SkymonkeyONE

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Everything posted by SkymonkeyONE

  1. SkymonkeyONE
    I had a blast, rain and all. Five good days of jumping, lots and lots of First Flights, plenty of flocking action, great food from both Ms. Jean and that silly bastard Carbone, and lastly: another great opportunity to get to another dropzone and hang out with friends both old and new. I was fascinated that the HiPer/BirdMan tent never once flinched in the face of gale-force winds and rain. I was also fascinated at the tenacity of some of the "tents under the tent" dwellers. I was really glad that my girlfriend, Katie, got to make some great skydives and get her PMS number. I am not happy that I now have to drive our dually and camper to the Jiffy Squirt and scrub the mud off. See you next year, if not sooner. Chuckie
  2. SkymonkeyONE
    You know my answer, John. They leave the school building ready to skydive. They walk to the airplane ready to skydive. They get in the plane ready to skydive, then ride to altitude ready to skydive, then they get hooked up and leave the plane with me. I loathe the way they do it at the "other end of the building" (GK tandem section) at Raeford. It's the same horrible feeling I get in my stomach when I visit some other very-busy dropzones (like CrossKeys). I don't buy the "it's too uncomfortable" story. Chuck
  3. SkymonkeyONE
    Wow. Hooked up and ready to exit from the time you enter the plane? Really? My body could not take too many trips to altitude with a 200 pounder sitting on my lap for an entire flight. Anyway, in a large door aircraft I have them unhook their seatbelt at 2500 feet. Lower than that and I am landing with them and the plane if something goes wrong. I never bought into that whole "harness hanging off your ass" sloppiness that many large dropzones and even the GK tandem section uses. My students walk to the plane in a harness that is properly adjusted for the skydive. In a 182 I put the student behind the pilot's seat facing the rear; I sit in the back. I tell them to take off their belt when its time to spin around, get on their knees in front of me and hook up.
  4. SkymonkeyONE
    Why don't you just buy one from The Drop Shop? Don't you live closer to Sebastian than Pahokee anyway? Anyway, I am absolutely thrilled with the performance of my new Neptune. It does everything I need it to, plus a bunch of other stuff I don't really need. It works great as an alti, it's incredibly light, it's waterproof, etc, etc. I love mine. Software upgrades are not a big deal at all so long as you have an IR port or adapter on your computer. That said, I am sure any gear shop that sells you one could do that for you prior to sending it to you.
  5. SkymonkeyONE
    The pimp velvet mindwarp is the absolute most bad-ass helmet I have ever owned.
  6. SkymonkeyONE
    And that has exactly what to do with the topic of this thread? Please keep the threads in this specified forum on track and keep the off-topic rambling to the talkback forum. Chuck
  7. SkymonkeyONE
    The king of counter-rotating nutty turns in competition is definitely Andy Anderson. He and Mikeal Stevens regularly throw stuff like 180/360 and 360/540 dives. It's incredibly cool to watch, but it leaves a LOT to be desired in terms of accuracy. No matter how much extra speed all that crazy stuff might possibly build up, it's all for naught if you can't make the entrance gates. Vertical extensions= zero points, therefore the great majority of serious swoopers keep the the 270, at least "when it matters." That said, I know plenty of "beer line" swoopers on dropzones that regularly pull zany death spirals and spit out in whatever direction their parachute is headed when they reach swoop altitude. That stuff impresses whuffos and the like all day long, but unless you can stick that turn through the gates everytime, then not only will it not do you any good at a meet, it's a safety hazard. Chuck
  8. SkymonkeyONE
    You can see all the PST events on their site: www.proswoopingtour.com As far as I know, there are only two RedBull meets this year and both are invitation- only, good-old boy hookups for the top ranked competitors who participated in last year's series. Several states are setting up "swoop leagues" this year and I also heard that The Ranch Pond Swoop Nationals is going back to it's old format and they are holding an identical event at the same time of the year on the left coast. The USPA national of canopy piloting will be held at Perris.
  9. SkymonkeyONE
    EG sky systems makes the cheapest "real looking" airblades I have seen. Sixty bucks for custom ten footers. That said, all you really ever need to set up a course is ten-foot and five-foot markers. Personally, I own two ten footers that I set up as intermediate entrance gates, then five foot pool noodles for the rest. The noodles are held up on wooden dowel rod that I buy at hardware stores. Dowel rod snaps easily and pool noodles work perfectly; just get the thicker, six inch thick ones. Chuck
  10. SkymonkeyONE
    Correct. Also, just to answer back to Matt and a few others who were asking about the "gap" or "pop" one might get when they go from rears to toggles: you don't pull down on rears; you pull or push them out and/or back. By pulling out/back on the risers (with your toggles over your hands obviously), the slack is naturally taken up by the guide rings when you release the rears. Thus, there is no big gap, pop, or slack-take-up which you envision. This assuming "standard" risers. With trips, you have to do a lot more moving with your arms/hands in order to keep your canopy from "lurching" or falling off as you catch up with the control line slack. It is for exactly that reason that I gave up jumping triple risers. I loved the "feel" and flatter airfoil potential they afforded in certain circumstances, but they were just a pain in the ass to deal with for modern rear-riser swoop landings. Chuck
  11. SkymonkeyONE
    So, here we are at Moss Point on a Saturday night. Just got done eating the best meal in the world (made by Scotty and Tammy Carbone); I have had a few coctails and it's a nice night; I made seven birdman jumps today and the weather was awesome. Bottom line: we are not sucking in Moss Point. This is a great place with great people and I am honored to be an organizer at this boogie. Peace, Chuckie
  12. SkymonkeyONE
    Yes.
  13. SkymonkeyONE
    Barrish Sailwing? Maybe the Volplane. The first square I ever personally saw as a young child was an original ParaPlane. I know that was the first square my dad (D-597) ever jumped.
  14. SkymonkeyONE
    you mean until it breaks? that would depend on the type of webbing you have.
  15. SkymonkeyONE
    I used to be around Wendy a lot back in the early 90's when she started making suits, but lost track of her after a time. I know that she moved out of her trailer out next to Raeford airport and into another place out in Spring Lake. I also heard she had some health problems for a while, but then recovered and is now back to making suits in Spring Lake. That's the last I heard. One person who would probably have a better idea of her status is Greg Offhaus at the Green Beret Parachute Activity on Fort Bragg. The number over there to the loft is: (910) 396-4178. he should be there today. The loft is open on Monday, Thursday, and Friday.
  16. SkymonkeyONE
    I second that, Clint. NO
  17. SkymonkeyONE
    I saw quite a few people jumping in ski helmets at Eloy during the Holiday boogie.
  18. SkymonkeyONE
    Last time I was in Hurlburt Field, there were still a few C-130's setup for Fulton extraction. Back in the day when they were live testing the system, one of my dad's old friends (then currently running the Pathfinder committee at Fort Benning), Johnny Johnson, was the second person to actually use it. Originally, the "extractee's" harness had chest rings and the person was fitted with a reserve in case the cable/rope snapped. I have done many a STABO and SPIE/FRIE extraction, but always thought that a Fulton (skyhook) extraction would have been incredibly bad-ass to have done. Chuck
  19. SkymonkeyONE
    With the smaller cameras (IP-5 variety and even the smaller TRV's) it's very light and worn in a manner that doesn't really restrict anything. I was pretty surprised.
  20. SkymonkeyONE
    A skydiver's ability to properly use a sewing machine is very important in my opinion. I grew up in a small town and my grandmother taught me to sew when I was about six.
  21. SkymonkeyONE

