Zenister

lol..which one is Kate? I met your resident hippie sunday, but was disappointedmto see you werent around..oh well hopefully i'll get to meet you this weeekend. BTW lisa..your staff rocks! very cool, very professional (when not online i guess) and all around great to meet. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

I'm spoiled I guess "growing up" (skydiving wise) at Eloy i've met an amazing number of cool people, all the while not realizing these were some of the champions of the new world i had just been thrown into.. Craig Girard i got to wear TWO of his old suits, i bought one and hope to someday have as many jumps as that suit does Eliana Rodriquez who along with my room mate threw me into my first train and watched me spin like a top on my very first sitfly Arizona Freeflight Omar, Curtis, and Tim always took the time to say "hello" in the otter, "glad to see your back" while i was on student status and have been privileged enough to jump with fairly often since.. Mike Ortiz, Sean Mac Cormac, and Dusty Smith who invited me out to track and showed me the joy of "hopscotch" particularly Sean, whos excellent coaching has helped me make leaps and bounds as a freeflier. recently ive met Andy and Jesse Farrington, more world class divers whos accomplishments i have been reading about as i continue to learn more about the sport. and i was just lucky enough to get into a tracking dive with Eli and Franz of the FlyBoyz at Perris last weekend.. one of the things i love about this sport is the people, everywhere i go the best and brightest are willing to extend a hand in friendship and comradere as well as sharing their knowledge of the sky.. love & blue skies forever....

I would say that about Chciagoland Skydiving, in Hinckley. And Space Center, in Titusville -- those people were so nice to me when I showed up there with 45 jumps and a HUGE rig! SDC has group called "Tean Funnel," that's completely devoted to the idea that nobody should have to jump alone. Nice idea, but I prefer to jump alone. Oh man, I crack me up... at Eloy they are "Team Flail" and i dont think i would have done many RW jumps at all with out them..a great crowd to play with early Sun before the Freaks roll out of bed....solos are cool but variety is everything!! ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

absolutely. so i stay far away from automobiles when i feel that way... slow deep breaths and perhaps a glass of wine.... love & blueskies! ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

Where's the non-political one? I wanna go there! Eloy! OMG..i'm worried the sun might not come up in the morning. since i'm about to agree with stylin... but i have to add Perris (in my limited experience of it) was sooo much like eloy i felt right at home.. Kapowsin, was completely different, but everyone there was just as welcoming and treated me like a old friend from the first day (night actually) i came out to see the DZ. granted at Kapowsin they didnt invite me on the largish FF dives right off, but i expected that..after i had jumped a few smaller dives and 'proved' i could fly safely, it wasnt a problem.. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

OT post.. I've heard lots of other skydivers talk about this, but thus far (in my limited skydiving experience so far) I have been lucky enough not to observe it. So far every dropzone Ive been too and jumped at has been very welcoming. Perhaps i've only been to "non-political" dropzones or maybe i just havent run into the right (or wrong) people yet..but everyone ive met has been amazingly cool and very helpful about hooking me up with other jumpers to fly with and learn from. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

ROTFLMAOCMEO.... sorry i'm having trouble breathing after reading that...thanks for the entertainment ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

at a general level i agree with you michelle, and i do get a good bit of additional info from some of the posts.. however as the war is part of my daily life and the intel breifs part of my job, i could certainly use less of some of the inane war joke posts & repetitions of major news stories that are being passed everywhere around the net..its very unlikely anyone is posting anything that hasnt been seen in 10 other places.. of course your exactly right, i dont have to open them and i dont open many, i just wish there were something else entertaining for people to focus on instead.. the good news is winter is nearly gone and so more people will be jumping..i would soooooo much rather hear skydiving & dropzone tales than look at the next 10 stupid saddam photoshoped pics, or the endlessly repeated patriotic cliche quotes ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

He was incapacitated...many witnesses to prove it....that simple..now why people didn't stop him is beyond me... well then by your same logic he died because no one stopped him from jumping when he was clearly unable to do so, no drug test required. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

