JeepDiver

Before I ever started Skydiving I used to work as a highrise Iron worker. I'd walk along a girder 20,30,40 stories up and think about people who had the ability to BASE jump. Just sorta daydreaming about it myself. I'd drop pennies to see what the wind did to them and count how long it took before they hit the ground. I'd like to give it a try.

Thanks everyone, it's great to be back. I was amazed with myself. The mind is a strange thing. I was thinking stupid stuff like "it's my 13th jump" O no. hahahaha

I hadn't been jumping through May to the end of August so I could fish offshore for Dolphin when I had the free time. I hadn't been able to jump but it's something that I would think about nearly everyday. It's somewhat amazing how it gets in your head. I was beginning to not feel like a Skydiver anymore. I had to become current once again so re-currency ground school was required. I did my recurrency ground school but then ran out of time so I wasn't able to make a jump that day. I rescheduled for a Sunday two weeks ago and when I arrived at the airport the weather was terrible. No jumping for me that day either. I went once again during the week and I just didn't feel like I had it in me to make the jump that day. I was pretty disgusted with myself after that. ...anyway I set it up to jump this Sunday morning and was really really excited. I watched one load jump and land. I decided it's now or never and I headed over to the hanger to see my old friends, get geared up and get on a load. They wasted no time with me, next thing I knew I'm wearing my rig and it's a 15 minute call to board the plane. The ride to altitude was uneventful except the damn alarm kept going off. I watched my buddies leave the plane and we had to turn and do a second jump run. That was really awesome, holding onto a strap in the door and just watching the world go by at 14,000 feet. Needless to say I planned my dive and dove my plan. The air is so fresh, clean & cold up that high. I just can not stop smiling. What a great freaking day it is!!!! After 5 1/2 months off this jump seemed harder (nerves) to make than any of my other ones. Once I was out the door the dive went perfect. It's great to be back. Tom

Not at all. Most people who buy trucks need trucks... to pull a boat and such. What sucks is having to put 150 gallons of premium in my boat after running around offshore all day like I do.

I had ten jumps. I met some really cool people but didn't jump. The PMS girls rock!

[B]Plane's whereabouts a mystery until wreckage was discovered[/B] Subhed: Coast Guard releases names of victims BY SCOTT FUSARO KEYSNEWS.COM Citizen Staff When a small airplane with four people aboard crashed Saturday night shortly after takeoff from Key West International Airport, a Coast Guard crew was dispatched to the area, but ended the search after it was unable to verify that a crash had occurred, according to an agency spokesman. Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr acknowledged the agency received the report of a possible plane down, but said officials were unable to reach aviation officials at county airports to determine the status of the plane — the air tower at Key West International and aviation businesses that handle air traffic at the Florida Keys Marathon Airport were closed for the night. The Guard also was unable to contact an apparent witness who reported the crash to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, said Warr. A Coast Guard crew dispatched to the area was unable to locate any signs of an accident, he said. It was not until a boater reported finding a section of an airplane wing the next morning between Key West and Boca Chica Key that a full search was launched. By late Monday afternoon two bodies had been recovered, along with pieces of the plane. The Coast Guard identified one of the recovered bodies as Igan Sussman. A second recovered male body is either Bruno Assman or Pierce Littleford, both of whom were believed to be aboard the plane, Warr said. The pilot, Crystal Koch of Valparaiso, Ind., has not been found, according to the agency. Victims' ages and hometowns, other than Koch's, were not available. According to county aviation officials, the plane, a single-engine Cessna 172 belonging to a Melbourne leasing company, was flying by visual flight rules to Marathon, meaning the pilot guided the plane by sight and was not required to maintain contact with air traffic controllers. However, Jim Brooks, a spokesman for the Naval Air Station Key West, whose air traffic controllers manage Key West airspace at night, said the pilot initially contacted the air station's control tower asking for a transponder code so the plane could be tracked. A few minutes later, the controller received another call from the pilot asking for the transponder code again, and the controller again relayed the information, said Brooks. When the controller still did not see the plane appear on his computer screen, he called the Key West airport asking if the plane was still on the ramp and was told that it was not, Brooks said. He then attempted to contact the Marathon airfield where the plane was scheduled to land before continuing on, but could not reach anybody. He then contacted civilian air traffic controllers at Miami International Airport to inform them of the situation. About the same time, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office received a call from a man "who said he thought he had seen a plane crash" off Stock Island said Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin. The call came in at 9:22 p.m., and the Sheriff's Office contacted the Coast Guard. "That would be a routine thing for us to refer to the Coast Guard if it was in the water," said Herrin. "We did the best to follow up the information we were given," Warr said. "This was treated as a plane crash, and they took the necessary steps and the necessary protocols," he added. Brooks said many situations like this turn out to be benign. "That's not uncommon for a private airplane because, she could have been on a different frequency. She could have gone up to Marathon, landed at a closed airport and gone into town," he said, noting that the plane that was not required to maintain contact with controllers during flight. sfusaro@keysnews.com

