pd190

As many of you may recall, in September we had a few boys decide to "modify" some parachute systems here at Camp Swampy. This morning I heard on the radio news that charges in the pending investigation on one of the two suspects have been dropped. I've been following this investigation, as I'm sure many of you have, and just wanted to give an update. I'm sure that Navy/Marine Corps Times will have a further update of the situation next week.

?:4:1 Not a perfect weekend on the beach! ? - not tellin'! 4 - did some good dives on Saturday. Busted a vid for tandem (see beer owed.) 4 way 8 pts. Great jump with some really experienced jumpers. I love jumping with the "Old timers" and turning massive amounts of points from 9500 ft. Did some great sidebody piece turning on this one. Another vid for practice and trying to redeem myself for vid. Hop N Pop from 6000 due to ceiling coming down. 1 - One case owed for busting a vid. Usually I'm very careful about my procedures for shooting vids. I skipped a step (or just plain old messed up) and busted a guys vid. Everybody (other camera guys) said it happens, but damn, I feel bad. I was able to salvage some stuff, but not enough to make me feel any better. No beach jumps this weekend due to winds being a little high on the beach and direction not quite perfect (blowing inland on Saturday, and blowing out to sea on Sunday.) All in all, not a bad weekend. Not perfect, but it's spring time in NC so it was to be expected.

My SO is a skydiver (not current). Although it took a lot to get her there, she is. I'm proud of the fact that she was interested (if only for a short time) in the things that interested me. Who knows if she'll ever jump agian, but at least she has experienced it and knows how things run at the DZ. I would think that the best bet is to just find the "right" SO, and find either middle ground, or get them intersted. Right now, because my SO isn't current, she does alot for the DZ. She patches guys jumpsuits, repairs packing mats, takes pictures for guys on landings, and helps with manifest. She enjoys the parties and the "family" type atmosphere. Good luck on finding one like that.

Here's how my weekend turned out.... 0:5:0 Saturday: Woke up early to set up the beach DZ. Guys had been talking about doing beach jumps for a month now, so I thought it was time to get it on! We started with a(1) Hop N Pop over the airfield to check the spot for future tandems /we still spot by eye and SWAG's/ Right after that, (2) Hop N Pop on the beach. Landed dead on, the winds were perfect. ((PS. Girls in bikini's in March rock!)) Next load-(3)planned 5point 4 way. No Problems. (4) Beach jump-agian!!! Beach jumps rock!!!! (5) Hop N Pop due to clouds (whoops-industrial haze) coming in. The ceiling went from 15,000 to 7,000 in about 4 minutes. Didn't get any on Sunday because of yucky, nasty weather. Got some good training on reserve packing and helped guys with gear cleaning and maintenance. *Beer will be owed next weekend due to a promotion from work.

Let me just start this out by saying that I am current Marine. Marines are not "raised" to act like assholes. Most Marines consider themselves as defenders of this great nation. We are here to protect the nation in times of need, whatever that need shall be or where ever it arises. Having said that, there is always that 10%. The bad seeds... those who earned the title, but never really understood what it means. I remember how cocky and "nothing can touch me" I was when I came out of boot. That does not by any means give anyone an excuse to become a dick. DISCLAIMER- I'm not one of those "Yut, Yut!, M2 .50 cal, belt fed guys." (Former Marines know what I mean.) I think that your son did exactly the right thing. He verbally stated that he did not want a fight, recieved the first blow, and then proceeded to defend himself. That young Marine has not yet learned the very principle of "SEMPER FIDELIS-always faithful." That means faithful to your god, your country (to include the people you are sworn to protect), your Corps, and to yourself. I'm sure that that Marine will have plenty of time to reflect upon what he has done while he is on EPD and restriction. (EPD- Extra Personal Duty. Usually means that you become the cig butt recovery expert for a large area of base. Restriction means he won't have any free time for a really long time.)

