SkymonkeyONE

Me? Not on your life, but that is just because I jump VERY small mains and I don't want my reserve coming out till I am well away and stable from whatever it might be that I have to chop. I am a staunch proponent of them, though, for the average recreational skydiver who is not jumping highly loaded ellipticals. Bottom line: If your main is prone to spin up on you, then you ought not use one. You should also definitely not use one if you are doing CRW or jumping a camera. Chuck My webpage HERE

You know, I don't even know for sure. I DO know that it felt 100 percent ZP. Ask Dan. I never packed it, but it was a motherfucker to carry because it was so slick. The main I jumped was solid lime green (or neon yellow, I am pretty color blind) with black stripes outboard and black diamonds. I think it may have been the first one, but I don't know. Continuous Vectran lines, black nose mod. My webpage HERE

I personally put two jumps on the Cobalt tandem. What it is, is a Competition Cobalt 350. It's a fully elliptical, zero-p main. I am a Vector bitch, so that's what we put it in. I jumped Simon McCormack on the front with a belly cam and we raised complete hell! I never once used the flare toggles, so we are going to delete them on the production models. The canopy hauls ass. We could get over the top of it in hard toggle turns and we even riser dove it. It was pretty windy so I can't really tell how far it will surf in better conditions, but we came through the blade course on our second jump, then stood it up. It's all on video. The video from the belly-cam is a riot because we were fucking around completely and flying head down. Chuck My webpage HERE

You are right on the money. With standard risers, flaring out to the side will do exactly what you said: give you the benefit of rear riser input without actually "pulling" on them. I was a staunch proponent of tripple risers for over a decade and still have them on one of my rigs, but I have a very-short set of standard risers on my competition cobalt 75 now and rear riser it about half the time. Even when I don't, I always flare out and back anyway while leaning WAY out front so as to get that "free" rear riser action. Chuck My webpage HERE

I was informed this weekend that a very good friend and core member of the Skydive Opelika staff took his own life last Thursday night. I don't care to speculate on what caused the action; that doesn't matter at this point. Sandy Godwin was one of those very laid back dudes that you just loved being around. He was the chief videographer at my dad's DZ for as long as we have been operating out of the current location. If you have ever been to Quincy, you might have met him in the "Alabama Gang" enclave. Sandy loved to swoop and was having a good time getting into freeflying. He was up for any skydive and could always be counted on to get to his slot. We partied our asses off on many occasions and I will miss him terribly. He took many outstanding pictures of me, some of which can be seen on my website. More of his work can be seen on the http://www.skydiveopelika.com website. Small dropzones truly are "family." This, unfortunately, is the second major loss Skydive Opelika has had in the past year. One of the core Jumpmasters, Jim Preston, went in a while back due to a freak hard opening, spinner, cutaway to reserve entanglement. His wife Lori was standing right there when it happened and still never misses a day on the DZ. Such losses to the core cadre of a small DZ are devastating, so I would hope that you would all wish condolences onto Sandy's wife Laura and the DZ regulars. My dad is taking this very hard, as are many of the others. Sandy's viewing is today, Monday, April 1st right outside Montgomery, AL in Mitylene. He will be buried tomorrow. I, unfortunately, will not be able to attend because I fly out TDY again tomorrow morning. Blue Skies, Black Death! Chuck Blue D-12501 "The Alabama Gang" My webpage HERE

