steve1

Itdiver, I've heard nothing but good things about the Sports Rx Goggle company. The friend I mentioned earlier with the RX goggles ended up trying several pair of goggles with his prescription before he found a pair that would fit under his Z-1. He sent all the others back and only paid for the one pair. Sounds like good people to do business with. Steve1

Too bad about Eliana's accident. This reminds me of a girl who sprained he ankle at our D.Z. She was very good looking and several people (mostly males) showed up to deliver emergency first aid. The first thing they wanted her to do was take off her pants. Makes sense to me.... Steve1

Cloud9, I wish I was 45 again. Being 52 is the shits. At any rate contacts sound good, but I don't think I'm tough enough to actually stick the little buggers in my eyes with my finger. My wife and daughters do it all the time, but I'm a wimp when it comes to that sort of thing. A friend of mine has had trouble finding glasses that would fit under his Z-1. He ordered a pair of (I think they are sport-x) goggles. They have stems like glasses do, and look just like an ugly pair of black glasses. I think I'll try them first and then go to contacts if I don't like them. Thanks for the advice. Steve1

This boogie isn't advertised much, but most of the jumpers I know like it better than Lost Prairie. It's smaller, only one Cara-van this year. But if you can come, I'll see you there. It's in Stevensville, goes for three days over the Labor Day weekend. It's about 30 miles south of Missoula. I'll almost guarantee you that it's the most scenic place you've ever jumped. Lot's of pretty mountains surrounding a beautiful valley. Hope you can come. Steve1

My eyesight has been getting worse every year. So far I've been able to skydive and I'm still looking for a pair of glasses that will fit under my Z-1. I figured I could see well enough to jump. So anyway a few weeks ago we broke off from a formation and started tracking off. Suddenly a canopy materialized out of no-where ahead of me. I'm convinced if I had on glasses or better eye sight it would not have happened. I would have seen this jumper before he pulled. The lesson I learned from all this is if you need glasses wear them when you jump. I know pilots in the military are screened for their sight abilities. There's probably a good reason for this. Steve1

Viking, I bought a 94 Talon a couple years back from Square1. It had over a 1,000 jumps on it but was still in great shape. It was a little faded but other than that was almost perfect. I only gave $200. for it. I only noticed one thing that could be a potential problem and it was the bottom right closing flap had a rigid corner that might catch a bridle line if you stuffed it in too far. On my rig if you stuff the bridal an inch and a half further than usual it could catch around this corner. A rigger might want to install a bridal cover to prevent this. Other than that I think they are a great container (very well built!). Steve1

Congratulations Mac! He's a handsome looking boy. Trent, Say hello to Greg Nardi at Spaceland. I almost burned in with him once back in the 70's. (ask him if he remembers Steve Anders). We're ready to jump his King Air again any time he wants to bring it back to Montana. Steve1

Sebazz, There's only one thing better....Skydiving! Good to hear from you again. Steve1

Rhino, I know there's not as much need to know how to do PLF's today as days gone by, but I'll bet there are still times when they are good to know how to do. In the army we spent days and days practicing these, yet I still managed to sprain my ankle on my first jump. My feet were together, but my knees were apart. I'm a slow learner I guess. Sport jumping rounds, back in the 70's, was real scary on windy days. I hated doing a rear PLF while backing up. Many of mine went feet, ass, and then I cracked the back of my motorcycle helmet on the ground. I found it easier to turn slightly off the wind line, in this situation, and then twist to my side. Later I learned how to run with the wind and then hook turn my para-commander into the wind at the last second. If you timed it right you could get a nice soft landing without backing up. If you were late you would hit the ground hard, but I still liked this better than backing up. P.C.'s were very forgiving. I agree with Rigger-Rob. A good PLF will sometimes really "save your bacon". They do take a while to learn how to do properly though. Steve1

