SkymonkeyONE

Laredo is a fantastic town. I spent three months there seizing narcotics with the Border Patrol SOG guys and US Customs down at Falcon Reservoir. There is nothing, and I mean nothing stranger than the fights that the BP (border patrol) and the SO (sherrif's office) "gangs" get into in the bars. It was a fucking HOOT! Chuck

No problem, Rosa; just PM the guy now that you know he works there. And to Axel: don't sweat it either. Just know that you are free to advertise all you like in the classifieds here on this site. Chuck

Rain will not affect you one bit in a recirculating tunnel.

relevence to "general skydiving?"

There is simply no substitute for military M-18 smoke , but it will slag your gear up like crazy if it's still burning at pull time. It also stains anything it gets near. Chuck

I caught Arvel changing tapes in his camera this weekend!

speaking of docking stations, I am still confused as to how some people believe them to be neccessary for editing off a PC 109? Here, we dub straight off the AV port, not by firewire, so the dock isn't needed at all.

Why? Did she fail to win the "Miss Boozhag" award?

I know that the GB club rigger will be at the PIA symposium, but don't know if Ratboy and those guys will also be down there. Almost everyone of consequence at the Raeford school will be at PIA, as will Larry from SkyCAT. I would imagine the same can be said for John and those guys at Parkton, but that's just a wild guess. Why not just call John?

That is the absolute truth! As much as we would all like to believe that "a skydiver would never do that", it is simply not the case. A thieving crackhead has no problem kicking in the doors of his best friends and robbing them blind, regardless how many jumps he has. I have seen it first hand right here in North Carolina. Another time, my father very-nearly executed a guy who decided it was cool to back a truck up to his house in the middle of the night after a big DZ party held there. This transient skydiver was caught red-handed with about eight rigs in the back of the truck. It took my dad every ounce of restraint in his body to keep from discharging that firearm in front of about 20 people. You simply do not take advantage of southern hospitality in that manner and expect to get away with it. Bottom line: secure your shit, no matter how safe you think it is to leave it laying around. Chuck

The CH-54 Skycrane will beat an F-14 to 10,000 feet. I have hundreds of jumps out of "The Alabama Fun Machine" courtesy of the 20th SFG parachute team. My cousin Jaybird, "Pajarito" on here, chopped a malfunction at around 2,000 feet at night, right over the top of Legion Field when we put 14 people into the All American Bowl out of one. Yes, I have video. Man, those were the days. Chuck

As long as the neck of that frame is intact enough to not obscure the VIN stamp, it's still "that" bike, at least in Alabama and North Carolina (the only two places I have registered custom motorcycles). If you intend on titling a custom bike as a Harley (for whatever reason; insurance and future resale highest among them) then you must start with a titled Harley frame. A salvage title is fine so long as it says HD and the model. There are caveats to pretty much every situation you may find yourself in, but that's the general rule. My bike is still registered as a 1987 HD FXLR, but the only original parts on the bike are the cases and the flywheels/rods. There is no VIN stamp on my frame. I have raked it at the neck, widened the frame at the back, cut off everything that served no purpose and then filled and contoured every seam and hard angle. One might possibly be able to beat the bondo off with a hammer at the neck to find those numbers, but not while I am watching. Still, the fact that it's titled "Harley" means that it always will be. If you intend to build a parts bin bike from an aftermarket frame of any type you had better be prepared to produce every single receipt from every single major part on that motorcycle when the DMV asks for them. I have many, many friends who went through that nut-roll with varying degrees of heartache. The bike you end up with (assuming no title) will be registered and titled as a "special construction." Ultimately, if you want to build a custom Harley-titled motorcycle from a basket case, you need to make sure you have the correct title. I have seen more than one instance where two people tried to title what was was "legally" the same motorcycle; it was a bad scene. One guy rebuilt a bike from the original cases (with the original title) and an aftermarket frame. Another guy built a bike with the original, repaired (from a bad wreck) frame and an aftermarket S&S motor and tranny with a salvage title. The DMV looks at the cases and the frame as the only two "real" parts on a bike (since they are stamped the same). This modern age of being able to finance "choppers" is fascinating to me. You wouldn't have gotten a loan to finance a "special construction" bike ten years ago, but now banks don't have any problem whatsoever letting you float $30,000 loans for a Texas Chopper; unbelievable. I have about $30k total invested in my sled, but that's only because it has hit the ground two times and I have changed everything on it at least three times. It's insured for 20k, but I could never hope to sell it for more than about 13k because that's about all you could finance it for with it's "real" title. Chuck

Last I checked, my dad had every single issue ever printed. I have restacked and later reboxed his entire collection probably four times over the years. As for me, I used to do a very good job of keeping them in order, but have unfortunately lost the will and have thrown (or had someone else throw) huge stacks of them away. I still have the very first printed newsletter (not even really a magazine at first), the one from the month I was born, the one where my dad got his D license, the one where my dad got his gold wings (before I was born), the one where I got my D license and few other special issues. If I dig around the house I can find stuff from 1981 to the present, but not in any semblance of order.

If I hang it, it's always draped to the rear. The simple reason for that is so the animals; particularly the cat; won't unroll the entire thing onto the floor when she is bored. Cats like to roll it around and around and hanging it over the rear prevents the paper from unspooling. Chuck

But all the cool people will be at Eloy silly! Are you sure of that?

One foot longer than stock is the only thing we (BirdMan) recommend.

This is one of the oldest and largest threads on this website; it is not going to go away. If you don't care to let others know anything about you then so be it. Do not fault those of us who are not afraid to share though. Chuck And for the record, I am still a retired military guy who makes his living in the skydiving industry as an instructor and manufacturer representative.

Rob described it best. While it's true that a "D" yoke might also be a tad wider than a "C", the main difference is the length of the shoulder portion of the rig from rear (where the reserve packtray is) to front (at the base of the three rings). Skinny people need shorter yokes while barrel-chested freedom fighters need longer yokes. The intent is to position the 3-rings correctly and, because of the direct corellation, the chest strap. If you jump a rig with too-short a yoke your chest strap is going to end up under your chin after opening. Anyone who uses student Javelins at their dropzone (with adjustable harnesses) deals with this on a regular basis with their larger students. To make room for adjustability at the bottom of the main lift web, all student Javs have an "A" yoke. On larger (thicker in the chest anyway) students the three rings end up nearly on top of the shoulders and the chest strap rides very high. Chuck

don't exit after JP, just a tip.

Ever hear of the PM feature, chimp?

Justin is running the FL district.

The only other two people on the site that have been Greenies that aren't still greenies are Alan and Skybytch. Incorrect. Hooknswoop was formerly a moderator as well.

And you wonder why people banged on your doors... No shit.

In my S3 I can reach well into the "V" of the risers if I scrunch my shoulders up and my neck down. Chuck