SkymonkeyONE

RixterMan is the epitome of white trash, mississippi living, badge toting, K9 drug dog using REDNECK! I am telling you, the boy ain't right. Chuck

She has clearly led a very sheltered life. Unfortunate. Chuck

Jari left Raeford with some nice new sayings. "What yo name is?" being number one on the list. Chuck

That is my point exactly. Also, it must be noted that all packjobs while in student status come included, obvious to most, in the price of traning jumps. Sometime during their training, like on a weather day or before jumping commences, I teach them to pack; no charge of course, as I consider that a part of the first jump course. Chuck

I touch all of my handles, plus rotate the rings in my 3-ring at least five times on every single skydive. Chuck

Hell YES it's got AC, but I think I have a better place worked out. It's all goody in the hoodie. Chuckie

This is basic first jump stuff and I am fascinated that anyone thinks there is a different way to to do things during "intentional" canopy relative work mishaps. Straight from my sylabus: In a canopy collision (or a crw wrap) where one person (always the top person in my experience) still has a flying canopy, the following guidelines apply: -above 2000 feet the person who lost his or her main and now is suspended by the other jumpers body or equipment will cutaway. The top jumper will then try to clear the gear in such a manner as it either releases or he has performed a controlability check and can land with the main wrapped around him. - Between 1000 and 2000 feet the lower jumper with the collapsed main must decide to either cutaway (which I have done and recommend) or decide that the top jumper must ride them down under the one, inflated main. (I say there is a choice in the FJC because technically, below 2009 feet they should have accomplished any standard cutaway procedures). -Below 1000 feet the top jumper has to ride the suspended jumper down if he or she still has a fully functioning main. (this because we teach no cutaways below 1000 feet. I have personally cutaway from about 900 feet on two occasions, but that was due to incredible stupidity on both occasions). -in entanglements are different. Generally in a real entanglement neither canopy stays inflated and you end up in a spinning mess requiring both people to cutaway. Top person has priority in these cases because if the bottom person executes first, then the top person might be fatally engulfed in canopy, lines, or both. Communication is critical in these instances and quick action will save your life. Should this happen below 1000 feet, and there is nothing flying over your head that you can land, then both jumpers fire their reserves in an effort to get something landable over their heads prior to impact. In my opinion as someone who has been skydiving for over 22 years and has been doing CRW since 1985 that there is really no difference in emergency procedures between a canopy wrap induced during CRW or by accidental canopy collision. This, assuming "standard" or real CRW canopies with dacron lines. HiperCRW and unintentional collisions/wraps with microline-equipped canopies add a great deal more danger due to the razor-like cutting abaility of the tiny line. My last CRW canopy entanglement was in 1991. It led to both of us chopping our double shit-ball at 900 feet. It was a very stupid, cocky mistake between me and a guy I had over 200 CRW jumps with. I never made the same mistake again, but this totally reinforced my basic understanding of who does what and when. I have only been in canopy formations as big as nine-way and have only chopped chopped from one wrap, but I have not seen any "modern" CRW dog perform emergency actions any differently in the time that I have been relegated to simple CRW during demos under StarTracs. Chuck Blue D-12501

I think we had some people bag out of coming to our fourth of july boogie because of what they saw on the weather channel or weather.com. In the end, they were all wrong and we jumped our asses off for four straight days. Chuck

Skyflyer 3 has a much more dramatic second angle and comes pretty much straight over from that second angle to your hip. It's a big suit, but the wider leg wing make it quite a bit easier to fly good than a standard SkyFlyer. Chuck

We use new-style Student Javelins with the redundant-safety reserve handle, which, in essence, is an SOS. We teach two handle cutaways, but also let our students know if they screw up and pull their handles out of order, they are not going to die. The only real drawback to this system comes during canopy collisions below 1000 feet where you teach "never to cutaway; only deploy your reserve if neither of you end up with a flying canopy suspending the two of you." Pull the reserve handle on this rig and you are cutting away first and I don't really like that. Chuck Blue D-12501

Sorry, but there are now and will only ever be two numbered monkeys. That said, if you party and skydive with me I will make you a skymonkey (assuming I can pull my 30-foot camper behind the Dropzone.com tent) Chuck

I have never seen an AFF instructor tipped, ever. That's a lie; I just graduated a guy to Cat F two weeks ago and he wanted to tip us for his AFF instruction. I declined the tip and told him to buy a case of beer for passing the AFF levels. I have seen a few tandem tips from very happy customers, but never, ever expect them for any instruction. I have been to a LOT of dropzones and have only seen a few examples of places expecting tips (even one with a sign saying "tips are appreciated.") I have never really understood that concept when applied to skydiving instruction or parachtue packing. Both are instances where you had BETTER give proper instruction and service, less you cause serious injury or death with your negligence. Chuck

Blair did put his still camera on top for some of his last flights fof the weekend and it didn't bother him, or so he said. I can't wear a camera on my head for any reason nowadays due to old neck injuries. Chuck

Looks like an S3 tail with regular SkyFlyer wings to me. I see no secondary angle below the wingtips, but the leg definitely looks like it drops below the feet like my S3. The upside down PD logos are a riot.

Michael, what are the chances of me pulling my 30-foot camper right behind our tent? Unless we change our minds again, I think MonkeyLip and I will be hauling it. I don't really want to spend time away from the action. As I will be working for a vendor (BirdMan), would that help the decision process? Chuck

Nice one. We get that a lot here at Raeford and on Fort Bragg during HALO and SL jumps. Haven't seen a Navy guy do it here, but plenty of Army and Airforce guys and at least two Marines. Actually, one of my co-workers even did it in the wind tunnel; yes, in the cone. with two guys flying a flag in the background.

Use the counter in a video camera. Do you have one? I have never, ever trusted ProTracks. You do know that there is going to be a BirdMan specific Neptune, don't you? Chuck PS: Ask jari or LouDiamond if I fly my S3 efficiently.

Is that one of Jari's old Skyflyers? I notice the upside down PD sponsor logos. Vladi's original S3 got sent with the PD and Javelin Odyssey logos sewn on upside down as well! Oops.... Chuck

You and fundgh both need to keep the smart-ass remarks to talkback. This is, in fact, a specified forum where people ought to be getting serious answers to serious questions. Now, what are your questions? Chuck

Actually, BirdMan has a lot of demo suits for sale. Call the shop and ask what is available. He sold several of them here this weekend. Chuck

I have three suits and plan on keeping all of them for traiining purposes. I jump my GTi once in a while just for shits and grins, but my S3 doesn't wear me out too bad that I ever have to switch.

LOL, terribly modest. Anyway, Blair, no, I didn't get most of the good WS stuff. Scott has all the canopy fly-by's on his other tape and never got it to Dave, so we are definitely sucking in that respect. If you firewired the fly-bys and all the stuff on Scott's first tape, then we need it here. Dave said he had very little he could use. Kevin, if you are reading this, you needed to give Dave your stuff too. Not sure what the best way to do it is, but I would recommend to all of you that you upload all your stuff to Matt's server. There is a link to it on all of his "MattM" posts. We can then firewire it right off the computer and onto dave's camera. "Make it so, number one."

It was just a little flesh wound. His coctail numbed the pain during the trip, I am sure. Funny that we were all talking together on three different phones during their road trip. Peas in a pod. Sky1

BirdMen in DeLand? Really?

It may be winnie the POO on Seth's porn DVD.