steve1

Made four on Saturday and four on Sunday. I was hoping to break 600, but am still two short. Had five way scrambles both days. Only two teams. We lost by one point. One guy with about 150 jumps, kept messing up. Fun anyway. This was supposed to be our club's boogie weekend. With all the fires, the Feds. commondeered our airport and tried to turn it into a heli-base. Dirty, Commie, Rat Fink Bastards. So we had to cansal the caravan and scale way back. Went back to jumping out of the 206. A lot of folks went to Spokane. A very fun weekend.......Steve1

Airtwardo, Those are all good questions. I guess things may have been too loose up here in Montana. It's mostly open country where these back yard demos are held. In the past if you wanted to do one, little thought was given to formalities and the DZ owners went along with it. No papers (that I know of) were filed, you just went and did it. There's only three DZ's here in our state and all three allow this kind of demo. It's our safety and training officer and the DZ owner's decision on who is allowed on the load. For demos into tighter areas papers are filed thirty days in advance and either a D-license or pro-qualifications are needed to make the jump. I don't do enough demos to know much more than this. I've got a D-license but not a pro-rating. I'm not really involved in the paper work end of it other than to sign my name on the papers that allow a D-licensed jumper. A pro-rating is required to go into the football stadium in Missoula. All I really know is that if I'm invited on doing a demo, and it looks safe enough, and if the people in charge say it's okay, I get on the load. I've never taken a hard look at the legal end of things. I guess I need to start, and I don't want to be a contributing factor in causing USPA'S insurance to go up. I've been out of the sport a long time, and have only been back a few years. Thirty years ago I didn't own enough to really worry about legal ramifications and people probably weren't as sue happy back then. I remember doing demos with a para-commander with only a 100 jumps in places that require a pro-rating now. Things are indeed changing and I still have plenty to learn...........Steve1

When jumping our club's 206 we will usually put someone in the crotch position on the wing strut on exit. This involves placing one foot on the step, and having your back to the wind as you sit in the crotch of the wing strut. We are now being told not to put anyone in the crotch for safety reasons. Something to do with an accidental firing of the reserve could rap a canopy around the wing strut. Can anyone elaborate further on this, and is this a dangerous practice? I do remember brushing a guys rip cord handle once as I climbed past the guy sitting crotch and as I reached for the strut with one hand.......Steve1

I used to have a Super Pro rig that looked a lot like the one on the left. Say, are those Porshe goggles? I haven't seen those for a while. Who knows who the people are. I'd say the one on the right is probably a woman. You don't suppose they are two Lesbians getting it on in freefall??? I should have been a detective......Steve1

Roger, Hod was saying that when you were a member of Mirror Image, that you were also a Navy fighter pilot. He had lot's of kind words to say about you. Are you still flying jets?........Steve1

It's been standard practice, at our DZ, to sometimes jump into someone's back yard on the last load of the day. This past weekend we had a couple little demos of this sort planned. But we were told that now there will be no jumping off our DZ, unless papers are filed 30 days in advance. According to the FAA in Helena. Does this sound right to you? Is this a federal thing or just something new here in Montana. One guy in our group is really PO'd over this decision........The good ole days may be over.......Steve1

Mossberg.....That's the name I was trying to think of. In Vietnam some soldiers took with them a weapon or two that might not have been standard issue. I heard of some packing a private side arm of their own choice. I talked with one guy who even accumulated a Thompson machine gun (in country). The hard part was trying to get out of country with that weapon. Everyone wanted to bring home an AK-47. Usually it was real hard to sneak one out. I was never in Vietnam, but used to B.S. with lot's of guys who went......Steve1

Did you know that vegetarian is really a Native American name?......It means poor hunter!.....Steve1

------------------------------------- I've got a couple Remington 870's. I'm not sure if they saw use in Vietnam or not. I thought the standard issue was another model (maybe Ithica), but I wouldn't doubt that they were used over there. I knew a guy who was a tunnel rat in Nam. He was almost deaf from firing his shotgun in combat underground. Remington 700 rifles were used as sniper rifles in the early stages of the war mostly by Marine snipers. I have four or five of them from 243 up to 300 magnum. I've heard they are the most accurate factory rifle you can buy (out of the box). I usually glass bed the barrel and action, fine tune the trigger, and then work up a good load for them. It's not unusual to get five shots in close to a half inch at 100 yards. That reminds me, I need to go out and do some shooting......Steve1

Great pictures! I've never seen the smoke like that. I don't get out much....It looks like there's three of them on a line below you. Could you explain this a little? It really has a neat affect......Steve1

