SkymonkeyONE

There is nothing I could find on skydiving.com My webpage HERE

UPDATE: Jari and Kim will not be there. Steve-O and Baxter will be there in their stead. I am not sure I will make it now as my prime directive was mainly to hang out with Jari and Kim. I will make another decision after he writes me back and says whether or not I will have work there. Chuck My webpage HERE

Hey Clay, can you believe that they didn't know that was me instructing her in the tunnel? I mean damn, there were subtitles and everything. Actually, that show has been re-run at least 25 times since the initial showing. We filmed it two Septembers ago. The pisser was that they completely misconstrued the sequence of events. She had already made the two tandems before she showed up at the tunnel. Me and Mike Payne flew her in there for about an hour. We only had to keep her on the tether for about two minutes, then just basically AFF'd her for a bit. They edited out a tremendous amount of footage. Ken Casens from the GK media relations office shot the POV footage after we flew Joan. What they didn't show at all was the three guys we had flying in their next with full combat equipment. You see, the wind tunnel footage, complete with the MFF team stuff, was supposed to have been shown in the "behind closed doors with Army Special Forces" edition. For whatever reason, they took creative license and edited it to look like it was the knights that flew her in the tunnel and that the tunnel came before the tandems.(It was not. It was myself and Mike Payne, both of us from USAJFKSWC) Whatever. At any rate, Joan Lunden was a good student and did quite well. She only got spit out the one time (right on top of me). Chuck My webpage HERE

Your home DZ is, by my definition, where you spend the most time. My RV is parked at Raeford and that is where I teach, therefore it is my home DZ. My webpage HERE

That canopy- there was only one- was called the Alpha Blade 84. It had continuous lines which were splayed out sideways, not front to back, just like the old ParaFlite Evolution. the main had either three or four sets of risers; I think four if I remember correctly (the evolution had three sets). By all acounts, that canopy hauled complete ass, but opened like a bomb. Gunter Worlein ended up with that canopy when Jim started jumping his first Icarus, which he won in a swoop meet. Gunter had it for sale on the old Sky Depot website and I heard someone bought it. Not sure where it eventually ended up. Chuck My webpage HERE

I have seen instances where both one and both toggles become fouled. Generally, this is only possible if you sort of "half-hitch" the excess somehow. If both stay stowed and it's a big, lightly loaded canopy, then I would land it on both rear risers; no big deal. The problem comes when only ONE toggle gets stuck and you have already released the brakes. In that instance, you revert back to your student training and perform a controlability check. If you cannot cancel the turn with less than 50 percent opposite toggle, or remedy the situation by just cutting the stuck control line with that hook knife I hope you always jump with, then chop it. If you failed to jump your hook knife, but can control the parachute with 50 percent or less opposite toggle, then I would land it. My wife made the mistake of landing a 110 square foot parachute of mine one time a number of years ago that had two jammed toggles. She had packed herself this brake-line malfuncion somehow, but fought it all the way to the ground instead of just chopping it or cutting the control lines with her hook knife. Her excuse: "I wanted to jump that main again and if I chopped it I would not have been able to." Needless to say, she will never make that mistake again. This, from a girl with an AFF rating and 2700 skydives. Luckily, she didn't pound that hard, but it sure looked ugly. She was in a fairly tight spiral when she hit the ground. NONE of us are immune to stupidity attacks. Perform your emergency prodedures as you rehearse them and you should be fine. Chuck My webpage HERE

Personally, I am no fan of ASC, but I am willing to go down there to hang out with Hans, plus help coach with Jari and Kim. The uneven terrain is not very conducive to swooping, but that is not the purpose of my visit; it's all about the boogie. My webpage HERE

That was a very informative post, other than placing Canon (pronounced "canyon") City "west" of Colorado Springs. It is actually South West, much closer to Pueblo. I lived in Colorado Springs for five years and Denver for two. It is an absolutely beautiful region and hopefully, someday, I will get back out there to see it again. Another plus is that there is no motorcycle helmet law in Colorado! Sidenote to visiting "territorial" patch-holders: This is Bandido country; keep your rag in your saddlebags unless you are in that coalition. This will make perfect sense to those who need to know what I am saying; others can disregard. Chuck My webpage HERE

The Osbourns (I am pretty sure thats' how it's actually spelled) is a fucking riot. Can you imagine growing up in that household? Insane. Chuck My webpage HERE

I just found out yesterday that Jari and Kim from BirdMan are going to be at a CASA boogie at ASC in Cedartown, Georgia from 26-28 April. I am very tempted to go down and hang out/coach with them. Anyone else in the area considering going? I will probably just drive down and stay with Hans Paulson or either drive my RV down; not sure yet. At any rate, this would be a good time to hook up and skydive. The way they have it listed, there will be 30-way RW attempts, freefly coaching, as well as the BirdMan instruction and coaching which I have already mentioned. Chuck My webpage HERE

