steve1

I had similiar problems with a new canopy I bought. I started Psycho packing and have never looked back. You might want to give that a try....Steve1

I quit jumping when my kids were growing up. It just didn't seem right to me at the time. Part of the reason was financial. If I had been a little richer instead of so damn good looking I might have kept at it, (at least part time). I mean it takes big money to be a parent these days. My kids are grown now, and I'm back jumping again. It's great to be back. My oldest daughter has made one tandem. She loved it. She wants to continue, but most of her money is going into finishing graduate school. I also have mixed feelings on her continuing in the Sport. She suffers from depression and a sport like skydiving would help her, I believe. But then again I'd feel like hell if anything bad happened to her skydiving, so I'm not incouraging her either way. It will be up to her, if she continues. I've asked my youngest daughter if she wants to make a tandem. Everytime she says yes, but always has some reason not to. Down deep I think she may be really scared about it, and I'm not going to push it. If she wants to jump, I'll help her, but until then I'm going to leave it up to her. One of my good friends is a skydiver with two daughters. He recently lost one of them to a freak overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol. He has since quit jumping, saying, "I only have one daughter left, and I'm going to be there for her." I think that somehow he is blaming himself for his older daughters death. I wish he'd start jumping again.....Skydiving is good for your soul, and he needs that right now....Steve1

I need my log book to get the exact date, but it was the summer of about 1974. Two of Jerry Bird's team mates (Jerry Bird's All Stars), were traveling through Montana. B.J. Worth wasn't famous then but he too was on that load. We ordered up D.C.-3 from the Smoke Jump Center in an effort to build a big-way. These two new guys from California organized things, and we were all pumped up to be on that load. I left late and closed 14th or 15th. This was considered a new state record....a 15 way. Yes, big ways were small back then. To tell you the truth I hit it pretty hard and probably blew it up, but it held together long enough to be considered a 15 way and a state record. We were all really happy with ourselves, and did a lot of celebrating after. Those were the days!....Steve1

Quote If you bought a Style-Master it had a semi split saddle. You could hot knife the cross connector webbing off. Most people did as a split saddle was more comfortable. reply] .......................... If I remember right, that was called a split solid saddle. My Super Pro harness had one too. I never did cut the connector strap off, but as far as comfort goes it was sure better than the old B-12 solid saddle. I really loved that rig. Don't know why I ever sold it....Steve1

I was barely twenty years old, back in 1970, when I made the first one in Army Airborne School. We waited all afternoon, chuted up in a hot quanset building, at Benning, for the wind to die down. Finally they loaded us up in an old C-119 and took off. We flew around for quite some time, but the wind was still blowing too hard on the DZ. Talk about pucker factor. I was plenty scared...sitting back there looking out, those two open doors, with the jumpmaster grinning at us! The next morning we went up in a C-141. Man, what a thrill! Even though I sprained my ankle bad on that jump, I was hooked. Made four more on that sore ankle to graduate. A couple years later, I started sport jumping....Steve1

.......................................... Okay, I'll tone it down a little. I admit I didn't watch the video. I should know better than to drink a couple beers and then go into the Speakers Corner. I sometimes get down right mean and narrow minded. Sarcasm is sometimes hard to write. I've cracked jokes on here that I thought were hillarious, and then others took them personal, so I apologize if I was out of line....Maybe I need to watch that video....Steve1

......................................... You could certainly land a PC in the wrong place and kill yourself, but I don't think a low turn would do it. I always hated doing rear PLF's. I used to deliberately hook my PC into a stiff wind, sometimes too low, and walked away from it every time. My French jump boots helped a lot. Yes, you will slam in a lot harder that way, but it was nothing like making a low turn under a square. When, I was attempting accuracy, with a para-commander, back in the old days, I'd sometimes make a radical turn too close to the ground and slam into the hard packed dirt, completely missing the peas. It was no fun hitting that hard, but I walked away with nothing broken. So, I suppose it would be possible to die from a low turn under a para-commander, but I've walked away from several, with nothing more than minor bruises. So far I've only made one low turn under a ram-air canopy, and I'll tell you it's nothing I want to repeat. I've never slammed into the ground that hard ever. And that includes all the wrecks I've ever taken rodeoing.....Steve1

................................... Most 2nd graders have more sense than to make a wild statement like this. I guess being in denial of a serious problem is kind of handy though. By denying that we have a serious problem, we can all go on living like pigs, never planning for the next generations future, and never doing anything to solve the problem. I couldn't disagree with you more. Those must be some really strong rose colored glasses you have on....Steve1

