SkymonkeyONE

It's NEVER too cold to ride in Z-hills. I have to go get my back tire replaced tomorrow due to the third-gear smokey burnout I did in the bar last two weeks ago. Lovely.

I was in Alabama this weekend and missed YardHippie altogether. I DID get drunk dialed by him though!

You have to put your bike away for the winter? Poor thing.

You could sew one up in less than five minutes at Sunrise Manufacturing. You could do it yourself at home in that same amount of time if you had an old RSL laying around.

I can't believe that the DZ let you advance to the next level after more than 30 days since your last jump. Go that long at the school where I worked (until last year) and you were going to have to sit through retraining and re-do your last level at a minimum. Skydiving training (any method) is not something you can take three years to complete. If you are commited to learning the sport, then take the time to get through it in a prompt and timely manner!

I know several people who jump with such shoulder restraints. Ray "Stoney" Stone is one. His is made of neoprene and velcro straps. It looks funny, but it keeps him in the air.

OH, I see! Let ART do it and not even THINK about little old CHUCKIE! My tandem rig is better looking than Art's too!

Let me pipe in by saying that what is being described here is very-basic user assembly stuff. With the main hung up by the tail (or with your buddies holding it up in this manner) and the rig laying face down on the ground with the lines taut, this is what you ought to see: As viewed from the way I said to lay it out- -rear control lines are go through the rear slider grommets on the correct side of the canopy and then pass through the guide rings on the rear risers and are correctly attached to the toggles. -C and D lines (cascaded or otherwise) are split evenly left/right and pass through the left/right rear slider grommets and then attach to the left/right rear risers. The lines are attached to to the rear risers via slinks or rapide links and alligned outside to inside, just like they are on the canopy with no twists. -A and B lines are split evenly left/right and run through the front left/right slider grommets. The lines are attached to the front risers via slinks or rapide links and alligned outside to inside, just like they are on the canopy. Chuck PS: I have seen one very, very experienced world-champion skydiver jumping a VX-74 with one A/B line run to the wrong side, through the wrong slider grommet and attached to the wrong front riser. He was hooking the shit out of it and it just didn't look right coming in. He said it felt a little funny too, but couldn't figure it out. It took me seeing him land twice before I finally caught it and told him what was up. It was Joe Trinko in case anyone was wondering. That was in 2000.

I agree. Nick did not mention that all of the suits have a stance comparable to a Portuguese whore. Actually, the production legwings are two inches narrower than the examples he had here at Flock and Dock.

Yeah, that or a small fastex connector.

You both seem to be describing the Fulton Recovery System. I don't know who the first person to be a live guinie pig was, but the second was Johnny Johnson (unless every '60's skydiver I knew as a child was lieing to me. Johnny was extracted off of Eubanks Field at Fort Benning, GA in front of a large gathered crowd. Yes, the system was designed for recovering downed pilots and extracting "high value targets". Anyone wanting to see the system in action need only sit through a viewing of "The Green Berets". They use the system in that movie. The military still has C-130's setup for that use. At least they did the last time I was at Hurlburt Field in Fort Walton Beach, FL. Chuck

SkyFlock!! I will be there

I agree. Jumpsuits and goggles receive the highest wear and tear and goggles and alti's often find themselves gone. Smart business us using a sign-out board or form for anything you lend or rent out. Include everything. You don't "need" a jumpsuit to skydive after graduation, but schools need them for their students and tandem passengers. I used to always say to my students that the very first thing they needed to buy was a properly fitting jumpsuit. Not having to borrow a different jumpsuit everytime you jump does wonders for your ability to "get the feel" of freefall with as few variables as possible. Floppy, ill-fitting jumpsuits fly a whole lot different than ones that fit you well.

