SkymonkeyONE

That seems reasonable. See you there. For those getting there earlier, I will be there on the 4th unless my RV breaks down on the way. Hey, it's a 1976 Coachmen; a CLASSIC! Orange shag carpet, blacklights, loud stereo, cold AC. Go left inside the main gate and look for the Alabama Gang enclave. I will be parked there on the closed runway. Chuck

It is actually a blown up pic of the ones I have posted in the photo galleries here on good-old DZ.com. Other VERY cool pics are found in the Atair website photo gallery. Check them out at http://www.extremefly.com Chuck

I am going to get big-headed! Full size pic of yours truly on the back cover of Parachutist in the Atair ad. Sweet! Chuck

There is no such a thing as a dorky frap hat. Mine is 15 years old, smells very bad, and is rotten along the entire front seam. Sewing it back down does no good anymore, so I let it inflate like a balloon. A true "meat helmet" if ever there was one. I don't use it much anymore, but those times when it's hot, but I must wear one because I am working with students, I take it off and stick it down my jumpsuit after opening. Very unobtrusive. If I push it down far enough it makes it look like I have a bigger "package". Chuck

Carl, go fast, take chances, and for god's sake don't wear a helmet! Chuck swoop lord

Clay, I don't peddle anything. I am not a dealer and I still pay for all of my parachutes. I DO get to jump prototype stuff, and that is certainly cool. The Cobalt is just that good of a parachute that I choose them over what I had, which is to say every other fast parachute on the market, including my VX. Chuck

I am DYING here! That is so damn funny I can't stand it! I am quite sure you will be flamed by the very-serious, but that was GREAT parody. Does it really happen? OF COURSE IT DOES! I have seen plenty of it in my worldwide DZ travels. Chuck

SERIOUSLY, not.. Get your act together, Clay! This forum is FULL of techies and they have little tollerance for your lack of skills in the editing department. As a WAN administrator and general man about town, you should really be doing a better, more creative job here. A poll for all you techie police out there: what to do with Clay? banish him to "wreck-dot" sit him down and have him read the FAQ, SOBER! take away his keyboard and send him back to Raeford

I was knocked unconscious in 1991 while videoing a 12-way star at a demo. The idiot hit me in a head-down no-lift dive. End result was a 2nd degree left shoulder dislocation (which popped back in), broken camera helmet, and me biting right through my lower lip on the right side. I woke back up at 8,000 feet (we jumped from 18k), dumped at 3k, and landed with both toggles in my right hand (away from the crowd; I was covered in blood). My buddy Ray Porterfield and I went to the med station and I got cleaned up and had five stitches put in my lip. I have video of me trying to eat a hot dog ten minutes later. One hour after that, we got back on the plane (Coast Guard C-130) and jumped again. My shoulder was killing me, but I was not about to miss a free skydive! Needless to say, I didn't jump video on that jump. Later in the day, they flew us all back to Raeford and we jumped in. My wife was incredulous: "what the hell happened to you?" "Just another day at the office, dear" LOL! Anyway, the stiches in my lip didn't bother me at all. It tickled as a matter of fact! You can't see the scar from the outside, but I can certainly still feel it with my tongue. Chuck

Michelle, this is what I mean when I gripe about half-assed student programs. Not to say that you are getting inferior freefall training, but if you do not know the component parts of your equipment are (in some detail), then they are just giving you the bare minimum, which unfortunately is the case at most big DZ's. Is that the king of all run-on sentances or WHAT? LOL! I suppose they will maybe give you that at your $30 packing class or something. Ugh! FYI: in our standard FJC, which is covered over four evenings from 6 thru 9 pm, we do a "pull down" to demonstrate the deployment procedure. We then point out every piece of equipment in detail, from the top of the pilot chute to the bottom of the legstraps. Knowing this, a student will be better able to articulate his understanding of the "total package" and also know what he is looking at when he inspects his gear before and after every jump. Anyway, to answer your question: Crossports are cut in the ribs of parachutes in order to keep the canopy fully presurized from end to end. These holes cut in the fabric greatly diminish the instances of end-cell closure that occured before their advent. As the canopy is inflating from the center, the pressure building up in the cells does two things: it forces air into the outer cells through those crossports, thus inflating them, and that action forces the slider down. Hope that helps, Chuck

Dude! I cannot begin to count the number of my friends who have hosed themselves in similar manners. Nipple rings were a very trendy thing in the SPECOPS community for a while. I saw (and still do see) people hanging them up on all kinds of things. It is very gay to say "don't hurt my nipples" when you are practicing hand-to-hand in the sawdust pit. That, or hanging it up on the side of a building you are trying to climb. LOL! Anyway, brother, learn from the experience and drive on. There is a reason we teach our students to remove all jewelry prior to skydiving. Just be glad you didn't snag a fucking cock ring! Remember, chicks dig scars, so it's all good in the end. Chuck

Clay still thinks he is here at Raeford!

