SkymonkeyONE

You wear shoes on the dropzone? Must be a yankee thing. LOL! Most of us at Raeford don't own shoes. Chuck

Bill, as I recall, they found the body and determined that she had committed suicide from something they found in her apartment. Very odd that the crew did not see it happen, but it was a private corporate plane and she was one of the employees. Chuck

EGGGGGZAAAACKLEE! (LOL!) Another reason why I am glad that I put off my "full-time" DZ status until I retire from the service (in 11 months) and have my pension to fall back on. Some of my friends are truly sucking right now. I spoke to my good friend Rob St.John (skydive Las Vegas, ugh!) and he was drowning himself with cocktails at the local watering hole starting to worry that he might have to get another "real" job. Still, he has nothing to worry about compared to the guys that need to make those payments on their turbine fleet! Whew. Personally, I think this FAA issue will get resolved very soon and we will all be back in the air. Chuck

No, Ty, only ALF's get viruses. These here are a bunch of techies! LOL! Chuck

What type of stunt do you think they might be pulling? I, as someone who has been around all the current manufacturing reps on the swoop circuit this year, can tell you that this isn't the first time I have heard of problems with both Icarus and P.A. Both for very different reasons, but troubles nonetheless. Chuck

All of the skydiving operations in Hawaii are on Dillingham Field. Go there and ask for two people: Eric Butts (my teammate), or Arvel Shultz. Both are very good friends who will point you to a decent crowd on the airport. chuck

I say go for it. I have been wanting to "full time" it for most of my life, but just didn't want to blow off a good pension for it. In my line of work you throw too much away if you walk away for too long, so it was better for me to just hold off for a bit. What that means, though, is that I won't have too many useful years left on the DZ to live that idyllic. Certainly not more than 15 anyway without pushing the bounds of common sense. What you must do, April, is decide HOW you want to spend your time on the DZ. I would probably not give everything up just to be a pack bitch or a manifestor. That is entirely different than making a living actually skydiving. As a full-time packer you will have to really work in order to be able to do much skydiving. Most that I know rarely get to make more than about two jumps a day on the weekends. Same goes for manifestors, at least at every DZ I have ever been too; they are too busy to jump. If that suffices, then good for you, but I am going to make my money in the air where I belong. It is much more feasible to make a living on the DZ when you have multiple ratings. True, you can get all those ratings on the DZ, but not without putting out the cash (for the jumps for Instructor, Coach, or Tandem, plus course fees), or time (for a riggers ticket, plus minimum time in sport to get enough freefall time). I know plenty of people that make a living "skydiving", but very few who subsist above the poverty level just by packing or manifesting. This, assuming they are not drawing a pension or disability from another source. Skydiving is not rocket science. You absolutely do not have to have a degree in order to make it on the DZ. Now, some business and economics classes would help you if you are to be running a manifest or working at a gear shop, but OJT suffices in most every case I have ever seen. You are not going to get paid a penny more to pack somebody's main just because you have an MBA. Also, there is no reason you cannot finish your schooling at night should you choose, and there is certainly no statute of limitations on when you "must" return to school. Actually, in my experience, it is much easier to get back into school when you are "grown." It is also much easier to get financial aid and grants when you are grown. I don't think I have over $500 (out of pocket) in my entire college education (three years at Methodist College; still no degree). The bottom line is that I love the DZ and I love skydiving. My wife and I keep our RV at the DZ and spend the great majority of our free time out there. We have both been skydiving our entire adult life. I will be retiring within the year and will then be spending my days out there too. I am going to rig; do tandems, SL, and AFF; cut the grass; and if need be, scrub the toilets. I am CERTAINLY not going to get another "real" job after having spent 20 years in the Army! I don't need to make much money because of my pension, so that means I will be doing more jumping and less nug work than most other DZ bums. I won't have any problem making up the $25k I am going to lose (1/2 my current pay) when I retire. I am not sure, though, that I would be happy on just what one could make as a packer or manifestor; minus the pension. As for basing your decision to do it on current world events, I can't really see how it applies to you. Skydiving will continue to exist in the same capacity as it ever did and there will always be fulltime DZ jobs for people willing to live that life. You have to live your own life. Now if you are talking about getting into the fray, that's entirely different. The CIA (as well as all other major federal agencies) is always looking for recruits. Minimum education is a BS for operational agents, though there are some analyst positions available for people with lesser degrees (in case you were wondering.) Chuck

