SkymonkeyONE

I have some ideas about this. While there are around 35,000 people in the USA who pay dues to USPA, I would bet you that the actual number of active participants is half that number. I don't think there are 35,000 active skydivers in the whole world. Seriously.

Then I guess you have maybe seen my class's graduation plaque? I shit you not, I didn't weigh 130 pounds when I graduated CDQC in late October 1986 (Fantasy Fest class!). I WAS a scrawny little buck sgt.

Both of the EG suits will be at Z-hills for the Flock and Dock if you want to demo one.

Bushman is EAerodyne on here and Karl is KAerodyne on here. Both routinely logon.

I routinely wear my old factory diver when I ride my Buell. That or my Gentex. On my Road Glide I don't generally wear anything (since I don't have to here in FL), but if it's cold I wear my Gentex with my face shield down. Chuck

Do you mean adjustable laterals like on a student rig? No, if you are buying a rig for yourself then you would not get adjustable laterals. What you WOULD have to decide is wheter or not you want "cut-in" laterals on your rig. If you are jumping larger canopies, then I would definitely recommend the cut-ins as it makes your rig hug your waist better. The smaller you go, the less you need the cut-ins. Both of my Wings W1-2 EXT's have cut-ins, but I would have probably been better off not getting the option on my primary wingsuit rig because my rig is so tiny. "Breathable" spacer foam is now an options on Wings, too. There are also two designs of the number 2 side flap offered. Chuck

I totally agree with everything you said, Bill. It was a very-busy week for us in my booth, but I didn't see hardly anything I would consider "clever" when I finally got the chance to walk around and check out everyone elses offerings. What I did notice was a lot of vendors there for the first time. Chuck

I believe quite the opposite. I believe that anyone who stops living for themselves just because they now have a family epitomize the term "over the hill." I know a tremendous amount of married-with-children couples who skydive. Their kids grow up on dropzones, just like I did. I also know a few people, both male and female, who have given up the sport they love out of some feeling of impending doom, or even just the possibility of something happening to them while skydiving. With the fewest of exceptions, they ALL hate the fact that they no longer jump. You would not believe how often I hear that. Chuck

There are several types of ParaSCUBA in use in the US military. First is twin-80 open circuit with rounds from low level (static line). We use that when we are doing over the horizon infiltration dives when open circuit is acceptable. Second is closed circuit, Draeger LARV with static-lined rounds from low level. That is used when open circuit SCUBA is unacceptable (dives where one will be swimming in and attaching Limpit mines, etc). Third is Military Freefall with closed circuit equipment. There are two modes of operation even then: lower-level (4000 foot) exits when chasing RAMZ bundles with MC-4's (or whatever people use in your country) and full-on HALO and HAHO jumps when you need to stick with a standard air corridor for cover and plausible deniability. Lastly, I never jumped any dive gear other than my BC, mask and fins if I were chasing a duck. As a former member of both MFF and Combat Dive detachments while on active duty, I did every one of those at one time or another. The worst ones are the SL/open circuit jumps, particularly when you are also jumping a ruck. They simply wore my skinny ass out! Chuck MFFJM, Combat Dive Supervisor (among other things)

That's what's used at Raeford.

Tony Suit C-wing jacket. You don't need more than that.

I would not care to quote the number of dogs I had to kill while growing up on the farm. Strays were simply not tollerated in my part of the country. Also, if your dog fucked up and bit another person as they were walking by, you were likely to take an ass whoopin.

This is definitely going to be the "don't miss" wingsuit event for the central USA. And a paved runway too! Unbelievable! Chuck

No damage at all here at Z-hills.

