different than being hit with a full metal jacket which would zip through leaving a small hole. I know a lot of people who like a lighter recoiling pistol saying they can get back on target quicker for a 2nd shot. So these are arguments in favor of 9mm. There's a lot of people out there, who know a lot more than I do about pistols though. What do you think? (it's fun BSing guns).....Steve1

QuoteIf it is a federally funded airport, the town officials have signed specific assurances. One of those is to allow access to all aviation activities, Skydiving falls under that designation. However, don't expect the FAA to back you up in court. They do not like to get involved with court cases. I'd like to hear more about why they did this, and who owns the property that your facilities are located on? Are you leasing a hanger or building from the town? -Rap[/reply I think they are using a building owned by the airport with an agreement to keep the grounds well maintained. The area is kept very neat and clean and the grass is well watered and mowed. I think there is an agreement to allow all aviation activities also, and it would be interesting to see if they receive federal dollars which they probably do. Thanks for all the info. I'll pass it on to my friend....Steve1

I had a hard time finding a pair of frames that would fit under my Z-1 visor. After trying on about 15 pair, I finally found some that would fit. Contacts may be a good option. I have a friend who jumps the sport RX goggles under his Z-1, but he tried several models to find one that would fit.....Steve1

A friend of mine has a small jump operation at a municipal airport. He's spent years building up this operation, but recently received the news that the airport board decided that they can no longer jump on the airport. We're just wondering if the airport board can legally do this for no reason. There hasn't been any safety violations. At present the club is deciding to say the hell with them and continue jumping. Anyone out there have any experience with this kind of thing? ........Steve1

weather is crappy still lots of snow and ice here skydiving must wait but it won't be long soon I'll put on my old rig and take to the sky now life is a drag no jumping going on here so I'll just drink beer (It's kind of fun talking in riddles, I might do this all the time!)

Just a couple more ideas. If you are as old and grumpy as I am, you won't want to sleep on the hard ground. They sell some small foam pads for back packing that aren't too bad, an air mattress is good in warm weather. Also make sure your tent will keep the bugs out if you camp in an area that has a lot of mosquitos or black flies, etc.....Steve1

I met Dan Brodski Chenfeld at Eloy a few weeks ago. I've always considered him a great ambassador for our sport, but had never met him. One morning I said "Hello Dave" and then appologized for calling him the wrong name. He then went out of his way to introduce himself and shake my hand, even showed us the proper way to exit a new aircraft. I asked him if his neck still bothered him, and he said "every day, you just learn to deal with it". It's inspiring to meet people as famous as that, who are still down to earth and willing to talk to you. Actually all the Air Speed people I met were super friendly. It's amazing the number of jumps they make each day. They actually jog off the DZ. Gear up quickly and then get on another load. If you've never been to Eloy it's fun just to see all the famous jumpers, all in one place, doing their stuff.....Steve1

I'd get a two man dome tent, if there is just you. Two are a little crowded if you also include your gear in a two man tent. Four person tents are a lot bigger with more head room. I can stand up in one. If you plan to use it for backpacking also, check out the weight factor. The lighter the better. Many tents are fairly heavy and not made for back packing. You should be able to pick one up from $50. to $100.....Steve1

I've got an older Falcon that seems to have plenty of life in it. It has over a 1,000 jumps on it. It still lands okay, but it is fairly big for my weight. I use it for a backup rig.....Steve1

Now that was one good looking woman!.......Steve1

I'm just guessing, but would that be the young lady who was pictured on your post "No More Casual Fridays"?.........Steve1

If it only has 50 jumps it might be just fine. If you don't like it, you can always sell it. Just don't pay too much for it. Ask some people, (you trust) how much it's worth........Steve1

I too think this might be a little small, especially if your Falcon has a lot of jumps on it. I started out with a Falcon 235. I weigh about 175. I down-sized to a Falcon 190. My first jump on it, I hit so hard that I had a hard time getting up. I finally learned to land it, by flaring higher, but it had to be done just right. I don't know how many jumps were on it, (probably a lot). I finally bought a Hornet 170. What a difference! I love zero-P. Nice landings almost every time. I still have the Falcon 235 for demos, but sold the 190........Steve1

