jimmytavino

Frontier Skydivers Club Wilson New York 20 Miles East of Niagara Falls Twin Otter C180 A wonderful bunch of people

Roger, lazide. Clouds can move vertically, or may have slanted tapering bottoms. So for sure maintain altitude awareness, always, especially if you get in clouds,,, and if you can't SEE your altimeter,,, then you probably should have stayed in the plane... anticipate..jt

As we board the jump plane we should already have a fair idea of whether clouds will be an issue, as we reach jump run. An existing layer, or an area of mid altitude clouds can be seen and anticipated, as we climb to altitude.... When this is the case, I have always made it a point to note the altitude of the BOTTOM level of the clouds, as we are climbing by... If it is 3000 or lower, my concern is different that if the bottoms are say, at 6 or 7 grand. Then try to get a sense for where the tops of the clouds might be. Even if you can see the ground on exit, your group may find themselves in the fog during jumps where clouds are prevelant...Knowing approximately, where the top and bottom might be, is a good idea. We don't jump through clouds as a rule. But if you are a guest at a DZ or you are at a Boogie, or if you simply exit with your group and find yourself into a cloud, stay cool, watch your atltitude, and keep your eyes open....

Roger That Steve 1, and yes Howard, I sure do remember Terry Utter.. I believe that tree landing was intentional,because it seems to me that there was a camera rigged into the apex of the canopy, which caught a great sequence, as the parachute crashed through the branches and leaves,,,,,,back from the days when sex was safe,,, and skydiving was dangerous..!!

Steve 1 I'm happy if those old titles brought back good memories.. sure the beech shot with all the FLOATERS is a good one....I am happy to still be active in this sport,,, but I am NOT old......and certainly not a fart,,,, never have been hahaha. I will celebrate the 30 anniv. of my first jump in couple more weeks. It is Sept. 16th..... but since I had only just turned 19 , 3 months before my first jump, I'm still a youngster to this day,,,,(at least in my own mind ) My 1st jump was also the first time I was ever in an airplane..... I had almost 200 jumps before I ever LANDED in an airplane....man I was sure we would NOT reach the runway.... I was used to the glide slope, (can you say 90 degrees!!!!???) of a 28 foot 7 TU........ so much has changed.... Today The REAL old farts are the whuffo family members and friends, who come out to see an acquaintance make a skydive and spend the day, shaking their heads, proclaiming how unsafe the sport seems to THEM, wondering how ANYone could make a jump and making doom and gloom comments........even in spite of the big smiles and high fives going on all around them........There's always something to see at a drop zone....

I did happen to see the show, and was a bit upset by the lack of the proper explanation for what happened,,, namely a semi-competent student, who certainly pulled the WRONG handle, then continued his poor performance, by losing altitude awareness, and failing to pull his reserve. I believe that this was an AOD save,,, but THAT was never conclusively pointed out....maybe the AFF instructor and video person took it a little too low, but the instructor was valiant in his effort, and the video was pretty good as well.....Now Porsche Boy who is finally under an open canopy, further demonstrates his ineptitude, by driving it into a set of power lines..... Apparently some people don't listen during their instruction, and perhaps some people sign away their right to THINK when they fill out a waiver...As we see all to frequently, our sport has again been maligned, by the media and portrayed in a way which unfairly casts a negative light on it.........maybe it will encourage those who "are afraid" of things,,,,,, to stay on the ground... "I have a fear of....... People who have a fear of heights"...may they remain glued to this planet for the entirety of their lives...........

