SkymonkeyONE

Tom, I occasionally fly holding my wingtips on my SkyFlyer, but only when I launch (no real reason why), and when I want to "pop" up to catch a floater. I think the wingtip toggles Fordy mentions are a good tool for BASE and technical personal record-setting. As someone who generally flies with people in "lesser" suits, I really don't have much cause to use them. Chuck

There are several differences. I own both a 1998 XRS and a 2001 pre-PIA Odyssey. The riser covers on the Odyssey are quite a bit longer and won't come unstowed nearly as easy. Also, the bottom flap folds under in it's entirety, as compared to only having a tuck flap on the older versions. Lastly, the cut-in back pad makes the rig really sit flat on your back, negating any "wash" you might have with another rig. Chuck

Kelly, that is totally false.

Uuummm...isn't that the capitol of Honduras? Tegucigalpa is indeed the capitol of Honduras. I recommend having coctails at "El Crocodillo"; make sure you have a gun in your fag bag though. I also recommend the "Totem Bar" (near the Maya Hotel) and the very best steak in the world at "El Araierro." You don't want to know how much time I have spent in Central and South America. Chuck

I am about to retire with a bit over 21 years of service. I was an 11C mortar maggot in Germany for two years then attended the SFQC in 1984 and have been stationed at Fort Bragg, NC since then in both the 3rd and 7th Special Forces Groups, then four years (and a little bit) at USAJFKSWC (the school). I don't regret a second of it. It has been a very interesting life. Chuck

Oh come on now, that is TOTALLY safe!

and hello to you, too.

You guys are killing me! Chuckie

Tom, this would all be fine and dandy if that were in fact the case, at least as far as training programs go. The ISP has been in effect for some time now, but yet very few dropzones, Group Member or otherwise, use the thing. We use it at Raeford, both for AFF at the RPC school as well as in the military clubs which operate on our airport. AS far as I can tell, we (as in USPA) didn't really create anything, instead actually just sort of copying the Canadian system. I don't buy that the paltry $350 a year (is that correct?) that the group members pay has any consequence on the amount of money spent on training. As far as I can tell, the GM program is mostly subsidized by individual member dues. That being said, My dad runs a small GM DZ down in Alabama and I have jumped since 1984 here at Raeford, also a GM dropzone. As far as the question about which of two closely-located dropzones to send an AFF course director to, I say "both." In case you didn't know it, it is absolutely not a hard thing to contract a course director. If two dropzones five miles away from each other each have ten people willing to attend a course, and if there are sufficient AFF designated evaluators to go around, then I promise you that they would both go. As far as I know, none of the current course directors are bound by any "this is my turf" agreements. You have the money, you give one of them a call and lay it on, pure and simple. The money you pay USPA to attend that course is only a small amount of the total cost of the course. We are not training dropzones here, we are training individual instrutor candidates who may or may not even live within the United States, much less on the host dropzone....... Chuck

If I recall correctly from a few years ago, he was supposedly married to and had his first child with a blonde headed white woman who used to work for him in some capacity. I think they showed her in People magazine. I was not under the impression that they lasted long enough to have had three children, but who knows, or frankly cares for that matter. Chuck

To clarify a bit: Raeford has a beautiful (but slow) 100 series CASA 212, but it is normally only used for military contract and during boogies. Gene Paul Thacker keeps control over that airplane and our super otter (Bravo Sierra) as part of his separate business, Raeford Aviation. Our other otter (Papa Mike) is our regular jump plane. There are plenty of occasions where both the otters fly, but the CASA is a pig in my opinion. Our USASOC CASA (a 300 series) flies out at Raeford at least three days a week, so I jump that thing all the time. Should there be a need for tailgate training at a meet, our Raeford CASA would be in the air for that purpose on a regular basis. Chuck

I totally agree with livendive on this one. It's not that non-GM dropzones don't want anything to do with USPA, it's just that they don't believe that what they are doing needs any further outside influence. I have been to a couple of non-GM dropzones and both had fully qualified USPA rated instructors. Every member of the staff was a member, and, as per the USPA SIM, every student was required to join the organization at the stated time (before the fourth jump in most cases). As a member, more specifically a group of members, looking to get that next rating, I should absolutely be able to contract a course director to come wherever the hell I please. So long as the facilities are there, and the costs are paid, it sould absolutely not make a difference whether or not that location is an "approved" USPA dropzone. I can personally think of several places where USPA AFF certification courses are run for the military (shouldn't matter) which don't fall under the "USPA group member" banner. Bottom line here is that I think that forcing a dropzone to "get with the program" and join as a group member just so that they can host a USPA instructional course for individual dues-paying members is wrong. Chuck

