SkymonkeyONE

No. Nowadays it doesn't take many jumps at all to rack up six hours of freefall. I know two people who post here who got their AFF tickets in under 400 jumps. While tunnel time tailored specifically for AFF rating candidates (spin stops/ roll-overs/ bottom-end sequence) is DEFINITELY beneficial, it cannot replace the experience of making six hours of actual freefall. Chuck

Same reason as Gary just stated. Chuck

The most common method used these days. Very true, but I have actually grown pretty fond of the "crouching monkey, hidden tiger" method that they use here at the Z-hills school on all but the tallest students. If that sounded odd, I will explain the technique: -outside instructor has left foot forward, right foot back and is hanging on with his/her left hand to the bar. That instructor is at least midway forward in the door so as not to hose the inside instructor -student has left foot between the feet of the outside instructor, right up against the bottom edge of the door opening. Right foot in about shoulder width apart and the student is crouching down and facing forward, head up, back as straight as possible. Student checks in; checks out, rocks left (towards door), rocks right, and rocks left and exits. -inside instructor generally has his/her left foot behind the left foot of the student, right foot as close to the door as possible, is crouched down with his head "dug in" and should anticipate the group getting pretty steep out the door. This method makes it super-easy for the outside instructor to launch cleanly, but it (in my experience) makes for some steep exits for the inside guy if you permit the student to stand towards the back of the door. I have yet to blow an exit from either position with this technique, but it does put taller students in a really bent-over exit position. Chuck

There was a great turnout at the memorial. People came from very, very far away to attend and it meant a great deal to Kathy.

I have no idea which of my very, funny friends posted under my name, but I will definitely track them down and kill them......SCOTTY! At any rate, it does look like I will be flying back to Kauai for another three months of tandem jumping. Give me a shout if you are going to be on the island anywhere from 10 July until the beginning of October. Chuck

Has such nice gay flowers. I think I shall enjoy this quite well actually! The men are so sexy!

In a turbine, I always have the student sitting between my legs and always attach the two lower straps prior to takeoff.

I INSTRUCT first flight students and I coach people who have the rudimentary skill-set. That's the difference and that's what I will be telling the board of directors in July.

It's called a credit card. Feel free to run one or more up to the limit and then simply default on them.

If ANY of you have an e-mail address I can send my scathing admonishment to, please PM me. I want to tell the network what a fucking CUNT I think this seroid-prick Matt is. Likewise, if any of you have a direct e-mail addy to the people who present Whale Wars, please send that to me via PM. I haven't read this forum since I quit being a moderator three years ago. Chuck STILL an angry white man, after all these years.

As far as I know Brian Burke's original, very-inclusive canopy control sylabus is still somewhere on the Skydive Arizona website. Last I checked there was no direct link, but I am sure you can still access it. This, by the way, was the ABSOLUTE basis for both Jim Slaton's and Scott Miller's courses. It is, in my opinion, still the definitive standard of scientific explanation. Everyone of the people charging for instruction nowadays ought to be paying a fee to Brian. That is why I have never charged for instruction. I have nothing to add to what he wrote in 2000/2001. Nothing of consequence anyways... Chuck

Only for you, Wendy. No fire walking this time, though....

What is most strikng to me is that back in the late 1980's and early 1990's when we ALL jumped larger, square parachutes it was VERY common to teach students how to fly and land on rear risers prior to the A-license (at least in Alabama and North Carolina where I jumped and instructed). Now, it seems almost alien to other instructors when I teach youngh jumpers how to fly, flare, and land on rears. My student rig has a 240 zero-p nine-cell in it and it's effortless to perform the A-license tasks under it. It is also very, very easy to land on rears only. Therefore, if I have a student who if cat F or G flying my rig and the winds are between 10 and 14, I will often ask them to do some practice flares up top and, if they are comfortable, try and flare the "real" landing. Again, this used to be very, very common. What fascinates me most is that most students nowadays don't ever even get instructed at all on how to deal with rear riser flying. This is, of course, a common task skill when you teach the four-page ISP card. Chuck

I just thought I would add that our DZO, TK Hayes, runs his free accuracy seminar at least once a month and definitely at every boogie we have here at Skydive City. Good stuff and, again, free to anyone willing to sit still and listen to a Canadian.

There is a sort of memorial gathering this afternoon here at a local funeral home on CR 54 from 4:00 to 6:00 for those who can make it.