Josh, Welcome to DZ.com! There are quite a few current and former Marines here. Congrats on the christmas present. Personally, I'm hoping my wife will surprise me with a new Sabre 2 170 this year. Good luck on your ISP/AFF training. Semper Fly!!!

1:7:2 1- Great Safety Day Attended. We had coffee, doughnuts, and OJ at 7:00 a.m. and started Safety Day. Good classes and good info. 7- Good jumps through Sat and Sun. Some four-way and HopnPops just for fun. Great Sunset HopnPop on Saturday! 2- Very strong rum and cokes (large 64oz glass) 3/4 rum, ice and a dash of coke!! All in All, the weekend went great! Beach jumps and a kickin' birthday party planned for next weekend!!

Thanks guys for the advice and info....Here are some more ideas... I totally agree that this system is questionable. Just thought that I would throw it out there to see if anyone had thoughts. To answer some questions... The PC and deploy bag would be placed in the inside of the rear "clamshell" of the helmet. The idea was, when emer cutaway was activated, the rear entry cover would come off, and the PC would deploy from bag. You guys are right, premature deployment would be bad. But I figured if it was enclosed as part of the inside of the helmet, it would lessen the possibility. I've got the camera insured already, but a little extra "insurance" can't hurt. Don't like the spring idea.......but if anyone can come up with a design or tips, I would like to learn more about this. I'm definately still interested in any emergency cutaway ideas for the helmet itself. I've got some idea of what I want to do, but a tested and proven method would definately be a help.

Just wondering if anyone has designed and built an emergency cutaway system for a Hanson style. I have some ideas , but would like to get everyones input. (pictures of a design would help) I'm getting a new helmet for the season. (Not the best but for the price it works) I'm also looking into an emergency recovery system. Not that I want to cut my helmet away, but if I do, anyone designed a recovery system? I'm thinking about some kind of "static line" system that attaches the helmet to a pilot chute. Here's my idea, you guys tell me if I'm nuts...(not a completely thought through idea yet) Attach the bridle line of a NC PC to the helmet. Have it routed into a pocket in the rear closing panel of the helmet. Inside that pocket is a small deployment bag containing the PC. The deployment bag is attached to the back collar of a jumpsuit with an RSL type connector. When activated, the deployment bag stays attached to the jumpsuit and deploys the PC attached to the camera helmet. Hopefully, this will allow the helmet to impact the earth with a controlled fall rate. It could possibly save the camera, maybe even the helmet. any ideas or thoughts???? The only thing I can think of is now I've just added about 50,000 other things that can go wrong and get into the mess. HMMMMM, maybe this isn't a good idea after all....

Right now, as reported by Navy/Marine Corps Times two weeks ago, (a publication for Marines and Sailors), there is one Marine in custody at the Camp Lejeune Brig for this crime. Another is suspected but charges on both are still pending. The Naval Criminal Investigative service (NCIS) and the attorneys are still getting all of their facts together. As it stands, it is suspected that both sabotaged the line groups on the main systems. In order to do this so that it wasn't visible on JMPI (jumpmaster inspections), it had to be unpacked, sabotaged, and then repack. More information is forthcoming. It was reported earlier that two Marines were in the brig, but evidence didn't support the second Marines pre-trial confinment. However, he is still in question. I'll try to keep things updated as they happen.

1: First jump course taught to a very nervous young lady. 4: good weather in NC this weekend. 1 hop n pop on Saturday (sunset load), funneled four way, shot vid of young ladies AFF dive, 4 point three way with some new jumpers (good dive with some tough points for skill level) The last dive on Sunday was quite interesting. I finally worked a guy into doing some RW. This guy has been doing solos for three years since I've known him. When I asked him why, "I didn't think anyone wanted to jump with me." Myself, Chris (new jumper to our Dz) and Steve planned 12 points. The exit went off great and we built a round really fast. Some fall rate issues, but we worked them out. Even though we only hit four points, it was great to get someone into the mix. The smiles on the ground were well worth it! No beer owed this weekend, I'll have to work on that.

