Plummet

35 minutes when I pack blindfolded. Otherwise 10-15. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Here's mine: http://home.wi.rr.com/plummet/tattoo.html -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Agreed. I am probably in the minority, but not everybody loves kids. Personally, I don't come to the dropzone to hear crying babies and screaming kids. And who is watching the kids when the parents are jumping? Somebody responsible or another kid? For me, the dropzone is a playground, an adult playground. Children will always be around, nothing I can or will do about that. But, just be aware that there are some of us who wish you would leave the curtain-climbers at home. No hard feelings, just an opinion. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I put about 35 jumps on an Omega 185 before I got my Omni 183.5 (Don't forget the point 5). The Omega was one of Icarus' canopies that measured smaller than it is labeled. Hence, it was close to a 170 or so. At the time, I was told that the Omni was an upgraded Omega and that the Omega was going to be discontinued. This was October of 2002. I now have about 750 jumps on the Omni. Even though the Omega was smaller, the Omni is the "sportier" of the two.They advertise it as "semi and lightly elliptical". This may account for the fact that there are only 4 D-lines on the Omni. Jumping one canopy right after the other, I got the impression that they were two entirely different canopies rather than an upgrade. I am very happy with the 183.5. I'm not loading it heavy, maybe 1.1 something and I'm a very conservative canopy pilot. But, there have been no times when it disappointed me. My only complaint would be that the opening sequence is slow. It deploys fine and on heading, but then the slider hangs up. You can tell it is going to open, but the slider stays at the top for a good 3-5 seconds. I have no problem using it on a low altitude hop-n-pop but if you aren't used to it, the hesitation can be unnerving. The flare is awesome. A wide range of acceptable flare points. Very forgiving. I would definitely buy this canopy again. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

And this from this morning's paper. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Brian (indyz) did an awesome job. I was coming up a little short. I landed on one leg and he grabbed the flag. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Today I had the unique honor of flying the United States flag into a demo at the Milwaukee lakefront. The flag I jumped had been hand-carried by my son to Iraq where it flew over FOB Gabe. He brought it back with him and today it flew in front of tens of thousands of people. Yeah, I'm feeling just a BIT patriotic and just a BIT proud. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Here in this part of Wisconsin there are tons of places to land. We have varied terrain and plenty of fields. I chose to land in the school yard because I could see a soccer field painted. I figured it would be fairly level. Sure there are minor risks, but like any aspect of jumping, you mitigate what you can and accept the rest. C'mon up. I'll show you what I mean. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

At Sky Knights we occasionally do a "reverse cross country" jump. The idea is that on a breezy day we get out of the plane straight up and deploy the canopy right away. Leave the brakes stowed and let the wind blow you where it will. You pick out a landing area when you get there. Tuesday evening I landed in a school yard in the next city over, about 8 miles away. Landing off is no biggie. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Reverse Cross-Country !!! -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I jumped a round a few years ago. I had obtained an old student canopy and harness. I wore the round harness underneath my regular harness. I did not intend to land it. There is much to be said for an intentional cutaway ! The whole story can be read at: http://home.wi.rr.com/plummet/round.html -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Somebody say "bunny" ?? -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I had a WONDERFUL day, Cora !! You missed all the little crumb-crushers ! -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I am PROUD to say that Bram taught me to skydive. I was a remedial student so I was a bit of a challenge. Bram also gave me "Plummet". During one particular debrief he said, "Skydive? That was more like a plummet!" 10 years ago. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

On my upper right butt cheek. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Yeah, we have our swoop ponds up here in the frozen north, too! Take some semi-frozen ground, rapidly melting snow and you have an instant swoop pond. OK, the water temp might be a tad cooler than Z-Hills, but what the heck, we're tough up here. If there were a Zapruder film of this swoop, the next frame would be the swooper's face making contact with the water. The frame after that would show no swooper because his body was below the surface. He had so much fun, he got half-way dried off and went up and did the same exact thing again, complete with total submersion. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Sky Knights SPC (East Troy, Wisconsin) no longer accepts Skyride certificates. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Do you mean Skydive Superior? I made a jump there a couple of years back. If you look for the dropzone when it isn't open, you won't find it. The dropzone is operational when the owner (Chuck?) shows up with his BA motorhome. Voila, instant dropzone. I made but one jump there, but the vibe was great. Some of the most beautiful scenery in Wisconsin, and that's saying a lot. . -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Hey, I'm a guy and it takes a whole lot more than a Meg Ryan movie marathon to elicit moisture from these opticles. But, today there was a moment that almost had me doing a Tammy Faye impersonation. Since we are talking about tears and feelings, I just had to share. This afternoon my son arrived at the airport. He is on a 2 week R&R from his duty in Iraq. I haven't seen him since December. Watching him walk up the jetway in his desert camouflage uniform, my first reaction was that he didn't look like a kid any more. He has grown, in many ways. But that isn't even the Kleenex moment. Josh had just come off the jetway, looking all sharp and military. We did our hugs, greetings, etc. and started down the concourse. As we walked by a row of seats a lady stood up and grabbed my son's hand and in a solemn voice said simply, "Thank you." I'll never forget the look on her face. She meant it. Josh looked her straight in the eyes and said, "No problem, maam." The combination of those five words formed a whole conversation. I'm still a little verklempt just thinking about it. To that woman, who will never read this, I thank YOU. Those two words you spoke, that sentiment you expressed, meant a lot to my son. And it meant a lot to me. . -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Page 61 ................ Gold Wings #6584 . . -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

And how, pray tell, did the subject come up ??? Q: How do you know a skydiver when you see one? A: He'll tell you. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

High fives bud !! Personally, I'd rather do a solo. I enjoy the skydive alot more than doing stuff on a skydive. But then, I'm a little weird, even for a skydiver. -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I am flying a flag into a demo at an airshow tomorrow. I would like the announcer to say something close to: "Jeff. Dawson is flying the flag today in honor of his son, SPC Joshua Dawson who is serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq." Is this cool? I'm more interested in military decorum or proper phrasing than in any political aspect to the thing. Any advice? -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

I am looking to contact Lew Sanborn. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. Anybody have anything? -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.

Neither is common courtesy !! -Jeff. http://www.iplummet.com Common sense and common courtesy are NOT common.