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In order to get a US work visa, you will need to show that there are no US citizens available for the job or that you have spedific, crucial skills required by the employer. This is easier than it looks. All the employer has to do is advertise once for someone who has the specific qualities you possess. For example if you speak an unusual foreign language or have an expertise with a particular software not common in the US, the employer requires that and anything else that you can do that others can't. A few may speak the language or know the software, but no one will meet the combination of skills. or I know a guy who got his visa because he was a "skydiving competitor" and was needed for a US team. I never saw him compete in the state or at nationals. Blue skies, Jim

Trent and Stevie from Anomaly are pretty familiar with the desert around the airport! Blue skies, Jim

Notice seems to be a little late since San Marcos has been advertising there HB for a coupla' months at least. Blue skies, Jim

Another reason to match the main and reserve canopies is that if you ever have both canopies out and flying at the same time the risk of a downplane seems to be minimized. If the canopies fly at radically different speeds due to size differential, a downplane is more likely to occur. Blue skies, Jim

Coupla' times: First was on a very cold, wet winter day. Tom Jenkins was sitting on the back bench facing forward and I am next to him. He usually talks on the way to altitude (if he is not training) so I wondered why he was so quiet. He points at the left wheel of the Otter and I lean over to see. Ice and snow are building up on it and the wing strut. Tom looks at me and says "I'm not getting out." My response was "If you're not getting out, there is no way in hell I am getting out!" Tom has 25k jumps. At the time I might have had 300. Second time was at the last Spaceland TSR attempt. Me and 149 of my good friends took off in a 7 plane formation load. At altitude there were thunderstorms everywhere and we couldn't see the ground. As we circled a few times, it got worse and finally whited out! Pilots couldn't see each other and jump was aborted. It was very scary (I was in co-pilot seat) flying blind knowing those other planes were out there somewhere. Lightening was flashing, and the booms were very, very loud. We were in the middle of the large storm with lots of turbulance, bumps and other things that scare you in the night! At about 500 feet we came out of the cloud, made a hard right turn and landed on the runway and were quickly followed by 5 other planes. After we had taxied to a stop off to the side of the runway, the pilot took out a cig and lite it up. I've only been on a few flights where the pilot looked more scared than me ... and that was one of them! Then the 7th plane landed going the opposite direction. The pilot said when it whited out, he ran for the blue sky and waited till he knew everyone else had landed. Blue skies, Jim

Went through Infantry OCS at Ft Benning more than a few years ago. What I remember most was sitting in classrooms so tired I could barely keep my eyes open; upper classmen in my face and TAC officers who were cruel and loved it; getting rabbit shit in my hands while standing at attention; getting grass drill just because I walked by at the wrong time; square meals in the mess hall (If they were serving spaghetti you got the hell out of there 'cause one spot on your uniform and you were going to really pay for it!) getting up at 2 AM in winter with the uniform of the day being helmet without liner, boxer shorts, flip flops, and ponchos; Then low crawling through a damn creek Then there was watching ice form one night on the end of my rifle barrel while I sat on my pack under my poncho with a can of sterno on the ground between my knees; getting tear gassed in my sleeping bag because my foxhole mate went to sleep; sneaking food into the barracks and getting caught; learning how to plot artillery, crew tanks and fire anti-tank weapons; how to live off the land and eating samples (in other words if it crawls or grows it is be food). Yum! graduation and getting a handshake from the commanding general and a commission from the president; Was it worth it? Hell yes! If you're gona' be in shit you might as well get paid for it... Blue skies, Jim

I do it all the time with no problem. Camera will not recognize or display any files except image files. If you forget to delete them from the memory stick or card however, the camera could report the memory is full even though you haven't taken any pics. Blue skies, Jim

Trent was in Eloy the week prior to the World Games coaching the Norwegian freefly team. It is pretty sad that Anomaly is not competing, but it is a money and time-off from work issue. Blue skies, Jim

$1M in insurance issue may only work if all airport users are required to post similar amounts. Landing pattern issue almost sounds like the slow canopy vs swooper argument we get into sometimes, without the FAA involvement of course! Blue skies, Jim

Ok we can beat this horse to death and get no where! It makes sense to everyone of the newbies I have had to tell it to! They slow down, make fewer mistakes, and turn a few more points in the same amount of freefall time. These guys are not RW competitors. Give me anymore lip and I will make sure my Otter goes somewhere else next summer! Blue skies, Jim

Nuts back atcha! You just said the same thing. Now say it to a newbie who doesn't know the formation or the precision and thinks docking last is a bad thing! Blue skies, Jim

Hook, just wanted facts from the guys already seeing 180 day cycles. If they all say go back to 120 days for safety sake, then that woulda' been the end of it. Just suspicious of anyone who benefits (regardless of the amount) making broad statements against something like this. Mick, play nice now! Blue skies, Jim

Never been there, but got one of their T shirts thanks to the WFFC great T shirt swap. Blue skies, Jim

Nope, just spectators probably with beer in hand and a lawn chair in the driveway. Why during Rita me and all the neighbors were having a little chat about all the leaves we were gona' have to rake up outside around midnight when the winds were howling... Blue skies, Jim

22. You know where the Half Moon Cafe is and where Shiner beer come from and have been to both locations! 23. You have a shotgun in your rear truck window. 24. Your wife has a pick-up truck like yours, but it's a different color. 25. You know what those tiny rubber bands are for at the farm and you have used them. 26. You've bottle fed squirrels, calves and fawns at the same time. 27. You would support a Texas republic. 28. You get choked up at the Alamo, San Jacinto and Fannin. 29. You don't know what Jerry Hall saw in Mick. 30. Boots are acceptable to wear with a suit. 31. You know how the words Chocolate and Galveston are related. 32. You can Polka, do the chicken dance, the Texas two step carrying a bucket of beer without spilling any. 33. You know what Frio means and what it feels like on a really hot day. 34. You've heard of Roy Head, Janis Joplin, ZZ Top, Waylon Jennings, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Holly and you like their music. 35. You know that East starts with the Sabine and North starts with the Red. Blue skies, Jim