Bill Booth made some comments earlier that are quite interesting. His inventions have truly revolutionized our sport, and when he speaks I stand up and listen. According to Mr. Booth, not only is our gear safer in many respects it has also evolved to the point that some of it may be more dangerous than in the past. If my memory is right, he mentioned mini risers, small diameter lines, and the smaller three ring releases. Some of these may be borderline in strength. With the fad of going smaller and smaller to the point that some of todays gear may be on the edge of being unsafe. Then there is the possibility of falling out of todays harnesses. I don't recall that ever happening in the old days. I wonder too about the thread through chest strap. Is this really safer than the old type you buckled. I don't recall anyone forgetting a chest strap, back in the 70's. Yet today it is quite common to find jumpers without this fastened. I love the modern ram air canopies. You can land really soft if you do everything right. Then there is the fact that you can also kill yourself if you make a turn too low. A para-commander may have let you down like a ton of bricks at times, but even if you hooked it in, it wasn't going to kill you. So, maybe your report should include these aspects of modern equipment. Maybe it isn't as safe as people think....Steve1

Racism is a part of life that is never going away despite what the government does to make things perfect. I particularly dislike reverse discrimination. Being mostly white I never feel much racism, but when I do it drives me nuts. At one time I really wanted to smokejump. Since I was mostly White I didn't score enough points to get on. To get ahead in the Forest Service you really need to be a minority. Work ethic or skill may not have much to do with their hiring process.... This is getting a little off topic, but it does fit with how the Government can really screw things up in an effort to make everyone equal. I work on an Indian Reservation. 99% of the kids in our school are Native American. Some days parents will hurl insults at you because you are a different race. Students sometimes do the same thing. That's the thanks you often get for trying to help their kids. And then take a look at the Reservation System. It is truly awful. This is another grand idea, by big brother to fix things. Native People here receive money each month for doing nothing. There is also free health care. Houses are given for little or nothing. Tuition is free at most State Colleges if one chooses to go to school. And there are many other benefits if you are Native American, including hiring practices. But yet a large majority of these people choose to live in poverty and ignorance. The crime and violence rates here are out of sight. When I first started working here (22 years ago) this town had the highest per capita murder rate in the entire United States. Paul Harvey said that he wouldn't even fly over the place in an airplane. Many people call it stab city because of all the stabbings. The latest trend is kids burning houses down. One of of our retiring teachers had her house burned down a couple weeks ago. That was her thanks for thirty years of teaching here. I'd like to say that things are getting better here but actually things are getting far worse. (No, I don't live in this town). I never put my family in that kind of danger, and I commute to work. If anyone out there has a plan for this problem, I'd like to hear it. The governments ideas have been a collossal failure. I don't think throwing money at the problem is the answer. Millions of federal dollars are already being wasted each year, trying to fight the problem, with little success. I wonder if cutting the money off and integrating these people into the rest of society would be a better option. Yes, I know that my great great grandparents may have stole their land, but wasn't there a war, and haven't other races been conquered throughout history. Actually one of my great grandparents was 100 % Native American. Some of my relatives came from a Reservation in Oklahoma. But I really don't see how that entitles me to anything from the government. Maybe I should have said I was Native American, when I wanted to Smoke Jump. If I was smart, I could have gotten on with them, by saying I was 1/4 Native American, instead of being 1/8. Some people say there are no jobs in Indian Country. Yet, I know employers here who can't find people to work for them. Why work, if there if there is all this free money to sit around an do nothing. This leads to a huge erosion in a person's self respect. Many of them turn to alcohol or drugs for this reason alone. In many families there is little purpose for a male, head of the household. Then there is the growing Meth problem. I hate to be so pessimistic or sound cold hearted, but I think I am being very factual in these statements. I could go on and on about the problems here....Whew! I really got off on a tangent, didn't I......Steve1

Freefalling objects can be down right dangerous, but I don't think I've ever heard of an incident where someone was hurt. In the army we often jumped equipment. Sometimes it was kind of scary to be on the ground when jumpers were exiting in a mass formation above you. I've seen more than one rucksack crash into the ground. It wasn't unusual to see a helmet fall off. Everything is carefully checked by jumpmasters and riggers, but it still happened. I jupmastered and rigger checked one stick of jumpers. One of these guys later came up to me, really pissed, because he lost his rucksack. Come to find out, the buckles were too large for the quick release straps (that attached the rucksack to him). So, it wasn't my fault after all. It was often fun to walk across a sport DZ in the 70's. You'd often find old rip cords and kicker plates. (I wonder how many new jumpers have a clue what a kicker plate is? I'll bet they might have antique value today)....Steve1