The military used to use a method of extracting someone from the ground using a skyhook. They would get a guy geared up in a harness and then hook him up to a long nylon line with a helium balloon on the end. A large aircraft would fly over, hook the end of the line and after the guy was sling shotted into the air, they would winch him into the plane. Never seen it done, but heard of it. I guess it works great as long as you don't come unhooked. It's also important to have a good arch while they winch you in. Otherwise you might go for a heck of a ride. This was kind of experimental back in the 70's. I heard there was an officer who liked being pulled in this way. He did it several times until he came unhooked and fell to his death. I heard of another guy who started wearing a belly reserve for this, but I'd think this would be way dangerous too because it might acccidentally deploy and rip you in half. I'm sure they've refined this greatly since the 70's. But if my memory serves it was called a sky hook, back then.........Steve1

I've skydived with my arm in a cast (that I broke rodeoing or was it logging?)......(I never said I was smart). This was back in the days of shot and a half capewells. My National Guard unit wouldn't let me jump with it though. I tried, but they said that would be a no no.......Steve1

I hope to break 600 this weekend. Hope noone catches me with a pie.......Steve1

I thought that was from Jerry Bird. A friend of mine was doing some big ways with Jerry Bird. One of the things Jerry told the entire group were those exact words. I often think of them......Steve1

My midlife crisis was that I started jumping again. I couldn't afford a Corvette or Harley and I couldn't find a young good looking girl friend, so I think I made the right choice.......Steve1

Does that mean I could sign up in some sort of army and get to shoot illiterate white trash? But some of my favorite people and most of my relatives are illiterate white trash????? This drinking thing sounds good though. Count me in on that.....Steve1

Tonto, I was just joking around about not liking tongue rings, so I hope I didn't offend anyone who has one. Hell, you're one of the people I respect most here on DZ.com. Talk to you later......Steve1

On my first jump in the army. The winds were way too strong. So we waited all afternoon in this quanset building, all geared up, with sweat dripping off our noses (for the wind to die down). A black hat would walk through the building once in a while and shout, "What do you want to be?" Everyone shouts back, "Airborne". This went on until evening and the wind went down some. Then they loaded us all in the back of a c-119. (Yes this was many years ago). Everyones heart was thumping as this piece of crap for an airplane roars forever down the air strip and barely climbs into the air. So we climb to altitude and start circling the DZ because the wind is still too stiff to jump. The doors are both open and there's this jumpmaster leering at us with enthusiasm. Then he walks up to me and asks me if I'm okay. I have this sick looking smile on my face. Trying to look brave when he knows I'm faking it. And then we ride the plane back down. Next morning we walked up the ramp into the back of a 141. Awe, those were the days.......Steve1

I heard it's a lonely feeling being at the top. Have you found this to be true?..........Steve1

Actually you might be better off without a middle name. Mine is Verne. I wish I could get rid of it.......Steve1

Thanks for the advice. It's not easy being a parent these days......Steve1

I wonder how accurate these quotes are? I'd bet they're twisted more than a little just to sell a sleezy magazine. I read a couple books that Arnold wrote back in the 80's. I'm sure he was no saint. He's taken steroids and done some wild things in his younger days, but probably no more than the rest of us. Personally I think he's a straight shooter and I admire what he's accomplished in life. He came to this country with little or nothing and reached the very top in body building. Then he reached super-stardom as an actor. Now he's turning his sights on politics. I think he's a good husband, father, and intelligent guy. If I lived in California I'd probably vote for him. But then again I'm not really very knowlegeable on the issues their, and I'd have to investigate this further before casting a ballot.........Steve1

I need some input on this one. My two daughters are home and getting ready to go back to college next week. Both of them went to the dentist today to get their teeth worked on. The dentist wouldn't work on them until they took their damn tongue rings out. You know those god awful hunks of metal that some people stick through their tongues to look cool. Well all went well until the oldest daughter tried to put the damn thing back in. It won't go back! So after hours of trying to cram it back in there, she's now moping around the house in a state of deep depression. Wanting to be a kind and understanding father (I'm doing my best to keep from laughing and saying that I told you not to get that damn piece of junk stuck in your tongue). Actually I'm even trying to help. I even went so far as to dig around in my taxidermy tools to see what might be good for poking holes. I found several needles and pins and even this wicked looking awl. Right now she's desperately trying to make a bigger hole with the awl. God damn! What's the world coming to anyhow? What would you do, if you were a father in this scenario??? I know tongue rings are supposed to look cool and all, but secretly I'm glad the thing won't fit back in there.......Steve1

I've never been there myself. I met a guy once who said he was coming out of a bar in Seattle and was stabbed. His heart stopped on the operating table for a while. He says he remembers seeing a lot of white light. (Maybe he was imagining things), but he swears he remembers this white light coming towards him.......Steve1

Well, he's usually drunk most of the time, but I think the excuse was that his new medication was affecting him. I told my brother that it was too bad he didn't run over her head. This brought about many more chuckles. Actually I shouldn't be joking around here. Femoring in under canopy is serious buisness. It sounds like a lot of jumpers have gone through hell recovering. I've got a lot of respect for those who have been hurt seriously and still jump.....Steve1