algboy

I'm fortunate in that Square 2 at Eloy has a Nav260 rental that loads me at about .86. My landings are all easy standups even during a couple of mild crosswind landings. One subject that hasn't been touched upon--maybe a bit off topic?--is that since I use packers while I continue to rent, I feel like I have leprosy when walking into the hangar with my "circus tent". Thank God there a couple of packers at Eloy who just shrug and charge me the extra $$. It's kinda embarassing when you get treated that way. Am I in a hurry to downsize? NO. I feel that I would be safe under a 230, but that still puts me into the "circus tent" category. Anyone else have this dilemma? “Keep your elbow up!"

FYI: here's a whuffo-oriented news piece about nationals. And all this time I've been spelling Amy's name wrong! Same with Perris. http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2372543&nav=9ptCRVhP "Thursday, September 30, 2004 Skydivers converge on Perris for National Championship All you have to do is jump out of a plane thousands of feet above the ground? Right now, hundreds of the best skydivers around are doing it and competing for the national championship right here in Southern California. Some of the best skydivers in the nation have converged on Parris this week. The winners get invited to the world championships. So there's a lot at stake. Now there's not a lot of money to be made in this sport, but skydivers we talked to say money is secondary to the thrill of jumping out of an airplane 2.5 miles above the earth. “Some might say these folks are downright crazy. They would say not really.” "I look at kids doing tricks on skateboards and say, they're crazy," said skydiver Amy Chmelebki. Amy Chmelebki is one of seven hundred skydivers competing here at the national championships over the next two weeks. "I was always kind of the adventurous type. I couldn't wait to skydive. I wanted to do it my whole life." Amy is competing in the artistic discipline. Her teammate of three years is photographer Steve Curtis. He also says he has a bad case of skydiving. "I remember when I first started, I was driving home saying, 'damn, I spent so much money out there I’m not going next weekend.' then I’d wake up next Saturday morning and go right back out there and spend all the money I had." The judges look at two things for this team: Amy’s performance in the air, Steve’s performance behind the camera. But besides freestyle, these skydivers are going for accuracy. Now get this: from 13,000 feet in the air they need to hit a target no bigger than this quarter. Impossible? You might think so. But don't call these guys crazy. Bill Ottley, who skydived till he was 81 years old, says special is a better word. "If you're special and prove it by throwing yourself out of a perfectly good airplane, you develop a bond, a friendship that's beyond putting into words." Honestly for me, it's never been about the rush. It's just been about flying." But whether you call it flying or falling, these guys say you'd only call it crazy if you've never done it."

Yea and that was last week She is probably at Nationals now OK--ya got me I wish them well. I felt bad for them last weekend; they were just landing and the tram for the next Otter load was trying to pull away. They held up the tram just long enough for Missy and Amy to slip out of their rigs, put on another rig, hop on the tram and ride up for their NEXT jump. MAN! Back to back loads. That's seems too much like work! “Keep your elbow up!"

*Runs to garage, gets in car, heads to Ottawa* Awesome article!! Sorry Kramer....she is out on the west coast I can say with a fair degree of certainty that she is jumping at Skydive AZ in Eloy. I was on two loads with her and Amy last Sunday. Very cool chicks! “Keep your elbow up!"

"During your freefall, pick a heading, do a practice touch and hold it for about 3 seconds. Then move back to neutral. Check your alt, check your heading. Rinse/ repeat." Good call. I do and it helps. I also think a coach who encourages you to deliberately go unstable--to get you to feel confident at getting stable--is a big confidence builder when doing solos. Otherwise, like I was on my early solos, you tend to play it safe and just fall or do a couple of lazy turns (because of that "I'm afraid of losing it" hangup). Tracking is a good one, too. It's like learning to ride a unicycle. It never feels right at first--still doesn't “Keep your elbow up!"

