JakGramley

Mens shower room. Mostly freeflyers in there. Lots of laughter from the ladies. What could it mean? Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

It's official! The Jump for the Cause ladies just completed a 131-way formation and held it for over 10 seconds! CONGRATS LADIES! Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

On the last load today the women were successful in completing their 132-way formation, but only held it for 2.36 seconds. So, they set a new California State record, and a Perris Valley Record, but not the world record.... yet! They are stoked about tomorrow. With the way they are flying, Saturday for sure! GO LADIES! THINK PINK! Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

For those of you that were checking out the PerrisCam.com web site, we were able to show live streaming video from within the formation. Ted Wagner showed up today with his air to ground setup and we got it up and running just before the one and only JFTC jump today. For those of you that were online at about 5:00 pm, you were seeing the landing cam, then a blue screen for about 10 or 15 minutes, then the view from the middle of the 135-way formation. We replayed the image from video about 30 mimutes later. Tomorrow we hope to have live streaming video from ALL of the skydives. If anyone saw the video, please comment on it. Ih, one other thing, yes there was poisture on the lens during freefall. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

To all of you that are mourning the loss of this beautiful woman and fellow skydiver I would like to offer this official statement from the Jump for the Cause organizers: At 5:30 pm on Monday, October 14th, Shannon Embry died while making a skydive. Shannon, 40 years of age, was an experienced skydiver from Tennessee. She was participating in the Women's World Record attempt, "Jump for the Cause", a breast cancer fundraiser. After an uneventful skydive, her main parachute malfunctioned and, for unknown reasons, she was unable to jettison her main parachute and open her reserve parachute. She gave her life while trying to save the lives of others. Shannon is mourned her sisters on this skydive, skydivers worldwide, and by her friends and family. Please take the time to hug a friend and tell them how important they are, for none of us knows when we will be able to do it again. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Don't worry about bugging me. Your goals are the same as mine, trying to make the PerrisCam.com web site the best that it could be. Hey, I just posted ground photos that Jason Russell took today. Check them out at: http://www.perriscam.com/pictures.htm Thanks to all of you for using the cams. Keep the suggestions coming. That's why we changed the landing cam back to the grass area. Your input made it happen. Also, before we get emails about this, YES, the landing cam in Windows Media Format has a lag time of about 30 to 60 seconds off of real time. We gained a lot of frame rate, but the downside was the lag time. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

I wish it were just dirt. It's scratched. We don't have a budget for the cams, so I have to make do with what I have available. That's the best that I have right now. Sorry it isn't better. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Dana has assured me that those particular pastries (not to be confused with pasties) were molded from her own image. I have no proof, but I am working on it. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

That particular aircraft is based at Cal City (the airport, not the skydiving facility). It's used to fly prospective land investors to Mexico. We are only able to get it to Perris on holiday weekends, when it isn't being used for the Mexico trips. One other interesting thing about it. The owner, Jahn, likes to do "gear checks". When it flies by you only get this WHOOSHing sound, not the deafening roar of a regular DC-3. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

We discussed this over labor day. Jack, we know you like your job, but ughh, somethings you should keep to yourself! Since my accident I have had to use a variety of new exercise techniques to increase the strength and mobility of my right arm. That's my story, and I am sticking to it! Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

My best guess is during the "Jack, Off to Perris" boogie in January. We are finalizing the aircraft in the next few weeks and you will be able to see future announcements at: http://www.jackofftoperris.com Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

The cam is about 200 yards away from the swoop pond, 35 feet in the air. Even with a solid mount, a very small wind deflection looks like the cam is moving all over the place. That particular cam is scheduled to be moved back into the landing area (the original location from 8 months ago) once the swoop competition is done. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

