BikerBabe

Yep...the ****** (as Phree calls it) will be out soon! It looks f-in cool, too. I love my Jedei...I was going to wait for a new canopy, but those prices are tempting.... no! must....resist....temptation.....urgh! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Mandy, I PMed you. I can say whatever I want, just not in an open forum like this, since it could be taken as me "representing" the military. Sorry, guys. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...dunno, it's just the name of a really cool game... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Played it, got bored. Then I got "Divine Divinity" and never looked back. If you like Diablo, check it out...much better story and more to do. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Actually, the GK8 that competed at this meet was the "old" team. John Hoover and the others from Gold jumped with them. I know Mike Scott is on the new GK8, because he's hurt and they asked my team's coach to fill in for him at point for a month. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

GK's rock! Actually, it's kinda funny...our coach, Stephan Lipp, was asked to fill in with the 8-way team for a month since one of them got hurt. He was jumping with them on Saturday (just training, not the meet). Seriously, what an honor! We're so proud. It was like "one of these kids is not like the others, one of these kids just isn't the same..." If you've met Stephan, you know what I mean! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

har har har...easy for you to say! Of course, the best exits I do always happen to be at a skills camp, so it must be the vibes. we have the tail (me) gripping the IC for the C(rappy) exit for the reason that Dan stated. It flies OK, but I'm still working on timing it just right. That's one of those that takes a lot of practice, I think. Though it's not as hard for me as that stupid $@#@!$#@! cattacord.... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hi Dan, you write as if you've never met me before. LOL! It's me, Andi. Did I never tell you I rode a motorcycle, too? We're using Stephan as our 4th this weekend...now I'm just praying it doesn't rain. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...I own both! My first (and still my putt around town) bike is a Honda CB-1 (a 400cc sport standard, only sold for 2 years in the US). My get up ad go bike is a Suzuki SV-650. Both are great bikes that have had a couple problems...the Honda because it's old (1989) and the SV because I ride it hard. I've had the SV for a year and a half now, and the fork seals have strated leaking a bit. Also, the stock suspension on the SV left something to be desired, so my roadracer husband just put a race shock an fork on there and all was cool. The SV is a great bike, with good power and torque...you see a lot of road-racers using it, though when the SV-1000 comes out this year it might be overtaken in that arena... I think either company is good and reliable. My husband only races Hondas, and has pretty much only owned Hondas his whole life. We've still got a 1989 Transalp that runs fine, and his current street bike is a 1991 VFR750 (but don't use that as an example since he re-built it from when he totaled it) Best idea: Get the one that you feeel suits your lifestyle and wallet and riding style the best. * Now you see why my user name is what it is! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), networking has a lot to do with it. Also, a little bit of luck and a good location help. For example, I could never get a serious 4-way team (like the type I was/am looking for) together at home. My DZ is just too small, we only have a 182 that seats 4 people, we're the only DZ in the state, and most of the people in the area are not on the high end of the income scale. When I say "4-way", I think "blocks and randoms". When the folks at home hear "4-way", they think "horny gorilla!" Which is completely fine...I have no problem with that, it's just not what I am looking for! Because I was serious about it and committed, I decided that I would travel for training, preferably to Eloy. That's where I found other folks who were interested in a serious team/committment. Of course, I never would have met those folks if I hadn't started going to "4-way stuff" like skills camps and tunnel camps. This was the networking part. Basicallly, if you are dedicated enough to spend the $$$ to go to camps, people realize that you're serious about competing, and things will start to happen. I'm not saying this is the only way, but it really helped me since I wasn't getting any "exposure" at home. Getting out and meeting like-minded people is essential! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Wow...that's a great fare. How come I can never find cheap fares to Europe when I'm looking for them? Ah well, it oonly costs me $75 round trip to get to Eloy, so what am I complaining about? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Mario, I'm so sorry to hear it...believe me, I know how hard it is to find people who will commit to a team. I hope you compete again...move to the US! There are plenty of people over here looking for teams! Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...I remember the first time Mike jumped with a group I was with. It was at an Airspeed skills camp, and before we got on the plane I told him we weren't very good. I'll always remember his reply: "You only have to be good for 4/100's of a second!" Mike is a great guy, an awesome photographer, and if you catch him when he's not jumping, you just might see him reading Plato or some other philosopher. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...I think all of our suits have at least one piece of duct tape somewhere on them...our team suits aren't done yet. We'll be using Stephan as our fourth...we're excited! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Absolutely! It's money meet weekend! I'll be there Friday night through sunday...we'll be the team with the ratty, non-matching jumpsuits competing in the open class... See you there! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Hey Dan, don't let them fool you...it's hero worship, nothing more! Just kidding. Good to have you here! This is a great place and just like a virtual DZ. Uh oh, just thought of something...now you have yet another way to bug me about coming to skills camps! Argh! Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Ask the ticket agent at the counter where you check your bags to look up the instructions/regs on the "Airtec Cypress" (yes, they spell it wrong). It should come up in a search. Then ask if they will print that instruction out on a card and sign it as an official rep from the airline. The statement says something like "the US dept. of transportation has determined this AAD to be not controlled and may be carried on the aircraft" I did this on Southwest (idea from B^2...thanks girl!) last weekend and had no problems, since I just showed the card to the TSA folks at security when they started to look at my bag funny. Of course, coming home, they barely glanced at it. I don't know how this will work in other countries, though. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...funny you ask this today. I had a really strange/awful one last night. Background: My brother-in-law is moving out here to ABQ and will be living with us until he finds his own place. He left yesterday for the cross-country drive. I dreamt he was bringing nine, that's right, NINE kids with him! Don't ask me where these kids came from, he's single. But my darling husband didn't tell me about this until his bro and the NINE kids were already on the road. So the rest of the dream consisted of me being pissed off and trying to accomodate NINE kids in our house, which isn't very big. I don't think I can recall a dream where I was so ANGRY in the dream. I actually woke up pissed off! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Just wondering who, if anyone, is going to the money meet. We'll be there in ratty, mismatched jumpsuits (team suits aren't done yet) probably doing the Open class in 4-way. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

