johnny1488

Talk to Simon and he will work with your situation to find out whats best. My girlfriend bought an omni. She wasnt 100% about it so he is sending her a safire2 of the same size, and he said hold on to them both to compare and then he can work from there. Very helpful every step of the way. Johnny Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I demoed a lotus 190 when Brian Germain was at the ranch. I have never been so scared in all my 360 jumps. Opened fast and hard. Tried some flares and the sweetspot seemed high but good enough. Went to do a toggle turn down to my waist and after 180 degrees it tried to collapse on itself. Even minor turns and braked turns felt twitchy. I spent the rest of my 5000' hoping I would make it to the ground. I respect Brian Germain very much as he was very willing to share his wealth of knowledge but his canopies are not for me.

Thanks for all the replys. She has tried the cobalt and was able to do plenty of turns but had several issues with it that caused her to want to look elsewhere. She has dive loops and tries to use them on all her canopies. the search goes on. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm looking for mostly girls opinions here but all are welcome. My girlfriend is about 155 out the door and is looking for a canopy that she can actually use the front risers on. Not to hook but just to learn all aspects of flight on her canopy. She is starting to get frustrated that she isnt finding any yet. She was flying a sabre 150 and she just got her Omni 139 but she doesnt want to go any smaller than that. She said she can hardly do a 90 on the fronts of the omni. Im going to be back on the phone with Simon from Icarus tommorow to see what else he can do. She flew a safire2 149 a while back with no real difference. Simon's been more that helpful but I'm afraid he wont have anything for her. She flies ultra conservative and wants to start exploring all the control inputs. By the way I dont think she is particularly weak. Any feedback would be great John Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

here is my letter if anyone cares to see how pissed I was I am writing about the episode of "When Fun turns to Fear" that I just watched. I am a somewhat expierenced skydiver with 330 jumps to my credit and I was shocked at how you described the sport of skydiving and scotts accident. From the video it is clear that everything that happened wrong on that jump stemmed from scott pulling the wrong handle to begin the opening sequence. He pulls the cutaway handle that releases the main chute in case of a malfunction even with the instructors handle pulling him towards the main handle. After the chute deploys and releases he abandonds his training and begins to think about dying as he puts it. Every other sentence out of the instructors mouth in the begining of a first jump course is about the danger and making sure the person knows what they are getting into. That they are there to skydive not to go on a rollercoaster. He talks as if he had no idea anything could go wrong yet he said he had done 5 static line jumps previously. The powerline incedent was his own error also. You are also told repeatedly that the radio is a backup only and it should not be relied on at all! He said people rarely survive parachute malfunctions? Thats an out and out lie. Most people in the sport today that get hurt or killed do so with fully functioning parachutes over their heads. I wonder if he saved his own life as he so boldly put it or if the AAD (automatic activation device) that opens your reserve should you fail to do so did. Did he even pay attention diring his 2 first jump courses and the training he recieved on the previous 5 jumps or did he just daydream of the next adreniline rush? He says there should be stricter rules on how we are regulated? I think there should be an aptitude test to see a person is mentally ready to get involved in our sport. The equipment he used functioned perfectly. The only malfunction was his own. If you run a red light in your car and crash into traffic you dont say you had a brake malfunction. It was strictly pilot/driver error. I was at the Ranch in New York when you sent Ice T to tape an episode of Beyond Tough for your network. It apears our sport isn't to reckless and dangerous for you to try and sell some advertising spots so you can line your pockets and give the general public misconceptions about a sport that so many of us take part in and arrive home without a scratch. If you are going to show our sport on your network do so accomponied with the truth not some sensationalist lies of death plunges, equipment malfuntions and improper training and regulations. John Kieran USPA member # 166354 D license holder 24353 Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I hope everyone write tlc like I did letters@discovery.com johnny Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Ask maggot to show you his glowstick trick!!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I have had my odyssey for a yaer now and it is bullet proof. I have seen both mirages and vectors main flaps come open in freefall so no one is immune. If you pack your rig properly the javelin will not come open. I can pick up my rig ny the main flap and it stays closed. And its comfortable as hell. Get one.

I have jumped plenty of times at cross keys before. If the weather was too bad to jump I would not jump. I have no problem traveling and getting weathered out. Im not stupid, it happens. As far as wing loading Im talking about jumpers with 60 jumps coming straight down. I've dealt with funny winds all season this year at the ranch. If talking to some people could have gotten me in the air than what is the rule there for anyway? I dont appreciate being made to feel that I dont know how to make educated decisions about skydiving. As far as the dz looking out for safety I dont think that was happening if they were letting up some of the jumpers they were. If wing loading doesnt represent canopy skill than neither does license. And if there is a pool and a pond on the golf course then maybe I needed floatation gear too. Its seems a cop out in the name of safety. If they want to be safe they would talk to and watch each jumper under canopy who was subject to the weather hold. Sound like student status? Thats cause it is. I will email rick not to vent but to talk to him about the dz policy.