I jump and pack a PD190 (fancy that?) and I have found the best openings come from rolling the nose 2 turns and pushing it in and then rolling the tail 2 turns. Very, very seldom do I get a SMACKER. Out of the 150 or so jumps I have on the it, I can count three. I also quarter the slider and do a double check to make sure it's all of the way in (up on the grommets.)

Born and Raised in Huntington, IN Now Camp Lejeune, NC Skydive Coastal Carolinas, Southport, NC

This thread got me seriously thinking about my future goals in skydiving. While I don't make my living from it, and I can only do it when duty doesn't call, I think I came up with some realistic goals for this year. Finish Coaches Course this coming weekend. Get some kind of rating before next year. Right now, I'm thinking Tandem. I need 78 more jumps before June. I can probably do it as long as the sky stays clear. Temperatures really don't matter to me. Here's how I think it works out. I need at least 6 jumps per weekend to make my goal. Figure in 2 to 4 weekends down due to weather, I need 8 jumps per weekend. I also have some other goals this year. 1. Get four people together this year to participate in a local four way competition in November. 2. Learn some CrW. we are trying to bring CrW together at our DZ. Goal is to get a four stack. One Cessna all CrW. 3. Get a rating (tandem) maybe S/L JM. 4. Complete new Hangar and DZ facilities complete with full service one stop vid room. So far here are my numbers: November 2002: 19 jumps December 2002: 6 jumps (slow month w/holidays) January 2003: 9 Jumps Febuary 2003: so far 4 jumps.

The reserve is an X210 (X 2 Ten) made by a company that used to be in CA. The original location of the manufacture was in England. They mostly made stuff for the military. I can't remember DOM right off hand (I think it was 1986) but it's been tested and found good. I'm hoping to put all of this together for a backup rig.

We had a good weekend at the DZ this weekend but had a scary time on Saturday. Here's the lowdown... A fairly new jumper to our DZ was working on doing some two way drill dives with another jumper. All jumpers had received checks before boarding the plane. Everything is good, normal climb to altitude. Normal exits, good spotting, good jump. The jumper has 82 jumps, is current, jumping a Spectre 230, leg pouch throw out. Good combo for him, he had made 2 jumps prior with a PD260 leg throw out. Everything was good, we watched them break off at approx 4000 ft from the ground, good tracks. One of the two dumped out at approx 3000, the other kept going. Finally at about 1500 ft we see a main come out. It's open and inflated at about 1000-1200 ft. Everything is good right, (except for the low pull and the grounding he's gonna get.) Nope! Just as he unstows the control lines, the cypress fires and now he's starting to trail a reserve. Now he is low, with two out. He follows good EP's and gets them apart and chops the main at about 400-600 ft. He then had a slow ride down under a good reserve onto a road. After we recover him and some boys look him over, the questions start coming up.. Turns out that sometime in the plane his PC was pushed into the pocket. He didn't do a handles check before exit so he decided to dig it out of the pocket in freefall. He finally got out on his second attempt but it was low. Lesson Learned.....(What would have prevented this) 1. Do a good handle check on yourself and the jumpers around you prior to exiting the plane. 2. Pull, Pull at the proper altitude, Pull while stable, and Pull. 3. Don't waste time executing your emergency procedures. Do them right and in a timely fashion. Two checks and then reserve. Needless to say the guy is okay and will continue to jump. But, this could have turned into a bad situation.

Okay, here's the deal..... I was given an older rig. It's an early 80's Mirage (two pin reserve) container. I'm trying to get it back in service. It's in really good condition and only has about 80 jumps on it. The problem is...it looks so good because it's been washed a few times. It's been washed enough that the TSO data card is faded and unreadable. 1. I've been able to get a copy of the manual from an "old school" rigger, but he doesn't pack anymore. The builder of this system has since been bought out and resold, will the current builders of Mirage systems TSO's still be good?? 2. How do I go about getting a new TSO data card?? 3. Can my rigger replace the TSO block without me having to send it off?? (probably not.) This rig is old, but it was free. Can you believe that, free gear. I got an old reserve with it as well. It's still good to go, I just need to get the container set up. Any help would be a bonus. Thanks.