For those of you that are interested, we have adjusted our landing cam to show the swoop pond during the Para-Performance "Team Challenge" practice and competition over the next 5 or 6 days. It requires a Windows Media Format player to view it. The practice days are today, Tuesday the 1st & Wednesday the 2nd. Competition begins Thursday the 3rd and runs through Saturday the 5th with Sunday the 6th being a weather day. During practice the first loads should go up between 9:00 am and 10:00 am PST. During competition our first loads will go up at 7:00 am and the competition should end each day by 10:00 am PST. There will be some practice sessions after the competition ends each day. The cam can be found at: http://www.perriscam.com For more information about the Para-Performance "Team Challenge" please go to: http://www.para-performance.com Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

I just wanted to thank all of the DZ.com'ers who made the trek to Perris this last weekend. Great to have all of you here. Hope all of you had a good time. Thanks! Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

To heck with x-rays, I'll show you the real thing! These are photos of the inside of my arm. They are NOT for those with weak stomachs. Remember, I warned you! I have included an x-ray at the bottom so that you can see the final result. Please note in the x-ray that I have had a pro dytter installed for future safety. Soon everyone will want one! http://www.teaminfinitycrw.com/jacksarm.htm Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Looks like we have a GREAT group of DZ.com skydivers coming to Perris over the Labor Day weekend! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make this better for all of you. In answer to a few other posts: Nope - no boogie fee. Just cheap skydives ($14.50) and lots of fun. Specialty aircraft will be only the turbine DC-3 (besides our own Super Otters and Super Skyvan). Reason? With the turbine DC-3 taking 40 jumpers to altitude in 10 to 12 minutes, it is hard to support many other specialty aircraft. Also, we are wanting to keep ALL skydives (even the turbine DC-3) at $14.50. Unfortunately helos are REALLY expensive to operate, and that means high slot costs. For SURE while the group is here, please let me take a TON of photos of everyone for our web site! Something tells me this is going to be a KICK ASS weekend with all of you here! Thanks! Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Bill - Glad we could make you feel at home. That's our goal. Hopefully you will come back and see us again. Coming back for the Jack, Off to Perris Boogie this January? If so, let me know and we'll take care of you. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Not a problem. Given the information that you had at the time I might have made the same comment. I just appreciate that you are keeping an open mind to the information as it becomes available. Actually, the decision all along was ESPN's and they chose, from the start, not to jump. We never even discussed what the costs might be for that. It was never even proposed to me by them. My only concern here was that our policy at Perris is that we do have different criteria when a production company wants to put people in the aircraft. And you are right, each company decides how they want to do business. Perris has chosen to work closely with production companies and we have a set of guidelines on how we operate. In this case we were asked only for ground footage, and it was for one of our jumpers. That was why we asked nothing for ourselves. I understand that you would want that opportunity. I think the thing is that each videographer should have the right to be involved in that decision. You feel that you want it sent out, someone else might not. I was simply suggesting that ALL parties had the right to be involved. I think that is only fair. It would be easy to contact the videographers involved and ask them. They might immediately agree. They might not. I simply feel they have the right to make that decision. Is it legal? I have no idea. I like what one of the previous posts said, about having the working relationship with videographer. Out of courtesy I would have asked. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Michele, Actually, I think you will be very pleased with the results from the ESPN shots. I was able to watch most of it from behind the camera. You and the instructors did a good job of telling the story. Unless they REALLY mess it up in post production, I think the story will be one that all skydivers like. Also, I am sure that all of the skydiving wannabees will like your prospective of it. You have the ability to remember your feelings from that moment and project that to the camera. I am hoping we can get a copy of the tape so that we can all enjoy it in the Bombshelter over a few cold ones. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Actually, if you look at the entertainment industry, quite the opposite is true. When any video or still image is taken, there is an understanding as to how it would be used. You can't use someone's image without their permission, you can't use someones work without permission. Let's take a real life situation. Let's say you ask a photographer to take a shot of you in freefall, just for your own enjoyment. Let's say you then find that the shot is REALLY good, and you sell it to a magazine. I think you will find that you DON'T have the right to do that, that the photographer would object because his/her work would be used outside of the orginal understanding. Again, I am using what I have learned in dealing with production companies and I am not a lawyer. It would be interesting to hear from others about this. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

