jacketsdb23

Rule #1 - Don't fall asleep at the bar Rule #2 - If you do fall asleep at the bar, make sure you have friends who can whoop some ass. Rule #3 - After a hard day of skydiving, don't fall asleep with your friends at Camp Byranada or you might wake up with orange toe nails. can't wait.... Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I wouldn't have guessed Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

or SNOT as we affectionately call it has got to tone down a notch. Im sitting at work here with my head spinning. Thank you all for such a wonderful evening. The scorpion bowl was completely unnecessary. just a tip for you all...if you get a scorpion bowl and the middle of the bowl is on fire...thats liquor in there. I'm a little disappointed we were told by the bartender "you guys aren't true alcoholics". Apparently true alcoholics blow the fire out right away to drink the hard liquor. The whole damn bowl was filled with liquor. I think we were all set. See you guys Saturday! Marcel Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Hey guys...if you have any photos you'd like to share of Tommy D I'm trying to put together a DVD slide show to show saturday night. I've got all the photos you have put in the thread "blue skies Tommy D" so no need to repost. Just new ones if you have them. My email is jacketsdb23@gmail.com. I'm going to try to finish it up by Friday afternoon. So the sooner the better. Thanks for your help. Marcel Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

bump Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Tall Guy....can we get Mods to Make this a sticky? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

In light of the recent accidents (and others before it) and discussion of swoopers vs. "traditional" landing techniques have you arranged for meetings with DZ personnel at your home DZ on how to address this issue? I know much of the northeast is shut down for winter but the south and west jumps year round. I'd like to hear what if anything has been put on the agenda at your DZ to address these issues. I know it hasn't even been a week since the latest accidents but if you are a DZO what is your plan of attack? Have you reviewed current landing policies at your home DZ and do you feel there are changes needed? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Kevin, My condolences go out to you and your family. I didn't know Tom for more than maybe one year but he left an impression on me. Last night, approximately 50+ skydivers gathered at a local restaurant to pay tribute to your brother. I will pass along photos to Iwan to get out to you and your family. Words can't even express the amount of respect and love we have for your brother as a skydiver, a human being, and mostly as a friend. Marcel Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Andy - yes thanks for the reminder. We wouldn't want to compromise the frosty beverages for next years Byron Boogie. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Its going to be great to see so many of us out there tonight. I definitely do NOT envy the waiters/waitresses that are going to be dealing with us Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Amen to that. I'm a new jumper and feel like I ask questions when I don't understand something. I don't feel that all new jumpers do. I think canopy control including landing patterns and flight paths needs to have some emphasis placed on it. On another note, I supposedly screwed up a pattern and was yelled at by an individual. But that individual would not go out to the landing area with me and explain it because they had to pack to get on the next load. I asked repeatedly. I wrote it off as somebody who was just pissed at where they landed other than a safety issue. If we see people doing something wrong, lets take the time to teach them instead of getting pissed, making snippy comments and hurrying to the next airplane. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I think the sport as a whole could use more education and more training. But this needs to continue after the students have gotten off of student status. I remember growing up on a small cessna DZ where education and training was 90% of the small talk. Even for licensed skydivers. That may not be as realistic at a large DZ but it warrants some thought. Personally, thats why I like to hang out at the DZ after the sun goes down so I can sit and talk with people who have made mistakes and have learned from them. yes I like the beer, and yes I like the people even more but education and training doesn't end with an A license. Not all skydivers can stay at the DZ after hours. Maybe we can all just do a little more to pass some information on to the new guys (like me) and to the even newer guys (10 jump AFF graduate). I'm basically rambling on here but I feel like a lot of low number jumpers have a problem asking questions about something that maybe they feel they *should* already know, as the question posed in this poll. My dad always told every student in his SL class....The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. Thanks for listening. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

