SkymonkeyONE

look up in the "FAQ" button in the blue stripe. Everything you need to know can be found there. Basically, though, you need a JPEG sized down to around 65x85 pixels. You upload it on your "profile" screen. Chuck

Paraflite and Irwin make most of the gear we use in the US military

Christina, you're killing me.

truly a girl of many talents. Cleaning out sleeping bags is high on the list.

Ah. Sorry, I took the turnPIKE.

Panama City Beach, FL. Also known as "the Redneck Riviera." I will be there in FULL effect. Chuck

MonoUno, Mouth, CoconutMonkey, and DaGimp are currently having cockatillios at the CML&S. We just left Aviators for a break, having had coctails with Gene Paul, Randy Mathews, Tony (Tony T) and Kate (Raefordite). We shall return to the DZ after rendezvous with my boy Chris Talbert (yes, that Chris, and yes, he is a SkyMonkey, as is Paul Rafferty).

I can attest that it takes quite a bit longer to re-hook your LQRS than it does your arms. As a side-note: I am planning on connecting my LQRS to my right-side wing cutaway handle, so that when I pull the one handle, both are released. I see no reason whatsoever, especially after my Eloy incident, that I would not pull both anyway. Chuck I got's me THREE suits! How bouts YOU?

Yep! Me and LeRoy MonkeyLip will be flying our SkyFlyer 3's shortly! Chuckie

Yes, that was me posting under Lisa's screen name. That must mean she is in Raeford! Chuck

Since Skratch mentioned his more-in-depth canopy advancement, I must add that the ISP does not only cover freefall maneuvers. It gives clear guidance as to what a person does under canopy as well. Following that guideline will give a student WAY more than most programs were offering previous to ISP. It must also be noted that I am a professional, sponsored canopy pilot and just might have some idea as to how to teach canopy control. My 22 years in the sport helps a little too. That experience makes it very easy for me to properly teach the techniques recommended in the ISP progression and beyond. I don't think "military" has anything to do with our program. I don't think that currency is any more an issue at a "civilian" DZ than it is here, where monkeys ("monkies" is incorrect in my vernacular) are deployed on a regular basis. Chuck

It's about 60 today, but drizzling rain. That's OK, Lisa will be here in a bit for cockatillios! Chuck

If you are saying you have passed the "old" level 3 and are cleared for level 4, then I am instead going to train you and take you up on a Cat C #2, which is in effect an "old" level 3, but with only one JM. If you have already completed an "old" level 4, then I am going to train you up and take you on a Cat D #2. Bottom line here is that I will take what you have done, make sure it's annotated properly on your A-card, then place you where you fit in the ISP. In some cases you actually get over, but in other cases you might feel like you are taking a step back. In cases where a student has completed something in the higher category, but has for some reason not performed one of the more rudimentary tasks, I will simply plan a skydive at the higher level, but plug in the TLO that was missed. I have yet to have a problem in that area. The worst case was a guy that showed up and wanted to make a "solo" dive who had been "signed off" off AFF by his DZ. He had, unfortunately for him, not completed the bare minimum TLO's for completion of any USPA AFF course (he had done neither barrel rolls nor flips), so I told him that before I could let him solo at our dropzone, he was going to have to meet minimum AFF-based ISP TLO's. After reading his DZ's sylabus, I saw that these things were going to be covered in their "post AFF SDU program." Unfortunately for him, most dropzones at least have you perform basic AFF TLO's before signing you off; his did not. Anyway, I did the dude a tremendous favor by putting together a "modified" AFF jump which had him doing those barrel rolls and flips, then accomplishing what he had originally hoped to complete. He had also not jumped in nearly two months, so I should have charged him for a full refresher. What did I nail this guy for? A measley $70 coach jump, equipment included. I made a whopping five dollars for about an hour and a half of my time. Could I have worn him out? Certainly, but that would not have been fair to him in my mind. He had no idea that he had not met the basic AFF requirements. This person had also not once been introduced to spotting. Chuck

That totally blows. I feel partly to blame for giving my positive spin on the event. The difference here is that I never had to deal with Eugene (I was in the Army, working at San Isidro anyway). I made a lot of free skydives there before, during, and after the "boogie," and I never had a problem staying in a barracks and eating whatever they were serving. That being said, I can see how people would be genuinely pissed at Eugene and his old lady for misleading people. In my original post on the subject I recall I made it pretty clear that there was no "real" fee for that "boogie;" only what Eugene was charging to get people there and lodge them off base. The fact of the matter is that anyone who has an "in" with the Fuerza Aerea Dominicana can jump all they want for free during the Dias De Independencia. Sorry if anyone was mislead by anything that I might have posted. Chuck Blue

We run 100% ISP-based AFF here at Raeford and it works just fine. 99% of the real students (not tandem "rides") we get here choose AFF after they figure out that in the end, the cost comes up nearly identical between SL, IAD, AFF, or tandem/hybrid/AFP/whatever. The bottom line at this dropzone is that you are a student until you have that stamp on your USPA ISP A-license proficiency card. Now, the 82nd club runs a primarilly SL operation 40 feet outside my front door, but they use the same "real" USPA cards as us. Keeping students under your wing, under the same roof, up until they have that license means that they are not left hanging or "wondering" at all. It also means that I need to have the "right kind" of instructors on staff; those with real teaching experience and a broad base of skydiving knowledge. This is not a problem around here because over 70% of our staff are senior special ops guys who teach for a living. I don't have a single instructor on my staff with under 1000 jumps either. With maybe two exceptions, everyone of us are all AFF/tandem/SL rated. Many of us are current and former RW competitors also. Anyway, ISP works fine for us because we have the talent and capability to run the whole operation in-house. No need to setup any SDU-type operation in order to do post-AFF coach work. Also of note is the fact that we are a very "tight" dropzone. I am not going to say one word to a fellow "freelance" coach or instructor who wants to take over and finish training his buddy during the post-AFF/SL phase. We get a lot of this with the GK's and other military teams who train their own support staff and VIPs. My only problem comes when I get people from other dropzones who either transfer here or stop by while on vacation, etc. Those who present logbooks stating they are "cleared for solo" (yet have no A-license), but have not completed even the basic AFF maneuvers like barrel rolls and flips. Some even show up having more than four skydives, yet have no A-card or USPA membership, nor were they ever informed of the requirement. Oh well, more work for me, but I don't care. I have not and will not let one of these people leave here without squaring away their paperwork and getting them "back on track." Once implimented, it only took a while to get our then-current students on track. Chuck Blue D-12501 AFF/SL/TM/BM-I, S&TA Raeford Parachute Center

Yes, Katie is my Buttercup.

Unbelievable.

Sun-Che-Hag, are you bagging on us AGAIN? If we didn't love you, we would have already written you out of the will. Anyway, see guys when you get here! Chuckie

That thumbs up thing is clasic hookie-poo Hookie-poo?

Absolutely, my brother!

I cannot for the life of me figure out how anyone can get riled up about bazzaball. Joey's new doo looked OK at the PIA. Do you know he used to stay in my basement when he was a Jarhead? He and his buddies would drive from Lejune to Bragg for the free skydives.

That was Jari in his SkyFlyer and Vladi Pesa under a heavilly loaded Velocity 84 with "zoo" toggles on his front risers to trim it even further down. Chuck

Jess is in Eloy...For good? Wow. You go, Girl. Chuck

Hey Don, are you gonna take that crap? Chuck

I did a few curls yesterday......12 ounce curls that is!