JamesNahikian

"Dod yo think that it is easier to get HP canopies now (For EVERYONE) than it was a few years ago?" [It has _always_ been easy to obtain a desired canopy if you have cash, "friends" and a 70 IQ.] "Take into account you have Dan P saying that a Cobalt is good for students." [The Cobalt can be a good canopy for students who are trained on the Cobalt or a similar design at a committed and progressive dz.] ___________________________________________________________________ [The critical elements in this discussion are age, gender, enforcement, demonstrated ability, currency and requalification. In sum, we as parachutists need to maintain _awareness_ and _judgment_ on the part of all jumpers. To paper over these established concerns is unlikely to reduce fatalities in a meaningful way.] D. James Nahikian CHICAGO Booth's Law #2

Vallerina, the only casualty I'm aware of who fits your description had plenty of experience, and he could have qualified easily on paper as a canopy "expert" under the BSR and license proposals being floated around here. His misfortune (our misfortune, since he's a great guy) resulted from exhuberant poor judgment and lack of currency. None of the proferred rule changes would have affected the outcome you cite in support of your claims. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I would be pissed if I managed to hang on for 99 years and then someone started a rumor . (Doesn't that keep happening to Katherine Hepburn?) __________________________________________________ I will pay good money to see "On Golden Pond Swoop." Do hang-in there. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Blue skies, Ian. Thank you for sharing your expertise with me on the phone. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

No it doesn't. It doesn't need to be taught to Lisa or Carmen. They don't jump high loadings. ________________________________________________ Lisa and Carmen still can screw themselves into the ground with the canopies they are jumping. And if they never practice turning low near the ground, how is it they retain their proficiency for executing emergency turns? Practicing these maneuvers above 1,000 feet isn't the same. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Canopy skills for all licences need to be updated for the realities of the canopies being sold today. _________________________________________________ What he said. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

If you're competing at the National Level for CReW, then presumably you're one of the best canopy pilots in the United States. Shouldn't you be able to perform a high performance landing to meet a mere 200 jump D license requirement? D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

So, yeah, it looks like you need a D license to compete at the National level. ______________________________________________ Thank you for showcasing all the A, B & C license minimums for National Competition. You've underscored why no one needs a D license, even to "compete at the National Level." D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Nobody needs a D license "if all they ever want to do is land a lightly loaded canopy straight-in." Confirmed. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I understand you to mean they require water training and night jumps for national competition. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Carmen Mullenix. 1500 jumps, 1.1 to 1, straight in landings, AFF-I. Another WWR holder. I can continue the list if you like. _________________________________________________ I accept your offer. Please provide us with THE list. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I would not want to see someone injured or killed trying to perform a high performance landing just to get a license, if all they ever want to do is land a lightly loaded canopy straight in. _________________________________________________ Nobody needs a D license "if all they ever want to do is land a lightly loaded canopy straight-in." Come on, Bill. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

It's nothing new. Several times a year somebody was coming down, or was suspected of being infected, with Tularemia when I was growing up in rural Michigan a couple of decades ago. I even knew a guy who died from it. We still preferred shooting rabbits to birds because you didn't have to bother with defeathering, and they taste quite similar. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

One of my fondest memories parachuting was doing the '99 - '00 night jump rollover at Z-hills. Haagen-Daz had just informed me what a "raisin farm" meant and why I was not to land on one of them. I exited in a 2-way sit oriented toward the Gulf. The beach front communities were lighting off their pyrotechnics against the pitch black Gulf, and we just soaked it in, the view was freakin' spectacular. I landed a few feet from the burning Z and a beautiful woman ran up to me and handed me a bottle of cheap champaign which was delicious (thanks TJ). I savored that memory over a bonfire and fell in love with night jumps all over again. They can be a wonderful thing. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I love the Timberland brand shoes, the most comfortable things ever! ___________________________________________________________ Not if you have EEE feet like I have. The only time I can get Timberland footwear to fit comfortably is when I pick them up in Beijing. I wish they would adjust their lasts. Teva's are the most comfortable things for me. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I'm gonna pile-on to what Albie has said. Raise your arms above your seat (delta position) and cease driving your legs below it so hard. The resulting track should be considerably steeper than what you're experiencing currently, and this should assist you in keeping closer to the pack. D. James Nahikian SKYDIVE CHICAGO STL

Hey, Betzilla's ethereal singing had us all flowing like fountains. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Not sure about an opening segment, but my favorite movie quote is from Gattaca: "You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back." D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I would like to echo something important the Nelson family emphasized at the service yesterday. The man who collided with Roger is one of us, despite the tragedy of what has happened, and he deserves our acceptance, love and understanding. D. James Nahikian SKYDIVE CHICAGO STL

Static lines for years, then AFP. Wild Bill Hasenfuss got me past the transition, and Roger took me all the way. Roger had the more noteworthy brother, but Wild Bill's brother was no slacker either, especially over Nicaragua. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

As Atticus Finch, Gregory Peck probably inspired more of the "right" people to take up the law as a career, eschew the big paycheck and represent those without a voice than any person since Abraham Lincoln. Your father will live on, Carey. Take care. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

I've tried a bunch of times to pound out what I'm feeling and it's still a mess. I'm just going to post The Lesson of the Moth for now i was talking to a moth the other evening he was trying to break into an electric light bulb and fry himself on the wires why do you fellows pull this stunt i asked him because it is the conventional thing for moths or why if that had been an uncovered candle instead of an electric light bulb you would now be a small unsightly cinder have you no sense plenty of it he answered but at times we get tired of using it we get bored with the routine and crave beauty and excitement fire is beautiful and we know that if we get too close it will kill us but what does that matter it is better to be happy for a moment and be burned up with beauty than to live a long time and be bored all the while so we wad all our life up into one little toll and then we shoot the roll that is what life is for it is better to be part of beauty for one instant and then cease to exist than to exist forever and never be a part of beauty our attitude toward life is come easy go easy we are like human beings used to be before they became too civilized to enjoy themselves and before i could argue him out of his philosophy he went and immolated himself on a patent cigar lighter i do not agree with him myself i would rather have half the happiness and twice the longevity but at the same time i wish there was something i wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself -by Don Marquis D. James Nahikian SKYDIVE CHICAGO

We also enjoy a higher typical exit altitude than in days of yore, at least turbine dz brats do. There is less perceived need to push the envelope given this bounty. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

The Nelson family at Skydive Chicago!. They've already built a skydiver's playland, and they just keep improving it. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO

Done that, and observed a bit of lubrication solves most of your aneroid troubles. Not that I suffer from aneroid problems very often. D. James Nahikian CHICAGO