rock on - i'm there. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Forgot to add my photos....these are a couple from Lost Prairie this past year. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Ilea, thanks for posting those pictures. That night you guys all came over Tom brought over a bag of salomi. It was still in my fridge until New Years when I ate it all because I couldn't really stand looking at it every time I opened the door. I'm glad that we all were able to hang out that night. That is really the last time I was able to hang out with Tom. I love the peace picture as I would like to think that Tom is up there looking down giving us all the peace sign. I think one thing I can say about skydivers and the friendships that are made through the sport is that we all understand the risks involved and truly appreciate each and every moment we have with each other around. We always give hugs when leaving the dz, or a night out on town. Always saying that we love each other and to be safe. Hopefully there is some comfort in knowing that Tom knew how much he was loved by each and every one of us before he left us. We don't take anything for granted and that is truly definitive of a skydiver. We live life to the fullest always enjoying every moment of it knowing that tomorrow things might be different. Things are different today. As Amazon said...lets remember all the great times, look at the video's, look at the pictures, and cherish those. Tom may not be performing CL in the physical presence but you can bet your ass that he is there with us all in spirit. Amongst the pain and suffering that all of us are going through, lets crack a smile in there somewhere remembering all of the good times we had. The pictures help and so I say the more pictures we can put up here the better. I love all of you. Blue Skies Tommy D - Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Swooping Tommy D....just thinking of all those nights out in SF and then you showing up to the DZ about 3pm the next day. Really got to know you on the trip to Lost Prairie and don't think i've met a more sincere or kind hearted person. I have lots of great pictures from that trip. I hope you got the picture message I sent Sunday morning to you and the boys down there. I was making some breakfast for you guys as we did several mornings in SF. I know you will be looking down and keeping us all safe. Great job on snatching Ilea's VCL pin and taking that with you. I'm going to miss you buddy. We all are going to miss you. until we meet again. eternal blue skies to you Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Propofol65, I'm fairly new to skydiving but grew up on the dropzone. As much as it sucks to learn how to pack on your own...I don't recommend paying a packer until it is required (i.e. you are instructing, doing videos). This typically means you have a higher license and have been jumping for some time. I know everyone has a different view on this but its my thoughts that not only are you taking the time to learn how to pack but you are also learning about your gear. I don't see the value in getting more and more jumps in withouth truely understanding the equipment you are jumping. Plus, I like my beer!! Can't save that money to pay packers! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I know that Icarus recommends the psyco pack, but I own a Safire 2 and pro pack it every time without any issues. Just a FYI for the OP. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Hey one thing that works really well for me...here goes: Once you have the parachute in its "cacoon", take the top of the cacoon and "S" fold it down as you would usually do last. This is much easier to contain. Put that in the bag. Then take the bottom of the cacoon that is still sticking out of the bag (keep your slider high & tight!!!), and stuff it into the bag making what would essentially normally be your first "s" fold. Just make sure your slider stays in and doesn't slip out. Probably doesn't make much sense to you. Its hard to articulate. But if you can follow what I said it helped me out a lot. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

What's to elaborate on? If you're a test-jumper of canopies, then you're a test pilot. Test pilots of aircraft are among the most highly-skilled and well-experienced pilots there are. A similar standard holds true for test pilots of new, sometimes radical, canopy designs. Yes that goes without saying. Indeed you need quite a few jumps AND skills to be a test pilot. Sorry thought that was implied Not sure what is out there with the number of jumps the OP has. Probably not much. Most of the jobs in Skydiving require advanced licenses and ratings. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I'm not sure what the requirement are, but maybe a test jumper for a major canopy manufacturer? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I agree as well. One of the points I was trying to make with this thread is that things do happen and cutting away a good main does not guarantee a good reserve. In fact, I may be in the other extreme (which can be just as bad) in that I would want to keep my main if I thought I could at all fix it. With the larger canopy I started on I always thought I would cut a line during a lineover on my main. I don't think I have that option now with the higher wingloading. But I can think of several "malfunctions" that people have cut away that I second guess. Unless I'm in that situation I'll never know. Step through is one that comes to mind. Again, thanks for the reply's. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

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In response to the poll about whether you'd cut away a perfect main near repack time, I was wondering if any of you riggers have opened up a reserve for repack and found something that scared the crap out of you. Maybe something that would leave you to believe that the reserve would have malfunctioned if it had been used. Thanks for the responses. In a related experience - I saw someone practice there EP's on the ground during repack time and they could not pull the cut away handle. For whatever reason the cable would just not come out of the housing. The rig was sent back to the Manufacturer. Scared the crap out of me. Thanks. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

John, It was awesome jumping with you. I don't think our RW jump went quite as planned . Look forward to jumping with you some more! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.