    Baking

    SkymonkeyONE replied to skybytch's topic in The Bonfire

    Lisa, are you baked?
  22. SkymonkeyONE
    Likewise....Thought? Can't spare the brain cells. It hurts FAR too much these days. Also, someone mentioned food? Where's the chow? I haven't had any breakfast yet and I need to get on the road to the Mardi Gras Boogie at Moss Point. Ciao, C. Blue, esq.
  23. SkymonkeyONE
    I am about to walk outside and hook The Rancho Deluxe up to the back of our dually and do final prep. I am leaving Augusta at lunch. LAST chance to call me and hitch a ride. My route is (all interstate) 20 to 285 to 85 to 65 down to the 10. PM me for my number if you want to ride down today and come back on the 1st. Somebody better be guarding an RV slot for me.
  24. SkymonkeyONE
    That is a brilliant analogy. I must admit that what few working brain cells I have left have been scrambled by this back and forth banter, but I will now conclude that both people can be/are right (assuming their positions on their respective arguments). I am going to try my best to split this thread in two and move this part of the discussion over to Safety and Training. Any mixing of the "chuck/alan/brian" part is simply a product of my inability to unscramble the thread to that degree. Chuck
  25. SkymonkeyONE
    Patrick DeGuyardon used to do it that way all the time. Any old footage of him shows him doing it that way. Still, our current "jumping jack" technique helps to prevent errant "corkscrewing" at pull time.