SkymonkeyONE

No he doesn't. Old Go Low Joe beat him fair and square, he just didn't win a prize.

Being a POW has nothing to do with whether or not one stays in the service. He did quit the Army. He was certainly not discharged for any medical reason. I know several skydivers (Vietnam era, and one during Bosnia) who happily stayed in the service after their ordeal. Out of the three, I would definitely like to see Uchenna and Joyce win. Chuck

I really like my dog, Billy Bob, but I am really more of a cat person. Ellie Mae is a fantastic house-only cat. She would love to be inside/outside, but I don't have the heart to deal with any more horrific cat accidents and deaths. As it is, she is content to sit in the windows and gaze outside. She doesn't like a leash much, but I do take her out front and back on occasion with one on. She fetches, loves to sit on the keyboard while I type, and is fascinated with Q-tips. She doesn't like to be wet, but loves to sit on the edge of the tub between the shower curtains while we shower, getting a sort of sauna. I had never paid for a cat in my life, but we found Ellie in a PetSmart in Augusta, GA when we moved there; she was the only cat there. Chuck

WML?! Check it, fool!

Send me one back with the demo suits, fool! Size L is fine CAW! CAW!

John is much better at remembering names and ages and such, but we have a guy that is in his early 80's that made at least five AFF jumps (we never let him go) not long ago. I saw him at the DZ doing a tandem two weekends ago. Nice guy, very strong physically, but very stiff in the air. Chuck

It's incredibly simple to launch most formations "grips complete" off a tailgate. You can just basically walk four-way rounds off the airplane with high grips; two facing inward and walking backwards to the ramp/drop-off and two side-by-side walking towards the back. Positive legs for the floaters and feet on the butt for the divers.

While the GK tandem section still has "regular" camera suits, they generally video on their backs in freefly suits.

I am not about to start strapping a ton of lead on. I have worn as much as 20 pounds before for speed (it was windy and we were flying into the wind), but would never consider wearing any at all for distance. I will continue to be content with mid-pack Pro finishes and a reasonable wingload. Hitting the gates cleanly EVERY TIME will ensure better finishes than many, much-better pilots who blow the gates going for broke. If you are intent on taking home the money, then I guess you are going to do whatever it takes to keep up with the Joneses. But, seriously, you don't have any business strapping on a ton of lead if you are not in that smallest percentile of professional pilots who really do have everything else totally dialed, prove it on tour, and feel that they have the skills to beat the guys who are taking home the money. I consider myself a very, very good canopy pilot, but I know for a fact that I am never going to take home money in a PST meet. I will, therefore, not subject my body and gear to the punishment induced by sporting 50 pounds of lead. I will also not have to worry about sinking straight to the bottom of the pond should I pound in (which I have done, just like everyone else on tour). I have seen more than one person knocked clean unconscious from a pond strike. I would hate to run into a situation where a guy like that drowned because he had so much lead on that he went straight to the bottom. Food for thought, Chuck

Exactly correct, Matt.

I have no idea, bro. I have not seen them if there are any.

The silence speaks volumes I agree w/ Gus & Dan, It looks cool What was the question? Whether Lou had flown the suit? No, none of us have at this point as there are none in the United States.

Your lights are held ransom at Raeford until such a time as we meet again, Mary! That, or we will just send you the money for them and be done with it. They do regularly guide us back to our spot in Raeford Campy-Land.

One should never try to dig themselves out of the corner with their rears. Otherwise I thought your analogy was reasonably good for being (or should I say avoiding) the corner. The "Jay" or "E-line" mod was designed to allow you to get away with exactly that. I don't even know if he uses it anymore, but I sat right there on the ground and had Jay Moledzki tell me the real deal about it at the first swoop meet at ASC a few years ago. The larger canopies being used in competition nowadays are far less susceptible to high speed stalling on forceful application of rears than the smaller canopies of a couple of seasons ago and I cannot remember seeing anyone on tour last year with "E's". Likewise, some competitors are simply willing to let all hang out in the name of victory. I have seen just about every single professional competitor pound in on a run at one time or another; plenty of them on rear stalls. One need only review the footage of Andy Anderson up in Maine or Andy Farrington at SkyQuest for ugly examples. That said, the video footage of Jonathan Tagle at the IPC shows a pretty gnarly rear dig to get him through the gates (sideways!) and back up in the air. The current vogue definition of "slingshotting" is doing a forceful dig through the gates on rears to pop back up in the air for that elongated, gliding, arc (generally on toggles). Chuck

If you deployed a parachute, you did not land a wingsuit. If you have carbon fiber wings, it is not a wingsuit.

Oh, and another thing: buying a couple of small motorola walkie-talkies is MUCH smarter than running up your cellphone bill.

Books on tape/CD are great! XM Satellite radio is great too.

Yes. I have a very quick temper.

It's very rare that I don't make at least ten jumps in a weekend. Yes, I am very current.

I already told you in the other thread that I thought the big tent was overkill. It is not going to kill people to have to pack in the corner, like they did the first year we had the tent. Likewise, unless something happens in my work schedule I will not be making it to the convention this year either.

Ron, Josh Seavgrave had the same sort of thing happen to him at Coolidge when he femured recently. Jumping in pretty high winds, he got wings level and then the canopy just "went away" on him and had no lift. Possible burble off the one tree on the DZ, but it just happened. In William's case, the canopy went away as he was heading to dry ground, up the embankment where most experienced jumpers land at Gold Coast. Very unfortunate that he hit the embankment.

The Blade has a thinner planform than the Nitro and it's trimmed much more agressively. I thought it flew almost identically to a Crossfire2 or a Katana. It's a very quick-turning canopy and it comes out of the sky like a bomb. I put a couple of jumps on a 98 at the Mardi Gras boogie in my wingsuit last year and didn't have any problems with it at all.

As previously stated, most frap hats have a pocket on the inside designed to hold an audible. Yes, it's more uncomfortable worn inside. I still have an old frap hat laying around somewhere with an original Dytter mounted to the outside. I cut the small "arrow" tip off the bottom left pad (under the little rainbow) and sewed it right to the helmet with supertack. With a newer pro-Dytter or or Protrack or Neptune, I would do the same thing except with the bracket. Cut the little tip of the arrow off (right over your ear), supertack the bracket to the hat centering the bracket over the new hole you created and ensuring you put either a superband or other small retainer band in the middle of your stitching, then you are set. Chuck

This story totally validates the new Optik Illusion design. Hinged on one side and TWO latches on the other.

I second that. Skydiving Weather is linked straight to the nearest weather stations and contains every bit of relevant information I have ever needed.