Michele

Their skills group instruction includes parachuting. Can't be all bad! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

1. 6000. (That was my hopnpop - the pilot forgot to let us out lower). 2. 3800 (and that took doing for me) 3. Forgot to have fun. 4. Marrying my ex - oh wait, in skydiving, right?.........the downwinder 5. Landing safely so I can go again! (Actually, the canopy opening right). 6. None. What got you grounded? 7. .... 8. .... 9. Really itching to find out why you got grounded. (all answers are subject to change as I progress and figure out what I am doing)... Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Driving through the dark morning, watching the sky turn salmon pink with the sun's arrival, seeing the promise of this day brought forth from a pink dawn into a cool, crisp morning. I follow the directions to Elsinore, and I can feel the tingle of apprehension as I turn onto the gravel drive of the dz. I have not been here before, and I am nervous. I have never been anywhere but Perris, and have no idea what to expect, except I know that there will be fear. It is only 7 a.m. I get to the store, and there are already people in line. I get inside, and rent gear. I am in a Spectre 210, Infinity harness. O.K., I am downsizing. I decide to wait for the wind, because it's a new dz, a new canopy, and I want to wear my careful hat today. Larissa and I register for the Chicks Rock! Boogie, and I start meeting people - all the people I talk to here on the web - and it is really odd to see faces to monikers and names. I see Albatross, Shark, DZBone, MsDeva, GiaKrebs, Regina, and a few others. I am feeling overwhelmed, in a way, because everything is so new, so unfamiliar. Larissa goes to get ready for her tandem, and she tells her Tandem Master that she has done AFF 1 and 2, and has developed a serious case of door demons. I pull him aside and stress that she really has a hard time with the door, and he reassures me that he will take are of her. That isn't my point, though, I think, but I can't figure a way to explain to him what I mean. Larissa asks me to meet her on the ground, so I am going to jump later. Which is, I guess, fine. I'll take pictures. She boards the plane, and glances over her shoulder. She looks really scared. I feel so ineffective. I have fought her fight, and I know that fear. And I can't do it for her, and I can't take it away from her. I wave at the departing plane, even though I know she can't see. I meet HotTamaly, who is an adorable redhead with a personality to match her hair - fiery, warm, spirited and energetic. She is LO'ing, and sets me up with Jackie, an instructor and a nice, sweet, laid back, patient woman. Thank God for small favors. I hook up with Jackie, and we go over our dive. I tell her I want to pull high, like 4.5K, because it is the first time in a 210, first time at this dz, and I want to get used to the canopy with time to spare to plan out my landing. She seems fine with that. I get out to the landing area, and start to take pictures of what I think is Larissa under canopy. Albatross is there with me, he nudges me. The plane has landed, and Larissa is climbing off, looking chagrined and frustrated. I go and hug her, and ask what happened. She tells me she had to sit next to the door the entire ride, and felt really vulnerable without a parachute, and she froze. I hug her again, and tell her not to worry, she'll be o.k., and that it'll come together for her. But now it's my turn. I run to get ready to jump. I discover that I will not have a jumpsuit on. Another first. Sweats and Curious George t-shirt it is. Now I can't tank, because these are the only clothes I have. No pressure now, no, nuh-uhn. Shit. Oh well. 10 minute call, and I get the gear on my back, and am so nervous I don't realize I have a leg strap kerflumoxed until I go to tighten it. I take it all off, realign the leg strap, remember to check the cypress. Which isn't on, so I remedy that. I get all ready just in time, check the windsocks, and board the plane with Jackie. Look out the window, and we are over the lake - sparkling, dark blue, beautiful. I check my alti, check everyone else's alti, and shut my eyes and rehearse the dive. I go through it over and over, and then look at my alti. I feel the butterflies break loose, swarm up and down my body, and my palms are sweaty. I breath in hitches, and deliberately take 3 deep breaths. I turn my head to the window, and press my nose against it. I am looking at the ground, hoping to see the dz. I can't, so I try to figure it out from the direction we are flying. Jackie is going to spot, so I am not worried about that part, but what if I can't recognize it from the sky? What if I get lost? Where are the outs? Ohfuckmeshit, I miss Perris. I clap my helmet on, and then realize I have forgotten to put on my goggles. I get everything on in the right order, and now, there is no time. We throttle down, the green light goes on, and everyone starts dissappearing. Jackie gets to the door, but the light goes out, so we sit. We have to go around. I ask her to show me the dz before we get out, and she does. It's our turn. Linked exit, she's floating. I get a grip on her shoulders, and we are out - into the sky, back in the air, flying. Oh, how I miss this. I want to live in the sky. I never want to land. We level off, and Jackie is right, everything feels weird without a jumpsuit. The air is crisp, sharp, tinged with dwindling summer heat. I relax, and she starts making faces at me. I stick out my tongue at her, and release her. I dock three times, not reaching once, checking alti every time. It's 5, I wave off and then remember to check my airspace. So I do that, and then wave off again, reach grab pull whoomp! I am there. Great opening, on heading, all is wonderful. "Spin, shape, float, all's a big rog-o" I say to myself. I look down, and see the dz right under my feet. I reach up and grab the toggles, and release them. I tug on the right one - hot damn, that's more responsive than I thought, so I let up really quickly. I tug the left, and it's the same. I let it up, and flare, full down, to find the stall point - and release….. whoooooosh I swing back behind the canopy, and swing under it, leaving my belly behind. I remind myself that I am in street clothes, and