My wife is a wuffo. So far my jumping has put a strain on things (at times), but she accepts it because she knows how important skydiving is to me and she wants me to be happy. I also let her know that she and the family come first and I still spend a lot of time with them doing other things. We've been married over 20 years, so there is a lot of trust in our relationship. The wife hates just sitting at the DZ, so while I'm jumping she's out shopping or doing the things I hate to do. In the summer she takes a trip to Oregon to visit her Mom (another thing I hate), so while she's there I'm in Western Montana working on my cabin, jumping at Stevensville, or going to the boogie in Lost Prairie. Usually I have the summers off since I work for a school. We live in a remote area and have to travel to larger cities to jump. This works out well because again my wife and daughters like to shop, which I don't. Sometimes I've wondered if it wouldn't be better if my wife was a jumper. In some ways it might be. But when you have been married as long as we have you don't have to be together all the time and even having time apart can be a good thing. She knows I'm not going to run off with some other good looking skydiver (maybe it's because I'm so ugly), and I know I can trust her. Money sometimes is an issue because it is an expensive sport. So I've found a way to do some extra work on the side and use that for buying gear and jumps. So I think there is a way to make it work if you find the right partner. Steve1

Clay, I know what you mean by getting hooked on something and then giving it 110%. I've alway's been that way. If it wasn't hunting it was something else. I gave up skydiving back in the 70's to rodeo. It seems like I'd really focus hard on one thing at a time. There's some psychological reasons for having a personality like that. All I know is that I have to work at finding a balance. Otherwise I'd probably cut away and be at the dropzone every day. Talk to you later. Steve1

Clay, I hope you can get back there. I haven't spent much time in the mountains for years. At one time it was about the only thing I did.....fishing, hunting, backpacking, etc. Then I got hooked on jumping again and that was about my main passion in life (other than my family). Now I'd like to try doing more of both. To tell you the truth though, I hate going out in the wilderness just to find crowds of people. I'd rather go jump. It's important to find the right balance in your life, though. Steve1

I just got back from Western Montana where we took a pack trip on horses. We packed one daughter's horse and took turns riding the other daughter's horse. It was a rough rocky trail for about 12 miles into the Bitterroot Selway Wilderness. Super beautiful country with clear mountain lakes and streams. We fished one of the lakes and were hooking brook trout on about every cast. Nothing big, but lots of fun. They tasted great for super that night. We had a bull moose right behind our tent in the lake. He kind of reminded us of another horse. (really tame.) I'll show you the pictures when I get them back. I almost forgot how much fun this sort of thing can be. It was definitely the most rewarding thing I've done in a while. It's nice to know there's still places left where you can do this sort of thing. Steve1

Sebazz, I don't know what newspaper this appeared in, or who the reporter was, but I reconize quality journalism when I see it. Steve1

Bill, Glad you're back. The owner of our DZ is still bummed out by Harry's death. He jumped with Harry going back almost 30 years including some World Championship teams. I'll pass on to him what you said. Maybe it will help. Steve1

Slotperfect, Your 20 year reunion should be fun. Sometimes a lot of people get into trying to impress each other with how successful they are. Money and prestige have never meant all that much to me, so I have a hard time liking people like that. Too bad you can't jump into your reunion. I was able to jump into my 30th reunion a few years back, and it was great. It's funny how much respect people suddenly have for you when you do something like that. Most of my classmates probably have larger bank accounts, bigger homes, fancier cars, but none of them were skydivers. It was fun being a hero for some of my old friends, and even most of the snobbier ones were friendly. And yes many of them have changed after all those years. How you enjoy yours. Steve1

Slotperfect, Someday I would like to visit and jump at some of the DZ's in the SouthEast. Raeford is definitely one I'd try to go to. Another one is the Green Beret Parachute Club at Ft. Bragg. I had some friends who jumped there while I was in S.F. training in 1970. I still remember a bar, not far from our barracks on Smoke Bomb Hill. I can't remember the name of the place, but it had pictures on all four walls of Golden Knights and other jumpers. I'm sure you've been there. At any rate it would be fun to go back and see those places again. I hope you don't lose all respect for me when I say I was in a National Guard Special Forces Group. (The 19th). I did complete all three phases of S.F. training at Bragg and was S qualified, but one of the regrets in my life was not going regular Army. The Guard Units were kind of a joke back in those days. I've got some old photos of Bragg, back then, but I need to learn how to run my scanner first. I even have some photos of static lining out of C-119's. That has been a while ago. Talk to you later. Steve1