Freeflybella, As a school counselor, in a very rough school, I work with abused children on a daily basis. Many are scarred for life, and it's hard to undo the damage that has been done. I make a ton of referrals on parents who abuse their kids to social services and law enforcement. I am happy to do this. I've gotten to the point that I hate anyone who abuses kids. And I agree with you that spanking isn't good. If it leaves a mark I turn it in. But I hardly think that a parent that gives their kid a little swat is abusing their child. It may not be a good thing to do (again I agree with you), but do we really need to start arresting people for this. I think not. We have enough stupid laws on the books already. I'm also wondering if you have any parenting experience. I've been a parent for over 25 years. At times it is very frustrating, and it's hard to keep your cool. There was a time or two when I actually swatted my own kids and even spanked them once. I don't feel good about this, but I'm not going to apollogize to you for this. The fact is that nobody does a perfect job of parenting. Arresting people for minor infractions or for not being perfect in every way sounds really really crazy to me! I just can't see how a parent giving their kid a small swat on occaision could be termed abuse or a crime! I am also suspect of those on a high horse, claiming to have always done the right thing with their own children. Are you sure you aren't stretching things some? I'd bet if we put your parenting style under a microscope we could find a lot of flaws too! After all, you might be the next one to get arrested for not being perfect.....Steve1

I guess what all this boils down to, is what level of government intrusion do you want in your life. Maybe we should make another law that punishes parents who let their kids watch too much TV. Perhaps another one for parents who let their kids play too many video games. Or maybe we should throw all parents in the slammer who get angry with their children and raise their voice. I agree with whoever says spanking is wrong, but at the same time I think this law is stupid. I don't want more government in my life. I think I could get by just fine with considerably less....Steve1

I think the government needs to keep it's nose out of this. If it's a clear case of abuse that is a different matter, but hauling a parent off to jail for giving a kid a swat, that's ridiculous. I agree that using physical punishment is probably just teaching a kid that it is okay to be violent. If a parent is abusive....arrest them, but an occaisional swat is not physical abuse in my oppinion. There are better ways to discipline a kid than flipping out and beating your kid. But, I guess I can't see what's wrong with giving a youngster a swat if their behavior becomes too extreme, and if it's not done in anger. I remember more than one time when my father flipped out and took a belt to me. It did a lot more harm than good. When I became a parent I wanted to do a better job of parenting, than my old man did. In some ways I failed. In some ways I was just like him. After all he was my mentor in the parenting department. I can remember giving my kids a swat a few times when they were little. I never felt good about that. I should have used a different form of punishment. One time I really lost it and spanked them both in a fit of anger. What a lousy thing to do to a kid! I later appologized to them for this, but the damage was still done. In no way am I in favor of spanking kids, but at the same time, I think the government needs to keep it's "Do Gooder Nose" out of this one. With all the problems in the world, don't they have anything better to do?....Steve1

Quote[My buddy in Utah feeds his family elk and deer all yr. long. My buddy in Fla., fish all yr. Saves $'s. You should hear the kids tho. I'm tired of elk and deer. I'm tired of fish. LOL. Lil bastards outta be gratefulQuote ................................ My kids grew up eating venison and other wild game. I remember once when my daughter quit eating a beef hamburger because it tasted funny, she was used to the wild stuff. Today she lives in a million dollar house in Jackson Hole. She can afford beef, but she still has her Daddy bring some venison when he comes to visit. The deer here are alfalfa, grain, and corn fed. Really great food....Steve1

............................................. This is off the subject, but I had a friend shot through both of his upper thighs by a 45/70. He was falling timber, and stopped to gas up his saw. I don't know if he had orange on or not. It was hunting season. About then he was nocked to the ground as the bullet passed through both legs, breaking them. An excited hunter came bounding up. He expected to find an elk, but upon seeing my friend, Dean laying in the snow with blood everywhere, the guy started to freak out. Dean had to calm the guy down and send him for help. I don't know if any first aid was applied or not. Quite a while later a para-medic arrived. She assumed Dean was dead because of the blood loss and damage to his legs. She knelt down and touched his neck for a pulse. She about freaked out when he openned his eyes. The bullet had missed both femoral arteries and passed cleanly through. A lighter, more fragile bullet, moving at a faster speed, would have undoubtedly done more damage. A 45/70 is designed for big heavy critters. Luckily for Dean bullet just zipped right through without expanding much. He made a full recovery from this. He also sued the hunter who shot him for a ton of money. That guy did the right thing though, by coming back, instead of leaving him to die.....Steve1

I think even young jumpers feel the same as you when they begin jumping. It's not a natural act to jump from an airplane. I think my first few jumps were night jumps, because I had my eyes closed. One problem with AFF is that it is throwing so much at you at once. After you make 50 jumps or so, the fear will lessen considerably. Make several hundred and it's no longer scary, but just a whole lot of fun. As far as the mid life crisis, that may or may not be the case. I think most of us when we approach middle age realize that our days are limited and we end up wanting to make the most of the time we have left....Steve1