I thought about writing about that possibility, but was led to believe by the original post that the student "didn't know" what happened. Generally, if someone "falls off", he knows what he did. That leads me to believe he had a premature deployment. Also, if he fell off (which happens occasionally unfortunately), then he wouldn't be anywhere near the tail. We as SL Instructors and JM's use the "shortline" technique to prevent our students from flipping through the risers, etc. It was used far more back when we had them standing on their left foot on the step and their right foot out in space. Now with the "hanging" technique it is less common to have to shortline people, but it still gets plenty of use. The major reason, at least in my 20 years experience, is that some JM's don't have their students put their legs out stiff enough, so when they let go, they start to flip over backwards. Not a big deal for the JM who is on the ball. Chuck

Not right now at least. Clay, if you do plan on keeping your container, though, you might want to go ahead and invest in a kill-line in anticipation of slapping in that new ZP eliptical you are Jonesing over. If that is a ways down the road and you want to get the same effect for zero dollars, then cut out your zero grommet, and pound in an eight grommet. That is what we all used to do "back in the day". What happens then is that your bag will fly back and collapse your pilot chute after opening. It is hard on pilot chutes, but who gives a shit. People will give you stock pilot chutes for nothing if you ask nicely. When you do decide to get a ZP kill-line, then holler at me and I will get you the skymonkey hook-up. Chuck

We keep a white rag in our shop that we spray WD-40 onto. With that, we just wipe off the cables at every reserve repack. Chuck

As a young jumper, no, they don't make a bit of difference. You should not be concerned about the tiny reduction in parasitic drag you get with mini risers. Actually, they only drawback I have ever experienced with regular risers is having them stick out of the riser covers on your packed rig, or making it a bit more of a hassle to pull down your slider. Chuck

I am also a jump pilot, though nowadays I might only fly jumpers once or twice a year at my dad's DZ in Alabama. Anyway, the student more than likely had a premature deployment caused by improper stowage of the SL. There is another thread in this forum concerning different methods of stowage. Does this DZ use direct bag or static-line assist? Generally, if it uses direct bag and you have a premature deployment, the weight of the bag will ensure it goes below the tail. It is possible, and unfortunately has already happened, where the main(or reserve) fires right over the tail. This, obviously, leads to major structural damage and in some cases death. Now to the pilot shit: I would NEVER fly jumpers without a pilots rig. You are absolutely correct in your concerns about having less time to react to emergencies at this lower altitude. Also, when I am dropping SL students I keep my eye on the student. If I saw a premature opening happening I would immediately roll left and get the tail over. Would a person be able to react fast enough? Hell, I don't know, but at least I have a plan. I have a very good friend, the wife of one of my best buddies, who got yanked off the plane on her 3rd SL as I Jumpmastered. I inspected her twice before she left the plane, but did not notice that her SL was not secured as per our club SOP. My mistake, and it's never happened again, but that doesn't change the fact that it might have been very ugly had the main went over the tail. (it actually bounced off it and then went under; it was THAT close) She had no idea what had happened and I couldn't do anything but scream "go" when I saw what was happening. Luckily, it didn't spook her so bad that she freaked out and quit (she now has 140 jumps), but the FAA RIGGER that packed that main was banned from touching students indefinitely. Bottom line: discuss your DZ's pack closing and SL stowage technique with the head rigger. Express your concerns and tell him you will be on the lookout for problems. Though you are not yet a jumper, I am sure you can see the neccessity of having a GOOD working knowledge of the equipment and emergency procedures. If you are not already using one, get a damn pilots rig and learn how to operate it. Make the DZ give you a first jump course and let you make a jump or two, even if you choose not to stick with it. If you are like most small DZ pilots, you are not getting paid. Therefore, it is in your best interest to be as qualified and prepared as you need to be in order to do your job safely and effectively. Chuck

Understood. And yes, you are correct in saying that we have all been there, one way or another. It is our job as Instructors to get these people through the hard times, and thus, through the program and onto the fun stuff. BSBD, Chuck

Mike, there are also threads here in the gear forum that concern packing tips for Cobalts. Dig them up and you will see that you shouldn't do anything "special". I just to a standard PRO pack without any nit-picky straightening of the inner folds, stuffing the nose, or slider quartering crap. I normally put one roll in the nose out of habit, but it really does not need it. Yes, the Cobalt opens better than a Stiletto. Body position at opening is MUCH less critical with this main, thus you shouldn't ever worry about a spin-up. The only time I was ever even remotely "smacked" was after I completely filled my main with water on a botched pond swoop. Lovely. Chuck