Another pro is that with the 180 day cycle, the jumper pays twice a year instead of 3 times a year. Oh, wait a minute that is a con since the rigger will only get paid twice a year instead of 3 times a year! Come on isn't there a rigger in a country with a 180 day cycle who can tell us what he is seeing and what problems the longer cycle has created? I don't think injury/fatality rates are necessarily higher in those countries to indicate real problems, but can't someone tell us the facts instead of all this rigger speculation on how bad it is? Blue skies, Jim

Is that the same Crawford that the Prez flies in and out of a lot? Boy are you guys gona'e shut down.... Blue skies, Jim

and I'm 57. When do we find out? Blue skies, Jim

Everything darkwing said plus a few things off the top: When you have them line up in the door make sure their feet are correct (for an Otter inside folks need left foot forward and outside folks need right foot on edge of door trailing left foot); everybody outside except front front and guy on camera step need to be sideways to door; Floaters need to protect their handles as they climb out! front if connected to base can delay a fraction to insure he stays high and rear if connected to base can leave a fraction early to insure he stays low; everyone who launches in the base needs to box the formation with their arms to give it rigidity and maximize air flow; Does everyone know where their mirror is? Are they looking at him from exit to break-off? inside peope connected to base need to get their feet off the floor on go and if they feel they are going to go over the top of the formation (because they were late), they need to get their feet on their butt initially; floaters can use free arm to help inside folks stay with formation (prevent them from flipping over the top); if formation includes 180 backends or turns greater than 90, have each jumper pause at each 90 degree increment while keep eyes on his mirror; build from center (base) out. For example, if doing a open accordian make sure base piece is docked before anyone on the outside docks. put your fastest guys (may not be the heaviest) in the base; if someone is having trouble staying down with the formation, insist that they wear weights to get to their middle of their fall rate/range; look at the jumpsuits being worn. Do they all have grippers, are they really baggy, are they really tight? what experience level do each of the jumpers have? Can the last guy out safely get to the formation or is he gona' blow past it and endanger someone? if doing donuts or compressed accordians, make sure heads and knees line up. If a person is to shallow (head to head) grips will be difficult and the formation will distort; do not allow people to back up especially between points. If they anticipate the next formation, they should fly to the spot they need for the dock and wait for the center to build out to them; if you have a formation that is not a clean breakoff (two joined stars), cover the breakoff for each point so jumpers will know what to do. If the breakoff needs to be done in waves to insure safety, breakoff higher. ask the lowest timer where he feels comfortable breaking off; If he is worried about being low at breakoff, he isn't thinking about the dive; make sure everyone rehearses the dive sequence in the plane on the way up; It is easy to forget a point! make sure everyone gets a pin check on the plane; main & reserve pin check, pilot chute is cocked, and boc hackey/handle is in proper place; have everyone glance at chest straps and leg straps; make sure the exit is ready before starting the count. Many people get in a hurry after climbing out and hose a few of their teammates who are not set before the count starts; If they're moving, they're not ready. have a consistent, steady exit count. The time between ready and set should be the same as the time between set and go! look to your front floater and then the rear floater (see eyes) to make sure they are ready and know when the count is starting; mimic your count with your head and one leg; Floaters can see your head and divers can see your leg. use high arm grips instead of chest straps whenever possible to have a better chance of success on the exit; if a jumper goes low frequently move him closer to the base; if a jumper is slow to the formation move him closer to the center of the door on exit; if someone frequently is backpacking other jumpers he is probably light and needs some weight; do not reach for grips. Fly to your slot and the grip will be there. at breakoff everyone MUST track to the designated deployment altitude! Make sure they know the breakoff and deployment altitude. Do not allow anyone to turn 180 and instantly pitch! If they can't track teach them, but do it before they are in the group. does everyone know the first point to build if the exit funnels? Practice it. do not chase grips! Fly to your slot that is usually opposite your mirror and stay there. The grips will come. specify what a jumper should do if he is impossibly low! Does he stay to side of formation till designated breakoff altitude and then track to designated deployment alititude? Make sure everyone understands the plan and follows the plan. remind people: 1. It is not a race. Slow is faster! 2. Relax, relax, relax. 3. Watch their mirror at all times. 4. Track like their life depends on it! 5. Have fun AND smile. and, jumpers who violate safety rules should be excluded from group jumps until they prove they are safe. There are thousands of other tips....hope these few help! Blue skies, Jim

From one slammee to another.... Glad you're ok. Canopies can be fixed... They ought to give a survivors award for this!!! Blue skies, Jim

Congrats again Eric! Good jumps on both Saturday and Sunday. Sorry I had to bug out early on Saturday afternoon! Had to have dinner with my sister-in-law and her husband who are both jumpers and scheduled a dinner for 5:30! What were they thinking? Wish that last 12-way would have worked. At least the center and our loop was complete. Looking down at those low guys is a lot better than looking up at the formation! Now you know the feeling.... See you in the air! Blue skies, Jim

I call BS! Do you have facts to support this statement or is it a gut feel? Even if it was true for a significant number of your rigging customers that would only prove that your customers generally do not take good care of their gear. Blue skies, Jim

You mean Anomaly of course? Take good care of Trent while he is coaching the Norwegian FF team. Blue skies, Jim

Age 57 Sex M Avg 0.2004 Blue skies, Jim

Just one of those things you do when you are 12 or 13 and running around with the guys! Right up there with peeing on an electric fence! Blue skies, Jim