0:4:0 Had another great weekendat the DZ. The SO didn't go this weekend, but had a blast anyway. Winds kinda picked up on Sat, so one 1 4-way. Three points with some new jumpers. Sunday turned out better, go some 4-way in (6 pts) and some FF. Finished out the weekend with an awesome birthday tandem vid. All in all, another great weekend of jumping.

1:3:0 Three really good jumps in the freeze on North Carolina right now. 1st- did vid for a vid on a tandem at 150 mph. 2nd- 11 pt 2 way with some hard points (drill dive) 3rd - hop and pop because it was getting to cold. (DZO let us take it up with only two!! Cool DZO!) No beers for me this weekend. Looking forward to a good warm (60'ish) weekend coming up. Beach Jumps! (couldn't get anybody to do them this weekend due to the cold.)

Hey everyone.....just wanted to post a little reminder to make sure and do some good gear checkin' before jumping again. (Story to follow..) I learned a really good lesson this weekend..... Great weekend of jumping this past..... Some milestones reached. One of our younger jumpers was reaching his 100th, so we did a 182 formation load. Gonna be a great 8 way! The base pulls off with some weebles and wobbles. light side flips so we break. Just as we were coming back together, everyone notices that "Jack's" pilot chute is out but not deploying his main. Everyone backs off for about three seconds. "Jack" notices this and immediately clears a bridle that wrapped up under his chest. Needless to say he had a cold ride down from 8 thousand, but it was a safe ride. Upon landing we determined that the elastic on his BOC had broken on the previous jump. When he flipped launching the base with us, it deployed his pilot chute, but under his chest. Good heads up "Jack!" Point of the story, Please do some inspections on your gear this winter. Make sure it's in good shape. Don't neglect you pouch! I know that I'm ordering a few extra pockets just to have around.

Have fun jumping this thing......, Granted, they can be fun, and you'll probably get some funny looks when you go to the plane with this "cadillac." You can probably pick up a single point release or a "spider harness" (same thing but is a different ruck containment system) at a local surplus store. They are hard to find, but ask the guy behind the counter, he'll know what you mean. Also, just a tip from me to you, get some serious instruction from a MFF Instructor (active or former) before you attempt to fly with a ruck. They have a bad tendency of creating massive spins and flight problems if not rigged properly. (Practice getting off of your back!!!) It's definately not your average jump. Make sure he explains the procedures for lowering it properly. **Check with the DZO prior to doing any of this!** As for the canopy, be prepared for a long, slow and steady ride down. The response time to toggle input is greatly increased, thus your turns and flare will be way different than you sport rig. Be prepared to count to 5-8 seconds for a easy 360. Get ready for a PLF on landing. Some of the older canopys like to settle down kinda hard. Also, make sure and do a good "clear over your shoulder" after pulling the ripcord. Those big containers like to create a huge burbble and you might even feel the pilot chute and spring smack you around a bit! Other than that, have a save jump. Just make sure you get some instruction on the ruck jump prior to doing it.

I'd like to second the motion on "landing like a bag of shit!" Lots of "Bag O' Shit" landings

I rode a snowboard once........drunk and naked down an icy hill. Good thing they had those straw bales at the bottom of the hill or I would have had some serious road rash when crossing the highway at the bottom.

With everything that has happened this year, let us not forget those men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. December 7, 1941....... does that ring a bell with anyone??? That morning changed the course of history. Please take some time to say thank you, out loud or silently, to the people who have given us their lives so that we may live ours.

Yep! SSgt USMC 12 yrs. + some still active duty "I'm looking for warriors to follow me." Gen Al Gray