steve1

A very good point Lisa. I'm grateful to all the people who helped me on the way up. And it's time that more of us gave something back. Many times the people who are sky gods won't even talk to a newbie let alone jump with them. Even a few words of encouragement go a long way to help someone. Boogies are another place where people with few jumps get passed over in a hurry by nearly everyone. So if you are a newbie, hang in there. Someday things will be different. In the meantime more of us should be doing more to make them feel welcome and offer them the help they need. Steve1

The other day we were building a formation that was really floating. I was about a foot or two low and as hard as I would flare I couldn't seem to get back up. After about eight or ten seconds I was able to get up and come in my slot. I talked to a guy who has tons more experience than I and he said I should have flared harder. He said my legs & arms were still bent. I didn't think that mattered as long as you were doing the hug the beach ball routine and D-arching. At any rate I'd appreciate any tips on getting back up there. I'm also considering sewing in some dive loops or buying a jump suit with them. Thanks, Steve1

Jimmytavino, I'm glad I'm not the only old fart on here. The movies you mentioned bring back memories. I never jumped a papillion or pig rig. Many of my friends had them though. I know B.J. went down to Arizona in the late 70's. Do you remember the picture of the twin Beech with all the people sitting on top of it? It used to be a poster. At any rate, the guy sitting on top of it holding up a beer is the guy I mentioned earlier who made over a 1,000 jumps on a 7-TU. In fact he probably had it on his back in that picture. I think the guys in this picture were mostly part of B.J.'s team. Steve1

I really think that he drowned in the river. If you have ever driven along that stretch of the Columbia you can see how dangerous this river would be to try to swim out of. It is very deep, wide, and swift in places. This river could easily hide a jumper and his chute deep below the surface. They also found some of his money floating in this river. So that's my theory. Steve1

I've been psycho packing my hornet for nice, soft, on heading openings. I love the way it flies, packs, and the price can't be beat. I've also heard a lot of good things about the Spectre so either choice would probably be a good one. Steve1

A friend of mine made over a 1,000 jumps on the same round 7 T-U. Instead of using rip stop tape to patch the holes, he used duck tape. He said it was covered with strips of this gray tape. Most of his pals back then used para-commanders, but he said he didn't trust them so he stuck with his rag. That's what everyone called the other round chutes. To date this guy has over 26 cut aways. He just had another on a tandem this past weekend. Steve1

I haven't made a night jump for a very long time. In the old days under rounds it wasn't too dangerous because you could land without even having to flare. I would recommend jumping when there is a full moon with a lot of stars. I remember one time showing up for a night jump out of a twin beech. We all wanted to get our night SCR. There was little moon or stars. I think it was overcast also. You couldn't see much more than ten feet in front of you. It would have been crazy to jump in this situation and luckily someone had since enough to call it off. I've been out on some nights where it is so dark I couldn't even see my feet when walking through heavy timber (when it was overcast and no moon), so I think picking the right night to jump is very important. Keeping your night vision is important also. If you look at a fairly bright light you will not be able to see well in the dark for several minutes. In the army while doing night jumps, red light was used, which will not ruin your night vision. Even military flash lights have a red lense for this purpose. I'm not a pilot, but I would think their instruments probably are red also. Recently Rigger Rob talked about going to 3/4 brakes as a last resort for landing. If you aren't sure where the ground is this might be a good plan. But as Clay mentioned, this might not work well on a high performance canopy. So maybe this would be a good thing to discuss here. Steve1

You know, I'd really like to jump a round again just for old time sakes. I know it is very possible to get some hard landings, especially on windy days, but a para-commander isn't all that bad to jump. I made at least 300 jumps under one. I think I stood up close to half of my PC jumps, and I even had a couple of one foot standups (although this is very unusual). I jumped a 28 ft. (7-TU) about 30 times, and I don't recall too many severe landings under it, unless the wind was blowing hard. But then again I usually tried to do a good PLF and wore French jump boots, and motorcycle helmet. I do recall some standups under it. In the army we jumped t-10's. Some were modified. When I first started jumping at Bragg we used t-10's with a large round hole in the back. Above your two shot cape-wells were a couple of safety forks. You pulled these out after opening and they allowed your risers to actually slip through the connectors that attached to your cape-wells. S.F. later changed to I Believe a 9-T-U (T-10). I liked these a lot better. If I recall a T-10 is 32 feet, and I've stood up a lot of these by using the back risers to flare on landing. hey don't land as soft as a para-commander, but they land a lot softer than a 28 ft. round. In the National Guard we got away with a lot of shit that they would probably hang you for in the regular army. Stand-ups by most para-troopers are considered a no-no. At any rate I bet I could talk Clay into jumping a round again. It might be fun. An old friend of mine is trying to sell me his old para-commander and B-12 harness. I'm actually considering buying it. I still have my old Frenchies and motorcycle helmet. Steve1

I watched a guy at Lost Prairie board the aircraft to jump. It looked like he was paralyzed from the waist down. A couple of his friends carried him over to the Otter. He looked like a very experienced jumper who probably lost the use of his legs. Steve1

I know a lot of really good jumpers who still jump leather Frap Hats. I'm just wondering about protection value. I watched a guy walk back to the packing area a few days ago whose head was covered with blood and guts, and yes he was wearing a Frap Hat when the accident happened. We were jumping Cara-van and were experiencing a lot of rough air. On exit he slammed his head into the top of the door. If he had been wearing a hard shell helmet I doubt if he would have been hurt. Just some food for thought. Steve1