"I think the real issue is, is there really a Skydive Flagstaff out there. Is it a place where a prospective student go make a jump?" As a Flagstaff resident, I can tell you this: there is NO DZ operating in Flagstaff--period! Why would you want to? Our field elevation here runs between 6,500-6,800. Without using O2, you're looking at a 20-25 second tandem ride and--maybe--a 35 second ride (belly flying) for those who can pull at 2,500AGL. Why bother? Skydive Sedona at Cottonwood offers some great views, but shorter airtime. To go uphill to Flagstaff seems counterproductive. An entrepreneur would have to have more money than brains to open a DZ up here. Hell, I'll gladly drive the 2.5 hours to Eloy to get my 60 secs airtime, great turbine aircraft, cool people and the chance to sit next to Amy and Missy twice in one day (SugarGliderz rock!). “Keep your elbow up!"

I gotta second that--big time! I was at the Customer Appreciation Boogie at Eloy this past weekend--what a thrill! Saturday, I did a fun recurrency jump out of the SkyVan with Chris, retired to the Bent Prop to decompress, met a couple of great guys (Jerry and Jim) who heard that I was a new "A" interested in doing RW . . . short story long, they basically said, "Hell, we jump with newbies all the time. See you tomorrow morning." True to their word, early Sunday morning I met Jerry, Jim, Tom, Doc, Steve, Ken, Fred, Bruce and others who took me on two 4-ways, a 3-way and, finally, a 5-way WITH video (my first!). It was like going from riding bicycles to test-riding someone's Harley. WOW!!! On the down side, it was a reality check as I got comments like: "you need to relax, your arms are out too far, you're backsliding, you didn't go anywhere on that track, you took too long in your track before deploying, you need to keep eye contact, etc . . . " On the plus side, I felt honored to be part of the Eloy fun jumpers for the first time in my jump career. Another plus: had five easy standups under my Nav 260 in light winds. Hoo-ahh! Eloy rocks! Just be sociable, humble, adventerous and . . . brave. “Keep your elbow up!"

"When you show up and they hit you up for the gear rental, tell 'em "fuck you, lets go without the gear" If they refuse start raising hell about false adveretisement" That is the right way to deal with that kind of shyster business practice. What kind of 1st-time jumper "rents" gear? It's such a bait-and-switch tactic. I'm wondering what the local AG thinks about it . . . . “Keep your elbow up!"

"That's a good start. Now you need one up north to prevent those fucking Cannucks from getting in. Then we'll be perfect." Hey--don't forget Texas and California “Keep your elbow up!"

"No, it's really quite simple... he was freaking out... a deer transfixed in the headlights. He had no clue what to do so he just sat there." Oh, I get it. The "incompetence" defense again . . . . Isn't that what they invented the Secret Service for--to get our impotent figureheads out of "harms way" while they get their $@#& together? By the way, where WAS the SS (Secret Service)?? Did somebody KNOW that Bush was in no danger while listening to goat stories?? What happened to the "GO!!-GO!!-GO!!" crap we see in movies with the SS whisking POTUS away at the first sniff of trouble? Just like NORAD during 9/11--can you say "STAND DOWN"? “Keep your elbow up!"

Just a thought--when I was about 14, I became addicted to the idea of taking flying lessons. I read every copy of Flying, Plane and Pilot, etc I could get my geeky hands on and became something of a groundbound "expert" at flying. I knew all the planes, the avionics and safety lessons from the accident reports. I could talk-the-talk . . . . When I finally DID take lessons at 15, my instructor didn't believe that I'd never flown a plane before. Sounds like this "kid" is driven to learn all he can about this great sport (right on!!) and--BTW--I used to read about the early skydiving pioneers when I found a skydiving book in my junior high library back in the early 70's. I made my mind up than and there that I WOULD jump someday. I did--despite parental disapproval--in college. So, all I can say is . . . KID--GO FOR IT!!!! “Keep your elbow up!"

"Big Al" at Skydive AZ promised me that I'd get a jump ticket for every tandem I brought to the school (mentioning my name). I was pumped and started recruiting at my J.O.B. Haven't been able to talk a single moke into doing-the-deed yet “Keep your elbow up!"