have to land the right way. So I flare again, to get the feel of it really and for sure. I look around, and I am over the motocross playground. I swing left, right, left, right, and then it is time to get going on the downwind leg. I turn down wind, and I am really travelling now. Right about the road, I turn right, and then right again, and I head for the student landing area. There are peas there, somewhere, but I can't find them, so I just let up into full flight, and drop really fast. And now - close, wait, now, sccchhhhuuu I pull the toggles to my chest and the ground is coming fast and I am planing out and then waaaaaaa full flare and I reach with my feet and I am on the ground and I stumble and go down onto one shin and then I regain my feet and I am down and I do my happy dance but that canopy felt really fast! I find Jackie and ask her if I passed whatever test I was supposed to pass, and she grins. "You're a very safe jumper, and you can jump with anyone you want" she says, but I want to just do a scenic tour next time. I ask her why I got a coached rw jump with her, and she told me that I was the lowest time jumper here, and that no-one had ever jumped with me, and she was just making sure I would have a fun jump for my first jump at Elsinore. I go manifest for a solo, but there is a long wait because I will be pulling high again. I have about 90 minutes, so I walk around and chat with people. I talk with WestCoast Chica, WhiskeyChick (you rawk!), Katzeye, Parduhn, Dzbone, and then buy a t-shirt from a t-shirt guy that says "F&ck Terrorism". I'm having fun, not feeling so overwhelmed and more confident about the canopy and the dz and I relax on the cool green grass under the tree and watch some guy almost land on top of the packing tent. It's about 4:45 by the time my load is called. I grab my chute and make it onto the plane. It's me, two 2-ways, and a 17 way. I relax more on this ride to alti, and most of the nerves are gone. One of the 2-way guys will spot for me, so I have nothing to worry about. Jumprun, and all of a sudden everyone stands up, and the bench is lifted to the wall, and 17 people are screaming "GO GO GO" running out the door and disappearing and how awesome that they can all fit out the door in three seconds, and one 2-way goes, it's my turn and the guy spotting says "GO" so I do. I am out, chipping like mad, tensely relaxing, trying to find my centerpoint without a jumpsuit, and I don't get my balance. I am chipping so badly that I end up in a sit, and actually get my hands and arms behind me, so I can hold it for a few seconds. It is not pretty, and my bottom is cold. I arch and get back to my belly, and now it's time to pull, and then I am under canopy, and it's the most stunning thing I have seen in ages. I see the lake, dark blue melding into bright blue, the sunline stretching outward, reaching east, touching the blue a shimmering gold. There are whitecaps and ripples, and I don't see a lot of boats. The air I am flying through is soft, gentle, cool now, in marked contrast to the earlier sharpness. I feel none of the earlier nerves, none of the tension and the concern. I know that soon I will need to return to the jump, but for now, for these brief moments, I am just going to look and see and feel. I turn a little, and now the mountain range, layered mountains dark blue gray, is in front of me. Behind them are layers of clouds, deep puffy white outlined in gray, and it strikes me how odd and awesome that I can see the clouds from above and I am in the air with them. The mountain range holds them back, keeps them at bay, but the clouds are creeping through the crevasses and canyons, snaking down hazy gauze arms, promising an evening of fog behind the mountains. The sun shines sweetgold, lending a color to the day which I do not see on the ground. I am in heaven, I know, and I never want to come down. But I am, because gravity still works. I decide to do a 360, even if it scares me I will do one, so I pull the right toggle down and I turn, and fast. I lose about 250 feet in that, and I still have plenty of height before I have to enter my landing pattern. I do another 360, and then switch sides and go left, and now I am at 1000 and so I just ride with the wind, reaching past the road this time, flying smoothly and gracefully a half circle and face the wind. I drop, but this time I am expecting it so it doesn't bother me. I see the spot I will land in, and wait, now, half-way "schuuuu" and now all the way "waaaah" and I am standing up and trot it out only two steps, and it is so bittersweet, this landing, because I am on the ground again and I really want to be back in the sky. I try to manifest for a final jump, but there is no room on any of the loads. I am disappointed, and go back twice to see if there are any cancellations. There isn't, so I return my gear. In a final event of the day, and before the evening begins, the twin otters go in a formation, and do a fly over. Their headlights are on, if that's what they are, and through the deepening dusk they fly, straight, level, loud and gorgeous. Their wings are not more than 15 feet from each other, and as they approach the gathered jumpers, they turn on their side. The lower one's wingtip is only 15 feet over our heads, and I stop myself from ducking. Through the rose colored air they fly, racing the night, testing themselves, and thrilling us. We cheer and yell, thanking them for a hard day's work, congratulating them for their part in making our days in the sky possible. Larissa and I run and get dinner, and we are back in time for the night swoops. The pond is lined with cans of burning fuel, casting a smoky glow over the black water. The night sky is sprinkled with pinpoint starts, and we crane our heads backward looking for fast moving red or green lights and here they come, ghost canopies with phantom flyers. Only as they swoop the pond can we see the colors of their canopies, and who they are. They fly, teasing the water with their toes, and spraying rooster tails behind them. We cheer, for ourselves, celebrating a great day, and for the nightswoops, saluting the courage and commitment and joy these swoopers have, in their sport, and in their life. What an enormously fabulous day! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