Wut U say, monkey? My webpage HERE

Actually, the only one I ever had a problem with was the pre-Sunpath one I had back when everyone else was jumping vectors BACK IN 1990! . Neither of my new javs has any "flap flappida" problems. I like Microns and very nearly bought one instead of my Odyssey, but the cut-in backstraps on the Jav got me. This after a decade of Vector usage. In a rig as small as I jump, the stiffness of a Micron isn't an issue anyway. Chuck My webpage HERE

I currently own two Javelins, but I really like both the Wings and the newer Infinity containers. The only drawback to the Infinity in my opinion is the inability to order it with a "four ringed" fully articulated harness. Do I really think that makes much of a difference? No. As for the Wings: man, in the tiny sizes that is one sexy little rig. They also make a great student rig. That is what we use at our school. Chuck My webpage HERE

The Space and Alpha were identical and were actually known as "Impulse" when sold directly by Atair overseas. They are outstanding canopies. The stock Cobalt is very similar, but with certain changes which make it handle heavier wingloads better. The non-loaded ribs are different on a Cobalt and the top skin is sewn in 18 different pieces to load those ribs. I owned one of the last Alpha 84's that came to the states and it kicked ass. In my opinion the flight characteristics are nearly identical to a stock Cobalt or a Crossfire, but you might get a tad less bottom end out of it. Jim Slaton, Caven Warren, Joey Costa, myself and a bunch of others used to compete under Alphas, which once again, is the same canopy as the "Space". Chuck My webpage HERE

Weid, yep, I was there right before it was renamed in honor of Bill Ottley. I shit you not, there were two whole pony kegs sitting in the sand right beside the Tiki Bar when the place emptied. My wife and I were floored, but did our best to keep up the southern tradition of not stopping till we were definitely THROUGH. The DZ was packed all weekend, but the late night scene really disappointed me. You guys will have to change my mind on the next trip through. I was talking to Johnny Mulford this afternoon about him going up for a couple of weeks and doing AFF and hauling meat. I may try to come with him. My webpage HERE

OK, then let me put it this way, as I have been to both X-Keys and The Ranch. If the apres-skydiving scene is what you seek, since they both have multiple turbine aircraft which run from nearly sun-up to sundown, then go to The Ranch. Last time I was at X-keys, the Tiki Bar and entire DZ was deserted at midnight on a Saturday night, leaving five of us there staring at TWO un-tapped free kegs of beer. (people leave and go somewhere else to party). At midnight at The Ranch on any Saturday night there will be not less than 45 people around the bonfire and a good number of those people will still be standing there when the sun comes up. I also like the fact that the tandem factory at The Ranch is farther away from the general skydiving than at X-keys. I had a "good" time at both places, but definitely prefer the ambiance of The Ranch. Once again, I think they are both fine dropzones and you may have time to visit both. If you do not, then just decide what it is that brings you to and keeps you on a dropzone and decide from there. Chuck My webpage HERE

Report directly to The Blue Sky Ranch in Gardiner, NY and be happy. It's not a bad drive and it's beautiful up there in the Shawangunk mountains. Tons of nightlife in New Paltz. I have been to The Ranch three times now and love it. Chuck My webpage HERE

Tell that to Jim Preston's widow Lori. While it is true that todays technology gives your reserve every opportunity to deploy cleanly, even if snagged on your body or another piece of equipment, it is still PLENTY possible to have that rascal come off your back in such a manner as to preclude a clean opening. Jim Preston had a very hard opening after an otherwise uneventful RW skydive. His main broke some lines and was spinning up. Jim, stunned by the hard opening, reached up with what strength he had left and chopped. His RSL fired his reserve immediately as he was shot out laterally while still spinning along his longitudal axis before he was able to regain stability. His bridle and several rows of suspension lines double-wrapped around his throat, choking him out. He rode in a reserve bag-lock from 2000 standing straight up. This, on a "regular" skydive. Bottom line is that the risk factor compounds exponentially with each additional piece of equipment you add to the mix. Chuck My webpage HERE

There are pics in the BoneHead website, check it out. Did I mention that BoneHead rocks? Also, Jeanie is such a love muffin! Chuck My webpage HERE

It was very windy that day, but I took it through the course anyway! I was SERIOUSLY hoping for a no-wind day to see what I could really do with it. Chuck My webpage HERE

Agreed. I generally sit very still till I have "most" of my parachute over my head and it decides what it's going to do. From there I harness steer if I need to, which is rarely. Chuck My webpage HERE

I just made my 1500th post. What a whore I must be. My webpage HERE

BWAHAHAHA! Only if you are old or a woman. My webpage HERE

I'm a what? My webpage HERE

To me, as a five foot seven guy, I always use short risers so I can more easily get to my slider. As far as control range or anything else goes, I don't notice a difference. I run my brake lines terribly loose no matter how long the riser length, so it doesn't make a difference. If you jump a tiny main and have to reach with one hand, unsymetrical for your slider, then your canopy is going to dive in the opposite direction. I can't stand that, so I jump SHORT risers. Chuck My webpage HERE