You can do the same thing with a neptune

Dusty, Muffin had the canopy laying flat on the ground in his little corner of the Atair booths. PS: it was good seeing you at PIA as well. Chuck

I second everything Derek V said. Also what Rob Warner said. AFF takes three times as long to prep/dive/debrief and is definitely much more mentally challenging. I do both and definitely concur that you ought to be paid more for AFF (main-side/primary briefer and single instructor jumps). Reserve side jumps where you are not required to brief/debrief ought to be paid the same as tandems. As I now work solely for myself in the training arena, I charge (and pay myself) whatever I feel is appropriate. I use my own AFF rig and my own tandem rig. Chuck

***I'm sure if Guy and his recruiting team lowered their standards they could've been doing 200-way attempts. Quote Not accurate. There were plenty of super-qualified people invited who just did not want to do it or could not commit to it for other reasons (I was one). "Standards" and actual real-world qualifications don't have a lot to do with who gets on these jumps. I would much, much rather be in the air on such attempts with people who make more than 100 jumps a year and who have AFF ratings and other useful qualifications other than just a full wallet. Jim Alkek wrote a thread a couple of years ago discussing the "diminishing pool of qualified big-way participants." I responded that there were actually MANY more qualified people than there were ten years ago, but that they simply do not care to commit to efforts where they are going to share the airspace with inexperienced jumpers who "paid their price" by means of paying even more money to attend some person's "authorized bigway skills camp." A perfect example is the person who posts as "ElChester" on here. He lied to a bigway camp organizer about his experience to get in, then lied about it again to get invited on the 400-way. He now laughs about that and talks about all the 100-way stuff he has done. That may sound vicious, but it's positively true. The best big-way jumps I have ever been on were walk-ups at the Eloy Holiday boogie in 2002. You can't bitch about 2-point 60-ways, can you? Particularly not when the dirtdive only took ten minutes and nobody stood in the middle trying to "teach you to skydive." Again, actual qualifications don't mean much at all in some cases. People get invited in a number of ways: They either paid their dues through the "pick me" system of "camp" attendance; are a known quantity in terms of skydiving ability (a ringer) who's other accomplishments speak for themselves; or are a "sub-ringer" who's accomplishments are vouched for by some known plane captain/organizer from their local region. It's a very convoluted system in my eyes, but saying that the "recruiting team" needed to lower their standards in order to fill this 200-way attempt is not correct. They simply could not get enough qualified people to accept (for whatever reason). FWIW, I was invited but could not accept because I was a primary organizer at the wingsuit event that was going on concurrently. I hate that, because I really do love bigway skydives! Chuck Blue D-12501 Z-flock Wingsuit School

Come on man, anyone who has EVER been to the Dominican Republic knows that Red is what EVERYONE in america prefers. That and Camel cigarettes.

It takes a tremendous amount of personal time to moderate these forums. Most mods have much more important things to do than cull through all the mindless banter in Bonfire (and Speakers Corner). It's a lot of work for absolutely nothing in reward except the personal satisfaction that you have kept the real skydiving threads relevant and without erroneous/bad information that other, less-informed people might take as "truth." It's very draining.

This needs to be posted in "general skydiving discussions"

I once had a heavy tandem passenger (285 pounds) drop 60 pounds so that he could do AFF. He did fine. I also had a guy over 350 pounds lose about that same amount of weight so that we would allow him to do a tandem. Both said that they simply got off their lazy asses and actually did physical chores around the house, walked a mile or two every day, and stopped eating at McDonalds. It really doesn't take much if you stop being lazy. Chuck

Here's a pic for you.

Locals only. Just a couple I snapped today here at Z-hills. Tommy Dellibac under a velo, Aaron Stocum under his Xaos 27, Manny under a katana , and Ian the packer under his JVX

There were quite a few "new" suits being flown at Flock and Dock. Thankfully, I was smart enough to stand some people side-by-side and snap comparison pictures for you to look at. Enjoy. The "Ghost" is the real new name for the PF "Charlie Brown. Robi had two pre-production versions here for people to try. It has a lot of pop and was well recieved. That's Nick Rugai (of EG suits) in the Blade in that first pic. five or six people jumped the two Blades we had here for the boogie and they were also well liked by the people who fit in the suit correctly. Both the Rigor Mortis and Volturius were flown alot at the boogie. First words out of Nick's mouth were "they have a legstance as wide as a Portuguese whore!". The Rigor Mortis exhibited a lot of range. Both were prototypes though, and the production models will have a four inch narrower legstance. That will make them one inch narrower than a Vampire.

Tero is "Aerodynamite" on here. I am glad he and his wife showed up so early. We did a TON of skydives together. chuck