Tonto

Beautiful. Sounds like you've experienced enough of both worlds to have a valid point of view. I'm only a skydiver, and for me, that seems to be enough. t It's the year of the Pig.

I can't argue your point of view. I'm not American, not a tax payer, don't live there and don't have any of the legal knowledge that others that have posted have. I just think it's better to support people than fail them, particularly when they have contributed to an ecconomy for their whole lives. Just an opinion. A point of view. t It's the year of the Pig.

Exception noted. Please bear in mind when I started skydiving we were using Round canopies, usually Mil Surplus, and all the piloting skills in the world wouldn't help you land one better. That's my experience, decades, continents and hemispheres removed from yours. t It's the year of the Pig.

Thanks! But I did apologise. Impulse control... t It's the year of the Pig.

I didn't call it a jump ticket. Skydivejersey did. t It's the year of the Pig.

Mmm. Tonto observes smoke signal... Deciedes that softball is not for him!

Picture the scene. You arrive at a party. Things are rocking, the music's too loud to speak or be heard, and you know no-one. How do you know who the pilot is? He'll tell you. Now since driving a plane is so much fun - why would you want to come and play with us? My experience is that those who skydive and become pilots become GREAT jump pilots, and those pilots who become jumpers break their legs. (Although in all fairness I only know 5 pilots that fit that category, and there are 6 I know who tried skydiving.) Now, arn't you the guy who's having problems with mommy? Maybe you should get a place of your own before coming onto a skydiving site and slagging us all off. Just a thought. Use it, don't use it. t It's the year of the Pig.

All our pilots are comm rated. Yes you do. It's your call on the weather - if you wrong, the prop still turned and you still pay. t It's the year of the Pig.

Live and let live dude. Life is too short to get pissed off about stuff like this. Let it ride. t It's the year of the Pig.

You missed me. But then I can't think of the animal trainer who would be able to train an animal to do what I can! t It's the year of the Pig.

Well... If I were gay, and I'd paid taxes my whole life and been a good US citizen, I'd like to retire someplace where I could just be myself without people bugging me. If I were not gay, and I'd paid taxes my whole life and been a good US citizen, I'd like to retire someplace where I could just be myself without people bugging me. Live and let live dude. t It's the year of the Pig.

You're going to get a thousand answers with each person telling you their system is the best. Some basic facts. 1. Martial arts don't teach you how to fight or defend yourself. They give you a "toolbox" not a mechanic's course. 2. Harder styles (Karate, chinese boxing (or Kung Fu)) are easier to learn at first, but less effective than the softer styles (Tai Chi, Akido) after 20 years of training. 3. Choose a style that suits your lifestyle. If you can't do 6 ft leaps and full splits with power, don't do an arial style like Tae Kwon Do, but choose something more grounded like Wing Chun. 4. If you want to learn to defend yourself - do "Model Mugging" or "Impact" as it is sometimes now known as it focuses on boundry setting as well as the emotional aspects of personal conflict - and where to find the committment when the chips are down. Training can be emotionally harrowing though. PM me if you want to chat about basics, but I'm nowhere near Chicago! t It's the year of the Pig.

It's yours. Keep it to yourself. I thought that being a National Champion and representing your country at the world meet would indicate drive and commitment - but all it'll indicate to your employer is that you're a nutter who loves something else more than work. Keep it to yourself. t It's the year of the Pig.

What kind of skydiver gets buried on a weekend? I'll aim for a 13h00 funeral far out of town so you can use the "It's pointless coming back to work" excuse and head straight to the DZ. I guess WSC will be quiet tomorrow morning. Blues, and remember my quip about the door on tomorrows dive, OK? t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm WORKING dude! 2 double level AFF's, 2 single level AFF's and a Tandem with a Tequela girl from last weeks bonfire party. After lunch I have 2 AFF L1's and maybe time for a fun dive or two. Sunday we roll at 09h00. Busy busy. It's not like it's fun or anything. I get paid for it! Fu

Cool! Lets chat tomorrow about the Pro Track. Catch me, OK? I'll be at the DZ at 08h30 but I'm on load 2, 5, 7, 9 and 11, then a break to brief and lunch at 12h00 before I start the afternoon run. Speak to me then. C ya Tomorrow, t It's the year of the Pig.