I almost forgot about this part. Actually, I need some help here from the videographers that lurk this forum. At Perris we have always tried to protect the videographers that work hard to make us look good in the air. Standard skydiving video is normally shot for private enjoyment, not for broadcast. We have always asked that skydivers wishing to use video for broadcast purposes seek permission from the videographer prior to broadcast. In some cases that can also mean some form of compensation. What Michele had stated in the pre-production meeting was that she was going to give the producers footage from some of her fun skydives. When I asked her about the right to be able to do that her comment was, "I paid for them, they are mine and I can do anything I want with them". I was trying to protect the videographers involved. I am asking videographers how they would feel about having their footage used in a situation like this, without their knowledge, permission and without compensation. Perhaps I am overstepping my role as a general manager in doing this, but I do want to see ALL parties at our DZ treated fairly. Any opinions? Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Sorry it took me so long to respond to this posting. It seems that some of the DZ activities aren't fully understood by all jumpers. At Perris we are primarily a skydiving operation, both for students and for experienced jumpers. We also do quite a bit of production work for the entertainment industries. This is another source of income for us. As part of this we are paid for the use of our facilities, for the use of our aircraft, for the use of our staff and for the interruption of our operation. ESPN contacted us about Michele's story. We immediately said that we would like to assist both Michele and ESPN and asked what would be required of our facility. They basically told us that they wanted to do 3 interviews, taking about 2 hours of our time and that all of the filming would be done on the ground, away for the operation. We explained that we normally get a significant amount of dollars for this type of production. They assured us that they had no budget for the location, and that Michele's story needed to be told. We volunteered to allow the filming at Perris at NO CHARGE. None, zero. Trust me, ESPN is going to make a VERY nice profit out of this show. However, as a courtesy to one of our jumpers, we offered to do it for free. It was at that point that we learned that they also needed to use two of our instructors. Again, they don't want to pay anything for their time, even though one of them had to drive in from the N. LA area for this. Again, we offered to do that for them. We did explain to all parties concerned that if we did need to go up in the aircraft, we needed to charge for that. It's how the production end of our business works. The production company arrived at 9:00 am and stayed until 6:00 pm (so much for the two hours). They needed to use a room for their equipment. We had to interrupt our operation to accommodate them on several issues. Since they need a DZ coordinator, I volunteered my services, free of charge, on my day off. Interesting that after all of that, we are being cast as bad guys. Michele got her story told, and did a great job of it. All of the production people got everything they wanted. ESPN has a nice piece to show on their show, and that show WILL turn a profit for them. What do we get out of this? If we are lucky, we get a small credit at the end of the show. Ever stick around long enough to watch them? Nope, most people don't. Will we get our name mentioned during the interviews? Hopefully, but quite often that part ends up on the cutting room floor. Did the segment producer get paid? Did the cameraman get paid? Did every other business involved with this get paid? Did Michele get her story told? You do the math. Please don't make us regret volunteering our help with this. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

I think any discussion of dual canopy malfunctions would be incomplete without reviewing the "Dual Square Report" published by the Parachute Industry Association in 1997. It can be viewed at: http://www.pia.com/piapubs/dualsq.pdf.pdf It makes for VERY interesting reading. I have had the misfortune to witness several dual canopy malfunctions, including several downplanes. The handling of this malfunction may rank 2nd, to a horseshoe malfunction, as one of the most dangerous situations to handle. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

As the official photograper for the PerrisCam.com web site I can assure you that we make every effort to insure that only the best bums are photographed, as evidenced by Lisa's excellent bum. Pleae check back often to view future bums. Jack Gramley Computer Consultant

Today (5/18/2002) Melanie and Pat Conatser, owners of Perris Valley Skydiving, announced that final paperwork had been signed for the new SkyVenture Perris Wind Tunnel. The wind tunnel will be located on the Perris Valley Skydiving property. Construction should be completed within 12 months! This facility will be identical to the one in Orlando except that it will have higher powered fan motors to allow for VRW as well as RW training. We will announce more information as it becomes available. Jack Gramley General Manager Perris Valley Skydiving