Scroadload, You'll take to jumping again like a duck to water. 1900 jumps was a ton of jumps for back then. I too started jumping back in the early 70's and made about 300 jumps then. I quit for about ten years then made a few jumps, then quit again for another 15. So, I was more or less out of the sport for 25 years. Yes, life was boring during those years. A friend of mine owned a DZ where we had a reunion boogie. I had no intention of ever jumping again, but came to see some old friends. Many of my pals were still in the sport. I figured I had to try it again. I ended up with about 20 minutes of training and then went up and fell base for a five way. Everything went fine. You never forget how to fall stable and Relative Work skills will come right back to you. You'll love the feeling of being in the air again. All the new gear is great! It beats the hell out of jumping with a B-12 container and a paracommander. Welcome back, brother!....Steve1

...................................... Drug and alcohol use probably varied a lot from club to club. I'm sure it was more common back in the 70's, but to tell you the truth, I never saw much of it during a jump day back then. If we knew of anyone who was loaded, I'm sure they would have been scratched from our load. It was hard to tell sometimes if someone was under the influence or not. I remember drinking quite a bit with some friends,one afternoon, and then making a jump with them back in about 73. That was a one time thing, and nothing I'm very proud of, but I'm sure I'm not the only one whose ever made a jump buzzed up. I remember making a few sunrise formation jumps back in Kalispell after drinking heavily into the wee hours of the morn at Moose's. I don't recall any close calls because of it though. But hell, that sort of thing is still going on. At many Boogies I see more than a few party animals drink into the late hours and then get up early to jump. I'm too old to do much of that these days, but I also hope that I'm smart enough not to. I know of a few outlaw jumpers today, who sometimes stop for a beer break on a hot day. It may only be one beer, but even that would have been frowned on back in my club in the 70's. So maybe drugged up jumps are still taking place and most people just don't know it. In another 30 years they'll be telling scary stories of way back in 2007....Steve1

I still have some of the old armor piercing rounds at home in 30/06. I wonder if they have a steel core? I always wondered how that bullet was constructed. Maybe I should get a hack saw and find out.

I was a twenty year old spec. four when I walked into the Green Beret Parachute Club Bar in 1970. I was in phase II of S.F. training and figured I was rough and tough enough for about anything, but I also had serious doubts if I really had enough guts to actually skydive. On every wall of that bar were pictures of hard core skydivers. I figured right then and there that someday I was going to be a skydiver. One of my big regrets is that I didn't jump with that club like some of my friends did. If there's anything I can do to help save the present club, count me in....Steve1

Try jumping one in ................................. I'll bet that would be a challenge. I've heard of people jumping in with long skiis tied to their side, so maybe it could be done, as long as the static line didn't wrap around something. We used to jump M-16's and M-14's (without a weapons container) with the muzzle up. We'd just let the sling way out and tie them to your harness with string. This created some problems though. With the M-14's extra length, the static line wanted to wrap around the muzzle. My worst nightmare was to be a jumper in tow behind a C-130 or 141. Finally someone got smart and came up with weapons containers. I would imagine you'd have to take the stock off a 50 cal. and then put it in a container to jump it. Otherwise it might be too long. As far as weight I've heard of jumpers jumping in with a mortar base plate. I once jumped an ammo crate loaded with gravel in a PAE bag. That was a ton of fun. You could barely waddle down the isle and fall out the door. So, I'll bet even a 50 cal. is jumpable....Steve1

I recall one day when I was supposed to be working. Instead I was merrily typing away on DZ.COM. I was laughing between sentences and having quite a good time. Then I turned around to see the ugly face of my superintendant staring at me through the window on my door. No words were spoken, but his body language said everything....Steve1

I new a U.S. soldier, who saved his bacon by clinging to a rope ladder below a helicopter after being wounded by a bullet in Vietnam. Apparently the jungle was too thick to land and the nearest LZ was a long way away, so they used a ladder. He was too weak to climb up, so they flew out of there with him dangling below. They also took enemy fire the entire time. I'm glad I missed out on all that....Steve1

This is one, really cool weapon. I can really see it's purpose for military use. I don't think I'd ever want to own one for civilian purposes though...mainly because they are expensive and they are quite long and heavy. In other words they aren't very portable. Then add up the weight and expense of the ammo....I really don't think I'd ever do much hunting with one. I also wonder how fair it would be to blow some critter away from a mile distant, and then consider the meat damage. A deer sized animal would probably be in pieces. And then consider the noise level of shooting one. (I would imagine they are quite noisy.) The last 50 I shot was mounted on a jeep with thumb triggers, (years ago in the military). They were quite fun to shoot tracers down range with. Talk about flat shooting! They might be fun to shoot targets with, but for the price tag that goes with it, I'd rather spend the money on jumps. Just my 2 cents worth. I would support your right to own one though....Steve1