I know! I know! The word is "Sorry" Here's the story. It's late 80's, and I'm at a DZ with a Porter that has a sliding door going up to do a 4 way team dive. There were some students on board, a few SL's, a 1st freefall and a JM. The SL's go. We go round to the exit altitude for the 1st freefall. He's sweating bullets. (No AAD in those days.) One of my team says "Just arch and relax. You have the rest of your life to pull the ripcord." Dude's eyes go big. The door slides open, the dude climbs out, hangs from the strut, and just starts squealing.. "I can't do this! I don't want to die!" etc etc. JM says "Sorry" and closes the door... He hung on for a bit, enough to give himself a bad spot dispite the power being on, and then did a perfect 3 sec delay with us all watching like monkeys. These days, that's not so funny, but back then? Well, I laughed like a drain for months after that whenever someone said "Sorry" to a student. t It's the year of the Pig.

My parents were so happy when I stopped racing superbikes. It was "Pointless, expensive and dangerous" and I would participate in skydiving only over my dad's "dead body". Seems I had more commitment! Well, that was 19 years and 3900+ dives ago. My Dad did tandem with me, my mom still waits for the Sunday evening call. I tell them when I have a mal, but I never mentioned the reserve mal I had last weekend. Go Skydive. Tell them when you have "lots" of jumps, which for a whuffo, is over 10. Good luck! t It's the year of the Pig.

Mmm. I'm 41. I act like I'm 60 on safety issues.. but I try and have fun sometimes. t It's the year of the Pig.

Neptune. t It's the year of the Pig.

Reading this post, an image sprang to mind of an inexperienced jumper on a wing too hot for him who overconfidently cranked a low turn and is now digging deep on those brakes to get out of the corner. Mmm. Human mind. Strangest thing... They're not called Parasites - they're called Perrisites. See? It's a play on words... I have over 2000 dives from Cessna's, and more dives at Perris than you have total. My jaw also dropped when I first arrived there from South Africa. It was like a year round boogie every day with 2 Otters and a King Air and a DC-3 on call (Which we flew to Cal City for an away weekend) They still had a Cessna 206 in those days, and when is was wet and windy, 2 friends and I still got to jump even though no one else was keen. I did my AFF certification there, as well as some of the best dives I'd ever done, even though I was a newbie with only 1000 dives. I was pied for that dive at Perris and thrown in the pool. I was also there when 16 dead people were taken out of the Otter after the crash in April 1992. Everythings bigger at Perris. I've also jumped and worked at Cessna DZ's in Kansas and Oklahoma, did a season of Tandem out of a 206 over Provo in the British West Indies, Carribean, jumped a Tubine DC 3 over the Skeleton Coast in Namibia, demo'd from Jet Rangers into 70 000 capacity stadiums, Done AFF from Antinov's and C-130's, jumped the jet at WFFC, done Tandems over Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and CReW and canopy swoops onto a 50ft Sandbar with 100sq ft canopies off the coast of Maputo, among other highpoints and many, many mundane skydives. I recall a ride to altitude a little more than a decade ago. Five 182's in formation on a long ride to 10500ft. Looking at those kites from the outside, sunlight reflecting off the lakes in the late afternoon, I realised where I would be without Mr Cessna's idea. Sure, I've jumped a Piper Cherokee 6 and a couple of other small aircraft, but over 2000 dives have been from Cessna's. The dive was only a 16 way, only a single point, and we lost 500 ft on the climbout, but the imagery which remains... It's beyond description. The amazing thing about having jumped all over the world, from 1 Cessna DZ's, to Perris, DeLand, the WFFC, and the World Meet is that the air and the people on the dive, and on the ground define the sport. If the world was swept clean of Turbines my life would change (I jump at a weekend only Turbine dropzone) very little. I now do 10 dives Sat, and 4 Sun. If we were back to Cessna's, it would be 7 Sat and 7 Sun. That's it. You've taken flack on this thread because your comments were deemed thoughless and inconsiderate. You've found a DZ where you're the only person directed to the outhouse and its 30lb of dogshit and where the loads take off without you. I'm sure you'll find more like that with your present attitude. But. (There's always a but..) You're young in the sport. I'm guessing that you'll either quit skydiving because the outhouse has no aircon and single ply TP, or you'll discover what it is you really love about skydiving. The aircraft is inconsequencial, and the skydive is free. We pay only for the plane ride. t It's the year of the Pig.

Splendid! (Sorry I'm too far to send Pizza..