tigra

Most definately NOT Jakal in the picture. I would pay good money NOT to see a picture of Jakal like that. (Unless there is another Jakal??) But I've seen the pic before and that tat looks awfully familiar.

I had a teenager pack for me once, the son of one of my friends. He complained that my spectre 150 was too big! He's used to packing for the video guys who are all jumping those teeny tiny performance canopies!

The packers charge $5.00 for a sport rig at my dz. I generally tip, plus I usually set my own brakes, unstow the slider and cock the pilot chute. I'll also feed my packer or get him gatorade when he's really busting his ass, and I'll drum up business for him when its kind of slow. (Like talking my friends into treating themselves to a pack job when they usually do it themselves!) I find that when I take good care of my packer, he takes pretty good care of me too. My fiancee and I jokingly refer to our packers from last year and this year as our adopted sons! maura

At least one person is already working on this or something similar- may even already have a patent and trade name.

Great post. There are plenty of times I stay on the ground when way less experienced people are jumping. Sometimes I shake my head, but then I remember I used to be the same way. I would never let little things like low thick "industrial haze" or gusty winds interfere with my skydiving!! I'm really not sure when I got over it, but I guess after backing up and being dragged a few times I learned. And I started watching when the experienced "fun jumpers" sat down. Even though this jumper learned her lesson the hard way, we all know it could have been much worse. A little beat up, but perhaps a bit wiser??? maura

The first thing you need to do is talk to a mortgage lender and crunch some numbers and see what is possible. Remember, just because the rental income covers HER mortgage payment, it won't necessarily cover yours. If she's owned the property for a while, she might not have a very big mortgage on it- you would need to borrow more in order to purchase the property. Make sure you know what you are getting into. Some ideas: You could execute a sales contract which calls for the seller providing a "gift of equity" up to the downpayment amount. Since she is not a relative, the lender may not approve it. (I've seen this when someone is buying a home from his or her parents.) Another option is a "seller carry back" second mortgage for the downpayment amount. Again, your lender would need to approve this. Your payments to her could be offset by "rent" that she would owe you. Keep in mind, laws vary from state to state, and also when you are going with less than conventional financing, you tend to pay more- (higher interest rate and closing costs.) Good luck!

As far as I know he is still organizing and jumping. I'm pretty sure he was at Richmond this year- I know he was there last year. What a guy! He sees everything when he's orgainzing. If you haven't had the pleasure, its a real treat to jump with him. maura

Not in order of importance, cuz they are all up there..... 1) Ron "Ronco" Nowak- taught my AFP ground school, was an all around mentor to me throughout the student program and beyond and although I've never had the pleasure of actually jumping with him, what he taught in ground school saved my a@@ more than once. He's just an all around wonderful person. 2) Jerry Bird- had an opportunity to make some jumps with him a few years ago. What an amazing organizer. He's also the first person I have ever jumped with who told the base to go faster after people (myself included) went low on the dive. Up to then I always thought that if I went low, it was my fault and I sucked! 3) Jerry "Uncle Jerry" or "Cheese" Lenherr. Tandem Master, AFP instructor, load organizer to the newbies, world record holder, national gold medalist, etc.... One of those people who always takes the time to work with you, always willing to help out whether its pointers on a big way or leveling your trailer! Just a fabulous person, and to this day, still a mentor to me and a good friend. 4) And of course, Roger Nelson who has taught me quite a bit about skydiving and has provided such a great facility to learn and jump. 5) Isabelle (don't know her last name) who fought and eventually lost a long battle with breast cancer but would come out to the dz and jump between Chemo cycles and kept such a positive attitude through it all! Shortly before she died she had decided to take up video flying and shot video for one of my jumps. I still have it somewhere. There are others I meet new hroes every weekend at the dz, don't we all?? maura

That was pretty much my point.

Jimbo, I've thought a lot about your question, and you have a very valid point. It makes me sad and angry when someone dies doing something stupid and that death was completely preventable. Sadly, I have been to more than one wake where "the big unsaid" was hanging pretty heavily in the air. So why don't we come right out and say it publicly? "What a dumbass!" "How stupid!" "This should NOT have happened!" In many ways it seems a lot more honest and productive than saying things like, "Oh, at least he died doing something he loved." or "Blue skies forever, dude!" I can think of only one reason, and that is if we chalk up these stupid fatalities to "dumbass" mistakes, and the people who made them as "dumbasses" then we might just make the mistake of thinking that we are better than these people and somehow immune from making the same "dumbass" mistakes or having a lapse in good judgement. just my thoughts...... maura