While I have not yet jumped a Sabre 2, I have heard very good things about it; much the same as the good experiences I have had under a Hornet. Do not waste your time or money on a used Sabre; there are MUCH better parachutes out there. I put over 500 jumps on two Sabre 135's I owned and have put about 10 jumps on Hornets in sizes 135 and 150. This, so I would be able to give a fair opionion when asked about them. So that being said, you must decide two things: new or used, Sabre 2 or Hornet? Jump both if you have the opportunity. Read all the other threads in this forum on both. Read all the reviews in the gear section. After all that, buy the one that flies best for you and does what you want better than the other. Do not base your decision on what the local pretty-boys say; most established jumpers have very jaded opinions on what gear is "best", even though they have never jumped any other brands. My recommendation? Still the Hornet in this catagory. Get a new one in custom colors in about four or five weeks for at least $300 less than anything PD makes. I know they sell around here for around $950. As for some people's concerns about "getting stuff" for them and getting them repaired; I wouldn't worry about it. The great majority of after-the-sale rigging done is by your local rigger: small patches, relines, etc. Also, PISA is not a small outfit; they make ALL the parachute gear in South Africa, both military and civilian. Their Tempo reserve is the best selling reserve in the USA. P.D. is a great company and makes some fine parachute gear. Lord knows I have owned my fair share of their canopies (two Stilettos, one Vengeance, two Sabres, one Excallibur, two reserves). Brand loyalty can only go so far, though, and I am not willing to pay hundreds of dollars more for equipment that isn't worth a penny more than the competition in terms of performance and quality. Chuck Blue D-12501

Raeford Parachute Center in North Carolina. Outfuckingstanding. and occasionally: Skydive Opelika in Alabama.

I normally jump in sunglasses and keep them secure under my helmet with Croakies. I push the Croakies all the way up on the stems right before I put my open-face helmets on and have never had a problem. I normally wear Maui Jims with break-proof hinges. They make Ray Bans that are very similar. Both offer plenty of eye protection for me. When I wear my Factory Diver without the lens, though, I wear goggles over the top. Chuck

Lew, remember the botched raft-dive muff brothers initiation jump we did? Didn't you say you caught it on video when I went by you head-down and my muffs flew off? Chuck

When I put a BOC on my old V1-1 Vecor II, I thought it would be plenty secure, especially with the stock velcro along the right side of the bottom flap. I was mistaken. I was pulled out of two sit-fly jumps by premature openings. Lucky for me, the pilot chute pulled out of the BOC pouch on both jumps, so I didn't have a horseshoe. I would have a master rigger put the added bridle cover on your bottom flap. Chuck Chuck

And obviously any weights you might wear for competition RW or swooping.

Actually, to clarify a little more as things changed a while back: WHEN the Golden Knights comp teams had to pack for themselves, they mostly stack packed their stilettos, though some PRO packed them. Now, the USAPT hires packers for the comp teams and all the contract packers PRO pack those rigs. Not true, though, that they did it any certain way because of the SOP that applies to the demo teams; it was just personal preference. Also, all gear used by the USAPT is non-standard, as is the majority of gear used by our MFF instructors in Yuma, AZ. Those rigs, known by the acronym ICRAPS (instructor certified ram air parachute systems) are all Javelins with mostly Spectre and older Falcon mains. They are flat packed. Chuck

That is not the case at Raeford. We have a LOT of student traffic and if you cause one of them to smack in, then it's your ass. It is just like the rules of the waterways: less maneuverable chutes have right of way. Chuck

You have got to be fucking shitting me. Where in the world did that question come from? Left field obviously. Get a grip, Moron, and keep the questions and chat ON HEADING. Chuck Blue D-12501

Dude, that is a personal problem. I am a Vector tandem bitch and I flat pack ALL my tandems and ALL student mains. I have not ever packed a malfunction in over 20 years and I pack FAST. As stated in another post, it is easier to see all the parts of your parachute if you flat pack or "roll" pack. I personally would not PRO pack any parachute bigger than about 120 square feet. If I can't pick in up to waist-level and have it off the ground, then it is just too big to mess with and I will flat pack it. My wife flat packs her Stiletto, as does the majority of the Golden Knights cometition team. As for "lack of packing tabs", we do not have packing tabs on our MC-4 HALO rigs, but flat pack them. Stilettos obviously don't have packing tabs stock, but we sewed them on my wife's canopy in about an hour. Hey, that's what she wanted. Chuck