HI, all. I will be there for tomorrow, but I have to work on Sunday. Also, Nimbus has arrived here in So. CA, and will be there tomorrow, as well - I picked her up at the airport this morning, and we'll be there together. She will be doing a tandem, too!! I'll be there bright and early! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Ran across this story on the Drudge Report.....cracked me up. "Trump wants parachute" From CLODAGH HARTLEY in Los Angeles PROPERTY billionaire Donald Trump has been thinking of buying a PARACHUTE in the wake of last month’s attacks on skyscrapers. Trump, 55 — owner of Manhattan’s glitzy Trump Towers — is one of scores of nervous New Yorkers to inquire about new “executive” chutes. US makers Precision Aerodynamics say they have been besieged by calls about the £500 chutes — billed as a “last resort” for those trapped on top of burning high-rise buildings. A rival, the Emergency Building Escape Parachute, will cost £1,575 or more — depending on the customer’s weight. Precision Aerodynamics’ brochure says the chutes, developed after the September 11 atrocities, will open automatically. It adds: “Simple steering and landing techniques can deliver you to the surface with confidence.” But the American Parachute Industry Association said most people who used the products would DIE. It is discouraging sales to office workers. Spokesman Lowell Bachman said: “It’s just not a good idea.” He suggested ropes and abseiling equipment might be a better choice." Just thought it'd be good for a grin.

Hi, Anne! First - congratulations. Second- your ass, your chute, your decision. Third - all I can say is YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY for you!!!! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Wouldn't it help the airline industry, all that peaceful publicity?? hahahahahaha ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

I thought this was something which only I had thought about......in freefall, I have felt my shoelaces come untied, so now I double knot them, just like kindergarten