I've been off for almost 3 months now after recently getting my "A" yet I don't feel that nervous about getting back into it next month. I have to give a lot of credit to my coach at Eloy, Stephan, for getting me to see things as not quite so worthy of anxiety. On our first jump together, on the ride up--3 jumps to go before my "A"--he suggested that we run off the ramp of the Skyvan and do forward rolls. On the outside, I'm smiling and nodding "Sure". On the inside, I'm thinking "Good Lord--this freakin' guy is trying to kill me!" Yet, I always noticed how calm he was on the ride up; how he related to all the regulars on the load--from crazy freeflyers with lip rings straight out of Nat'l Geographic to husband-wife belly flyers. He'd quietly ask me how I was feeling, check my rig and remind me to breathe deeply from my belly. How could I not trust this guy? Everyone else seemed fine--why not me? Short story long . . . I gained confidence in leaving the plane unstable, going unstable while in freefall and recovering easily and that the ride up is time for basic safety and calm reflection. I love exiting unstable now and look forward to my next jumps with great anticipation--whether exiting stable or not. I guess it's different for everyone: the door is a huge step--the abyss--but not as intimidating after a few coach jumps and my hop-n-pop. Pre-jump jitters? Yeah, that is part of the game, even if it includes a hop-n-pop from two feet (nothing like a 15-minute call from manifest to get the old bowels churning!) Hats off to the students out there. After my 3-year layoff before getting my "A"--I stared out that door and thought to myself: "I actually want to DO this?? This is insanity!!! I felt like I did on my first AFF jump. But I did it anyway. I lived--and, well, this sport just plain ROCKS!!!!!!!!!! “Keep your elbow up!"

"I am a fan of light colored canopies with dark ribs." I love that x-ray look!! It's so cool, but I rarely see it. I also love those hot neon colors that I see so often at the DZ--especially Arizona colors (as in state flag): orange/yellow (w/navy blue trim) I think about my "dream canopy" all the time . . . “Keep your elbow up!"

Unfortunately I trained at a school w/some pretty taciturn instructors. I got the bulk of my training from reading issue after issue of "Parachuting" and "Skydiving", re-reading Poynter's book and watching every video I could find. I recall that some of my most helpful suggestions DID come from fellow students who were more than willing to share their thoughts/experiences (sans attitude). I feel that I could explain the motions of doing a backflip at least as well as MY instructor did. Of course--I'd still refer them back to THEIR instructor. Seems to me: if a student is roaming around the DZ asking advice, I'd be concerned that they are having a problem with their instructor. Either it was a DZ problem--or maybe my "vibe"--but my AFF instructors seemed to think I didn't need any detailed coaching and I sweated out most of my jumps. I did a lot of "dirt dives" on my living room floor. I guess it helped--some. I'm glad that some of the newbies, with just a few jumps over me, took the time to explain their experiences and re-live their jumps with me. I think a "second opinion" (even from a fellow flailer) can help A LOT--as long as it doesn't replace the instructor's place at the HEAD OF THE LINE. A caveat: I can also recall fellow jumpers telling me I'd be "perfect" for a 150Sq Ft Sabre (I'm 195 lbs.) as soon as I got off student status. I managed not to take THAT advice. “Keep your elbow up!"

Bought an Ion without even demo-ing it. It rocks: light, quiet and offers good protection (crashed on a no-wind day after only a half-flare, had several scuffs that cleaned up and fixed with a Sharpie). With my XL noggin' it sure beats the hell out of trying to find a school/rental helmet that fits. I figure it'll do while I get more coaching in belly-flying and still be good for the headdown stuff later. No complaints AT ALL. “Keep your elbow up!"

issues...issues...issues “Keep your elbow up!"

"I hope you are joking about this. You must be. That or have absolutely no grasp of foreign policy - the area of government in which any sitting president can operate with the greatest autonomy." Au contraire, mon frere I consider it (politics/foreign policy) something of an obsession. But, I'm willing to hazard a guess that you perhaps harbor neo-con, evil is everywhere, Bush is a good leader, pre-emptive war is a good thing, we-are-not-an-empire, etc. views??? I highly doubt whether we see the same world. I worry about politicians/advisors who see ZB's "The Grand Chessboard" as their foreign policy blueprint. Scary stuff--talk about hubris! Kucinich is one of few voices for peace, people over profits, and getting along with other nations (he must be a commie!). He's a maverick--I can admire that, too. Can you imagine any other candiate proposing a "Department of Peace"? Not to worry--Dennis doesn't have a prayer . . . . Kumbaya, my Lord, Kumbayaaaaaaaaa!!! “Keep your elbow up!"