This thread is not about "Day Blazing Fools" at SDM? lol

nontheless, it's a cool video. thanks for sharing.

it looks a lot like the paint...On the ryan it looks like those low windows are forward of the strut and from this angle it dosn't appear that way...but it very well could be a Ryan, maybe a B-5??? BUT....I think I may have a winner... A Stinson SM-8A Junior "Detroiter"...has the right empennage, short snout, radial, dual wing struts, and the right looking landing gear. They could have easily added another door for skydivers.. The bigest kicker to me was the funny looking step on the strut. At first I thought it was an addition, but after more research, found it was kind of a trademark of these Stinsons...in the original, look straight down from the guy hanging out the door, furthest forward, you'll see it on the strut. Now look at this image... Here's some more images: http://www.airminded.net/sm8/sm8.html

Is Sara the same person who appears in the ck.wmv video on SkydivingMovies.com, 2 minutes 57 seconds into the video? http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1660 My Condolences to all involved. I just got back into town and heard the news this morning.

Two airline pilots joked and laughed as they flew an empty commercial jet to its limits, switched seats in mid-air and ignored automated warnings before crashing into a residential area, a cockpit voice recorder has revealed. Captain Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Peter Cesarz were both killed after they decided to "have a little fun" and take the 50-seat Pinnacle Airlines jet they were flying to 41 000ft -- the limit of its capability. No one was hurt on the ground in Jackson City, Missouri, where the plane came down after suffering catastrophic engine failure. "Ooh look at that," Cesarz said, apparently referring to cockpit readings. "Pretty cool." "Man, we can do it. Forty-one it," the captain replied. "Forty thousand, baby." Two minutes later Cesarz said: "Made it, man." But seconds later, as an automatic system began warning of a stall, one of the pilots is heard to say: "Dude, it's losing it." A voice then said: "We don't have any engines. You got to be kidding me." The plane crashed 4km from the runway, missing houses. The transcripts were released as part of a federal investigation into whether pilots of small regional airlines are getting adequate training and supervision. - Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005 Excerpts from the Pinnacle airliner that crashed Oct. 14, 2004 Excerpts from conversations between Pinnacle Airlines Capt. Jesse Rhodes and First Officer Peter Cesarz just before they died in the crash of a Bombardier regional jet on Oct. 14, 2004. Investigators say the crash occurred after the pilots took the plane to 41,000 feet, an altitude where engine problems can develop. 9:48:44 p.m. Cesarz: ''Man we can do it. Forty-one it.'' 9:48:46 Rhodes: ''[Unintelligible] baby.'' 9:48:57 Cesarz: ''Hundred and eighty knots, still cruising at Mach point six four.'' 9:51:51 Cesarz: ''There's four-one-oh, my man.'' 9:51:53 Cesarz: ''Made it, man.'' 9:54:19 Rhodes: ''Yeah, that's funny, we got up here, it won't stay up here.'' 9:54:22 Cesarz: ''Dude, it's [expletive] losing it.'' [Sound of laughing] 10:14:36 Cesarz: ''We're not gonna make it, man, we're not gonna make it.'' 10:14:38 Rhodes: ''Is there a road? Tell her we're not gonna make this runway.'' 10:14:46 Rhodes: ''Let's keep the gear up. [Expletive] I don't want to go into houses here.'' 10:14:51 Cesarz: [Expletive] ''road right there.'' 10:14:52 Rhodes: ''Where?'' 10:14:52 Cesarz: ''Turn, turn . . . '' 10:14:53 Rhodes: ''Turn where?'' 10:14:53 Cesarz: ''Turn to your left, turn to your left.'' 10:14:56 Rhodes: Either: ''I see it'' or ''I can't.'' 10:14:58 Warning signal in cockpit: ''Too low, terrain, terrain.'' 10:14:59 Rhodes: ''Can't make it.'' 10:15:03 Rhodes: ''Aw [expletive]. We're gonna hit houses, dude.'' - Source: National Transportation Safety Board

