jimjumper

[email]jimwallaceskydiving.com

The book "Skies Call 3" has a nice photo of a 2 stack over China and you can read the the Comet logo on the end cells of both canopies. The credits say that Andy Keech took the photo. (pg. 89)

In the past I have had both a Vector and a Talon modified to SOS. Neither was that expensive to modify. The mod does require a master rigger to do the work.

I teach Tandems and AFF and my oldest AFF student (so far!) was 68 and my oldest tandem was 86. Age is only one factor in evaluating the abilities of a student. By the way, I'm 53 myself! There are many older jumpers and instructors that didn't start till late.

Try Len Zak over at Perris. I borrowed his for an ash dive at Elsinore and Jim Wallace just bought one from him of the same design. It looks like a small freefly tube. The ashes are packed in the middle and when released the ashes are blown out thru the top. Very clean and is very visual from the ground.

Try Jim Wallace Skydiving at Perris. Owned and run by Jim Wallace (23,000 jumps) and his wife Gail (12,000 jumps), they offer individual instruction for any persons needs. They have taught AFF to some of the most famous around, including one of the founders of Google, Patrick Swayze, and Petra Nemcova (sp?). All-around good, professional people. I work for them so I may be biased but I thought I'd suggest them.

The newer Strong harnesses has the excess harness length coming up from the bottom of the MLW making it very difficult to even adjust it in the plane. We only have those kind of harnesses so they must be adjusted when fitted on the ground. Since the chest strap then is able to slide up and down the main lift web it's easy to adjust once under canopy to give the student more comfort. I've also found that tightening down the back diagonals a bit extra really helps with the "larger than life" types that tend to slump after opening. I like my students ready to be hooked up before we get on the plane but each instructor has their own way of doing things.

Get a copy of "Coins" magazine at any bookstore. There will be listings in the back for local coin and stamp shows in your area. They are a good way to meet and get quotes from multiple dealers in one place. Also, try to avoid selling to dealers that want to only buy the best pieces of the collection. They are usually "cherry-picking" and you will get stuck having to unload the lower value coins for less than optimum value. Another angle to pursue is to find a local coin club (try google for your area or the American Numismatic Association website) and attend one of their meetings. Most clubs meet monthly and any of their club officers should be able to point you to a reliable dealer or club member that can help with evaluating and selling your collection. I'm the president of my local coin club (Hemet, CA) and have done a few evaluations and as long as there isn't too much to look at it's usually a fairly straightforward process. Avoid the newspaper ad buyers and the TV hucksters. The people selling pays for those ads and a lot of times (not always!) they are only interested in bullion value for coins worth much more. If you have any specific questions PM me cause I hate to see people ripped off in the coin game.

I had one in my spare rig for a while. I never had any problems with it. Openings were brisk but certainly tolerable. It isn't modern by anybody's standard but I would still jump one if it was all I had.

I jumped at a boogie at Coolidge just after that photo was taken. I think the number of 28 is correct. The jump would have been done late February or early March of '88 according to my logbook. There are also 2 types of the photo, 1 original (rare) with N-number showing and another with the number airbrushed out.

Here in SoCal, Vail Lake Camping Resort is having a weekend long festival celebrating him. I liked him! At least he wasn't screwing interns in the Oval Office and he didn't need a teleprompter to make a coherent speech.

I took a tour of the Federal Reserve Branch Bank thats located in L.A. and a question was asked of our tour guide about the "Where's George" stamps sometimes seen on $1 bills. We were told that all bills that are handled and bundled by the Federal Reserve are elctronically scanned and any with alterations (I.E. stamps) are automatically segregated and destroyed. They are then replaced with new bills. The main branch in San Francisco daily destroys $15 to $20 million dollars of unusable currency alone! Finding a bill with the stamp outside of it's local area is unusual and really a lucky find!

Mine is sitting in a tub in the shed. It has a heavyweight cloud and a 28' Phantom (recalled for acid mesh) in it. It's the size of a tandem rig! In addition to making sure the velcro is in good shape, make sure the cutaway handle velcro location has been moved to the outside of the 2 layers of Type 8 webbing that makes up the main lift web. The originals had the velcro and handle between the layers and under tension made the cutaway tough to peel and pull. I last used it during my rigging training.

I have a tat that is Japanese Kanji with a flame background. The Kanji means "Flying Man" in the orginal translation and "Skydiver" in the modern translation. It also has an "Angel" connotation associated with it. If you get a Kanji tatto make sure you verify with a couple reliable sources what the symbol means.

I have SWT and when I was active, called my rigging service "Too Sweet Rigging"! Stopped rigging when the work wasn't worth the pay.