I've often wondered about this. I know for a fact that there are a lot of skydivers out there that are on anti-depressant type medications. I know there are a lot of opinions on this (good or bad), but I wonder if there is any evidence available to support these opinions. I work as a school counselor, and I do work with kids on medication. Usually an anti-depressant will help a depressed person feel more normal. I am far from an expert on this subject, but I myself am wondering if this presents a danger to those in our sport who take them. I don't think they slow down reaction time. Maybe they help more than they hurt. I also think it may be wrong to say that someone who suffers from depression, and is on medication, shouldn't jump. Because I know for a fact there are a lot of jumpers out there who do jump and take anti-depressants from a doctor's prescription. I would like to hear other ideas. A doctor would probably be the one to ask. Steve1

Quade, I don't suppose any one jumps with standard army smoke grenades any more. We used to in the olden days. You needed a metal bracket to attach to you french jump boots, because of the heat they would generate. A friend of mine was making a demo one day and couldn't find the proper bracket. I can't remember how he had it attached, but he ended up with some pretty severe burns on his foot. There was always the chance that the smoke might color your canopy or jump suit. I've also heard of spark holes. I remember jumping into a football game once. A friend was under canopy right across from me. He had a spinning malfunction with a red smoke grenade on his foot. It was quite a sight to watch. Luckily we had a big DZ and he was able to land his 24' round reserve without injury. Aren't you glad you didn't jump back then! Steve1

Chuck, Over the years I've often thought about Mr. Thacker's loss when his son died. It would be hard not to blame yourself if you were the one who kindled his interest in skydiving. When I first heard this story in the 70's it made us all sick. Now that I'm getting my own daughters into the sport, I sometimes think about how awful it would be to have one of them go in. I think I'd probably feel like crawling into a hole and never coming out. Gene Thacker must be made out of tougher stuff than I am. I've always admired his ability as a skydiver, and that he was in Special Forces. Steve1

Great pictures, Chuck. I'm going to feel really stupid asking this, because I may be way off. But years ago I remember reading article after article in Parachutist about a Golden Knight who I believe was also in Special Forces. I think it was Tony's dad. The rumor going around back in the 70's was that he had a teenage son who died skydiving. (I hope that part of it was a rumor.) At any rate my memory is about shot, but I'm still curious if any of this is accurate. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else. Steve1

Erno, You have a good point that any active rigger should be able to inspect your gear. But I sometimes wonder about some riggers. I know when I first got my seal I quickly came to the realization that there was a whole lot I didn't know about the world of rigging. Sure I could do a good job of packing reserves for my friends, but it was also easy to get in over your head in terms of repair or even inspecting various systems. I remember thinking, "do I really want this job!" If there was something I wasn't sure of I would refer it to another rigger. In our area there was a master rigger just down the street so we were lucky. But I wonder how many riggers tie into something they shouldn't. In rigger school I learned the basics and was far from an expert. I just think that it is important to choose your rigger with care. I would feel more comfortable with a rigger who has been at it a while, and knowing that they are an honest person (with a lot of common sense). But then again it is often hard to just find a rigger and you may have to go with who you can find. I would also like to add that I have the highest reguard for riggers. They have more responsibility than most people want to bare. Steve1

You probably aren't familiar with older gear which makes all this kind of abstract. The old chest mounted reserves had pack opening bands or bungies to help the container open. I believe the army and smoke jumpers still use this same reserve. At any rate this bands can become unhooked or can easily be unhooked by the jumper. One thing I remember about army jumpmaster school is when rigger checking a jumper to always run your hand behind the rip cord handle to make sure a pack opening band is not over it. There is no way you can pull hard enough on the handle (if a band is over it) to get it to open. Hope this helps. Steve1

Whiskey Cartoon, This is a scary sport at first. Everyone I know who jumps (if they are honest), will admit to quite a bit of fear in the beginning. I think my first few jumps were night jumps, because I had my eyes closed. The owner of our drop zone now has over 6,000 jumps. He said when he started he didn't even tell the people he was living with that he was training to skydive, because he didn't know if he would actually have the courage to jump and he didn't want anyone to know he chickened out. After you get a 100 jumps or so, the sport won't be scary anymore and will become really, really, fun. Hang in there. You're no different than the rest of us. Steve1

Dumpster, I had a friend back in the 70's who was traveling in his car. He was afraid that he might snag his reserve ripcord handle on something (on his belly reserve). So he put a pack opening band over it so it couldn't open. He later went up to jump (forgetting all about a handle check). He had a malfunction, cut away, and went in because he couldn't open his reserve. Steve1