Deuce

That is all different kinds of stupid. Emergency services are well represented in skydiving. Please come pull something like this at my DZ. "Retired is latin for: authority without accountability" What are they going to do? Fire me? Hey, Clay-doh. Come out and see us again at BAS. Hills are turning green, mountains have snow, beer is cold.

Yes, Ed, coaching will help. Thanks for the link. If I can get up to Lodi in the next couple of weeks, I'll see if I can hook up with you.

Well, that's a crapdoodle if ever there was one. So sorry to hear it. Get well soon. BTW, I really enjoyed Vicoden and Zinfandel out of a box when I broke my ankle earlier this year. No point in taking it with good wine

Our King Air is still in the Airplane Hospital so its' out of the 206. Just four of us on the load, so there's plenty of room to get up into the plane and sit with the tail zipped up. Just put my rear on the doorsill and swung my legs in, and scooted to the second spot behind the pilot. LouDiamond was generous in his critique and suggestions so my suit was properly rigged. Thanks. But I've never done a wingsuit exit out of the Cessna. So at 9000' (low ceiling) I swung the tail out and rolled out the door with my body aligned down the line of flight. And immediately went into a violent tumble/spin. The earth/sky transitions were so fast I can't tell you which way I was moving. So I tried bringing my arms in and arching. Nothing. Hands on my ass, legs on my ass. Nothing. I'm thinking "OK, I'll toss at one of the less violent points in the tumble, the canopy will be shit but I'll get stood up, and then I'll chop to my reserve once I'm vertical" But I still have altitude and I try opening up the suit, and VROOM! out of an inverted barrel-roll and into some serious forward flight. Did a complete circuit of the perimeter downwind and base legs and threw in two practice touches. Closing the suit down is like jumping into an elevator shaft. And it is very fast, much faster than the GTi felt, and once it gets going, way the hell more stable. On the borrowed GTi, there was a potato-chipping feeling on all axis if body position wasn't just right, and I didn't get any of that with my S3. At 4500 I did my wave-off and deployed stable. There is just a ton of forward speed on that thing and I spun up my Spectre 3 times lickety-split. The canopy was straight and level, but I'm wearing this restrictive pair of pants and I'm trying to figure out how to kick out without being able to kick. Got my arms free zip-sip and just spreading the risers and doing a hula-hoop kind of thing got it fixed, plenty of altitude. Legs zip-zip-snap-snap and land. Average speed was 80, second average speed, where I was flying the suit was 74, vertical (pro-track) So, my impression was that the S3 was a lot more suit than the GTi. I like the tail much more, but I can tell I have work to do on my wings posture. Yes, it takes muscle to keep it in that "quiet place". Very fun, but I'd appreciate some feedback on Cessna exits, particularly anybody who is jumping out of a 182 or 206 with the forward door. TIA, BirdFolks, JP

Actually, this one captures you much better. And while I'm at it, one of my favorite pictures from last year's DZ.Holiday Boogie.

That's my film camera. Good unit, but the switch for it is awfully expensive. I just soldered my trip to the two poles on the front of the camera. Very dependable, rugged unit. It's easier on batteries than the Rebels on the DZ, too.

Im scared. Duderon, you have no idea. None.

Oh, I'll pimp myself out for anyone's special jump...well, except naked jumps. Skymama's my name, freeflying's my game. Actually, Andrea, the nature of pimping is that you have to do it with another person. Feel free to whore yourself out, though.

I put some very funny fashion show music on last year's boogie video. Betsy is having a best-dressed contest that I will dominate if there is a runway. "Two snaps in a circle!" "That guy looks just like a middle aged alcoholic Superman!"

Yes. That beats a long list of honey-do's and combing knots out of hair all the way from here to breakfast!

I'm shamelessly putting this picture of my wicked-cool S3 everywhere. The worst thing about the DZ.Holiday Boogie is coming down after.

My RW guru is a Wings rep, so I got both my rigs through him rather than listen to him rant about how everything else is a deathtrap. I got them before I put the BirdMan needle in my arm. They came standard with 90 inch bridles and 30 inch pilot chutes.

Never get between a camera flier and his gear.

I made sure the tape measure was not snug, and the suit fits exactly the way I had the tape measure on every body part. I was really worried about it too, cause Billvon's suit was not right, and I'm sure he gave them very precise measurements. I'da been plenty pissed if I didn't have that suit for Eloy. There's some birds there I don't get to see but once or twice a year.

Yes, well if Austin Powers had the stones to fly a BirdMan suit, that is how he would pose in it and say "Do I make you horny, baby? Do these gigantic wings may you randy, eh?

Yepper! No rodeos this first week on it, though.

Here's some pics of the new ride laced-up and ready-to-go!

Here's some pics with it on. I took all the measurements I could reach, and had my Mom do the across the shoulder and arm measurements. As suggested, I did them in centimeters cause that's what the Slovenian craftsmen use daily. Here's some pics of it all laced-up and on. I would wholeheartedly recommend you have a gear dealer or BM rep do the measurements. The issue in California for that is then I'd have to pay 8.5% extra in sales tax. Mom saved me that moolah. Edit: No, it's not laced up correctly.

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but me, Bigben, and Cornholio stayed in one a thame family rooms last year and it was dynamite. Two full-sized bunks and two queen beds. Might even have been kings. Nice big, clean rooms.

Super, mine took 10.5 weeks, others have had theirs in 7. I'm not complaining. The workmanship is so nice. When you look at all the precision sewing that goes in to one of these, it's easily worth the money. There's less material, but maybe as much sewing as on a canopy. And the little tag in the neck is in Slovenian. Never had any apparel from Slovenia before

PICTURES!

Jim, as another fella who's interests include boobies, you are welcome. Too many people don't know that chuch is more about community, and less about world domination. Not to say there's anything wrong with dominating the world with community...

I'll reply to my own post just to give props to my parish. I know all those girl's parents. I go to church with them, I see them at school, I see them at practice. The church makes that easier than it would be for my agnostic friends, and I like it. Go ahead and not like it all you want. Go ahead and critique the minority of priests who are deviant. It makes us happier people and others rejection of it does not diminish it. Happy shining girls having fun. Try and diminish that all you'd like.

Well, the Catholic Church has changed a ton since I took my first communion. I was even an Altar boy and I can honestly say I've never seen a Priest or Brother's penis! How about that! Anyhow, religious education is the fastest way to create an agnostic. Starting from the point of view that everybody might be right tends to make everybody not believe. In the end, it's about sociology. I like the way the church gives structure to our families and our social life. My kids like it too. Like me, they will reject it when they are young adults, but like me, they are likely to re-embrace it when they have kids of their own. Edit: Picture: This is more about what the church means than most everything else; the kids you hang out with, and their families.

Damn, Holmtown, that is wicked-cool.