Why would that be odd? I have been on plentyof 8-ways where I exited a C-182. Of course it was a two-cessna formation, but I see no reason why a person would have to write that anywhere. Chuck

Actually, there used to be all kinds of round/square CRW photos in Parachutist back in the day. Chuck

Actually, we lay forward on our chest strap and push backward on our risers, then toggles. This keeps us out front for the great majority of the effective swoop. Chuck

Yeah, Remi, I could cite other examples, but the reason I said that Matt "knew" better is that he has gotten it through his head that risers are the answer, but still catches himself toggle whipping because he hasn't worked it out that he MUST be higher to get away with risers. Several other of those guys still toggle whip, but they never had any swooping skills to begin with. Of interest here is there are two guys on the newly re-formed 8-way team that always rear-riser their landings, very proficiently I might add. Andy Honnigbaum has the cleanest rear-risering technique of the bunch, but Greg Windmiller on the CISM team kicks ass, too. Chuck

Dove is also at Z?

I will agree with Paul here. Some of the most popular guys are simply Masters of Self Promotion who have done nothing more than get their picture on the cover and inside a bunch of magazines. They achieve this by deluging the editors with their material. Very few of the "most popular" guys have ever placed in the top three of a "real" event, much less won, yet because they toot their own horn incessantly, they have you conned into believing that you should spend your hard-earned money at their "schools", so they can continue to skydive for free off YOUR dime. Gimme a break. If you are gonna call yourself a "team" and run a school, then you had better have some instructional credentials or some competition wins. Don't feel bad though, freeflyers, it's the same in RW and swooping too (with a few notable exceptions, such as Airspeed camps and maybe Jim Slaton's course since every member of those teams have proven records). There are plenty of people out there that have less skills than you who are getting your money because you think they must be better than someone who doesn't charge you to jump with them. Likewise, there are plenty of people in each and every discipline who can fly circles around others in their arena, yet do not have the opportunity to get out there and show their face in competition or shamelessly promote themselves to the top (at least in the public's mind). My best example of this is in the big-way RW crowd. You would not believe how many marginal skydivers there are on those loads. But, because they are "grandfathered" in or are buddies with Jack Jeffries (or whoever), they just walk on. That, plus the unbelievably high costs to attend those things. I was going to do the 300 way a couple of years ago, but I didn't have the $1500 to waste on it at the time. I recently saw a similar thing happen to some freeflyers from my DZ who tried to get on a big-way freefly record down south, only to get turned away because someone on the load "didn't know them." It's the same everywhere I guess. Anyway, after watching the video from the open class of the US nationals in freefly, I can honestly say I was totally impressed with the top two teams. Seamless transitions on ALL axis, great video work (how in the hell did that video guy get through the middle of that vertical compressed accordian?!); outstanding flying! Chuck

Is that why he shaved his head? He said he did it in a drunken stupor. Where there real moose there, or did he imagine it? Nathan is a mess! Hooty HOO!

Dropzone.commers from Raeford are: SkymonkeyONE, Coconut Monkey, NWS01, KatieBear21, LeroyDB, Tony T, US Skydiver, Raefordite, SlotPerfect, plus some others I can't remember right now. You can actually do a search here and find others from your DZ or area. Chuck

Quite simply, we try to minimize the parasitic drag our bodies produce under canopy. One does not attempt to swoop (in competition) in a baggy freefly or bootie suit, all extended out in the typical student "gumby" mode. It slows you down, PLUS it looks stupid. Chuck

As Jason said, if you are just in it for shits and grins, then do whatever you feel. Back in the early 90's when the Golden Knights RW team was jumping Sabers, they would toggle whip the piss out of them VERY low and time it so that they would be on the upswing just as they came around the corner. Once there, they would release the toggles and slide to a stop with nothing in their hands. Darren Schuster was the biggest offender. Of course back then, it was also stylish to flip upside down in your risers and unflip just as you came around the corner. I saw plenty of those guys fail at that maneuver. Today, the only real example of a die-hard "toggle whipper" around here who does know better is Matt Davidson of the newly re-formed GK 8-way team. It scares me to watch Matt land, but with 10,000 plus jumps, I guess he can do what he wants. Chuck

What kind? A Xaos 21 69.5 that a buddy can't jump anymore. I had an extra rig and he had an extra canopy, so we put the two together and I use it as my backup rig. I fly the piss out of it, but would never buy a 21 over a 27. Chuck

Not sure about anyone else, but I start laying on my chest strap as soon as start "coming around the corner" and pushing on my rears. Chuck

Oh, come on now, Ann! You KNOW you want to let loose! Hooty HOO!