Yeah, what she said! Being the new girl at a dz, you are going to get a lot of attention. Its flattering, but don't get carried away. This is now your home dz, and if your training goes well, you'll be spending a lot of time there with your new extended family of jumpers. So take some time to get to know everyone, make friends and focus on your training. You don't need any wierdness while you are just starting out, and the guys will ALWAYS be there. Also, don't read too much into this guy's behaviour. It could mean anything or nothing at all. Just let it go, be friends with him and if anything develops later, great. If not, you have another new friend, and you can never have too many of those! Bobby Sue TTK #27

I guess you still remember how to PLF????

Ok, I wanna be a trailer trash kid! Bobby Sue, TTK #27

Well, I'm not a yuppie. My car is somewhere in between a new beemer and a rusty ford pick up, and I am weekend trailer trash already! Can I be a TTK??? maura

I liked Airspeeds' knee flying! But I also got a kick out of watching STL spin their formations- spinning a round is one thing, but spinning a bear trap??? They got those formations MOVING!

Congrats to SDC STL and TFx for a great performance. I'd just like to add that there were 4 10 way teams training at SDC this season, and all 4 placed in the top 6. (with the Knights in 7th) So, congrats also to DecaDance and Otter Chaos! 10 way was quite a competition this year! maura

Spectres are 7 cells- a Spectre will have a smaller pack volume than a comparable Zero P 9 cell. I have a Spectre 150 in a Wings W8, but I wouldn't try to put my Sabre 150 in there.

Don't skimp on the beer! Since you're a new graduate, buy what you think your jms would like (or ask them). Green bottles (of the imported variety) are generally appreciated. Coronas are probably next in line, but don't forget the lime! Oddly enough, at my dz, the beer of choice for a lot of the experienced "skygod" types is Miller High Life! If I want to suck up to these guys, or thank them for some fun skydives, I'll buy a 30 pack. But for my beer occasions, its the good stuff, just like I preach to the newbies!!!! congrats! maura

Yup, that's what I've been told about "riding the tail" myself. But eye contact is key for a traditional 2, 3 or 4 way launch. The rules change with bigger or more advanced launches. I'm not sure you can maintain eye contact if you're launching a meeker, for instance.

Maintaining eye contact is the key to relative work, from the start of the dive to the finish. The load should already be spotted when you climb out of the plane, so that's not much of an argument. Plus, if someone is looking down, his head is down and that can cause problems with the launch.

Ralph and his wife Nancy live down the street from the dz. I just saw both of them last weekend. One of us will make sure he gets your message! How's the leg, Chile?? maura

Lisa, You've said more than once he's a good kid. So, sit him down and talk to him. Just like being a single mom has not been easy for you, growing up with a single mom had its own set of challenges for him too. I think both of you are probably stronger people for it. He probably has a better idea of the value of a buck (or a hundred) than a lot of us did at 18. You are a good person who raised a good kid- talk to him. But don't make any rash decisions when you are angry, you might say or do something you cannot take back. I know you are frustrated and need to vent, but venting in a public forum he sometimes lurks really isn't playing fair is it?? Just my opinion as someone who is happily childless! good luck! maura

I'm sure you are right about that, the low man should not have been there. And I'm sure it caught the cameraman by complete surprise, and it all happened very fast. Unfortunately, I've been in a similar situation and those pics brought back some bad memories. (Like these 2, we were also very lucky.) maura

Don, I jump at a large dz and often leave my gear out all day in the hangar near my locker, even during boogies where there are lots of new people. Perhaps that is too trusting of me, but I have never had a problem with anything coming up missing. I'm a little more careful with cash, or my camera, jewelry, etc. I also have a theory that my gear is a little too distinctive at my home dz for anyone to be able to walk off with it or jump it without someone noticing. We all look out for each other- in fact when a new friend saw someone else jumping my rig, he asked me about it. Like, are you so casual, you just let ANYONE jump your gear??? I explained he wasn't just anyone, he was my fiancee and he had my permission! We did have a problem a couple of years ago with some items being stolen, (not rigs, but at least one video camera) Everyone pretty much believed it was one guy, and even though no one could prove it, after he left, the thefts stopped. There are "bad apples", even among skydivers, and if I was visiting a new dz, or at the WFFC, I'd probably take a little more care with my gear. maura

But was he intentionally videoing THIS deployment? And if he was, should he have been right on top of it, closing the distance? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question.