On my fifth jump upon throwing my PC I had poor body position. This was my first jump in which I had to deal with line twists. I deployed my pilot chute at 5500 and after resolving that condition and doing my control checks. I found myself sinking into a massive cloud. I wasn't worried and thought to myself that that was pretty interesting. As I'm looking around and below me I see what looks like a canyon in the clouds made up of clouds. I could see the ground off in the distance and I start flying the "canyon" It really turned out to be a memorable experience. The sensation of speed really started to come to me as I was flying down and to my left and right just wanting to get into clean clear air and out of the "canyon". I end up coming out of them flying to the northeast and needing to go to the southwest where the DZ was. Mabye I don't know any better but I thought it was great.

I was there.

Well here it is already the end of April and it's Fleet week in Fort Lauderdale, FL I've always enjoyed the show but I can do without the crowds. I'm not yet certain if I'll spend the weekend watching from the boat or land but it's always exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing the new F-22 Raptor this year though. What would be best of all is to see the show from this vantage point.

Heidi I've always liked this vid. http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1505

was it an attempt to land a wingsuit?

Hello, The National Examiner magazine is interested in possibly using one or more of the pictures of the snake eating a whole kangaroo/wallaby. Would it be possible for you to send us any contact information for the photographer who took these pictures? We need to obtain their permission prior to publishing the photos. Thank you in advance for your help. Regards, *********************************************************************** Lindsey Usiak Photo Editorial Assistant National Examiner and Globe 1000 American Media Way Boca Raton, FL 33464-1000 lusiak@amilink.com lusiak@globefl.com p: (561) 989-1261 f: (561) 989-1004

my thoughts exactly. A very thoughtful piece of writing. I'd like to thank the author if he sees this.

