pd190

somebody did a nice article on starting a team or club or something a few months ago on this site..... (damn, where is it.....) also, I remember reading something in Parachutist... (damn,,,... what were we posting about??) under news and dropzones.....

Wooooo Hooooooo! IBL/IBD popcorn and beers!!! right here next to me in the armchair!! (I love watching trolls get hit with flamethrowers!)

0:4:0 Had a nice busy weekend at the DZ. 0 - nothing changes. 4 - did two tandems, one vid and a HnP on Sunday. 0 - no cases owed. Didn't get a whole lot of jumping in, but did get a good start on helping put our new video room together. Things are changing on the beach! Our facilities are changing (slowly but surely) and operations are starting to run more efficiently. Already looking forward to a great weekend to come!

I'm here.... USMC Whatcha need... PS..there's quite a few of us (military types current and former) here.

weekends plus holidays.... sometimes, I jump and call it work... heck, I even take leave from work to do a weeks worth of jumping... short answer - whenever I get the chance!

Reading Aggie Dave's thread about our POWs from Korea really got me thinking. Question to you: Would you be willing to give up money to recover our POWs? Would you be willing to spend a month in triple canopy jungle searching for remains? I guess the real thing that I'm thinking is if more people would give up moneys, maybe we could bring our boys home. That's the only thing holding it up, right? Of course, politics play a big role, and if there are some that are alive ( i hope they are) and they don't want to be found, right on.....but let your family and country know. How do you guys/gals feel about it? I don't think we should stop until we know something about every one of them. If I was left on the battlefield, I would want my family to know something. Marines don't leave Marines behind!

don't know........ (waiting for Ivan to post boobie pictures of the yummy angelina!)

Yep, they had video of all of the jumps.... I thought it looked kinda funny...man, that camera guy is right in there, then I realized they were shooting all of the video with the glove mount systems. Pretty cool shots considering I hadn't seen product from these yet.

Anybody else see this last night wishing that the weekend would hurry up and get here???

Ya' know, people are always asking this question.... "Do you think I'm ready for a {sabre2 150} (add any canopy here)???" This is what I think.... (my opinions) 1. How long have you been flying that {210}?? 2. How long has it been since you hit the X? 3. Can you call it and hit it regularly?? 4. Have you experienced everything that canopy has to offer? If you don't know then you haven't. 5. Have you tried a {190} or {anything else}? 6. Can you land that {210} in a tight out?? 7. Who has flown with you and watched your canopy control? 8. how are your landings?? I guess my biggest thing is talk with your instructors! Let them help you when making your desicion to downsize. GO Slow! there is no reason to go from a student size canopy (we use 300's and 260's F111) to a ZP 120! The excuse that it was cheap and available is not an option. Is your physical well-being cheap and available?? I think not. Granted, these are just my opinions and the smallest thing I've flown is a sabre2 150. Below listed is my canopy progression... started in the military - --375 sq ft moved to a Falcon 215....100 jumps on it moved to a PD190....400 jumps on it demo'd a Sabre2 170....10 jumps (mikey likes) demo'd a 150 after 500 jumps....fast nioce demoing a firebolt 182 when it gets here next on the list is a firebolt 164. Bottom line: Go slow, listen to what people are telling you. If someone says, "Man, at 240 lbs and only 120 jumps, I don't think that you are ready for a Cobalt 120."...maybe you should listen (Used as an example from an incident about a year ago that the guy is still recovering from.) Once again, just my opinions...

Okay, having read all of the responses so far...... I'm right with AD on this one. His reference to learning something new from each one of the posts concerning tandems was spot on with me. I think that it would be a great idea to open up an instructor forum. Being a new TM myself, I think that all new ratings holders could benefit from having the extensive knowledge base that is here. That's why we are here right?? to learn from the experience of others??. Or is it just to burn the clock at work (PW'ing) while we wait for the weekend to roll around? (I'm thinking PW'ing, no wait - learning, no wait PW'ing WHILE learning, there we go!)

Since I'm a Newbie (50 or so tandems), I haven't had any of these yet......./knock on my head, whoops, I mean wood!/ However, I've seen a lot of pukers, spinners, and a few very "weak" students when they land. Sometimes being the camera man is better than being the TM.

I'm still getting my feet wet, but I haven't really had any serious slaps. I usually jump Strongs. If I'm getting slapped, it's not that hard. I did have my DZO ask me me last weekend why I had red rash marks on my neck. (I thought it was from the naked romps in the woods.) but it could be a riser rub.

0:9:0 0 - nothing changes (again!) 9 - did a lot of fun dives, some 4-way, a tandem, and a vid. Clouds rolled into the beach on saturday, but Sunday rocked. One beach jump!!! Spent most of Friday night helping move into the new hangar facilities. 0 - no beer owed but I bought a case for next weekend just because.

Mine was pretty good on Saturday..... "Will this chest strap thingy break my implants when the parachute opens?"

JJ, Do a search in this forum.....there have been many discussions about building boxes for cameras. Easiest way....get some fiberglass, some rubber gloves, a little closed cell foam, a knife, sandpaper, and get to work! PM me if you want to know how I do mine.

PM'd.......

0:3:0 0 - nothin' changin' here 3 - saturday rained us out so we did hangar maintenance on both buildings. Sunday started off with a really good tandem, and then did 2 4-ways. First was a 7 pointer, second was a 9 pointer. Both were with Ron and Isabella. (Have fun in Austria!) 0 - no beer owed this weekend (damn it!)

During the course that I attended, it was required that both passenger and instructor wore "some type of head protection." It was highly recommended to me by an examiner to always wear something. I have since followed that lead. I'm pretty sure that USPA only recommends, but I hit my head enough in the 182 to know that I need something all of the time.

Yep, (again I'm a newbie to TI, too, 63 tandems) I have worn both RW (w/o booties) and a really cool circa 1970's style baggy. Here's how I work it and it's just my opinion and I am by NO means an expert. I started wearing the RW suit because it felt more comfortable to me. It seemed to fit good and allowed me enough control. Then, I started flying the 70' style. I really like the look of it and we always make a joke about how "We are falling back in time" kinda deal. lightens the mood a bit for the nervous tandem student. I like the 70's style because it feels good. I can definately tell the difference in control and movement. "Whatever makes you comfortable and allows you to control the tandem jump is what works best!" Bill Carter

I'm in the same boat as AD... I've got 63 tandems and I've worn Frap hats, FF helmets and Protecs (just to try it.) I have found that for my comfort and protection of my noggin', I like the frap hat. It protects me from bumpin' around in the 182 (just enough to prevent bleeders.) Although it has been stated that FH's don't really protect (some say) I like them and feel that they comfortable enough for use. Strong requires some type of protection, and frap hats fit the bill for me.

Ever heard those guys say.... "Man, I had this cherry '68 Mustang when I was a kid, I never should have got rid of that thing....if I had it to do over agian, I never would have sold that car." Skydiving is the same...if you totally give up on it, you will regret it down the road.

We had 9 (nine) water spouts off of the beach last weekend due to a thunderstorm. I got some crappy video of one. Man, it was scary..... Ever watched about 30 pilots running around trying to tie their planes down in a massive rain storm???

I've got two entries.... "booger" (do you really need me to define it?) everyone has them, picks them, but wouldn't it be nice to know if someone you're shaking hands with had one?? "help" - everyone needs it, but how many really ask for it??

Some one put a beer bottle top on my beach chair at the dropzone once, I sat on it wearing nothing but shorts. I now have a nice little scar from the ridges. That's the only metal I have from skydiving.