SkymonkeyONE

Odd as it may seem, 20 years into it and I still sometimes get wierded out at sometimes. At Perris during the meet we were hopping and popping from over 6k. Well, sometimes anyway; normally one of my teammates and I launched a flower every round. The point is, prior to exit I bet I checked my gear 50 times making sure I wasn't going to fall out of it. Then, under canopy, I was quite nervous, almost to the point of passing out. Let me tell you, you really don't need to pass out under a 75 foot elliptical! Stage fright may have been the reason as it only bugged me the first couple of rounds in the competition, but still, I was wiggin'! The only other time I ever got that way was after several days of very heavy partying. I don't recommend that at all; I was barely able to stay conscious until I landed. Ugh! Chuck

Those things are just the way I like them: one on the left and one on the right!

I just got back from five days in Perris (there for the swoop meet)and must say that I was pretty pleased with my experience. The dropzone itself is very large but only has one grass landing area, so you better be landing there unless you want to trash your gear. When I was there the flightline consisted of three Twin Otters, all of which kept pretty busy the whole time the weather cooperated. This place gets very windy during the late morning-mid afternoon timeframe, so it pays to get up early and jump your heart out, then take a break and resume later. This is not to say that the aircraft ever stop flying, it's just that if you are a swoop purist like myself, then you are not going to like hooking it into the 20 knot wind. Anyway, why sweat it when they have that GREAT pool and restaurant to hang out in? The Bombshelter kicks ass! It's a very nice bar connected to probably the best DZ restaurant I have ever been in...Seriously! I am talking gourmet chow here. If you go, tell the "Food Nazis" I said hello. If you are a person looking for specialized training, this place has it all: RW training, Freefly training, world-class canopy-flight training, skysurf, whatever. You could easily empty your wallet in a day if that is your bag. For you new guys looking to make a tandem or start your training, there are also two basic student-training schools. There are tons of packers running around for you LAZY people. Gear sales and rigging needs are covered by the Square One store right on the premesis. Nice folks in there. A word of warning: reserve repacks are VERY expensive in California. I stayed in the bunkhouse while I was there. Very nice, though there are no windows in the place. Clean bedding, cold airconditioning, good vibes. I could not bitch at all. You swoopers will enjoy the TWO swoop ponds on the DZ: the old, rectangular one next to the grass landing area, and the new diamond-shaped one out in the desert. Unless you want to trash your gear, or are jumping the diamond pond because of a competition, I recommend swooping the one next to the grass. My wife had a shit fit when she saw my rigs after I got home. NASTY! They really need some grass out at the new pond, but doubt it will happen due to the great cost it takes just to keep the thing full. I was told that at least 300 gallons per day evaporate out of it. All in all, I had a very nice time. Hopefully, I will be back in November for the next swoop meet. Chuck Blue D-12501 Skydive Raeford

Speaking of farting....While out at the Para Performance meet in Perris, a bunch of us stayed in the new bunkhouse. You talking about a stinky joint, you should have smelled Hans Paulson and and Joe Bennett's room. HOLY SHIT! Kevin Riesek and Mike were in there too, but I don't think they had much to do with it. My room was just as bad because Eric Butts was busting ass the whole time. That, plus we all partied in our room and there were many beers spilled on the floor. NICE! Chuck

In response to: "I don't know or care, as long as it stops the stupid flapping noise behind my head." Ahem.. Slida-Flappida is a disease only YOU can cure. Dave, enough with the negative vibes, Moriarty! LOL! I don't need an airspeed indicator to "prove" to you that collapsing my slider, pulling it down, and having a kill-line pilot chute do wonders to increase my performance. It just DOES. All that stuff adds TONS of parasitic drag if not properly stowed. Those of us who fly heavilly loaded elipticals right up to the posted maximum exit weight must use every trick in the book to get the cleanest landing possible. Chuck

Go to the website (www.extremefly.com), download the demo request form, fax it to Heather, and you should have it within a week. Chuck

There is a REAL plan in the works to land-launch (BASE) a Skyflyer BirdMan suit and fly about under the power of two nine-inch ducted fan engines like you would put on a large-scale radio controlled model jet. They showed a video of the concept at the CSS Easter Symposium and Boogie. It will be a joint BirdMan/Atair undertaking. The 9" motors generate 85 pounds of thrust apiece. Dan Preston, who is an engineer/inventor by trade (among other things) is building the mounting contraption and I believe Jari is the intended test pilot. Not sure when it is that they intend to make this happen, but both seemed very excited about it. Chuck

Too bad. I guess that means that my Para Performance article won't be posted until after you return?? Just so long as it gets in there before the "official" one from Jim and Karine. Check your mail, it's all there, pictures and all. Chuck

OK, the article is finished. Just waiting on Sangiro to post it to the site. Hope you guys like it. Chuck

The Precision team was very busy at the meet dialing in their mains. George made a BUNCH of them for his guys to try while they were there. All were solid white with blue cross-braces and originally setup with continuous lines (no cascades). After several days of jumping, George gave them the opportunity to change to cascaded lines (which most did) and continue jumping. The problem was that by that time, most of them had pretty much dialed their mains. The new line-sets trimmed the canopies differently so it was kind of like starting over, yet most of the guys did very well on the main. To me, it looks exactly like an FX, but I didn't sit down and discuss the particulars with anyone. They all said the canopy opens great and flies great. Shaylan won the distance event on one, so that says something for it. Some of the guys took their canopies swimming, but I think that was mostly due to their VERY radical approach technique which leaves no room whatsoever for error.