Many years ago in the late 60's or early 70's the late Carl Boenish filmed and produced some truly classic skydiving movies.... Masters of the Sky, was originally a film movie, like where you needed a projector to watch it.... but later was on VHS video. There is a lot of footage of round canopies, landing and in the air...We used to call them "cheapos", Another old movie was called Sky Capers, and like Masters of the Sky included original music,,, early freefall formation skydives, (with every participant sporting 3 or 4 pin main containers, and chest mounted round reserves....) B.J. Worth and Randy DeLuca filmed a movie called WINGS, in the mid 70's (I think it was done in Arizona, from a Lockheed Lodestar) which highlighted some great sequential RW, really neat diamond jumps, RW involving piece flying and mostly pre-square main canopies.....again with some chest mounted reserves,,, however large early generation "piggyback rigs " can be noticed as well. For a photographic record of the evolution of equipment and main canopies from the early eras, be sure to look for the 3 volume set which was published by Andy Keech, in 1974, 1979 1nd 1981, The set is Titled SKIES CALL 1, 2, and 3.... great photos, many amazing photos, including aircraft shots, CReW and Style and Accuracy jumps..........As for jumping with such gear today, I would say be careful. I made 35 jumps with a LoPo28" 7TU round main canopy in the early 70's, then bought a French Papillon (actually had 2 different french paps) and skydived those mains, til after my 1000th jump...(that was '79). I had transitioned to a piggyback rig with a 26"round reserve, in the mid 70's The round main (papillon)was packed in a D bag and had a hand deployed pilot chute...(which by the way, was made by the Seneca para-Loft and which was SQUARE) and R-3 releases, (velcro closed modifications of the older "shot and a half" capewells.). I have experienced 4 reserve rides all under a 26 foot round canopy, stood up each one,, but they were all stiff landings......I WAS slow to transition to a ram air main,(but ram air mains were slow to get all the kinks worked out) but have been jumping a variety of square mains (para plane cloud 220, para foil 252, RW Challenger 240 , and now P D Spectre 210 since I retired the papillon.. While it's easier to get into trouble with a square than with a round,,, it's also MUCH easier to properly pilot the square canopy to a far more preferred landing, than what is possible with the rounds... I've seen some people with limited experience on the older designs, strap on a Mini System rig, with an old PC just cause a club member dug one out of a closet somewhere..... The jumps are usually survived, but landings are often not pretty, often off target, and seldom repeated.......If you missed that era... be grateful. You might have met the fate of many of my old time jumpin' buddies, who had injuries, hard landings, busted bones, and enough PLF black and blue marks, that they were eventually discouraged from the sport,,,,perhaps to make room for the the more recent membershipo who have the timing , luck and good fortune to be the recipients of the great improvemnets in gear and main canopies, which we have experienced in the recent past... So try to find the old movies which I have mentioned, and enjoy the nostalgia with your friends, around the big screen TV and with the refreshment of your choice.............but maybe leave the old gear where it belongs,,,, in the past....

1963 Chevy Belair.. Blue.. 4 Door.. 283 V-8, 2 speed automatic.....Man, you kicked that throttle, she'd downshift, and really fly !!!. Paid 300 bucks for it when I was a senior in high school..(1970).. I drove that sweet ride for 6 years,,, when the universal joints started wearing out... I signed over the registration to a friend of mine when she was cryin' in her beer about not havin' a ride.....Handed her the keys, and the registration, told her where to find it and what it needed,,......never saw her or the Chevy again.......... I think it's probably still runnin' ... most likely in one foreign country or another!!!!!

That was Fun... thanks for the link.. 146.......9 minutes. After spending about 60 consecutive hours at the drop zone this weekend I'm sure my brain was adequately EMPTY so that I could be mentally READY to take the test. hahaha "Let's go jumping tomorrow"!!!

I have ALWAYS flat packed,,,,except the first 1000 jumps or so,,, when I flaked my French Papillon (round) and S folded it into a P O D ....(Who remembers what "standing tension" means???) Then I flat packed a strato cloud, and then an RW Challenger, for another 1,400 jumps or so....(never a mal.) NOW I flat pack a P D Spectre 210, again with no problems,,,,,,nice on heading openings,,,and never a mal....I figure, "why would P. D. put packing tabs on the parachute, if not to allow you to flat pack it???"...... by the way,,,, I don't call it "flat packing" anymore.... I call it "Pre Pro Packing" haha. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"....jt

Years ago when we shot accuracy, it was with round mains, (Para commander or French Papillon, or the occasional Russian PC or Russian UT-15)....anyway accuracy was done with a DOWNWIND final.......this was decades before the downwind surfers of today!!!!. We shot accuracy downwind, for at least these 2 reasons....it made for a smooth aggressive move to the target,(sometimes resulting in a huge scattering of the pea gravel!!) and since the round canopies had only moderate forward speed, it saved the embarassment of coming up short, or of being blown backwards,,,!!! during an upwind final...... Only when the ram airs, para planes, and parafoils came on the scene, did the accuracy approaches turn around and start occuring in the upwind direction.....A welcome change for all the accuracy lovers, who had learned, by pounding in on a downwind final........."Upwind,,, downwind,,,what's the difference,, since today most people consider accuracy to be as simple as "hitting the drop zone, while under canopy" hahaha. Ask some jumpers today, what a "disc" is, and they'll probably answer,,,,"that's what my buddy slipped,,,, when he miscalculated his last turf surf !!!!".....signed a past ,present, and future accuracy enthusiast.........