There is nothing to assume...Ron was so loaded he could've made the whole plane high!!!!!! his condition directly lead to him hitting the water at a HIGH rate of speed....yes...it did lead to his death....no ASUMPTIONS about it!!!!!!!!! really? and here i thought initiating the turn to low led to the fatal impact. why did he turn low? well your certainly welcome to assume that it was because of drug use, but you have ZERO evidence to support that claim. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

i dont know i think you could pretty much wear any freefly suit to a rave..i'm not quite so sure about those gripper suits though ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

my understanding is the Pro-Track registers when you are nearly completely under canopy (or otherwise slowed enough to trigger its threshold speed) maybe someone else knows what that speed is?? ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

also only if you assume (as the ignorant public does) that the drugs were the cause of the fatality. Of course they do make a convenient scapegoat since they are already demonized by the government advertising, allowing a tidy summation of cause without any actual evidence. wonders when public acceptance became an important part of skydiving in the first place? ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

absolutely. otherwise how do you know your TM didnt stay up all night "wrasslin" with another hottie skydiver they just met and came to work on say a 1/2 hours sleep? How do you know he/she isnt going thru some major personal issues that might have rendered them emotionally unsuitable(ie. possibility suicidal) to jump that day? how do you know that the fact that they have recently quit smoking and the nicotine withdraw is so bad that day they are shaking so much they are having trouble keeping their coffee in the cup? these are just a few (admittedly somewhat exaggerated ) examples of the kinds of things that could easily create a dangerous situation, and if the DZO/ ST&A isnt capable of making that determination thru normal interpersonal contact with their employees (that should be part of their daily responsibilities) then do you really think they have the judgment to hold the positions they do?? but then its far easier to put the responsibility on a third party and pretend it makes everyone safer at the expense of personal freedom, privacy and trust. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

uh. i think your responding to the wrong post..I AM a former paratrooper, and completely support the mission they do. i just like sport canopies better

If you believe this then you don't understand alchoholism or substance abuse. Part of it is the ability to mask the addiction or impairment well i wont get into specifics for a lot of the reasons previously mentioned, but i have never had ANY problem telling when someone was using.edited to add: that i had personal contact with on a daily basis Even when other people didnt believe me, people just dont pay as much attention to the little details as they should, sometimes i think the are willfully ignoring them, or think perhaps its "not thier problem" and so dont get involved. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

Military freefall jumps absolutely DO count. morning Master monkey, can you tell us if any have been made yet?? just wondering. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

i think i just put the first 7 jumps on a sabre II 170 from Square 1 this weekend, your right it was really slippery, but then thats what green pieces of paper are for.. honestly i thought i got flatter glide from my sabre I but its still a great canopy ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

OTH i saw video (i missed it) of people freeflying (2 ways even) and "tunnel surfing" in the portable that came to Eloy. Of course these were AZFF and AFI divers who are very very experienced, but it looked like a lot of fun. i want one to play with in my back yard ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

somewhat different animals, but ive been flying my Sabre I 190 at that wingloading for a while (200 jumps) and enjoyed every moment of it, including getting some nice (relatively) swoops out of it. Since the Saber II would seem to be the next evolution i would imagine you can have just as much or more fun then i've been having on mine.. now where did i put that 150??

an idle comment around the table after the beer light was on spawned this thought. how cool would it be to be on one of the first few loads for the first Iraqi dropzone? not just for bragging rights but for what the ability to sustain jump operations would mean for the quality of life for the average Iraqi citizen. if your going to dream, dream BIG ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

i hope they do well, but that Airspeed does slightly better ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

honestly i dont think it should be required. If the other members of the flight crew cant tell there is a problem then they arent paying close enough attention or perhaps there isnt actually a problem. but there is also a difference between a public mode of transportation and a recreational activity, so i can concede that there are some situations were stricter monitoring is perhaps warranted. Also, pilots do not have any where near the level of personal contact with others that a TM/JM should have, so an impairement problem would also be easier to hide since impairment levels are subject to much debate (and the government has no interest in funding or even looking at any study which might contradict its doctrine) it is difficult to seriously discuss any such issues with any real facts. Much less with the levels of prejudice and persecution (as already evident even in this rather civil community) indoctrinated by government propaganda relating to such activities. as far as the TM & passenger. The responsibility is equally (or perhaps more so) on the DZO and ST&A to be familiar with their employees capabilities and limitations on a daily basis, which would eliminate the need for invasive testing. If they are incapable of making such evaluations then they should not be in the positions of responsibility they hold as there are far more situations that would remain undetected by drug testing (lack of sleep, emotional state, hung over etc..) that could be equally dangerous for their passengers. Of course then they couldnt use "drug-free" as a marketing ploy, to imply their operation is safer than one that does not. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

if thats the Bridgett i think it is i just saw her in Elsinore. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

you forgot the dipped in kerosene and set abaze options argg you got there before me.. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.