While I do technically concur with Alan, I can tell you that I have washed several canopies with no bad consequences. Washing the LINES of your canopy has much more effect on trim than washing canopy fabric. If your canopy is just a bit dirty, then a wet sponge should definitely do the trick. The key here is to not let the thing dry in the sun. My Cobalt 75 got three "baths" at the Para Performance Pro Cup and had to be shaken out, wiped off, then dried in the sun a bit so I could pack it up and make the next round. Not the hot ticket for sure, but luckilly it didn't get way out of trim. I am definitely going to measure my lines before this weekend. Chuck

Hold your horses. I just got back to town last night at 10:30 pm. I am definitely writing an article and it will be done as soon as I can empty out my in-box here at work. It was a pretty interesting trip and I have lots to report. Chuck

I was there competing in the pro event. It was quite an experience. And yes, I will be writing a report for us dropzone.com junkies in the next day or two. Unfortunately, the meet directors signed all the video/photo rights to Speed Curve Productions and cameras and video were STRICTLY forbidden from the swoop pond. LOTS of people were really pissed about it. Anyway, I ran into some old friends there and made lots and lots of new ones. Us southern boys made a good showing. Chuck Team Atair

I will be to Perris around noon on Wednesday. My flight leaves Fayetteville tomorrow at 6am. I can't wait. I am pretty hard to miss, so look for the Atair guy with the crazy undersea tattos covering both lower legs. LETS GET PISSED! Chuck Blue SkymonkeyONE! Team Cobalt Skydive Raeford

Fascinating......Where do you do YOUR shopping? Chuck

Monk, there is absolutely nothing wrong with landing downwind, even at 40km, when you have prepared for it. As I have responded to others in the past, the thing to remember when landing is that you must cancel either your vertical speed (descent), your horizontal speed, or both in order to land "safely". In your case, you did OK up to the point where you started running. Not to say that you did badly, as you obviously lived through the tumble, but had you kept your body low with your feet farther in front of you you could have skidded the entire landing out on your feet. That, of course, unless you caught a toe or something. Keeping your toes up is very important, as is keeping one foot farther in front of you. Where most of my students and novice jumpers mess up is when they try to flare HIGHER than normal thinking it is going to stop them on their downwinders; NOT. It just means they are going to stall their parachutes while still travelling forward at warp velocity. Anyway, I am sure it was outstanding to watch and I am happy that you made it through with no real damage. Chuck Blue D-12501

I still dive regularly, but not for sport. I get paid to dive as part of my job. A job, which by the way, has taken me to Roatan, Cozumel, Antigua/Barbuda, Trinidad/Tobago, St Kitts/Nevis, Barbados, and last but not least: Key West 29 times in the past three years. Not bad places to get "forced" to dive if you ask me; plus I get paid an extra $215 per month to do it. Chuck Special Forces Underwater Operations Combat Dive Supervisor

S.P. works "various" places on and off Bragg; I work at USAJFKSWC now. Bill Rambo was indeed the brunt of many jokes. Chuck

My favorite type has always been the older, first-generation Teva and Fibus sandles that had the ankle wrap. Those types, like old flip-flops, had the part that went between your big toe and the second toe. I have never been fond of the type that just loop over the front of your foot because they do flip under more easilly when you are surfing out your landing. The old type, with one-color straps are only like $20 from the Sunshine Factory. Chuck

10:01 WEDNESDAY that is.

I arrive in San Diego at 10:01 and will be at Perris by noon. I am just as anxious to see the new stuff as anyone else and can't wait for the competition! I will definitely write an "as competitor" view of the meet when I get home. Till then, Chuck PS: Dan Preston has a Cobalt 65 and an 85 with the nose-mod waiting for me. Wish me luck!

In response to:(i.e., don't fart on the plane!) Awh, go ahead, fart on the plane. Your fellow jumpers will love you for it. Chuck

Ramon, I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't get great surfs out of a tri-brace at that wingload; just that you couldn't get the optimum out of it. I can surf the PISS out of my dads Sabre 210 (I could also probably land it as a tandem main!), but I am not sure that is what I would buy if I found one for cheap, if you know what I mean. As for your desire to buy a used, larger FX and grow into it; I think that is fine. They land just fine straight-in and are, obviously, less radical at lower wingloads. At less than "optimal" wingloads for max performance, though, they will only surf you as far as a similar sized "conventional" eliptical. Kind of like the Jap bike analogy: you can ride a Ninja on a dirt road, but WHY would you pay that kind of money when you could have bought an old enduro which is far better suited to that terrain? Still, if I found an FX for $700 I would snatch it right up. I am sure I would find a good use for it. Chuck

I think you are wasting your time if you jump ANY tri-brace at less than about 2.2. I load my Cobalt at 2.4 and it flies like a bat out of hell. I was loading my VX-74 at about the same wingload and I was told I was barely in the performance "sweet spot". Oh well, I like my Cobalts better anyway as all-around performance mains. I am not saying that just because I have a ride with them; remember, I jumped a VX first. If you are looking at a killer deal on a tri-brace, make sure you are at least going to get some benefit out of it. You will NOT at 1.8. Chuck

In the words of Stuart McKenzie: "LET'S GET PISSED!" C.W. Blue II, Esquire