SkymonkeyONE

-Other: It was hardest for me to keep from talking about skydiving to people who didn't also jump. I'm sure it's almost annoying as people with children blabbering on and on about their rugrats to people who don't give a shit about that stuff.

245 is not a big deal at most larger dropzones I've been to/ worked at. It's totally dependent on management and if there are "willing" staff. I've personally taken two guys in the 285 range. Both were big, lumberjack looking guys in great physical shape. At the time I weighed around 150 pounds. What you CAN expect, if you find a place willing to accomodate you, is to pay an additional fee. Some places it's one dollar per pound over 220 (or 230); some other places there is a set fee ($25 dollars at SSM in Texas). Again: it's entirely dependent on willing staff and DZ policy. MANY places will try to accomodate "in shape" larger passengers while most WILL NOT accept "canonball" shaped, flabby, overweight customers who can't be properly fitted in the harness. I've done hundreds of tandems with guys over 230 pounds. Chuck

These jumps were conducted at Coolidge Municipal Airport in case you were wondering.

Yuri, like five/six years ago was playing with a device that acted like a pitot tube when stuck out from the chest of his wingsuit. PS: where's Yuri these days?

Both of the military clubs on Fort Bragg (Green Beret Sport Parachute Club and 82nd Club) ran their first jump course over five days, generally starting at around 1700 after duty hours. All students were signed off to pack their own mains by Friday evening and all jumped their own pack job on their first jump. I loved those programs, but they would simply not be practical at most civilian dropzones. We did a tremendous volume back then though and the only flaw to the program was when we got weathered out and classes overlapped. In the days since then I've worked at a lot of dropzones where after seven hours in the classroom the usable jumping day was over due to winds or it being too close to sunset to safely put up First Jump Students. Another reason I've seen is the staff being so overwhelmed with late-afternoon tandems due to winds/weather early on that we simply didn't have time to finish both the tandem load and also accomodate the AFF class. On those occasions we always have the AFF students show up first thing in the morning to get them in the air before they forget everything they've been taught. Chuck

I"d be willing to bet that there are not 1000 people in the world who actively jump wingsuits. That's both skydiving and BASE combined. Seriously. I've always got around ten suits on hand personally and the great majority of wingsuiters I know have at least two, so getting totals from manufacturers would be pointless. Also there are a ton of people out there who may have made five or ten wingsuit jumps, bought a suit, and put it in a closet to never be used again. Chuck

I'm with Jarno 100% on this. Intoning that a suit as big as an S-bird is SMALL is positively laughable. There is no point whatsoever in flying a big-ass tarp if you are going to be flying it in a dive with your arms raked so far back that your wrists almost touch (as is the case with 90 percent of all "look at me" YouTube proxy shit. Unless you are doing XRW, those suits are just worthless in my opinion. They are not fun to fly at all. They are heavy and handle like shit Chuck

I second the nomination for Spaceland. It's a fantastic facility. chuck

I didn't expect that, Steve. It was very cool.

I seem to remember you trying this like ten times since I've known you.. Get it DONE

John has strong opinions? I've never noticed.....

Yep, that's the one I looked at. The arrows in your pics do a lot, actually, to explain-away my concerns. It's a very slick setup. I only wish this format had been around a few years ago when I was jumping PC-109 tape camera handycam in Hawaii.... It positively fascinates me how much lighter these new double (video/still) setups are than my old glove setup! It I were ever forced back into that type of work jumping, this would be a top choice for purchase. Good work putting that thing together. Chuck

In the old days I would always tell new guys that the smartest thing they could do was buy a jumpsuit that fit them properly. The intent there is to nail down one of the key variables that affects you in freefall (drag). Later, with the advent of reliable audibles, I changed my mind and decided that the first purchase I would have anyone make is a three-tone audible. Argue with me if you want, new guys, but you'll never change my mind. While we always stress altitude awareness to our students, it's very common for newer jumpers to lose track of altitude while trying out new maneuvers or fixating on "getting there" on RW jumps, etc. A three-tone audible is an inexpensive way to "wake you up" and get your head back in the game at breakoff time. Again: you'll never change my mind; I've been instructing for 32 years. Third on my list would be a good analog-faced altimeter. Altimaster III or Galaxy-sized. If you've got plenty of loot, you might as well get an Altitrack because it's also a jump logger. Next would be a good OPEN FACED helmet that has a built-in pocket for an audible. I'd never recommend anyone buy a closed-face model as their first helmet purchase. If you want a good helmet on the cheap, you should know that you can get an exact copy of a Protec at any bicycle store for like $20. If you've got some loot, I am a huge fan of the Bonehead Mindwarp and Guner. That's my list. Chuck, D-12501 AFF/SL/TM-I, PRO, S&TA, etc, etc, etc.

What does that video have to do with tandem jumping?

I saw your glove/housing at Chuting Star in Deland last week. Not bad, but I thought it might be a big snaggy at the glove/housing juncture. Chuck

I second that. ADAMANTLY.

I'm assuming here that you are elluding to the fact that so many Velo jumpers now use the "deep almost-stall, to double fronts in "chruch" position, to let up on one, then transfer to just harness" method of initiating big turns. When you are jumping with a sky full of others under identical canopies eight and ten times a day and everyone is racing down to the 100 x 300 foot piece of grass next to the packing building to make the next load, that method doesn't really work. Yes, front riser pressure under Velos (from full flight) is quite heavy, but with a tiny bit of opposite sashay just prior to laying into it with one riser and harness it gets around just fine for a 270 without wearing you out too much. FWIW: my work canopies are Velo 90's.

If your pilot chute has left the pocket then it's a partial malfunction and you should execute emergency procedures as such. chuck

Truth.

That'll work!

I'm gonna totally disagree with you here, Mark. My e-mail inbox is cluttered with requests from non-jumpers wanting me to train them to fly wingsuits so they can "be like the guys on YouTube". I like it that potential proxy flyers are reminded (in more than one forum) that what they do is EXTREMELY dangerous. I'm sick and tired of people flying into rocks, but I want to hear about it every single time it happens so that I can better inform my students and Coach/Instructor candidates what they are getting into should WS BASE be their end goal. Just my opinion as someone with over 2700 WS jumps who has been doing it since the first US BirdMan tour. At any rate, BSBD Victor. Chuck

Not a joke! Sharpies work great.

The suit in that pic that Taya appears to be wearing is cut too long in the arm for her for sure. Still, excellent size suit for general/ flock usage. Scotty Burns has one in Deland as of today, I think, if anyone wants to touch one. Chuck

Who are you? The guy selling PF suits out of Colorado? Chuck PFC/E USA (among other things)