Scott and Betsy did some cool freestyle/birdie rodeo, fly, re-rodeo shit back in around 2003 at Eloy out of the SkyVan. I was on the plane when they launched. Otherwise, we had, two years previously (when Scott was still stationed in VA) done upside-down rodeos and double-upside-down rodeo jumps (actually hanging from both birdie's chest straps) at Raeford in 2001/2002. Fun, but definitely not original.

Just to quantify my previous response: I ALWAYS dress for success. Bill, you know that I am not a big guy. If I say that I need to put a bit of lead on a tiny girl, then that means that I felt "heavy" on their Cat B in my largest RW suit. There is no such a thing at this dropzone as a "lighter" AFFI (other than maybe Sally Hathaway). Choice A is to put a bit of lead on the tiny girl. Choice B is to not let her go....It's not prudent to wear my wingsuit on an AFF jump. I hope you understand this. Conversely, If we have a 240 pound bowling ball student, I am probably not the best person to put on a cat C/D/E unless I am wearing a jockstrap, a green beret, and a light coat of oil. It's all relative.

As a life-long professional instructor, I have always taught canopy piloting to the absolute limit of my knowledge. What that means is that I have, as a PRO rated pilot, and a professional canopy pilot (ECPA, PPPB, PST), I have always made sure that my basic students checked the blocks on their four-page card (since October 1st 2001) before their got their A-stamp. It also means that I have ALWAYS offered free canopy coaching to those people in my charge (as a three-turbine school manager and current S&TA) who want to downsize. When my contemporaries felt comfortable regurgitating and charging people for the teachings of Brian Burke, I thought it prudent to just add it to our basic sylabus. While I do not have a problem with people making money teaching these skills, I DO wish they would not act like they are doing anything original. If you are not getting the canopy skills you think you need from basic instructors, then feel free to come to Z-Hills and ask for me. Chuck Blue, D-12501 AFF-I, SL-I, TM-I, PRO, S&TA Performance Skydiving

I like white women,,,,,,,and DVD's

Phantom was Z-Hills personified. The end.

I am assuming we are talking freefall students here.....BSR's dictate that we will not dispatch a student in winds over 14mph, therefore there should never come a time when (nowadays) we are having problems with students backing up, no matter how large the canopy. Seriously, though, anyone of us with any salt knows that it used to be routine to put ALL students out under Manta 288's and the like, no matter how small and dainty they were. THANKFULLY, now we are wise enough to buy more than one size of student canopy. I am reallyt pleased with this, personally. The bottom line is that as long as you are staying comortably within under 1:1 wingload for students then you are going to be OK. I am sure I am going to ruffle some feathers here, but who cares....I am actually a proponent of putting lead on feather-weight AFF students. Particuarly those who are flying flat as a board on Cat's A and B. They can un-fuck their arch later, after the AFF-I's are not in danger of being able to stay "up" with their biggest RW suits. In those cases "dressing for success" is a nebulous term and in my world that means (as a pretty small instructor who normally does not need to do this) hanging lead on tiny women who arch from their tits and not their pelvis (no matter how many signals you give them). How many others of you older instructors remember putting 100 pound girls out under Manta 288's with ill-fitting harnesses? I certainly do. Thank god for DZO's with brains who recognized the need to purchase both very-small, and very-large rigs. Chuck Blue, D-12501 AFF/SL/TM-I, PRO, S&TA

NEVER deviate from the planned flight path. NEVER should you, as an individual or as a flock, fly anything other than a 90/90 flight path. the ONLY exceptions to that are if you are a rank novice and you blow your exit. In that circumstance, then, yes, you should right yourself and fly straight back to the DZ. The ONLY reason you would do that is if you blow an exit, are below the flock, and simply cannot make it back to the predetermined opening spot. Feel free to come to Z-Hills and learn all of this without paying $100 for a DVD Chuck Blue D-12501 BMCI-4 AFF/SL/TM-I, PRO, S&TA Z-Flock Wingsuit School

The mayor of Skydive City just died of natural (albeit premature) causes. We are all devastated. Jim was a Master Mariner. He held the highest qualification of sea captain. He was a fantastic big-way skydiver. He was a great drinking/party partner. I can't even describe to you unknowing's how cool he was. Man, how bad does it suck that the had to die from natural causes.... He had been ill for over a month. He would not answer our calls the past several weeks. He, for whatever reason, did not want to drag us into his personal dilema. Man, it sucks. How I wish we (the true friends) could have spent the last few days with him. I made him proud tonight. Chuck

OH, you guys are going to be there too?????? I will be there with around 30 suits. chuck

PHIL PEGGS SIGHTING!!!!!!!