The Ranch rules, period. I dont think I will ever go back to cross keys after this weekend. That is all

I was extremely pissed at the dz's decision to ground people based on licenses held. as A uspa member they agree to abide by the uspa's bsr's and those regulations say that a skydiver holding an a license or greater can jump in any wind conditions they choose to. what position are they in to tell people whom they have never seen jump that they can or cannot jump. I hold an a license but have 170 jumps. I saw people with b licenses with 60 jumps going up. I load my canopy at well over 1:1 and I saw the same jumpers who held b licenses jumping canopies loaded well under 1:1. Are they saying that because they were able to get thrown in some water that they are more fit to jump in winds they deem unsafe(yet ive seen students jump in the same conditons. At most times it was gusting to 14 at the max. I might not have jumped at alll times yesterday but being told I could not was ridiculous. I have the b license form filled out and stuck in my logbook minus the water training. I told the dz this and I was told "then you need water training". Exactly how would water training have saved my ass in slightly windy conditions. I wouldnt even take an instructor at my own dz telling me that. They could talk to me about the conditions if they felt the need to and I would love that cause it means they are looking out for fellow jumpers. But being told that i could'nt was a load of crap. I've sat out windy days before. No one had to tell me to. I was extremely pissed off at that.

I can make my safire 209 (loaded a little over 1:1)go pretty damn fast, Its all in how you fly it. Try both canopies and make sure you get one you can fly really slow. Speed is easy. Getting your ass out of a jam might not be.

WOW where did you come from-are you my brother??? I totally agree with EVERYTHING!!! Glad you typed it all up and not me. Are your fingers bleeding?? You're right about where the bands get their $----Concert tickets, paraphenelia (spelling?) not record sales as much. And that is just wrong when kids copy the music and don't buy the cds, because that is exactly what the government slapped Napster for. So those jerks that really do that are the reason (or one of the reasons) why Napster isn't around like it was any longer. You're right, this isn't the place for this discussion. Take care, Blue skies Killer Kimmy

Hey why not? You should give more and feel good about yourself for it:):) ha ha ha But all I'm saying is that is what Napster is like, another way to copy. The record companies can't very well sue every kid who has a radio and a tapedeck, but they CAN get verifiable data from the computers and with THAT they can make a case, and they did. So go ahead and hook up to my cable, I don't mind. My boyfriend and I did it to the bitch downstairs for a WHILE:):)

I've broken more federal laws than that. :) But I don't consider Morpheus anything like stealing music. It's just like in the 80's as a kid when you'd listen to the radio and tape songs on a fisher price recorder as a kid. Now there are just more computers in peoples houses and it is more widespread, so the music industry wants to make more money like they always have. Since Napster, they have a means to shut sites down if they can't get a cut. So it's the same thing, just bigger and in more homes. take care, blueskies killerkimmy

Well, you can get a hold of someone who has a version and copy it yourself. I for one don't have an original copy, I now have a copy of the original. Maybe find someone in your area (look it up on dz.com here, I'm sure there is someone in your state) or someone not in your area (look it up on dz. com here, I'm sure there is someone not in your state) who will copy it and send you one for less. That is all the ideas I"VE got.

Really? Nothing in the credits??? That is weird. Thanks for trying, and thanks for continuint to help though it isn't in the credits:):)

Hey, Anyone who is enjoying their off-season withdrawl from the sport by watching videos over and over may want to help me out with this question about the music in crosswind. I can't read the artists and song names for the music on the tape and I'd like to download it from the net and make a skydive son/Jogging cd for myself. If anyone can get me a list of those songs from their tape that would be great.:)

Hey I got 2 songs total, PropellerHeads-Take California and whatever that other guy said about Petrol (I can't remember) ANYONE ELSE???

Thanks Marsh man, I've been looking forward to hearing from you. And Pam, I did try that check here to remember login and it didn't work. I even logged in as my boyfriend and made sure I didn't check that, THEN logged in as me and CHECKED it and when I posted it still had the post as coming from Johnny not KillerKimmy

Thanks, that helps:) Anyone else? Also I'm Kim. I'm registered, but every time I login and try to post it keeps putting me on as my boyfriend!!! I don't know.

Hey, Anyone who is enjoying their off-season withdrawl from the sport by watching videos over and over may want to help me out with this question about the music in Crosswind. I can't read the artists and song names for the music on the tape and I'd like to download it from the net and make a skydive son/Jogging cd for myself. If anyone can get me a list of those songs from their tape that would be great.:)

I hope its warmer than last year. Screw warm blooded people. I plan on making as many loads as possible. Johnny

Why not just aim for the nearest set of powerlines! Or better yet a tree on the DZ driveway!! Ha haha. Stay heads up kentucky. Johnny

Dont know if you got the email but one of the guys on the s+m list said he had directions to his house. Johnny