SkymonkeyONE

None of the above. Auburn is by and far the national champion in my opinion.

WAR EAGLE!

Pedro and I worked together in the 3rd Special Forces Group from 1991 until I left the unit in 1998. He was a very "intense" individual to say the least. Older than most guys at his pay grade by some margin, he was harder than woodpecker lips; completely ripped. I was surprised when he went to GK tryouts and made it with so few jumps, but then again I had no idea he really ever wanted to go in the first place. After he left that team (actually a few times during his stay as a GK) we jumped together on the USASOC parachute team. Pedro was all business and would stomp the fuck out of the target. As far as I knew he had enough time in the service to retire, but simply "had to get back in the mix" and took that position over at the 7th group (in my old battalion). It pains me to know that he has passed, but such is the nature of the job. No one volunteers for the school and subsequent duty without full knowledge they are putting themselves directly in harms way. You all know how many skydiving buddies I have lost this past year, but you have never heard me mention how many former SF teammates have lost their lives since 9/11. BSBD Chuck

And I am still sick as a dog. Katie and I got home last night around nine after fighting massive traffic jams on the 75 and the 95. Still, we got home in around nine and a half hours. -the fireworks fucking rocked -Roy is actually quite pleasant in person -Lee's new name is officially "Skinny" -Spence is a homosexual, or at least that's what someone announced over the PA -Stacy now has to retract my "wussychimp" moniker or I will not share with her again -I got Colon Berry in trouble -The Gimp got very little sleep -I didn't walk the plank -I swooped the pond repeatedly, even during bigway attempts -Kramer was a great host -some kook took my dog home in her taxi; we were pissed -I am glad I chose Z-hills for this holiday trip -I taught a BirdMan First Flight course, drunk, in Spanish, next to the bonfire one night Chuck

That's a great photo, Dave.

I could not agree more. That's no different than any of us down south taking ski trips up north. Seriously, book a flight to Perris, Eloy, or Orlando (for any of the Florida DZ's) and keep your skills honed by actually jumping. Better yet, hook yourself up with any number of fellow countrymen and accompany them on their "invasions". You will meet many new people along the way. Chuck

Likewise, I have sat through the entire Dune epic (the newer version, not the one with Sting in it) in a day. With an intermission or two in the theater that would have been fine with me.

Corey Paul, the black guy that got booted out of the course on that show, He went back to complete both the basic and the MFFJM course and now works at the Airborne and Special Operations Test Board on Fort Bragg. The commander of the committee, MAJ Buck Dellinger used to be married to Rodney Cruce's sister. The guy in the course that they showed getting on his harley outside the wind tunnel, Brian Cabaug, is a buddy of mine that I just had drinks with about a week ago. The instructor that died in the other course they were running concurrently went to MFFJM with me when he was still working at RRD at Fort Benning. The Daly Terminal building is named after a fallen brother of mine who rode in the same motorcycle club. He died when his strobe light came out of his unused ROL pouch on his rig and trailed behind him by the lanyard at deployment time: horseshoe malfunction that he could not clear. I thought the show was well put together. Chuck

You tell 'em, Skinny!

Aggie Dave is worthless and weak and his god is a woman. Poor, poor, pitiful thing.

I have taken two paraplegics and we, as a dropzone, have taken several quads. We have never had any complications on any of those jumps. Chuck

Nig-noggery has been in full effect for several days now; we are not sucking in Z-hills. There is a fantastic group of people here and we have been jumping as much as the backed-up loads will permit. The birdies are abundant here and we (me, Gimpy, Darren Kellet, Cancer Chris) have taken up plenty of newbies. Macca is officially birdified and is addicted to the nylon crack like you read about. Noice. Tomorrow morning will be the start of "pirate day" here at Z-hills and we are going to throw down some big "skull and crossbones" RW jumps. We are also going to try and round up enough dz.com monkeys to bust that paltry 21 way record that they just threw together in Eloy. Personally, I am gonna bust some birdies, shoot some video, do exit last and dock first on some stylie bigways, and swoop the pond ever chance I get. Yesterday, while landing from the 30-something way we did, I had a fantastic pic of me taken swooping the pond. Since I had my bootie suit on I threw a lazy boy and it was incredibly sweet. Don't be surprised if you see that pic in parachutist soon. Early day tomorrow, so I am gonna shut up. PEACE! Chuckie

Where, exactly, did you think I said anything of the sort. What I said was that Olav Zipser and his small cadre of followers at Pahokee, FL have no business claiming they "invented" anything. I could care less that they are not "american". Hell, they did all of their self promotion and "discovery" right here in the USA. Olav, Stefania and the rest of their posse are fantastic skydivers, but just because they put out some video and dedicated themselves to one discipline does not make them originators by any means. there were many, many people flying on the vertical axis before Olav decided to "patent" the term freefly. Coversely, there are incredibly few people on the planet who have more wingsuit jumps than I do, yet I make no outlandish claims that I am a pioneer of any sort. I am just a guy that has been having fun jumping for nearly 24 years, getting good at whatever feels good to me. I give credit when credit is due, but will not hesitate to call a spade a spade if I hear someone spouting nonsense. Chuck

Wushonamis? Amish is THE MAN! He done brought us all of his cockatillios at five in the morning. We had been lacking for beers for at least two and a half hours, so therefore Matt is my BOY! Regardless of the hour, Katie and I will still be in Z-hills in about ten hours. Peace!

Who's crying? Not me, foo!

I use an Xdream skyline .3 and it's fantastic. I see no differences whatsoever in the construction or quality as compared to any of the Royal lenses around. It looks identical. It does not hurt that I was given the lens either.

They have 30-37 step up and 37-30 step down at Best Buy. At least they do here in Fayetteville.

Hmm. I replaced the serpentine belt on Katie's truck this morning, folded a few clothes, then took a shower. Katie washed the dog, Billy Bob.

That's a perfect definition, Rans.

You are kidding yourself if you think Olav Zipser invented flocking. You are also kidding yourself if you think he coined the term. People were flying along in travelling formations long before Olav Zipser ever knew what a parachute was. No-contact tracking four-way diamonds have been a part of the Golden Knights repetoir since the early 60's. Your revisionist history does not sit well with those of us who have been skydiving for more than 20 years. Olav might have been the first to dally with such things in your peer group, but certainly not mine. Chuck Blue D-12501

Just found out that Katie and I are hosed for a room the first two nights of the symposium (the 14th and 15th). Anyone got a bed in the Adams Mark to spare those nights? We will gladly pay our half. Conversely, we did get a room for the 16th and 17th and it has two queen size beds. We can gladly trade for space or split costs with someone who is likewise unoccomodated at this point. Edited to add: respond to me by PM if you have room. Chuck

That is an incredibly sensible idea, JP.

Pyke actually made the arduous journey to my wedding in Key West. Oh the torture! Oh the pain!

Nice pic. It would be nice if someone would put more up.

Flying on a 45 degree angle (freefly flocking, atmonauti, whatever) only marginally extends your freefall time over vertical skydives. You will still burn a hole in the sky at least 25 percent faster than a flailing belly flyer. Want to really extend your horizontal, social, flying experience? Fly a wingsuit. I'll promise you there is nothing you can do in the atmonauti form that I cannot do in my wingsuit, and I will be doing it for a minimum of two minutes. Edited to make a correction: anything other than flying efficiently feet-first. Chuck