Apples and Oranges. I didn't compare those two at all. What I compared was a crossbraced 21-cell F-111 canopy versus a non-braced ZP 9-cell canopy. The Excallibur was F-111. What, if anything, I "presumed" was that the Neos was probably a better swooping canopy than a Sail Crossfire as it is at least a partially crossbraced main. As I have yet to see a single Sail Crossfire anywhere, I guess I will just have to go off of my first-hand impressions of the Neos which is here in the gear shop for demo. Yes, I think a Sail Crossfire (or any other HP nine-cell) would possibly fly with more authority than a ZP model. That can be garnered from the reports from the field on the difference in performance between the "stock" ZP JVX and it's Sail siblings. I foresee in the very near future at least two of the other leading canopy manufacturers offering Sail cloth as at least a hybrid options on their crossbraced mains. They really have nothing to lose, do they? Chuck

It's the nicest full-face on the market. -the visor locks securely, yet is easy to open under canopy -the entire visor comes off easilly -it's not as big and stupid looking as an Oxygn (which also has a shitty visor system) -it's MUCH more durable than a plastic Z1 (which has a shitty visor lock/release)

It rained very, very hard here at Z-hills last night, but no damage that I can see.

That is what PD said way back in the day when they stopped producing the Excallibur in favor of the Sabre. Riiiiight. We, the crossbraced-loving few of the time knew POSITIVELY that our Excalliburs were far superior parachutes when they were new. The ZP fabric of the Sabre made it start out as a "lesser" parachute than the Excal, but then become a better parachute after the Excal had about 400 jumps on it. That was our answer, straight from the horse's mouth. PD refused to sew more than the one, pink, prototype 135 ZP Excal (which Rixter Powell put thousands of jumps on) and we were left without crossbraced canopies again until JYRO introduced the original FX many years later. Thankfully, PD responded with the Velocity and others followed suit. Yes, that was a bit of a ramble, but I will tell you that there is NO non-braced canopy that will outperform any braced canopy when flown by the same pilot. I would take that Neos anyday over the Sail Crossfire if I had a spot for one in my quiver. Just my opinion as a guy that has been doing this swooping thing for a while. Jim talks a bunch of trash about the Neos as being "failed technology", but anyone with any memory capacity left will remember him highly praising the canopy when he was actually flying it. That GLS/GLX/whatever, I mean. We are talking revisionist history here.

that's fucking awesome. It's going to sound like a typhoon when you go by!

Yes, there was a short while where there was a 15 year retirement/buyout offered to active duty troops. The "real" retirement pay rate for that was only 35% of base pay. The lump sum they offered was pathetic (like $120k lump sum or something). I only know two people that asked for and were accepted for it. The available window for that was hidden from Special Forces troops until there were only 30 days left when the word got out. Even then, there were only five packets total in the entirety of Special Forces (CMF 18) which got accepted. It was laughable. My boss for one of my military contracts (with Northrop Grumman) is one of those five. Chuck

While the DR is quite undeveloped generally, Santo Domingo is a very busy city. You would be hard pressed to find a real phone in a house in most places, but EVERYBODY has cellphones. I spent quite a bit of time in the country a few years ago and have great friends there. Want to hit one of the coolest clubs in the world? Go to La Guacara Taina in Santo Domingo. It's a club in a subteranian cave right in the middle of the city park. Fucking cool. A very-rich-folk club in town is called El Birimbau. The street cops there will flag you down for no reason and grift money from you if you look the least bit "touristy" in a rental car. Our DNCD Id's kept those idiots at bay. I don't know that I ever saw any structures there that would be of much interest to you BASE guys, but it's a fun place to visit. Cheap food and drink and a pretty "wild wild west" attitude most places. Fantastic beaches with lots of European tourists on both the north and south shores.

Is he in the guard or reserves and just getting out or something? You cannot retire with less than 20 years of active duty, but you said he has 15. If he IS a guardsman or reservist, is he AGR or just a "regular", drilling soldier? Either way, if that's what he wants, then congratulate him for me. Chuck Blue, SFC (ret) 21 years and 7 months active

What about your old Yamaha enduro?

1998 Chevy C3500 longbed, double-cab dually pickup 2001 Harley Davidson Road Glide 2003 Buell XB9Sl Lightning low (which Katie generally rides) 2000 Chevy Blazer

Absolutely not true. I know at least five people that are flying discounted/sponsored JVX canopies. I don't even know why they would WANT to say that.