Kind of funny how after an airliner near accident, people need lots of therapy to work throug the experience while skydivers, after beeing just seconds away from sure death justs thinks..."damn...now i need a repack and a new cutaway pillow..." I'm not an expert on this, and I'd like to learn more on this subject. I've worked with lot's of kids who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most have been traumatized over and over for an extended period of time. Sometimes it can be caused by a single event, but usually the event isn't something that was life threatening and over in a matter of seconds. Many of these kids have had close calls, but it isn't the source of their PTSD. Some kids are relatively unscathed from a traumatic event, while others may be deeply affected. I've known some soldiers who have come back from combat situations who are still suffering from this. Usually it isn't caused from a single life threatening incident that happened and was over in seconds (but I suppose it could). Usually it stems from extended periods of life threatening events. Or it could stem from observing just one scene of horror, that go along with war. So in other words I'm trying to figure this out also. I know I've had a couple close ones in skydiving, and I don't feel like it caused PTSD. I've also about bought the farm a few times falling timber in the woods. (These usually happened quickly and then were over). Most times I'd just start my saw back up and go back to work with a pissed-off attitude. I'd think about it later, but I don't think it caused PTSD. I'm sure there are people out there that know more about this than I do. Any comments on the causes of PTSD? This might be a good topic for a reasearch paper......Steve1

[Can people actually be addicted to adrenaline? reply] I've read some studies that suggest that some people who have grown up in very dysfunctional home are sometimes drawn to pursuits and professions that are considered highly dangerous. The reasoning for this is that they grew up in an environment that was very nerve wracking, adrenaline and tension filled, and this is what they are used to. Unconsciously they may seek out another environment that is similiar, such as a dangerous sport, dysfunctional spouse, or hazardous job. I've heard of other research that suggests that this may be a biological thing. It says that some people have such a low stress arousal level, that they may seek out activities that make them feel more alive. I'm sure their are other psychological explanations. This is an interesting topic. Does anyone else have any input on this?.....Steve1

I'm not familiar with the term CARP. I didn't go through HALO school, but did jumpmaster a lot of static line jumps in the army (way back when). I recall one night jump, back in the 70's, out of a C-130. It had some classified electronics on board that would home in on a drop point on the drop zone, so we jumped on the green light. We also used this same system for air support. We'd put this electronic device on a hill top and jets would home in on this, then follow a distance and a track to a target. All this is probably considered old hat now days.......Steve1

Why does the term "squeal like a pig" come to mind? If you want to get back to basics come to Montana. Many of us tried out for the hillbilly parts in this movie. I had too many teeth, so they didn't want me. I almost got the part for the bango playing kid, though....Steve1

I'm in as long as we can still do some jumping, and if I can bring my dog Bro, and as long as we don't have to drink poison koolaide at the end.......Steve1

Our gene pool, at the moment, is probably getting messed up. Survival of the fittest is no longer the rule in most places in the World. The ones who survive long enough to reproduce are no longer the fittest of the species. Things will probably revert back to this evolutionary state when our population growth grows too large. I know this may be a gloomy outlook on things, but I also think it is highly probable. It will be interesting to see if our species is even around in a few hundred years........Steve1 (The DoomSayer)

I recall a few jumps, in the old days, when we threw out wind drift indicators. On one of those, I threw it out and none of us saw it again, so we just said the hell with it and jumped. Even wind drift indicators were just too high-tech for us back in those days......Steve1

Is anyone else getting skeered reading this post? I kinda enjoy telling scary stories, but I don't like listening to them......Steve1

There are some variables to be aware of when spotting. Such as ground winds, winds aloft, canopy you are jumping etc. What used to really mess me up when I first started spotting was not allowing enough time for everyone to climb out. I'd often give the cut right over the DZ (on a calm day), and then when everyone climbed out and was ready to go, we were way past the spot. Looking straight down is also important. Also note the direction the plane is headed when you give the cut to start crawling out. Practice makes perfect. In the old days you weren't very popular if you gave everyone a bad spot. More than once I took jump run, way to long over the middle of town. Coming down under a round with power lines, houses, and trees is no fun......Steve1