I like to think that I am from all the eras. And each one, as different and amazing as they are, all stress.... safety. When most recommendations for cutting away and getting under a reserve, set a hard deck for that, at above 1000 feet, then I just don't get the logic, in exiting at 50 % or 75% of that altitude... that's all. Hey man when the ceiling was at 1500 feet, we just didn't jump.... One of the great aspects about this amazing sport/recreational activity that we all share, is the wonderful variety of self expression and individuality which is possible at all times..on and above a Drop Zone.......maybe "idiocy" was to harsh a term (if the alt. was 1250 feet I may have said "crazy" but the 750 ft...pushed me over the edge. hahaha). I have not yet made a base jump. I would like to. I am not afraid (I think). 'Cause I also come from an era which stressed, accuracy landing, flying a canopy at slower speeds, and touchdowns within 1 meter of your target,,,,,,,I hear that can come in handy on a BASE jump....but when in a plane, my motto would be "The more altitude the better"!!!!!

(I have seen a very experienced jumper who packs his own reserve bail out at 750 feet in a non emergency situation) What kind of idiocy is THIS ???!!!! That VERY EXPERIENCED jumper is irresponsible. as evidenced by the impression he made on you and probably others. Hate to clue you in, but exiting at that altitude without the assistance of a static line, or instructor assisted deployment CONSTITUTES an emergency situation, in my book., not to mention it sets a very poor example......

Nope...Never......... but I've videoed almost 400 of them....

It was Sept. 16, 1972. I was in college, and they had a skydiving club there. I had never been in an airplane before, ( I just loved the ride, the view was spectacular!). The location was , Ledgedale Airport in Brockport (western) New York. static line. First jump course and gear and lift,,,,,,,50 bucks.. next 4 static lines...10 bucks each...First freefall.6 bucks.....all jumps included gear, and instruction.. so 96 dollars, got me 6 jumps, a log book, and into freefall... jumps thereafter were 3 dollars to 3 grand and 5 dollars to Seven-Five. about 5 years after my first jump,,, I composed a poem which summed up my feelings for this unique sport/recreational activity which we all enjoy so much.....I will share that poem, with you all now. JUST ONE. There was a voice inside me, I'd hear it now and then. When days were warm or skies were blue, or I was with a friend....... It started soft with gentle urges but grew and grew in leaps and surges, 'til from my mouth as if a SHOUT, One day I said, or blurted out, "For sure, Why not? It might be fun! A parachute jump! From a plane! Just one! I'd heard about it once or twice and always thought it would be nice to float around, and look way down check out the ground, not make a sound........ Well the chance arose one free fall day and some friends and I, we made our way through what it was, one had to do, to safely make a jump or two. I can tell you now, it was preety hairy the time was near, my mind unclear, and things were looking scarey. "What are you doing, is it safe, are you sure??" said that little voice inside me. But i reassured myself and said, "I have my head to guide me". "For just this once I'll do this thing and leave a plane in flight. And make some friends and have some laughs and it'll be over by tonight." So up I went, and out the door and to my surprise came back for more. Well it's been a while since that autumn day and many jumps have gone their way. The early days of aprehension are gone my friend, there is no tension. Now jumping's MORE than lots of fun. and think it started with ,,,,, just one..... Jimmy Tavino uspa #9452 A 3914 D12122 (copyright JT 1977)

I am James Joseph Justin Tavino Jimmy T. I own and operate a small business which sells, installs, and services stairway chair lifts, wheelchair platform lifts, and which builds accessibility ramps...for almost 20 years now...( kept getting fired from any job where I worked for someone else) ((it seemed I was always knocking off early on Wed, and Fridays,,, and was always AWOL on the weekends))!!!. Work now keeps me busy enough during the week, until I can get to my REAL JOB,,,,which is shooting videos at the DZ......Oh yes my other fulltime job is being the Father to a 19 year old daughter and a 17 year old son, who are GREAT kids, and a Husband to my sweetheart of a wife,, who has to be the most patient person on earth........jt A3914 D12122

This past Friday night.....A great Time!!! Some new faces,,, and many regulars....5 dollar skydives to 14 grand..... At Frontier Skydivers.....Niagara County New York..... One guy paid for his load with 100 empty beer bottles!!!!!... the fun and the great vibes carried right through Sat. and Sun......Thanks again to all those who made this possible......

Yahoo!! We haven't seen 5 dollar jumps in a long time.....Thanks to Tim and Sherry,, Kevin, and all their partners , colleagues and pilots .... "If you give them an Otter they WILL come......" (at least any skydiver who has any sense, will come) The weather at Frontier is for upper 70's low lower 80's, low humidity fri. sat. and into sun. Get your work done early, on Fri. see you at the DZ. Should be a great weekend. ANDYMAN where are you???????come visit!!!!!!! This is the REAL DEAL!! but for friday evening only, (as I understand it) jt

AndyMan.... New... Used.... Foreign.... or Domestic... It doesn't matter...... as long as it will get you to Western New York,,,,so that we can skydive together,,,, providing you can still AFFORD to skydive ,,,after you sign the deal.... good luck...........Jimmy p.s. the only mechanics I would trust are Airframe & Power Plant mechanics.....remember,,,"you can't just coast a busted airplane, over to the shoulder of the road !!!!"