First, to preface: I am not an AFF-I; I am an SL-I and TM-I. I failed the AFF cert course back in '92 because I was too busy shooting leg-locks practicing for a 4-way meet. That fact, of course, does not mean that I don't do FF work with students. I am with them, right off their side, for every jump from the first 15-SD until graduation and up to A-license. Do I take grips, stop spins, and all the other stuff a rated AFF guy does? You are god-damn right I do. I never planned to go back, until this year, because the majority of students I train are under the SL program. Now, with tandem progression, I feel I need the rating in order to be able to "legally" train students unilaterally. I have bought the course material and am just waiting for a break in the swoop-meet circuit in order to get to a course. I did not say that I had never been hosed by a spinning student floating up faster than I could react; that happened to me once ten years ago. I said that the instructor in question had been hosed; which he had. I was not belittling the man, nor you or anyone else; just stating a fact. Also, I promise you that 9000 jumps does not an instructor make. If all you have ever done is competion RW (which used to be my staple), then you are WAY more likely to get hosed by a student. Reason? Simple; your teamates would NEVER do anything like that. You KNOW that they are going to be right there after you crank that 540 to RH donut. You must be in a completely different mindset to deal with FF students. It took me a while to get that mindset. Another benefit for me is that I fly a lot in the Ft. Bragg wind tunnel and practice instructor drills. I have taken many a boot to the face in there doing spin drills, but will not hesitate to fly in and hook a leg when it simply must be done. Absolutely. The problem lies when they just "can't figure it out", or will not respond to visual signals or learn from video debrief. Man, I wish I had that helmet-to-helmet commo system that I have seen on TV. THAT would be great. A spinning student, like Michelle's friend, isn't going to see any damn hand signals, especially from a guy 20 feet below him (or her). Hell, lots of time they don't see them when you are right in their face! LOL! Still, remedial training is definitely important. A wind tunnel would be of IMMENSE help to those students. Chuck

There are two trains of thought here. One is for the person with a big wad of cash and the other for the guy that wants to get the most jumps and meet the most people. First, if you are packing a big wallet and are not in a position to jump any of the odd planes/helos/etc at your home DZ, then try all of that stuff "just to say you did it" once in your life. The specialty jumps there can be quite pricey and offer very little in the way of actual benefit to your airskills. I am very jaded on this subject, though, because I have literally hundreds of jumps from helicopters and jets MUCH bigger than a 737 of which I paid exactly zero dollars for. If you are not in a position to rape uncle sugar for free skydives like that, then I think your money would be well spent on the experience IF you have already got a handle on your airskills. If you are a bit strapped for cash, or would rather get the most bang for your buck, then the organized dives are the way to go. This is ESPECIALLY true for people from C-182 dropzones. Boogies like this are a fantastic place to "get invited" onto dives 8-way and above. True, some turn out to be total zoos, but the organizers give you every opportunity to excel. Also, in my opinion anyway, faster is better, so if you really want to skydive NOW, you can get right on a load on the "common" aircraft like Mike's King Air. Besides those two things, I can tell you that staying very heads-up under canopy is of utmost priority. There will be LOTS of people there flying around under TINY parachutes (like me), who are trying their best to weave their way through the slower canopies enroute to a safe landing. Even though it is summer, wearing a helmet is very smart. Did I say that? The nightlife, well actually even the daytime partying in some cases, is full-bore. Most people drink like VIKINGS there. If you wander around, you will find little enclaves of people doing their own thing. One of my favorite activities is RV hopping. The intent is to meet as many people as possible and hopefully not barf on any of them. Chuck

Clay, there are tons of threads in this gear forum about Cobalts and comparisons with other canopies, so dig them up. You can also read other reviews in the "gear review" section. I ditched my Icarus quite a while back and now own two Cobalts (an 85 and a 75) and am on the factory swoop team. Do you think I would jump one if I didn't think it was a great canopy? Also, just some other people you know: Greg Offhaus is jumping a 120, Henry is jumping a 135, and melody has a 120. Chuck

It appears that some of my responses are getting lost in cyberspace! Anyway, I answered yesterday that I visited Netheravon for a weekend while on holiday two years ago and had a blast. Jumps were only 8 pounds to 12,500, which is pretty damn inexpensive over there as I understand it. Chuck

I had a blast in Netheravon when I jumped there two years ago. Nice people, cheap skydives (8 pounds for me). Chuck

Once again, in the words of my man Lloyd: "She's gone. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart... she gave me a pen" -- Lloyd Dobler Give it up dude. Find you a righteous skydiver chick and move to the DZ. Finally, another Lloyd quote: The rain on my car is a baptism, the new me, Power LLoyd, my assault on the world begins now. --Lloyd driving in his car after Diane breaks up with him. Chuck