Topcat

Before you do, find out if his significant other packs heat. DZO's wives tend to be territorial. -Sandy

>>So have you done 45 repacks and this was you under your own repack, or have you had 45 repacks on your gear from this other rigger?? I was referring to me under my own repack. However the rigger who has been teaching me is my husband. How I thanked him is none of y'alls business! -Sandy

>>And since no one else has said it yet.... BEER!! Heh! That was one case I was delighted to buy!! My damn rigger doesn't like hard liquor, though. Knowing her, she's going to demand a case of hard to find beer. I think I can buy her off with a case of Anchor Porter though...

After a really fun 4-way w/ some highly experienced jumpers who I don't jump with often, I had a pilot chute in tow. Damn thing was cocked, it just wasn't doing it's job. I cut away - glad I did, because by the time I had the handle pulled I felt the bag leave my back, pulled my reserve, and landed. It occured to me, after 45 reserve pack jobs, I had my first save! Glad to know I was doing it right. The cool thing was one of the guys I was jumping with landed next to me (off-dz) and another landed next to my main and freebag. I even got lucky and someone found the cutaway handle I dropped! Some nice local folks gave us a ride back to the DZ and I told the guys I appreciated them looking after me. One of them said, "This sport will get more expensive than it is if your buds don't look after your gear for you". Another woman jumper at the dz let me use her rig so I didn't have to stop jumping on such a fine weekend. I'm a DZO who has tried to keep it in mind what skydiving is about. All those times I went tromping through the fields looking for missing free bags and all those times I cut some unfortunate skydiver some slack so he could keep jumping finally paid off last weekend. Just wanted to comment on how cool skydivers can be. -Sandy

Yow, what a site! Gotta love a place that asks you to sign a waiver before you buy a hot sauce. Anybody use Huy Fong's Sriracha sauce or Chili-Garlic paste? The flavor is undescribably yummy. Only mediocre for burning out various sphincters (though with enough of it it can be done) -Sandy (as for being picky, I take the Omni in Omnivore quite seriously)

Mmmmmmmmmmm.. Mine is the Puerto Rican version of Arroz con Pollo.. mmm... My favorite beer is currently Anchor Porter... mmmm..... -Sandy (wiping the slobber off of her keyboard)

I have a brother who is a vegan and I admire that he has the courage of his convictions but he is way too skinny. Anybody out there try the Zone diet? I use an extremely modified version. I have been helping my husband shed some pounds; I've been losing some too. We don't eat that much red meat because of the high ratio of calories/ounces. I also try to make sure we get most of our carbs from fruits and veggies instead of pasta, rice, potatoes, etc (that's the Zone thing). It's working, I have lost 15 pounds since January and would have lost more if it wasn't for my attraction to beer. The bitch of it is I have to wear weights to skydive again. It's tough to find a diet that works and doesn't wreck your health. But I highly recommend the 'eat less / excersise more' diet. -Sandy

Altico has some excellent customer service, as you can tell from the other posts. I owned a Dolphin when I first started out. I sold it and bought a whole new setup when I downsized. My new rig, made by a now-defunct company, had a serious defect. I did not like the way the company responded to my situation. They fixed it, but they lacked good customer service. I have had nothing but good customer service from Mike Furry's company and whenever I do buy a new rig the Dolphin is on my short list. -Sandy

*That* is a most handy site. Thanks for posting it! -Sandy

Yikes, I don't remember. All I know is I was severely nearsighted (things got fuzzy about 1 foot in front of my face). Most lasik places will do a free consultation/screening to verify if you are a candidate. Since it's free, you have nothing to lose but about 30 minutes of your time. -Sandy

Make sure you aren't paying too much for the rig. Considering the Cypres is 8 years old it has exactly 4 years of life left in it. List price for a cypress is $1200 so subtract $100 for every year. The cypres is worth $400 and if it needs the 8-year check it is not unreasonable to factor that cost in to the value, as well.

Another thing to consider: If you are nearsighted and have about $3K lying around check out lasik surgery. I was blind as a bat and now I'm at 20/20. I still hunt for my glasses in the morning. 30 years of habits are hard to break...

If I recall correctly, Mike Mullins thinks the USPA should not have a group membership program. He is a member of the USPA and all of his instructors are, as well. WTS is a great place to skydive, IMHO. -Sandy

Find out who your instructor will be and talk to other people who have taken the course from him. Find out what that course director looks for; find out what his quirks are. Also: if a course director makes a suggestion, take it as gospel! It also helps to get some coaching jumps from the course director, if at all possible. -Sandy

Here's some fun facts about Skunky beer: Skunking is caused by being exposed to light. Sunlight is the worst, the 2nd worst is the flourescents in the display cases ( irony abounds). Clear bottles skunk faster than Green, and Green skunks faster than Brown, but eventually they all skunk. Age and heat do not help either. Beer is delicate and should not be left around to age. One thing I do when I buy beer is try to get it in unopened cases - I don't buy cans (doesn't mean I won't drink from one) - I know the cardboard affords it some protection. Many beers come in those 12-pack boxes and I have had good success avoiding skunk - even from Heinekens - when buying these. When I go buy a beer at a restaurant, I try to get it on tap, but that only works if the people who work there are scupulous about keeping the tap workings clean. How do you know if they don't? It just tastes bad. -Sandy (the only bad beer in the world is a skunked beer!)

