SkymonkeyONE

You are asking a lot there, Dave. The fucker called me right after he got it. He didn't even know which engine was in it! Unbelievable!

Good job, Martin! I need to convince my caveman of a dad that it would really be smart for him to do the same thing down at his two-cessna operation in Alabama.

I still have both of my shirts!

You thought that was a joke?

dude... wrong thread... post that picture of Ranger Chris spooning with a guy in a different thread... "that guy" is Joe Bennet!

I thought I would add that we use Navigators in sizes from 200 up to 260 for our AFF training here at Raeford. We also have a few Spectres in larger sizes we use with good results. Navigators are fantastic student mains. We have been using them almost exclusively since 2001. All of our old F-111 rags are now relegated to "packing class only" rigs and are out of service. Edited to add that I believe a Sabre2 in larger sizes is a suitable main for training. We actually trained a tiny little girl under a Sabre2 150 (Autumn Shults, Arvel's daughter) and she did great. Chuck

At least two companies displayed prototype canopies with this technology at the last PIA symposium. One, Atair, had a Cobalt 95 that had several hundred jumps on it already without any signs of odd wear or failure. Dan, if you are reading this correct me if I am wrong with the numbers Chuck

it used to be pretty common back in the days of spring-loaded pilot chutes. It happens when, after the canopy fully opens, the PC simply falls on top of the canopy and slips off the front. Canopies with very-deep brake settings often surge forward, then backwards as they come to full inflation (before you unstow your brakes). To clear them, you simply pull both toggles down fully to the stall position and the PC will generally fly back over the canopy to the rear. If the PC does NOT clear, then you simply need to fly your canopy back and land, making sure the PC does not catch too much air and try to squeeze off the center of your canopy (sort of like a Mae West or a lineover might do). If you can't clear it and it's starting to squeeze off your main, simply fly along at half brakes to prevent the PC from inflating more and deforming your main. Ultimately, you will find out if your canopy is landable that way when you perform your controllability check. You DO still do those, don't you? If the PC over the nose is causing your canopy to turn, you ought to be able to correct the turn with less than 50 percent brake on the side away from the turn. I have never seen an instance where a PC over the nose warranted cutting away. I have landed a few of them that I could not clear under massive MC4 HALO rigs. Chuck

100th jump and every 1000 gets a pie around here.

Just heard from Skinny that he had gotten a call from Hansie's wife saying he had won Speed. Not sure of the accuracy of that report though. Hans is a very fast motherfucker, when he can hit the gates that is. Go FAT BOY! Chuck

If you are bored with a suit it's because you aren't trying new things. If all you do is fly flat, dumb, and happy, then you are really missing out. Oddly, some of what people used to term "beginner" suits are the ones most suited for aerobatics. Smaller wings make them easier to fly in unusual attitudes. Chuck

Avery, you are one strange motherfucker, but I really liked jumping with you at Flock and Dock and I wear my Ill Vision hat all the time. Peace, PINKY Chuck

do you mean Perris? Not sure how many "regular" birdies there are there, but I know there are quite a few people who own suits. Ask manifest to announce that you want to bust a birdie. Chuck

Quincy 2001. Walt's 1000th jump on his 65th birthday. The dive was supposed to be about a 16-way wedge with Walt at the tip holding up a banner declaring his accomplishments, plus the statement "on medicare". My dad and another very, very experienced jumper were going to basically AFF Walt right off the ramp of the CASA so he could fly the banner in both hands immediately. They totally zoo'ed the exit and Walt was out there flapping, litterally. Scott Sheck, my ex-wife, and I dove down and stopped him from spinning and steered him toward the video guy. The rest of the dive was pure chaos. People zipping by at full speed. One guy docked on the video guy! I think there might have been maybe eight people finally dock. Anyway, Walt did not have a good plan for break-off. Even if he did, none of the people who were supposed to be up front with him were left on the dive. The three of us docked up front in the diamond broke off and tracked at around 3500, leaving old Walt there grinning his ass off at the camera guy, steadilly cruising toward mother earth and oblivious to the altitude. The camera guy got scared at 1,300 feet and dumped. This left Walt going "what the hell" and looking down, then going oh shit! He let go of the banner with his right hand and dumped just as his CYPRES fired. Two out, VERY low, and over the corn field. He chopped his main and landed in the corn over across the runway from the loading tent. Almost exactly the same place where the Venezuelan skydiver went in and died towing the sky tube. Sheck landed over there and fetched the main and came back over covered in dirt and sweating his ass off. Walt was slightly shaken, but another jumper had just won a raffle on the bomber and gave it to Walt. Walt borrowed a rig and went straight up and jumped the bomber ten minutes later. Unbelievable. I have photos of us before the jump with Walt holding up the banner (which I made) at my house somewhere. Chuck Blue D-12501 -proud participant of Walt Rosso's 1000th skydive zoo load

Don't be sorry at all, Richard. I think it's all in the presentation. Notice that I said "answers to questions that you might have when you are off the DZ" or something like that. You know, for those people that just don't make it out to the DZ every weekend. Telling people to "ask their instructors" is fine and dandy if they have cause to be around them at all. Well, I am the instructor to a lot of people who visit this site and I recommend it to them, but tell them to take what they read with a grain of salt. I don't think it takes a smart person more than about five minutes to realize that responses written by some kid with ten jumps and no ratings might not be "definitive." I think the plusses far outweigh the minuses. I think a person who has a lot of time on their hands can learn much more about the sport than "technical knowledge". I think the personalities displayed by people here, sometimes not accurately by the actual person making the posts, give a pretty good impression of those they will eventually run into on the DZ. I hope that makes sense. Like you said: there are a lot of people on here who are very different in real life. That goes both ways. Some people are really dicks on here, but cool in real life. Conversely, some people who come across as OK on here are very, very fucked up in person. I have met enough people on here personally to make that statement so, in the end, I think it all evens out. I think that, while twisted in some ways, this forum is a good representation of the actual skydiving community. Cheers, Chuck

seems totally reasonable to me

I have no problem whatsoever with taking my beer/coke/coffee with me into the can and sitting it up there on top of the urinal while I pee. I'm a boy and most boys don't give a rats ass about stuff like that. Chuck

drink a LOT of water, then you will have something to throw up.

Felix didn't really make it across the channel. He pulled high and short of the goal so that he could make it the rest of the way under canopy. He also had a mal and nearly went in. He barely made the shore. This stunt was a sham. A far better example of people actually accomplishing something with their own bodies is the three Spanish guys flying across the Straight Of Gibralter in "real" wingsuits. Chuck

No way in the world. Either you heard wrong or your friend told you wrong. No, a Stilletto is not a suitable student canopy. Not under any circumstances/wingload. Chuck

Hansie's eyes are too close together; anybody else notice that? I think he was fed gunpowder as a child! The boy ain't right. Shimmy is just a mess all the way around. He graciously donated a pillow and comforter to our camper at Dublin when he chose, instead, to sleep on the floor of the hangar. Chuck

I have had Joe's slider on both my 79 and my 84 Velocity and I have never had a bad opening. I had one of the very first ones he ever made. edited to add: I still have my "tape and grommets" rings on my 84 even though Joe gave me the new stainless rings. I am simply too lazy to re-rig it with the new ones. Never had a problem with the "old" rings. Chuck

I would be very, very surprised if Macca didn't have scars from that incident. He's a fucking trooper though and stuck it out the rest of the boogie. Chuck

There are many, many people who are jumping cut-down seams in their "closed corners" rigs (RWS Micron and Vector 3, Wings, Mirage, etc) without any problems whatsoever during their "regular" skydives. It's a very simple modification. Chuck