SkymonkeyONE

That is not accurate. If they can get the time they do, but they do not have magical ownership or priority powers over the Matos tunnel. When they are in there normally it's from five to eight AM, before the real users show up to train. In their favor, it does help that the last three guys who have run the facility are former GK's. The time they get in there is "off the clock" and therefore the operator is doing it in his freetime. The real hours of operation at the Matos tunnel are 0800-1700 (with an hour break from 1200-1300).

Hell, well into the '80s you could still jump a Cessna (which is all most places had other than twin-bos) for a dollar per 1000 feet where I lived. My roomates and I would pitch in together at lunch everyday and buy a CASE of Old Millwauke at the PX for $3.85 in 1983. That was back when you could still have a "two beer lunch" in the Army. It was also back when they had titty dancers during lunch in the Yntema Club on Fort Bragg! It was very convenient being able to walk 100 feet from the HALO barn (and the SF Engineer committee) on Smokebomb Hill for a proper lunch in 1984. Chuck

"How do we drink?"

Skinny is one funny motherfucker.

Nope, sounds like the way I fly as well. Likewise, I generally hang way up there in brakes waiting for a clean slot to the course. Still, there are often times when you simply have to simply let her fly and thread the needle through the slow traffic. It is those times where your awareness must be totally attuned. I, fortunately, have the luxury of dumping high on almost every one of my Velo jumps (AFF, video, hop and pops). This gives me the time I need to sort my deployment system out, take a good look at the traffic, then formulate my descent track. Those dumping at "standard" altitudes in the middle of a RW formation (flat or vertical) are those in the most danger under a crossbraced canopy. Collision avoidance is much, much more of an issue in these cases. You simply do not have the luxury of being able to take a breath, dick with your slider, and get in your brakes and stroll around if there are a bunch of likewise-occupied jumpers on the same level as you, all hoping to get to their setup point at 800 feet so they can bust the pond or swoop lane. Think Roger Nelson/ Todd Fye. Hope that makes sense. Ultimately, I don't think any crossbraced or super-HP non-braced canopy is suited for dense traffic. If you ARE jumping one in those conditions though, you had goddamn better have your shit together. Chuck

You're killing me, Scott!

That's great news! Congratulations Sel, you silly motherfucker. For that matter, hello to you as well, Will, you sick bitch! Chuckie

Do I know you, monkeylip?

At any rate, that video shows some nice, agressive, tight flocking. The base was together almost immediately out the door. Chuck

Auburn has had a skydiving club at least three different times since I was a child. As far as I know, they have not had a charter for the past about ten years.

You said "swoop boopy". I hated missing the boogie.

Chuck: What video camera do you have? I jump a PC 109. I am not willing to jump a larger camera with my prior neck problems (from shooting four way video back in the day of VHS-C).

Norman Kent has been killing it for some time now. His films (real film, not video) are pure classic. Norman is also a hell of a lot of fun to party with. Chuck

This is a fantastic post. Every bit of it is spot on. Chuck

Lots of UK jumpers do exactly that.

Skydive Opelika (a two-cessna DZ owned by my father) is ten miles up I-85 from Auburn University at exit 38 in Tuskeegee. If you want a turbine you will have to drive up to Pell City or Cullman, or over to Thomaston (the closest of the Georgia DZ's). Each DZ has a very different vibe, but I have friends at all of them. Chuck

I don't jump a .5; I jump a .3 Xdream Stealth. It's the identical UK version of the Royal and WayCool. Actually, I think all three are built in the same place in Japan.

I get by just fine on tandem videos with the fades I do "in camera". I generally use the overlap, black fade, wipe, and mosaic fades as I am taping the ground stuff. The only thing we really do on the linear board is the slo-mo stuff, a couple of still overlaps (while we are fast forwarding through the videographer canopy ride), and the titles. Chuck

It was MUCH too large for me, so no.

Sorry for my absence away from the boards, but I had to run to the woods and make some dollar bills. I asked some time ago for a specific area in the classifieds to be setup for trading and sharing time, but alas, Sangiro was in the middle of moving back to South Africa so it took a while. Hopefully, all of you will use that classifieds section to get your trading, coaching, and whatever else kind of tunnel transactions done. For what it's worth, the RW forum has been far more polluted with camp/trade ads than this forum. Keep it clean, Chuck

From all that I can gather, there were only two units left intact anywhere. One in a James Bond collection in the UK and another one that was in another private museum somewhere. The one currently being flown is, as far as I know, the only refurbished flying example left.

To be more precise: 1.5m for Advanced and 3m for Pro.

Scott holds his grippers just fine, he just can't seem to ever get his legs extended! Who loves you, brother? Chuck

Dan Preston (Atair) sells a lens that shoots straight back at you. The early ones looked sort of like an engine valve sticking off the end of the camera, but the newer ones are totally enclosed and very small. There is only the slightest indication that the camera is taking a reflected image (a small dot in the middle of frame), but that can be taken out in editing.

I finally got to lay my hands on a Vampire last weekend and I think it's absolutely bad-ass. Very, very well constructed and full of cool features. It was Derek Thomas's suit which he had just gotten from Robi. Derek was admittedly out of practice and only had a total of eight wingsuit flights, but he still did well in the suit. I flew easilly with him in my S3 and videoed the entire jump. Once again, it's a very, very nice suit. Chuck