Hey Donna- The one all the way over to the right (as my heart beat actually sped up for the first time today...). And look at his left hand - no ring, and no tan lines.. Gives a girl hope, it does. Of course, he'd just laugh me right out of his circle. .....sigh. ...good while it lasted...... As for the fame thing, my father is a minor celeb, and it is a problem for him occasionally. Not something which I would want for myself. He mainly enjoys it, but then again, as an actor, he loves being "on stage". Me? Nawwww........ Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Viking, dude! You jump out of airplanes, for pete's sake. Make it something simple, like meeting her for coffee after class, or something. Or making a photography date. Find out if she likes to shoot sunsets, and then make a plan to go to the beach and shoot sunsets together. Or trees. Or cars along the highway. Or headstones in graveyards in Old San Diego. Conversation will go like this: You: I wanted to go take some pix of pink elephants. Wanna come? Cutie: Hey, that'd be fun. You: O.K., how about Sunday? Cutie: Sure You: What time's good for you? Cutie: 3 in the afternoon. YOu: Great. Let's trade numbers, and we'll talk on Friday, o.k.? Cutie: Sure. Then you both go and have a blast taking photos of pink elephants. Then, go grab a bite to eat somewhere. There's your date. You're a good looking guy, and you're a nice one, at that. So get over it already, and ask her out. She'll say yes. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Let's see: Flexibility; Splits three ways (center, right leg and left leg) Oversplits on the wall oversplits between two chairs Step through handcuffs (no, don't ask) Other body oddities: Move my eyelids laterally Flare my nostrils Wiggle my ears Pick up things with my toes And the grand finale: I can put on makeup, talk on the phone and eat breakfast (or lunch or dinner) at the same time I am driving without causing or having an accident!!!! Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Oh, happy happy happy message!

YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

So, now I'm really confused. a) is it not the policy of Perris to land south to north in light/no winds? And if the first jumper makes a mistake, I am supposed to repeat it? b) I should follow the jumper down who sets up a wrong pattern, even if I know it is wrong, and I am landing in the big circle and not the grass, regardless of the winds? Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I so don't want to do another downwinder, especially if the jumper is going the wrong way and I can safely turn and land into the wind. I am totally lost now. Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Yeah, well, it is "illegal" to voice it here.....and geesh, if you own one or two (or three, maybe four,), you're looked upon as if you were, I dunno, a terrorist, or at least a traitor.....and Lord help us all if you have enough ammo, and are a good enough shot to handle a situation if it arises. And saints intercede please if one is small enough to fit in my purse, as I show property to men I have never met at night in bad parts of town..... Wait, am I saying too much? Nevermind. Ciels- Michele (wait, uh, Samantha McGuillicudy, yeah, that's my name.....) "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Well, you could send in the check, but mix up the envelopes...(works really well) Or you could forget to sign the check...(works mostly) Spill a lot of coffee on the envelope, and make it unreadable (smear the city, or the czip or something)...(works sometimes) Or you could forget to put the stamp on it....(doesn't help much.....)

(whispers to Skymedic): (now if only the NRA would make the same effort, we could all be happy campers.....) "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Prayers said for the jumper and for you and your family. I have no words to help you through this, Pammi, except this is something that we will all have to deal with, some way or another. If you decide to stop jumping, be peaceful with that, and happy with that decision. If you decide to continue jumping, be peaceful, too. I konw that I don't want you to stop. Blessing to you, Merrick, your little ones, and to the jumper. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