"When I need help rolling a joint I'll ask Willies opinion." I betcha Dubbya can roll a tight fatty “Keep your elbow up!"

"What scares me is that people like this are in congress." Can you say O-val Of-fice?? "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" -- George W. Bush "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." -- President G. W. Bush "When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world and we knew exactly who the they were. It was us versus them and it was clear who them was. Today, we're not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there." --George W. Bush, February 29, 2000, Time Magazine Drum roll please . . . the winner of best political gaffe is (yep--you guessed it) THE DUBBSTER!!! "Do you have blacks too?" --President George W. Bush (5/28/02) Question asked of Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Condoleezza Rice jumped in to save President Cardoso from the embarrassment of having to answer such a stupid question, informing President Bush that Brazil was home to more blacks than any country in the world outside Africa. (Bet you missed this little gem while reading all the news that's fit to print and watching your "fair and balanced news",eh?) “Keep your elbow up!"

I never liked or trusted Teddy K. But, it's funny how Dems and Repubs always throw the mud back and forth: "well, your guy did this" blahblahblah without realizing that, like two bald men fighting over a comb, the two major parties are just wings of the same bird of prey. Clinton sucked, Dubbya sucks, George I sucked, Reagan . . . the list goes on and on. They were nothing but shills and mouthpieces for even bigger--but more powerful--SOBs. That's the part that Mr. and Mrs. Average Shmoe don't dial in on. The game is fixed from the get-go, so RELAX--enjoy the ride. Kucinich call himself a DEM, but he's really more like a GREEN. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas calls himself a REPUB, but anyone who knows politics knows that he's a dyed-in-the-wool LIBERTARIAN. Third party candidates don't stand a snowflake's chance in hell the way the system exists today. Oh--and Kucinich has about the same chance. He's got WAY too many ideas that just, flat out, make sense. The "winner" in 11/2004 will be the guy who promises (with the most sincerity) to maintain the status quo. Nevertheless, I STILL wish I had the connections to get MY past erased . . . “Keep your elbow up!"

Actually-very bad. Very Bad. Oswald couldn't have possibly fired the shots in the time span based upon his training and the gun supposedly used. Secondly, even a novice in ballistics could tell that the shot which killed Kennedy came from the front: snapping head back; huge exit wound at the REAR of head, doctored forensic reports showing bullet wounds on back higher than actually occurred. HELLO?? The Warren Commission "believers" are a joke. Magic bullets anyone? Anyone have a problem with the fact that ALL assasinations seem to involve a "lone nut"? I think this theory works mostly on the the ignorant masses. Thank you for shopping at WalMart. Have a nice day . . . . Would you like fries with that, ma'am?? “Keep your elbow up!"

Yeah--what a shame! That means he's not entitled to the same priviledges as John Poindexter/Ollie North (pardoned, that is). He's on his own--like the rest of us poor S.O.B.s. Most of us don't have the option to start life over again like "Dubbya" with scrubbed arrest records, new driver's licenses and ignored AWOLs. Dennis Kusinich is the only FOR-REAL anti-war candidate. Needless to say, the media whores are ignoring him completely. It'll come down to the usual status quo idiots: Dweedle Dumb or Dweedle Dumber. “Keep your elbow up!"

"I watched a guy hook over the top of someone at WFFC a few years ago. The guy on the bottom never saw it coming. The top guy took out the canopy of the bottom guy." My S/O has strict orders that if anyone should take me out as in the above scenario or "Roger Nelson" me, she is turn to burn down their house with them and their family inside. When anyone asks why, she'll just make a stupid grin and say: "Hey! It's all good, duuuuude." But . . . I could be wrong. “Keep your elbow up!"

I take it that candidates who are eligible MUST have actually jumped, right? You don't get awarded for stupid questions in the classroom or stupid moves in the suspended harness? Whenever an 'award winning stupid student' makes it out of the door of a perfectly good airplane there is at least one instructor nearby who thinks 'Oh - He / she will be fine...' Not pointing fingers here, just food for thought, for on a few occasions I was that instructor (Granted tough, life wood be so much easier when they arrived with a stamp on their forehead: "stupid is as stupid does"