My hornet 170 isn't supposed to fit my javelin J-2, but it does fit very well. A little snug, but it packs up nice. Steve1

I remember packing b-12 containers with break-cord back in the 70's. Most of the time we would use the lines taken from the inside of 550 lines for break cord. I can't recall what test this was. This tied the static line to the sleeve (where the pilot chute was attached). Then the static line was tied at each cone on the container. So there were four or five places where this cord would have to break loose. This method seemed to work well enough, but I'm sure there are much safer static-line rigs today. I'll bet there was a possibility of a student in tow behind the plane if this wasn't properly rigged. The scary part of all this was that many of us were barely off student status ourselves when we were packing these for other students. Aren't you glad you didn't jump back then. Steve1

I'm sorry I must have my Spacelands mixed up. Is there one in both Texas and Florida. I told someone the other day to say hello to someone at Spaceland, but I was referring to the one in Florida. "Stupid is as Stupid does." Steve1

I learned to psycho-pack from the directions shown on the inter-net. It starts out just like a pro-pack until you lay it on the ground. I don't know about using this on a Spectre because the openings may be too slow, but I love it on my Hornet. Steve1

Kevin, You know I have heard so many stories about the nice soft openings on Hornets that I hate to bring this up. But yes, my hornet was slamming me on a regular basis when I pro-packed it. The good news is that I started psycho-packing and this seems to be working fine so far. I only have about 40 jumps on it. I only spent about $650. (plus freight) when I bought it new from South Africa last winter. There prices have gone up since then, but What a buy! I love the way it flies, lands, and packs up small. Steve1

Congratulations, Chuck. That seems like an awesome accomplishment to me. It took me 30 years to get in 500 jumps. If I keep jumping at this rate I will be 202 when I hit 3,000. I wonder if I'll make it? Steve1

Rhino, I'm glad you're back together and things are looking better. It must have been a grueling year to get through. I hope your legal battle didn't set you back too far. Best of Luck, (you deserve it). Steve1

Deuce, Thanks for your input. I plan to research this carefully before going with a setup that is a danger to myself or others. I wonder though if cost in this sport or money spent on gear really represents safety. I jump a Z-1 normally and I really can't see how this is truly a safe helmet even though it sells for close to $300. An old used protec which sells for $20. might offer more protection. I think the same might be said for an expensive custom harness with mini-rings versus an older used cheap rig with regular sized rings. Which is stronger and safer? If I can come up with a camera helmet that is safe and cheap I'll be happy at present. I really don't care if it's stylish. I can also understand the point that I don't know what I'm doing yet, so I know I need to consult the wisdom of others. I am just wondering why this chin strap might not work well and why it would be inferior to others. I really appreciate your input, but I'm just wondering why this wouldn't work. It sounds like some other camera flyers are already using them. Thanks, Steve1

First I had better explain that I know almost nothing about camera flying. Second of all I am a really cheap bastard. Yet I would like to begin dabbling in camera flying my own fun jumps. Don't start laughing as I explain further, because I know there are some really good camera flyers on here, (such as Quade). But at any rate I have this old protec helmet that I am thinking of attaching a football chin strap to. The buttons are fairly easy to attach after drilling a few holes. My question is, would this be smart, and would it work, (to get started with?) I know you need a reliable quick release and I also don't want to lose my camera too bad. Or is this a realy, realy, stupid idea? Be kind, I'm new at this. I have plenty more stupid questions, but I think I'll stop here for now. Steve1

Fudd, Don't let anyone tell you that Hornets are poor quality. Buy one. You won't be sorry. Steve1

20 minutes and 82. I think I done good! Sometimes my kin go to family reunions to pick up women. Steve1

Contrary to what most people think I don't think he sucks. I remember a time at Lost Prairie when he organized our load. He then proceeded to whip us all into shape and even the exit worked. Through his guidance and tutelage (did I spell that right???), we were able to turn more points on that jump than most of us ever have. When I grow up I want to be just like Sebazz. Vote Sebazz for Governor of Montana!........ Steve1

Great post Bill. This is the stuff I need to learn. Steve1

I'm having trouble landing where I want to. A friend of mine is trying to get his pro-rating and has still not been able to get ten standups in the peas. He's been working at it for over a year. I'm wondering how anyone could do this. I think part of the problem is that almost noone at our DZ spends much time talking about or teaching accuracy techniques. Most everyone is trying to learn this on their own through experimentation. So far I've been doing a lot of S-turns to hold back my forward speed and then coming in for landing with the toggles fully up. I haven't tried sinking it in for a landing yet. I assume your landings would be a lot harder doing this under a 9-cell. I have a hornet loaded at a little more than 1:1 and a Falcon that is about 65 square ft. larger. I've only got a couple hundred jumps under a square and about 300 under a para-commander. I'd appreciate any accuracy tips you could give me at my stage of the game to practice. So far my accuracy abilities are really crappy. It would be nice if someone could come up with a video on this subject. I have "Fly like a Pro" but a lot more is needed to get me to fly like one. Thanks, Steve1

I had a lot of trouble getting down to a formation quickly. It seemed like I wasn't tracking down steeply enough. This caused me to do a lot of extra flying just to get down there. I tried various things, but what I have been doing lately is spreading my legs more so they have more drag. This allows me to track downward at a steeper angle in more of a head down position. I'm not fully head down but tracking at a very steep angle. I can still see the formation building and I'm not flying all over and getting into other people's air space. I'm not an expert on this, so feel free to correct me if you can see something wrong with this, but it seems to be working well so far. Steve1