Right ON! Omri will be a good dropzone bum. My webpage HERE

0-18-0 A busy jumping weekend. My webpage HERE

But not until I get the last word. My webpage HERE

I do not fire my reserve until a meet is over no matter how wet the rig gets. Some rounds you are so crunched for time that you have to litterally wring the water out of your main and pack it up. The reason for that is that you are not allowed to change canopies in between rounds of similar type, speed, distance or accuracy for example. At least that is how it is in PPPB meets. At the Ranch, you could jump anything you wanted, so long as the main you jumped in the raft accuracy round was jumped previously in the meet. Concerning chows at the Ranch Pond Swoop Nationals: yes everyone I know got wet at least once unintentionally. What I did after sticking my rig in the water the last two rounds (freestyle water displacement and raft accuracy) was to cut away my main and shake it out, then go over in the shade and fire my reserve. The freebag was pretty wet, but the reserve itself was only damp in a couple of places. I laid the freebag out in the sun and then flew my reserve dry in the wind for about ten minutes till it was completely dry. I then went back out in the sun and flew my main dry. The main is still in plenty good trim and I just sponge-wiped off the mud later. Chuck. My webpage HERE

I personally have not found that any of my Cobalts packed any bigger than a similar sized stiletto, but if Dan says so, then I guess it's true. A cobalt packs much smaller than a Vengeance. My largest Cobalt (an 85) packs easily in the smallest Javelin (an old XRS or a new RS, which is what they call them now) Cobalt Dan jumps an 85 and a 95 and both fit in an RS I know several people jumping up to a 120 in an RS+1, but they are very tight. My webpage HERE

Once again you get back to the main reason you are doing your turn. Some people will never have the "feel" of their canopy neccessary to be able to carve with any degree of accuracy. Yes, you can build mad speed with a one riser snap to double fronts, and many competitors do just that. What you get out of the bottom end of that snap, though, depends on the setup of your main. Some mains are setup so that they they just won't dive good in a double front and want to come around the corner too soon. Those are the ones that you do better with a carve. I vary my turn from an mild dive to a sharp snap depending on what the wind is doing and which way I need to go to get through a course. Chuck My webpage HERE

Who said I was a bible thumper? Actually, who said I was even Christian? I was raised Methodist and Baptist, but my parents are Church of God zealots now. My dog tags say JEWISH, and my wife is a lapsed Mormon. None of this has anything to do with whether or not I think adoption should be allowed by gay parents. Hey, if a couple has their wiring crossed and "it's right" for them to live that way then so be it, but don't ever think that the majority of the people in the world will think it's right or believe they ought to be able to raise a child; they won't. It has absolutely nothing to do with religion. I just thought I would clarify my initial response. My webpage HERE

Absolutely not. I don't care how frickin mainstream the media and the vocal minority makes it out, it's still NOT RIGHT to the great majority of god-fearing humans. My webpage HERE

Actually, I find it rather odd that there is not an MD lurking the boards. There certainly are on the wreck. Any real medical doctors in here? Chuck My webpage HERE

Here. "LOL" there you go. My webpage HERE

Ladies and gentlemen, who among you will be present this weekend at Carolina Sky Sports for their annual Easter Symposium and boogie? I plan on being on-site not later than late Thursday evening or early Friday morning. I will travel there and stay in the magnificent Monkey-Bago until Sunday noon unless the weather gets shitty like it did last year. Answer back if you are coming and tell me what your lodging arrangements are. I recommend staying on the DZ. Cobalt Dan and the NY crew will also definitely be there. If you come during the day, look for us at the Atair table. If you come at night, look for me around the fire or at the RV. Chuck PS: don't hijack this thread. I only want to know who is coming, that way we can make firm hook-up plans. My webpage HERE

Flying since I was six in a 182. Flew my first jumper at age 12. Over 100 hours in the "real" logbook. Plenty of stick time in a Citabria when my dad got bored and bought a lime green one when I was 16, but mostly jump planes. I have flown the following: Aeronca Chief Citabria C-150 C-172 C-182 Cherokee 6 Anybody notice that I didn't put SEL anywhere? Anyone think that means I don't still fly? Oh, nevermind. My webpage HERE

Exactly. Now, everyone read what I wrote in the "locked threads" thread. Good day, Chuck My webpage HERE

