mccurley

My first Cop was A693 shit does that make me old? Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

I know I might be ignoring some of the facts about modern jumping with GPS and large turbines etc. but damn it I could pack my own chute when I had 5 jumps and was spotting the cessna at about 15 jumps good enough to practically never miss the DZ on my old cheapo. I was just an average student, we all had to learn these things. This are basic skills, shouldn't evryone know them? Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

In the seventies at Coldwater Ontario, Dave the pilot and I had a love hate, my balls are bigger then yours type thing going on. I would stand at the end of the runway while he tried and he would try to get close enough to make me duck. This time he wasn't bothering to land and I had to concede defeat. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Opps the photo didn't load. it's over the max 60 k limit. It was previousl posted on last years photo contest if you,d like to look. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Here's the proof of the beach at Gananoque. Art Kitchen I think was the pilot and going the opposite direction of Murry's discription after shotting the gap in the tree line. I was on my belly with the camera propped up on my elbows and the blur in the picture to the bottom right is from a blade of grass. With this information and the angle of view to the Beach, you make your on call on altitude? Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

I started in 73 and remember the good old days fondly. But without trying to express how much better things were back then or how people were different, or try to draw comperisons to toadys crop of jumpers, lets just remember what made the good olds, actually the good old days. It's the memories of the people you knew, and hopefully still know, that made them the "good olds" I think every one of every era in the sport will always look back on thier beginning days the same way no mater when they started. Keep living in the present, treasure the past, and look forward to the future. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

check this out! Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

One of the stories related to us when we started back in 73 at Port Severn Ontario, was about a very nervous first timer going up in a Cherroke 6. Having had all the prerqusite traing and warnings about this and that and the other thing, remember this on military surplus B4 rigs, he was sitting with his back against the rear of the plane as the JM was hanging his head out the door to spot. The student suddenly started to scream at the top of his lungs "MY CHUTES OPEN MY CHUTES OPEN" At this the jump master (still with his head in the wind stream) turned and yelled back "Ya don't worry it'll open" Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Had four 2 I paked(maintenace problem on one old canopy) 1 packed for me. Last one was result of one of students coliding with me at about 1700 resulting in both of us cutting away and opening reserves, both of which I had packed onle two weeks earlier. Boy did that one cost some beer!!

There is an old black & white film from the mid sixties called The Skydivers. Caught it on late night TV once. Terrible plot and acting, but for the time some good jumps. Anyone else ever seen it? Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

in your second paragraph you refer to the jump as only lasting seconds. As Pat Moorehead's grandchild you should know better. Skydiving lasts a life time. I meet Pat last year in New Zealand when I was Chief Judge at the POs meet, and if you ask him, I'm sure he'll agree. Do tell him I sid hi. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Only skydivers know why the birds sing. — Anon. That is the last line of a poem By Al Miller of London Ont. Lions roar, wolves howl, Only Skydivers know why birds sing. He also wrote You picked a fine time to fail me reserve if you haven't heard that song, from the mid 70's, you haven't been hanging around enough campfires Live fast, land soft, leave good memories. (writen on the inside of a jump plane in Austrailia. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

try [/url]www.angelfire.com/ak/kiwijumpers/index.html Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Simple answer is the boogie with the best parties is the one you're at. I never heard of anyone having a good time at a party they didn't attend! Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

I figure about 300 I never logged for one reason or another, to busy, to lazy, jump was just a H&P,etc. Now that my active jumping days are behind I regret not being more dilligent. Sometimes I can look back on my log book to a jump done in 75 or 80 or whatever and recall it, if it was a good one, as if it were yesterday. Guess it would have paid to write even a short entry after each one. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

There is also a movie titled the skydivers, circa 63 or 64, fimed in black and white. Increadably funny though it wasn't ment to be, and filmed in black and white. Best scene is about a night jump from a twin beach, which was a reason for a party with lots of wuffos attending. worth looking up if you havn't seen it, you'll piss your self laughing Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

I used to have a non-skydiving related one, that I was only game to ware at the DZ it read If the lord had not intended for man to eat pussy, he wouldn't have made it look so much like a Taco. One of the girls at the DZ bailed me up while she read it and said "I don't get it, do Mexicans eat cats?" Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