Listen up: I am assuming you have extinguished every other option in dealing with this person. That being said, you should have just came out and stated who it was that did it, so that others around him could get his side of the story. The way you have it stated, it's clearly the responsibility of the jumpsuit guy to send the thing to you; you paid and they received the money. It is for that very reason that I sell gear through a reputable middleman: SkyKat gear shop. Now just get it over with and say who it is. Chuck

My first ride was under a lovely Phantom 24. Me hooking up my spare main on the risers incorrectly was the root cause, but lucky for me I didn't have to blouse that rascal at terminal like you did; ugh! Yep, spotting was much more important in those days. Trying my very best, I still didn't make it back to the landing area and ended up finding the biggest briar patch in the state of North Carolina. Lovely. Still, I stood the landing up ( I only weighed about 140 back then). Chuck

You GO, sexy camera girl! LOL! Chuckie

Go fast, take chances, and for god's sake don't wear a helmet! Chuck

I wear the the "sky eyes" ones made by the people that make tube stoes. I wear them right over the helmet and they do not move around at all because the strap is that rubbery tube stoe material. Just my preference. Don't think that a flip up lens is going to give you much protection. I have seen plenty of them kicked off or cracked by inadvertant contact. Still, the bottom piece does do a good job of protecting your jaw and nose (unless you have a real honker!) In the winter, I wear the visor but keep the bottom kicked out a bit to keep it from fogging. Fogging is the reason that the companies came up with flip lenses. If you pull a stock factory diver down too early, it is most assuredly going to fog up on you. If that happens in the winter, then your lens will freeze over and you will be fucked. When I jump a lens I don't pull my helmet down until right before climbout, then right after opening I undo the tightener and pull the bottom of the helmet up a bit. Kind of a pain in the ass, but not so bad that I am going to pay another $300 for a helmet I barely use. Chuck

How much money are you wanting to spend? A good, cheap helmet which is still widely used is the original, non-flip Factory Diver. I use it when I am spinning fast 4-way and 8-way. The lens never flies up (duh!) and I just pull the helmet down right before climbout. I don't use the lens in hot weather; I just pull goggles over the top. This basic helmet is still what is worn by the Golden Knights competition RW team. I don't like A-3's because I have too many friends that have lost lenses; Chris Needels (USPA executive director) among them. He lost three lenses in three jumps at Quincy, and no, he didn't get kicked in the face. Besides that, they are HUGE. Z-1's have a nicer latch system in my opinion, but they are a bit pricey for their cheaper injection molded construction. The BoneHead Havoc is a wonderful new lid that has some pretty funky features. I like that the lens is permanently affixed to the flip-up face portion. I also like it's very-secure latch mechanism. It is very light for it's size, but it too is a bit pricey at around $325. Three guys at Raeford jump them now, one who wears rather large glasses. He REALLY loves it, because he doesn't tear his glasses up when he would otherwise be pulling the helmet down with another brand. You could have a complete Groucho Marx disguise on and then flip the front down with no problem! The one detracting comment I have heard comes from a fellow instructor who says he has a more restricted field of vision in his Havoc than he does with his A-3. He now just wears the Havoc for dealing with students. Your speach is not impeded at all with the Havoc until you flip the front down. With both the A-3 and the Z-1, your voice is muffled when your helmet is on, regardless if your shield is up or down. Food for thought, Chuck

That will not be a problem at all. You will just need to tighten up your closing loop a tad. A Cobalt packs just like any other ZP 9-cell eliptical. Chuck

There are few things sexier than turbine retrofitted classics in my opinion. My all-time favorite is the Westwind DC-3 conversions. We have one sitting right up the road in Smithfield, NC which I get to jump at work on occasion. I still remember the first time I saw my first ones: "There I was, no shit". Laying on the top of a rigged cargo pallet on the ramp of the airport in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I was reading a book and faced off down the runway, when I see two flat-black DC-3's coming in. They weren't making ANY noise at all, so I looked closer. Yep, they rolled to a stop right next to me and shut down. I was stoked. Clipped and squared-off wings, tidy turbine nacelles, big soft-field tires. No markings whatsoever minus some very small flat-gray Fuerzas Area Salvadoreno lettering. Lovely. I went over and chatted with the pilots and walked through one of their birds. Right then I knew that I REALLY needed to win the lottery or get a very-rich sugar mama. Chuck