SkymonkeyONE

This is a discussion for Talkback

The term 1%er came from the guys who rode "outlaw", which is to say in one of the 1 percent of clubs that were not registerd with the AMA. Unless you were a registered member of the AMA you could not compete in any sanctioned races. No problem; they just started having "outlaw" races with much fewer rules. The more "fringe" type of biker would show up, party, and race at those events. The terms "outlaw" and 1%er then began to be used to describe the clubs those people started and were members of; those that didn't give a shit what the AMA thought. Of note here: The Yonkers MC, located just across the Tappanzie bridge in New York (eight miles from the Rockland County chapter of the Wingmen MC), is the oldest AMA club still operating continuously. Yonkers carries itself MUCH differently nowadays than did their forefathers. Chuck WFFW

I got a call from the doc this morning. Kitty is doing OK. He has been eating and drinking and recovering, still with a catheter inserted and an IV. They are going to operate on his leg this afternoon or tomorrow. The doc seems confident that he is going to recover. Chuck

I have a buddy with a Stiletto 170 in a J1; no problem. I have also seen people put as small as a 135 in them and just tighten the closing loop.

Cheryl Stearns is quite adept at diving straight head-down. That is the practice used by the great majority of world class stylists to gain speed prior to snapping into the tuck and throwing their first turn. Chuck

Here at Raeford, when we still do the occasional SL student at the school, we use BOC. The Green Beret Sport Parachute Activity, which I taught at for many years, has been using BOC-only in their static line program for at least three years with no problems. The only change at all to the pull sequence is negating the "look" part. Using BOC has negated a lot of the tendency to roll over on your side that came with being able to see the ripcord down at your hip. Since you can't see the BOC hackey even if you try, we have found that many fewer students go torquing their body around on "reach" and thus have much more stable pulls. As to here at the RPC school, I maintain a couple of older Student Vectors with stow bars on them for SL. What we are planning to do, though, is just start doing IAD in the cases where we have a student that just "wants" to do SL progression due to the percieved lower cost. I have an instructor on staff who is going to run an IAD course for the rest of us so that we are legal. With this move, I can phase out the older rigs altogether and just use my new Student Javs for everything. Chuck

That is not accurate. While Sonny has been a member of the 81 for over 30 years, the organization was started after WWII by bored ex-fighter and bomber pilots who needed other ways to get their rocks off. It wasn't until the late 60's, though, that anyone started talking about them. Sonny was a local president, then later California state president of the club back then. He appeared in several biker exploitation movies done on the club in the 60's and early 70's. In person nowadays, he is great to talk to. He travels around a lot now and hits the bike show circuit and does book signings. I believe he is also a principal in Rich Products, makers of the Thunderheader brand of aftermarket Harley pipes. Chuck

I awoke this morning to find my cat, "Kitty", laying in the crook of my knee, where he normally sleeps. As I reached down to pet him when I got up, I felt something very strange. I sat bolt upright and saw a very horrible sight. My cat was literally torn wide open. I knew he had either been mauled or hit by a car; the latter ended up being the case. It was VERY, VERY ugly. I don't want to get any more graphic than that, but let me just say that I was amazed that this cat had managed to get from wherever he was, back over to the RV, then up and into the "cat port" and then onto the bed. His left rear femur was compound fractured and he was layed wide open. I went into a state of extreme anguish and decided then and there that since this friend had decided to come all the way back for my help instead of just finding a bush to crawl under and die, I had to do whatever it took to save him. I really didn't think it was possible, but I picked him up as easily as I could and wrapped him in a blanket. Through all this, he barely made a peep; not complaining at all. I raced to the vet as fast as Bessie would take me and brought him in. After initial examination, the vet gave me some hope that he would make it. He was amazed that the cat had made it back home. He has now successfuly made it through one major operation to debride and repair internal damage. Tomorrow they will attempt to pin his femur and try and sew him all up. Last check this afternoon saw him resting in a cage, IV drip going, and a catheter in. I have an incredibly close bond with this cat. I have had both he and my dog, Billy Bob, since they were just weaned. Billy Bob is great, but the cat is my favorite pet of all time. He was taken one time and was lost for six months. I, amazingly, found him and since then he has always been right with me. Pet losses and injuries are terrible. I was bawling this morning; believe that. Anyway, I would just ask that you keep Mister Kitty in your thoughts. He showed incredible devotion and for that I will pay whatever the cost to get him back on his feet. Chuck