Pilatus PC -6.... that's a Porter... we jumped one a few weeks ago at the local DZ......but we were crowded,, real crowded, with 8 jumpers......... I am not fully sure of all the details of this accident,,, but a few thoughts come to mind..How in the world do you fit a pilot AND eleven jumpers in a Porter????? Can you say "over gross?? " Can you say "C of G, aft of center???"... sorry to hear of the loss of a jumper,,, and of the injuries.... swift recovery, to those affected.

Spy38W re: the Skyvan pic.... What a beautiful photo!!!!...I notice the hatch above the co- pilot seat is open,,,,,,,, if those jumpers climbed out that way, and made their way to the point of this picture (even with a tether or another type of handle)....then THAT'S a great accomplishment ... I would have loved to have been on board the chase plane to watch, and video ! ! ! Pink = Yahoo

SCR SCS NSCR WSCR etc. constitute a Memorial in honor of Bob Buquor, a pioneering freefall cinematographer of the late 60's. I think he was located on the west coast. As I remember there were not very many such awards available to jumpers in the mid 70's so the SCR was popular... We would make SCR dives out of two C182's, or out of a beech 18, We had a DZ nearby that flew a radial engine DeHaviland Beaver,,(slow climber, but IT CARRIED 10 !!!!!) and so in the mid 70's I and many of my friends earned the awards....As I recalled, it was always the case, that the formation needed to be fully complete (100%) for THAT skydive to qualify anyone for an award.......A nine way or a ten way, would then give the chance for 2 or 3 people to earn the SCS...(close 8th or later),,,,I was on a jump with 9 friends in the summer of '76 which qualified many of us for the SCR... We were pleasantly surprised when we each recieved a special Red White and Blue "Bi-Centennial SCR Patch", as well as the traditional Red Black and Yellow One....Our Night SCR was in celebration of a friends 1000th jump, we squeezed 5 in the wide body 182, 4 in the chase plane, exited at 10,500 and built complete, by 6 grand....a truly electric 9 man night star... ( 8 of the 9 jumpers earned NSCR on that memorable dive, in July of 1981) Application forms are usually printed in the various jumping magazines and newspapers....So pack your rig,, grab some friends, get on the manifest,, and join in..... jt SCR 6190 SCS 4876 NSCR 1817...

Right back at you Andyman!!!! Hey,, be sure to come and visit us .....SOON....Tim and Sherry are sending us an Otter for the whole season....as you may know....Your pleasant personality is always welcome,,,,, and I know that EVERYONE would be charged up to see you..... blue skies. jimmy

for jtval... New Yawk!!!! for sure!!! born and raised,,, but most of my jumpin' has been done Upstate.....real Up state.... Made some loads in Stormville,,( I grew up in nearby Brewster) before Billy and Kay and the crowd, moved over to the Ranch around 20 yrs. ago....Made a bunch at Gardiner over the years,, Never have skydived on Long Island,,, though I bet the view is great. Been livin' in Rochester for over 30 yrs.. started jumpin here. Frequented the Seneca Falls Club, south west of Syracuse in the '70's.Jumped with Kinger and his people at Finger lakes Skydivers in Ovid NY, made a few with Roch. Skydivers over the years, cause they were nearby..... but got tired of waiting for the DZO to get a bigger plane......I jumped with Frontier Skydivers for years,,, but mosty as a visitor,,,, when Frontier began bringing in turbines on a regular basis,,,,I made sure that my dues were up to date, each year, and I traveled an hour and a half each way, to SUPPORT the planes..... And so I get out to the Club (which is just N E of Niagara Falls), now as often as I can..Thanks to Paul Fayard. Roger Nelson, Marco at Aerostore, Steve Stewart, Mike Mullins, .Jim West, and especially Tim and Sherry Butcher at Airohio for sending us aircraft over the years....And thanks also to our great Board of Directors, Instructional Staff, and club volunteers.........Consider yourself invited to join us , anytime...Have a good season JTval, signed,, JT vino........

1.Family Man (Father, Husband, Son, Brother, Brother-in-Law) 2.Skydiver, (for over 60 % of my life) 3.Safe Skydiver (for over 99% of my skydiving career, we can't ALL be perfect!!) 4. Loyal friend (you can ask my buddies) 5. Small Business Owner....("you don't work,,, you don't play")