See, I love these boards. Why? Because I get to learn, learn, learn..... I didn't know this. And I have only done the grass on 3 of my 23 jumps. And two of those were accidental (over shot), and while they were stand-ups they were while on student status. Only once did I say - "I'll go grass", and that was when I was last out, on a 240.....I swear I was the only one in the air. Jake by me.....I tend to not make big corrections once I start my pattern...perhaps that's why I am not as consistent as I would like...lol... So, let me see if I've got this right. If I am not going to be landing in the same direction as everyone else I should land off the big circle, and away from the grass, right? Or can I still go for the circle? This is sooooo great for me. I am such a weenie in the air, and can use all the advice gleaned from these boards. Thanks, guys. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hey, Janetta. You have 6 posts, and they are questions about basic jump things. Could I assume that you've not jumped yet, and that you are looking for information about this adventure? No problem. As for a list of equipment, SkymonkeyOne's right, there is nothing like asking your JM (Jump Master - your instructor) about it, and having him show it to you. If you don't have access to a JM, or to a DZ, try buying the Skydiver's Handbook. There is a section on gear and equipment, and it's a pretty good manual, inasmuch as it gives the basics. Hope this helps- Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Last weekend, during a "big way" camp (I'm not sure how big, just lots of canopies...and two planes), there was a lot of confusion on the landing pattern. At Perris, if there is no wind, the pattern is from the south to the north. There was one formation load (two planes) which came down, no winds, but the first two folks down crossed each other. Which set up for the wildest few minutes I have seen (granted, I have not seen a lot). Some people had seen the first guy go from the south, others had only seen the guy from the north. Manifest was talking on the loudspeaker about how to watch your landing pattern and reminding us of the proper landing pattern, when two canopies actually collided. The corners of the canopies hit each other, both collapsed, and both jumpers came down hard. Neither one was seriously hurt, nothing broken or anything, thank God, because they both remembered to go right (just enough time to make it so bodies wouldn't hit each other). But I sat there and watched two canopies repeat a poor pattern, and almost kill each other. And because this was a camp load, there were no newer people on these loads. I have a few observations. As a really new person, perhaps I missed something in the above posts (wouldn't be the first time), but isn't loading supposed to have the slower, newer jumpers go towards the end of the jump run? I mean, if the slower canopies/high pullers/students are out last, what is the guy on the 107 doing in the air with them, unless they are instructors, who should know how many big assed canopies are in the air and be able to avoid them? Doesn't your jump start on the ground before boarding the plane? And if the guy on the 107 is in the air with us and is not an instructor, the responsibility is his because he is choosing his partners in the air, which, in this case, would be the newer, slower jumpers. As to us newbies learning about S turns, that's what we're taught. I also have learned that I am still pretty unpredictible in the air, because I forget things, like base leg starting point, winds being a big factor.....I rely on the more experienced jumpers to avoid me whenever they are in the air with me. And to their credit, I have never had even a close call during landing because of another jumper (I have had close calls because of me, but not because of others.) And my last point is simply that if people are following the correct landing pattern set by the dz, and not by the jumper in front of them, they should be o.k. I mean, I learned the hard way when I followed someone in, and ended up doing a dramatic downwinder. That is the last time I rely on someone else to determine my landing direction. And air awareness is something which is developed gradually. I don't think it springs full blown into a new jumpers mind after, say, three or four jumps. But if we think we are safe when following the more experienced jumpers down, we're not thinking. Everyone needs to make their decisions based on the rules of the dz, and the conditions in the air, not Joe /JaneJumper in front of them. Lemminghood is for lemmings, not for jumpers. Just my thoughts, and, as stated, observations. Ciel bleu- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Morning, Phree I doubt that we had anything to do with their opinion, either, but they were and are aware of this site, and recdot. They did call Jack Gamley (who is the guy who runs Perris), and complained to him about the things which were being said. I will leave it to Albi to relate the details (i.e. the e-mails, the calling the guys liars, etc.), but it was seen, was heard, and it was responded to. There are many people who read and do not post. I had reason to be talking to someone at USPA and, surprise me all to hell and back, he knew who I was, through this site. Just my experience, though, and since I was not involved first hand, it is second hand info. Just glad they got it figured out, as far as that goes. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Just wondering how come we heard a response..... could it have been because it was posted, and talked about? [gasp] Could it be because it was made public, and then their rep. was on the line? [shock] Could it ahve been that we caused enough eyebrows to be raised, in fact pissing off the pwers that be enough that there were phone calls made to the Perris DZ Jack Gamley (I forgothis title - he's the head guy, though)... [gasp]? Hmmmm......public pressure. Not that it worked, or anything!!!! Ciels, all Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hey, FFPM Dunno if they visited Perris. Quite likely, but I think I would have spotted a few suits walking around...so not that I saw, nor that I heard through the grapevine. At least on Saturday. They sure weren't there when I almost let my fists and feet make a "new friend" .....because if they had overheard someone calling me unAmerican, a traitorous bitch and Afghanistan Jane, they sure would have been interested...... (And no, the sunofabytch was off, wrong, and too tightly wound for his own good....I was seriously tempted to unwind him, and help him pull his head out of his ass....and I would have, but someone was able to stop me...but someone needs to whup his bully ass...yeah, this still really pisses me off...). But the Firemen were there, with their boots, so we raised over $700 for the Fireman's Fund. Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~

Hey, Pammi I haven't been able to confirm this as of yet, either. Just checked several websites such as the Reuters site and AP Wire and AP World Headlines sites - nothing about skydiving at all and nothing about crop dusters which is new. Could be just a rumor - prolly is, at that. I mean, can you imagine someone learning to jump, and, like, has 23 jumps with no accuracy, try to jump into, say, a landmark, or a reservoir or something, and still manage to carry the attack out? It would be pretty hard to do, although not impossible. (Until September 11, I would have said flying an airplane into a building was a flight of fancy, too, so I can't rule it out logicallly). I think that a lot of people are on edge right now (I know I am), and the possibility may exist. But I think it's rather unlikely. BTW, where'd your mom get the info? Ciels- Michele "What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky". ~e e cummings~