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

Alllllll I want. All I want is all I need. Alllll I want. All I want is all I NEEEEEEED! -Paul Oakenfold. Live from Havana

I generally fly my parachute to the execution point in flull flight, making small s-turns to scrub altitude if I am high. I will also vary from my "favorite" right 270 a bit if I am high or low. I haven't really ever had a problem with "too high" riser pressure on any of my canopies, my VX included. Chuck

You now fetch your boarding passes at little kiosks in the main terminal. You can't go through security without boarding passes. All the little "auto check-in" kiosks which were formerly on the concourse are now downstairs. CHuck

Ducky!

DANG Yo, Droop! Weren't YOU then one that started calling Matt "Amish Boy?" Nope. That's right. It was Ass Monkey! Ass monkey, monkey. That funky monkey! "My name's Ass Monkey and I pack real slow. Pack real slow, my foot fungus grow!" "My name's Ass Monkey and my feet really stink. Feet really stink, my eye is pink!"

Still, if you want that A-license, you gotta get the card filled out. True, you may be able to jump at some dropzones without a license and a USPA card (assuming USA here), even the great majority of "non-USPA" dropzones require USPA membership and a license. It's the third-party insurance, etc. Chuck

There are a lot of people who do the "half brake" type of setup. Jay Moledski most readily comes to mind. Letting up right over your turn-in point, then harness steering into the turn definitely lowers your initial riser pressure. Chuck

Monkey flocking.....NICE! I consider technical flocking anything other than just zipping around with your buddies. You know, neat grip-complete formations, etc. I really like flying in big wedges with grips. That takes an incredible amount of control when you are jumping with guys in three different kinds of suits. It's even harder when you are trying really maintain a slow fallrate and not fly dirty just for the sake of the formation. This wingsuit thing is OK. It is certainly the most fun I have in the sky nowadays. Chuck

then you need to get yo self a JOB there! Hooty HOO!

That's a good one, Danny.

For one reason or another, my GTi had two different arm zippers from the factory. The one on the left sleeve was not the same size as the main zippers nor the right arm zipper. Odd, but I ended up jury rigging it as I described in the other post. Eventually, I got tired of the thing blowing out at mid-sleeve, so I replaced the zipper with a metal one. THAT one will not fail. Chuck

That would be an outstanding trip to make. I love technical wingsuit flocking. Chuck

To elaborate a bit: The left zipper on my old GTi (now Scott's) was known to creep due to the added wrist thickness when wearing my wrist mount. The original fix was to put velcro closures at the wrist which have an extra length of material to act as a "tab." The left zipper still crept, so I took off the slide tab and replaced it with a keychain ring. Now, once the zipper is closed via the ring, the velcro tab goes through it on the way to the other side thus holding the zipper slide down as well as keeping the wrist ends together. Very, very simple. It took me a whopping five minutes on a sewing machine. Chuck

OK kids, BTFU, both of you. Scott, the most techie GPS guys I know in this forum are Craig Poxon and maybe Fordy. I am sure one of them will pipe up in a minute. Chuck

No, Kimmie, LeRoy wants a cordura butt wing. If you saw his landings you would know why. I for the life of me don't know why he insists on doing it, but I would imagine he will figure out a way to stop it when he gets his one thousand dollar suit! Hooty HOO! If nothing else, I will fabricate him some sort of skid pad. Chuckie

And hell, Dave. Some of them even have all their teeth!Yep, yall have some decent sorts there at AggieLand. Tell Todd and them I said "hey." Chuck