Let me just say this: I generally have a lot more fun than the law allows, but what happened today in my forum while I was at work was completely uncalled for. Getting in a pissing contest in one of the "serious" forums is going to get you in trouble. I just had to delete about 10 posts and am not very happy about it. There is no room on these boards for you to be "motherfucking" people. If you MUST say something untoward, you better be doing it via PM. This is what separates this place from the rabble at wreck dot. Some people dislike the moderation that goes on over here, but it's entirely up to the individual whether or not he or she chooses to lurk or post. Nobody is forcing you to be here, but we really do like the sizable crowd we have now. Keep your attitude in check and you MIGHT learn something here. None of us moderators is on a power trip; believe me. We all like to have our fun in this talkback forum and some of us are even known to be post-whores. What you will NOT see us doing, though, is lashing out wildly or playing favorites with anyone. I urge you all to keep your head on straight while posting. Sincerely, Chuck Blue D-12501 My webpage HERE

I guess things are just a LOT more country over here, because nobody is going to kick anyone off a DZ on this coast unless the DZO really has a cob up his ass. Worst case scenario would be some beer bought. This, assuming it was something that a DZ fixture like myself or one of the other old guys put together. Some groups just NEED to be screwed with on occasion to lighten them up. Nothing dangerous by any means, but turning a small group into a larger one happens quite often around here. Chuck My webpage HERE

OK, here's my perspective: yes it's not really "secret", but at the same time it is more of what we would actually say if we were standing around the fire at the DZ WAY after the sun went down. That being said, if you were not there for it, then tough luck. Ask someone in private later, "hey, what did I miss". At that point, someone might give you a brief synopsis of what went on; certainly not a transcript. The bottom line here, is that I don't want anyone recording my conversations, no matter HOW public they might be. If I can't trust that what is said in near real-time will remain so, then I will stop participating in Happy Hour. Like Lisa said, I am not "ashamed" of anything I might say while the room is open, but I don't need any of it being repeated to anyone after the fact. If you were not there, then it's none of your damn business. Either way, tell me how it is going to be so I can make a fairly important decision. If I cannot be candid with the people I am talking to, then it's not worth my time to be there. If I say something about a person and he or she is not in the room, I intend it to be kept among those people who were actually there at the time. Chuck My webpage HERE

I still, unbelievably, have many more jumps than posts. My webpage HERE

BWAHAHA! Poor monkey! My webpage HERE

Married to a chick with 2700 skydives. My webpage HERE

Some of the guys on the circuit, actually the majority of the guys, are sponsored in some manner by their dropzones. Most of the sponsored guys come from either RW teams or Freefly teams, and as such get their entrance money from those sources. Others, those solely sponsored by their canopy manufacturer are only getting deals on equipment and entrance fees paid. Nobody out there is living strictly off swooping, believe me. Bottom line with getting a sponsorship strictly off one's swooping prowess, is having a proven track record and competition history. Your average "Beer Line Billy" isn't going to get a call from a canopy or container manufacturer. Name recognition and experience is what skydiving vendors want, and how you get that is by getting out on the road and competing. On the local front, what a dropzone wants to see is a good plan and true determination. Most places will cut you deals on jump tickets if you do something in return. I get a good deal on equipment from SkyKat at Raeford. I also get treated very well on the dropzone. They don't ask me too, but I wear SkyKat patches on all of my jumpsuits, outerwear, and competion shorts. I also plug their business shamelessly since they do have fantastic prices. Same goes with my canopy sponsor. I get a very good deal on equpment through them, plus they pay all my entrance fees at meets. In return, I go out there and swoop my ass off and field questions from the spectators. I also wear their logo on all my equipment. I got asked to join up after already having bought two of their mains anyway. The main thing here, though, is that I would compete without any sponsorship. It's my nature to compete and be social, so that is what I do. I have an absolute blast on the road and the people are just fantastic. I haven't won anything yet, maybe I never will, but I do make a very strong showing and am proud of my performances. Kind of like NASCAR, you just have to make a good showing to get a following. My webpage HERE