This is the key, I think, especially for the blocks. Until I had done them, they were just a number for me. It's so much easier to remember that 3 is Sideflake Opal-Turf after you've done it a few times, know where your slot is, and know what you have to do to execute the block. Especially since a lot of the execution depends on the team's continuity plan. Once I've done the blocks, they are a LOT easier to remember! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OK...here are some of mine. Now remember, before you laugh yourself out of your chair, the purpose of mnemonics is so you remember, and I guarantee, some of these are so stupid that I'll never forget them. D-Yuan it Doggy style? Hey, it works, OK! I bet you'll never forget it again, either! E-Meeeeeeeeeker G- Gee, it's a cataccord! My god, I don't know why that works but it does. J- Jelly Donut K-HooKKKK L-Ladder (Adder) M-Married with Children (Al Bundy) N-Just say No (to Crank) O-Orbit (satellite) Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Gordo, my prayers are with you for a speedy recovery. See you soon! Andi Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Actually, I have really short arms, which exacerbates the problem. You should see the tapes of our first training weekend...my attempts at cat grips on my Craig-Girard-style-IC (lanky, wide stance) are quite humorous! That being said, I actually like to head jam that exit, becuase it helps me (I know this is all mental, but everyone has their things...) put my body where it needs to be for the exit to fly right. Considering the fact that I can stand up almost straight inside the Otter, the head jam isn't too hard for me...I'm barely crouched down. It's really a second "catch" so to speak, since I make sure I'm balanced enough on my feet in the door to not really need to hang my head on the bar. It's also a comfort issue...an old wrist injury makes that grip on the bar weaker than the left, and it's very uncomfortable for me putting my right wrist in that particular position when I launch from outside the plane. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

What does an eskimo get after sitting on the ice too long? -- Polariods! What's big and green and if it fell out of a tree would kill you? -- A pool table. What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work? -- A stick. OK, those are bad, I know, but c'mon, admit it, you chuckled at the polaroids one... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Yay, another tail flyer! Anyway, some of the best advice I got for the tail on the meeker-style exits was to try to hit the right side of your head on the bottom of the door on exit. Don't worry, the chances of you actually hitting your head are incredibly slim (probably nil), but basically, it is a good way to help you get your body into the position it needs to be out the door, with your right side down and your body pointing at the plane. Yes, this is the Airspeed way, and it works. I actually head-jam the meeker exit, mainly because my arms are too short to reach the grip on my IC if my head is outside of the plane. But I've found that head-jamming it helps me even more with the "drive my head into the bottom of the door" technique. I've never hit it. Of course, the other three have to do their jobs as well, and having the point go up instead of out is a big part of it. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!