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Tammie and I should be down sometime Frtday evening, where are ya'll going to be? Jean did her Level 3 jump Tuesday, was just as easy as the other two for the jumpmasters. See ya tomorrow! blue skies, art

Hey why are ya'll dragging my name through the mud? I am an angel. The girls do want to know if you are going to go scuba diving with us on wednesday and thursday. We will see you on Friday! blue skies, art

Swoop, Tammie will have five demo suits with her. So anyone wanting to fly, get in contact with one of us and we can set you up! Oh, there is a certain AFF student of mine that wants to do a tandem with you, sans clothes! Are you game? We are trying to get her to come down with us. blue skies, art

A quick peek down to check for traffic is one thing to stand there trying to figure out where you are is another. If you are at all aware, you are paying attention to where the plane is at during the last couple of minutes before the exit is called. You should have a pretty good idea whether you are short or long of the airport. This is all I am saying, the green light is not the time to start figuring out where the plane is in relation to the airport. Any person who can spot worth a damn knows where the plane is before the green light comes on and is anticipating it. Just my opinion. blue skies, art

I just read your profile and saw where you jump. I have never had a problem there, but I have been around long enough very few people bother me. Plus, most of the time I jump there, I have a birdman suit on and don't worry much about the spot! It is a beautiful day (just dress warm!), have fun jumping, I may be down there on Friday! blue skies, art

I totally agree with looking out and realizing where the plane is before it turns on jumprun. In most jump planes nowadays, it is very easy. Anyone who can't look out the door (through the lexan) any figure out where they are as the plane turns on to jumprun, doesn't need to be spotting anyhow! This is my beef with the person who does this at our DZ. He doesn't even start to look out until he opens the door, then spends time looking for the airport, then decides what he wants to do, then almost always has a long climbout...on and on. So, I think you did the right thing if you didn't rush your skydive, but I also think it is an issue that needs to be addressed with your S&TA or DZO. And..like I said, if you feel compromised by their answer, start looking around at other places. blue skies, art

After reading this thread and all the responses, there are definitely many ways to look at it. For me personally, it really depends on the pilot as to whether I trust the now common GPS spots that are common with large planes. Jeff, back in the day, even a DC-3 with 50 jumpers on board rarely had more than 5 or 6 groups jumping. Today, with the new disciplines, tandems, AFF students, etc. it isn't uncommon to have an otter load of 20 people with ten groups. So, we have created ourselves a dilemma. I do put my blind trust in the pilot of the the aircraft too many times, but almost all of the places I jump have very good pilots, who are also skydivers. When the spot becomes long they tend to start turning back towards the airport on turn on the red light to do a go-around. By th same token, it is VERY irratating to have some jumper on a clear blue day, look out the door after the green light has come on, spend ten seconds finding the airport directly underneath the plane, then take their time climbing out, a long count, basically hosing the rest of the load because of a general lack of trust in the operation that 95% of the time puts all cut-away equipement on the airport (and generally the ones that don't are because someone hosed the load on the spot). So, where does this leave us! Someone people are assholes, but hosing them to make a point, especially if they have a student or passenger is not the way to do it. Vote with your dollars. If you don't like the operation, tell the DZO (calmly with facts) why you are going to spend your votes at another DZ. Usaully something will be done about it. Short story...at a once famous and very large DZ a 16-way I was on had a run in with someone who was a national champ. He hosed our whole 16-way on the spot on the next CASA load. We had a discussion with the DZO, the "champ" had to but us all a beer and apologize in front of most of the DZ that night. Just goes to show, there are good DZO's out there concerned about their customers being happy and safe! blue skies, art

I am not sure what you are trying to say here. What part of the training do you want to change? Twenty years ago, I was very lucky to make my first jump on a square. The drop zone an hour away was still jumping rounds for students. The student gear was always much different from the experienced jumpers, nowadays they are very similar. As far as instruction, the AFF program was still being developed, now it has become the standard (it is hard to find a S/L program in Florida these days). Most places have videos of malfunctions, we didn't even have pictures. The instruction these days is much closer to one-on-one versus 30 people in a class with one instructor. I guess what I am saying, is what else do you want to change? I honestly believe having taught people for the last twenty years, that the methods used are much different (maybe some due to equipement). So if you are going to throw something out there, tell us what you want to change and how! blue skies, art

A Stearman rolling upside down, with just a little negative g so you just slide right out with your hands on the top wing.......sweet! blue skies, art

Nothing that I can think of.....see you this weekend! blue skies, art

They didn't give me free checking or an interest free loan, just a big ole tandem canopy with their name on it! blue skies, art

Basically, she just jumped on my lap in the door of the otter, wrapped her arms, around me and a tumbling we went. blue skies, art

Bob, I don't blame you, I don't ride either! blue skies, art

At 8:30 did a night birdman suit jump with my baby (from 15,000), chem lights glowing in the wings. Then at midnight we did a dirt ball (from 15,000) until the beverage I was drinking on the way up got me so dizzy I had to stop. Nice sweet swoop on the wet ground to bring in the new year. blue skies, art

Actually, as long as it is not into a stadium this is true. Otherwise you have to apply for a waiver throught the USPA board. BSR 2-1.J.5 Tandem jumps into stadiums are prohibited blue skies, art

:14:0 One night wingsuit jump Friday. Then another jump at midnight with my best friend! Tandem into the Gator Bowl on Saturday. Three tandems with some obnoxious strippers that afternoon. Then lots of other tandems and fun jumps throughout the weekend, ending with a nice 12-way star for Chad's 500th, congrads! blue skies, art

Carolyn, and I didn't let her have the toggles...a much braver person than me! I could never ride with someone into the stadium! blue skies, art

Yeah, this was the first time I jumped into the stadium without the mascot in front of me. It was kinda odd being able to see where I was going! blue skies, art

I guess I must just ask the right people....actually some of the people at RWS have helped me go through the right channels. Some more pics.. blue skies, art

Dave, you just have to ask permission....# 5 for me! blue skies, art

Attached are some pictures from the Gator Bowl yesterday. The Art of Skydiving Team performed during the pre-game. Thanks to Joyce Smith for the pictures, taken with her new Christmas present! blue skies, art

I personally have taken 20-25 paraplegics and sevral quads. The most important thing to remember is that their bones become very brittle due to lack of movement and are very easily broken. I do put a strap around their knees with a line that runs up to the chest strap. Upon openning, I pull on the line, clip it to the chest strap, so that their knees are up on their chest. This keeps their feet well above mine for landing. blue skies, art

But I don't mind throwing Billy under the bus! blue skies, art

It is an old saying, but Tom Piras use to say it quite a bit. blue skies, art

Damn, that takes all of the fun out of it! Yes, in reality this is a very good idea. That is exactly why we only do night jumps on announced nights and not spur of the moment times. This way we can plan our drinking around our jumping. One thing to add to this, is it is usaully much colder at night and added clothing sometimes becomes a distraction that is not accounted for. Just another thing to think about. And yes, I also get paid (sometimes quite well) for about 1 in 4 night jumps I make! blue skies, art