Here's another cliche for you: Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. Everyone is telling you to get back on the horse - you should. If it helps, do a hop and pop on a calm, sunny day from a lower altitude. If you are one of those AFF grads who freezes at the thought of leaving an airplane below 3500 feet, then do it from 4 grand, or 5. I find it a quick way to get rid of self-induced heebie-jeebies. Blue skies, and let us know when you jump again. -Sandy

Yes, that's AFF. -Sandy

Our rigger might be able to install it - he works at Skydive Alabama. You can get in touch with him at SkydiveAlabama@Hotmail.com -Sandy

Depends on the DZ. Ask your dzo. Our Instructor gets all of the $50 we charge, but then again, he IS the dzo. -Sandy

Decided to do some more research. Found this on Mastercard's website: Can a merchant charge me a fee to use my MasterCard card? Can a merchant require a minimum purchase amount to use my MasterCard card? The answer to the first question is almost never; the answer to the second question is not ever. Merchants must follow certain acceptance rules in order to be granted the privilege of accepting MasterCard cards. One of these rules specifically prohibits the practice of surcharging, that is, charging a customer a fee for using a MasterCard card over and above the sale amount. Under very specific conditions, however, a merchant can charge customers - including those using a MasterCard card - a fee in addition to the transaction amount. As a general rule, such a fee doesn't violate the MasterCard rules provided the fee is charged to all customers engaging in the same transaction, regardless of the form of payment. Keep in mind, however, that it is not a violation of the MasterCard rules for a merchant to offer customers a price discount for payment in cash, provided payment by MasterCard card is on at least as favorable terms as payment by any other means. Another MasterCard acceptance rule prohibits merchants that accept MasterCard cards from establishing any minimum amount below which the merchant won't accept payment via MasterCard card. If a merchant displays a decal with the MasterCard logo to indicate that MasterCard cards are accepted, that merchant can not condition a sale based upon the cardholder disclosing any other information or identification, except under very specific conditions, such as when merchant needs to deliver merchandise to the cardholder's home or business. It's not always easy to tell whether a merchant is complying with MasterCard acceptance rules. It's important to MasterCard that you are treated fairly and in accordance with those acceptance rules when you shop using your MasterCard card. I *think* this means that surcharges are allowed as long as they have the same surcharge for anything but cash. Does this apply to checks? Beats me, I guess you would have to ask them. -Sandy

Hi, Sandor! I remember you! Glad to see someone kept Rome going after Collis passed away. The Porter was a hoot and we kept it running all weekend. It gives me hope that the bigger plane will be a success. The same goes for us! And tell Reid it was good to see him again. -Sandy

Many places don't do this because it is against the policy of the credit card companies. Gas stations used to have 2 prices: one for credit and one for cash - the cc companies cracked down on this. My dz will accept visa and MC and not charge extra, but we decided not to accept AmEx because their rates are higher. Do your dz's bottom line a favor and pay in cash. -Sandy

Skydive Alabama is near Cullman, Alabama (Folsom Field, 3A1) which is about halfway between Birmingham and Huntsville 5 minutes off of Interstate 65. -Sandy

Skydive Alabama will be flying a Beech 99 this winter. Jumps will be $15 to 14k; minimum of 8 jumpers a load, max 18. There's no catch; after 2 years in business we have decided to grow and the next step is a turbine aircraft. The $15 jumps are our way of getting the word out about us. It starts November 17th up until the end of March. Skydive Alabama or email me smaynard@ingr.com if you have any questions. -Sandy

Alabama DZs don't bash each other. They do, however, have a collective case of heartburn about the advertising practices of the DZ in Cedartown GA. Near Birmingham: Alabama Skydiving, Inc is in Pell City. I believe they are the closest to Birmingham. Last I heard they operate 2 Cessnas. Opeleika Skydiving Association - I haven't been there but I have always heard good things about them. I don't know what they fly. Skydive Alabama is in Cullman - about an hours drive. They have a Cessna and are getting a Beech 99 (kind of a bigger King Air) sometime in November. Any other dzs you may have heard of, Skydive Huntsville, Skydive Birmingham, Skydive Montgomery, Alabama Skydiving Center, are alternate names for Atlanta Skydiving Center. They are 2+ hours away from Birmingham, 2 1/2 hours from Huntsville. That's how long it took me to drive it. They are currently using Mullins' King Air but that ends in Dec when Mullins goes to Arizona. Don't know what they will use after that. -Sandy