These pics are a bit past my time there. I don't recall jumping 121PM with either seats or belts. Neither was required till after the Perris crash and I left for Japan just before those requirements became mandatory. The picture I have posted on the California City stories shows Graham at the 5 O'clock in the red and black rig.

My first logbook! It was stolen out of my truck while I was stationed in the Phillipines. I'd trade all my other logbooks for that 1 with my first 90-100 jumps.

I took a while to answer this post mostly because I type with 2 fingers. The best advice I can give you first is to develop a bulletproof routine. And I mean from the time your assigned a student to the time you drop the rig in the packing area. With a routine you will instantly recognize when it is interupted and you will become cautious and focused on what you are doing. Harness or check the way the harness is done to meet your standards. Know your students name! Develop a consistent stable exit regardless of students body position. I usually try to use the student as dead weight, (so to speak), so that regardeless of body position we exit in a stable position. This will vary with aircraft ype. If you see brown or green, throw the drouge. If you see blue don't. Training your student is a good thing. Try to prepare them for what's going to happen and good body postion. However. sometimes you just end up running to the plane and hoping for the best. If that happens a lot complain! Try to read the attitude of your student. Some want a thrill ride, some are confronting their fears, some are trying to relive their youth, and some just want to want to jump out of plane to see what it's like. You can usually tell by conversation while gearing up the type of student you have. Sometimes I feel like an amateur psychiatrist trying to keep my students happy. You don't have stand up every landing. Teach them how to get their feet up for landing while under canopy and it will make your life so much easier. Accept the fact that you won't make every student happy. People are people and you won't like every one of them and sometimes they won't like you. Do the best you can and usually afterwards they are a lot more apprceciative. Be gracious when they give you a tip. Carry a barf bag and breath mints. Fear breath is atrocious. I use Lifesavers because its less offensive to the student. Also spinning canopies in the heat is a sure way to wear their lunch. Remember that all tandems are different. Do your best. The first 200 tandems will feel like an eternity, but it will get better. I had a guy in my first 50 tandems that appeared to be trying to grab his toes! After leglocking him he stopped. He told me after opening that he "Wanted to go head down" like he saw in the James Bond movie he saw last week. Sometimes students have no clue of the risks of what they doing. Know your limits. Big students and old students can be a handful. Also a little bit of jumpsuit material will help with stability and while it may not be necessary, it helps the video look better. And last, try to not be the Big Dog right off the bat. You'll get there eventually! Remember YOU! are totally responsible for their safety and hurting a student will probably get you fired and then you also will get to live with the guilt for a long time.

Trust me, it won't be the last time it happens. I once followed the wrong person on a big-way (70+) and when I realized the situation, I flew all the way around the formation to my slot. I thought it was fantastic flying but the 15-20 people I cut off weren't impressed! (By the way I was only benched for 1 jump). The rule about making mistakes is try to only do them once. Mistakes are life and otherwise we wouldn't have any good stories to talk about.

Slow cooked beef brisket (not corned) 2-5 pound brisket 2 cups chunky salsa 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup worchestershire sauce 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder Season brisket with salt and pepper on both sides Mix salsa, sugar, worchestershire sauce, and garlic powder for cooking sauce In suitable oven safe coverable pot, I use glass, place brisket and cover with sauce and then cover brisket. Cook at 300 degrees for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours per pound. Turn brisket over roughly every 1-2 hours. At the end of cooking it will not hold together to turn over! Cut the brisket into chunks or slices and cover with the cooked sauce. Very easy and unbeleivably good! Figure 3/4 to 1 pound per person It also makes a very good pulled beef sandwich.

Jim Wallace. He's been getting the costume ready the last week! His wife Gail Sims is doing ground crew.

I was the OP about helmets in the incidents forum and the post was just my thoughts and observations about hard shell and full face helmets. Peripheral vision is not just left to right but as noted by previous posters up and down also. I currently use an Aviator for all my jumps, (Fun, AFF, and Tandem) but am considering going back to my frap hat for Tandems. I prefer something solid for AFF and fun jumps but for Tandems the frap hat would allow for much better vision. The hard shell I currently use still allows me to talk to my student and allows them to see me while still giving me some protectioin from hard collisions. The biggest pain is the choice of either buying another dytter or swapping out my single depending on the jump.

The Jim Wallace school at Perris has a pool and offers water training on request. 1 person is $50 and more than 1 is $25 per person. We use our own equipment so you don't have to get your gear wet but you will!

The line from the lead-in to the song is "Rip it off. Wrap it up. Stick it in." Remember this is from the sixties when condoms weren't passed out in schools.

The Fugs "Live at The Filmore East". Bizarre and entertaining. I still think of them when I buy Saran Wrap!