Sky diver made others feel safe Novices who shared 'Gus' Wing's last jump and colleagues recall his tandem passions. By Stephen Hudak | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted April 25, 2005 DELAND -- Megan Trombino's first jump from an airplane was probably her last. Eager to experience the thrill of free falling from 12,000 feet, yet anxious, she and her boyfriend found the money to sky dive more easily than the nerve -- until Albert "Gus" Wing III greeted them at the DeLand Airport on Saturday morning. Wing, 50, a legendary aerial photographer, had been jumping from planes for 30 years. "He just had the biggest smile on his face," Trombino, an 18-year-old Stetson University education major from suburban Chicago, said in an interview Sunday. "It's a scary thing to go jump out of an airplane, and he made us feel instantly safe." But as Trombino drifted to the ground, something horrible happened. The wise-cracking photographer, whose work has been featured in movies and magazines, floated into the path of the Twin Otter aircraft from which he and 14 other sky divers had leapt. The collision sheared off his legs at the knees, but witnesses said he managed to maneuver the parachute and land. He died at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were summoned to investigate the fatal accident, the second this year at Skydive DeLand. "Investigators are still gathering information," FAA spokeswoman Holly Baker said Sunday. Wing's helmet-mounted camera could hold key clues to the cause of the accident involving the Longwood photographer and the veteran pilot of the plane, William Buchmann of DeLand. Baker said investigators have not disclosed whether Wing was filming when hit. The camera had been rolling on Trombino's boyfriend, Stetson student Casey Steelman of Naples, who had jumped seconds after Wing. "I was waving my arms and screaming, going nuts, and he was waving back," Steelman said Sunday. "He had this big smile on his face like he really loves to do his job. Everything seemed good." Like Trombino, Steelman had barrel-rolled from the aircraft tethered by a harness to a parachute instructor, who pulled the rip cord and guided their 10-minute tandem fall to the ground. "I was just looking down like 'Wow,' " he said. "I started to relax a little bit in the air." Steelman said he and the instructor then suddenly noticed the plane buzzing closer to a sky diver floating under an open parachute. They intersected. The chute seemed to buckle, as if it were failing. "Then everything straightened out and seemed perfectly fine," Steelman said. But sirens were wailing when they touched down. Steelman's instructor unbuckled the harness and sprinted off. "We knew something bad had happened," Steelman said. News of Wing's death spread quickly over the Internet, especially on Dropzone.com, a Web site for sky-diving enthusiasts, some of whom had jumped with him and others who just loved his acrobatic photography. "He was totally passionate about his art," said Norman Kent, a sky-diving photographer from Flagler Beach, whose friendship with Wing began with a rivalry: They competed for the same jobs. "In the air, it's very different," he said. "It's a world of one minute. You've got to fly into position [to take the photograph] with all the elements you need, and then you've got to save your life." He and Wing worked together on Drop Zone, a movie starring Wesley Snipes. Kent described his friend as a person who cared more about art than money, often forsaking the business side of his work. He only recently arranged to set up a Web site for his photography. Dawn Suiter, a Tennessee woman who was helping Wing create the site, said he enjoyed photographing new jumpers as much as he relished creative shots of clouds and horizons. "He always had a camera in his hand or on his head," she said. She said he was re-energized seven years ago when he married Lydia Wing, who is also a sky-diving enthusiast. "Most of his non-working pictures were of her," Suiter said. Lydia Wing would not comment Sunday from the couples' Longwood home. Gus Wing photographed world-record attempts and other major sky-diving events around the world. "If it was an important sky-diving event, Gus had a personal invitation to be there," Suiter said. Skydive DeLand was open for business Sunday, but the mood was somber. Mike Johnston, the general manager, said he could not explain the accident, which involved two of the most safety-conscious men he knows. "I can't really say which was wrong," he said. "I don't want to speculate." Johnston said that in 1.2 million jumps during the past 13½ years there have been 13 deaths at the facility. In January, Jan Kadic, a 28-year-old Czech parachutist, was fatally injured during a hard landing at Skydive DeLand. He died with injuries that included two broken legs, a broken hip and an injury to his face. Tom Buchanan, a pilot and sky-diving instructor, posted a possible explanation on Dropzone.com. He said sky divers often can't see an airplane approaching from behind and can't hear it until it is very close. He said the parachutist also cannot turn quickly or drop faster to avoid a collision. "Even if a jumper sees an airplane, there may not be time to avoid it," he said. Buchanan said pilots have their hands full. "With so much happening, it can be difficult to identify a threat as small as a parachute when you're trying to land," he said. Many of those weighing in paid tribute to Wing, offering condolences to his family and "blue skies" to Gus. Erin Cox of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Stephen Hudak can be reached at 386-851-7915 or shudak@orlandosentinel.com http://www.orlandosentinel.com

This is a little long but well worth the effort. Miriam 01 Miriam 02 Miriam 03 Miriam 04 Miriam 05 Miriam 06 Miriam 07 Miriam 08 A friend of mine saw these today on his drive home from work in Miami, FL. Whatcha think?

I do alot of South Florida offshore fishing during the warmer months in search of Tuna & Dolphin. The most I've ever spent on a single pair of sunglasses has been $220.00 Oceanwaves, black frames, deep blue polarized lenses.

Saddam was on Larry King last week, he was promoting a line of clothing for The Men's Warehouse.

Hold my beer and watch this!

Personally I could care less. Whatever the media whishes to glorify or report on has no bearing on my life. I've read this thread from the beginning and I have to say... somehow I've become "old" all of a sudden. I don't know a thing about Seal, Beyonce or Jay Z. I guess I'm just not hip and I can live with that. I did a very nice thing for a stranger yesterday and I still feel good about that. I spoke with my family members on the phone last night and I still feel good about sharing the happiness we all had for each other. My Aunt is finally getting married. I've got a wedding I have to attend, sadly it's not my own. lol One of the woman that I respect that I've seen in the public eye is the wife of the late Christopher Reeves, not for what she looks like but it's the character of a person which is important to me.

ugh!! same here and I hate it. I used to do it only at night with the lights off and now I find myself doing anywhere and everywhere.