From the time I first jumped in Aug 73, I have always loved to hear peoples special experiances. What's your's. To start off one of my favorites was a jump at Togoolawha with a couple of B Rel students back in the mid 80s, the spot was a bit long so we broke off a bit early and dumped a little high. After opening and clearing end cells I turned toward the DZ and cranked on a bit of breaks. Just then at a bit over 3000 ft, a rather large Wedge Tail Eagle coasted by about 100 feet in front of me. Being a fool, I made what I thought was an eagle noise. Much to my surprise this big bird turned it's head to look at me and then procedeed to park itself just off to my left side about 20 feet away and right at eye level. It stayed there with me (Iwas just flying a straight line back to the DZ) down to about 1000 feet, and during that time changed it's position a couple of times, cruising back and forth over the top of my canopy a couple of times, I swear nearly touching it, and cruisinng over to the other two canopies and back, and then parking it self back in beside me. When it broke off and cruised away from me I couldn't help but feel a bit sad that it wasn't an everyday thing to to able to do EagleRW after every dive. What's that old poem, i think it was by Al Miller Wolves howl and Lion's roar, Only Skydivers know why birds sing.

If people can't laugh at life, perhaps they have no life to laugh with. Haven't we all had a great time with songs like Fine Time to Fail Me Reserve? Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Bring them down to New Zealand, if they are big enough not fall out of the harness they can tandem jump no age limit. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

BAck in the eighties Sgt. Preston at Toogoolawha DZ in Queensland droped his ripcord after cutting away. It landed about thirty feet from us leaving a prfect impresion of the handel and even the spirals of the cable on the hood of his mothers car which he had borrowed for the weekend!! Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Buzz Bennett He's the guy who lost my Judges Log Book for me. I sent it to him back in 87 when I returned to canada from Aussie and was thinking about starting up judging in Canada. After doing several Aussie Nationals, State meets, Local club Meets, and having built a reputation for relyability, Buzz decided I needed to start as a beginner to be able to Judge in Canada. The result of this of course is I didn't bother. Anyway the long and short of it is I never got my log back back from Buzz with page after page of records, and not so much as a sorry I lost it or any other excuse! So I don't think to highly of him Myself. My Father passed away about 2 1/2 yrs ago. And Ray still lives in Barrie. I wish you and Skypuppie well in you're endevours with CSPA. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

Hey you should always be at least a little bit carfull when you land, if for no other reason then it leaves you intact to do more landings. As for 16k under canopy, unless you're landing on a mountain somewhere by the time you get back down to normal altitudes the o2 levels are corespondingly normal and you should have recovered from any lack of oxygen. Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

QuoteRocky Charmet reminds me of a guy I jumped with a few years ago. Everyone called him Frenchy. He was in his 70's and was a para-trooper in World War 2 I meet frenchie over here in New Zealand at the 6th World POPs meet. Didn't talk much, selpt in a lttle shack off to the side where he didn't have to pay, and was well known to all the old hands. There were to many famous old timers ther to mention but it was great to see them all. I highly recomend a POPs meet as a great place to go, leave your ego behind, and just enjoy the happining Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI

I've read through this thread from start to finish and would like to put in my two cents worth. I started jumping in Aug 73 at Port Severn Ontario with Huronia Skydivers. It was either that summer or the very next I first met Bill Cole. I do remember that I had heard of him before I started jumping and his exploits of jumping chutless and demo jumps into the CNE every summer were the stuff of legends to a younge fellow like myself. Likewise my father "Mac McCurley" and my uncle "Ray Daviou" who took the first jump course with me, were also in awe of this Sky God who had so many adventures and was still around to talk about it. In 73 there wern't that many skygods around, in fact I don't think the term was invented yet. The point is Bill was one at this early stage in the sport. All that aside we got to know Bill, not well, but well enough to know that in spite of his lofty status he was more then willing to share his knowledge,experiance, good humor, and sometimes even his gear, with the lowley newbies on the D.Z. I also got to know over the years some of the people who didn't like Bill for what ever reason. There was a lot of one up manship going on and a lot of self induced ego massage. Needless to say some people look at the world through blinkers and allow personal differances overshadow common sense. It's about time the CSPA pulled it's head out of it's collective arse and does the right thing. He should be given a F*****G medal for inspiring a host of people to take up the sport in the early days, not penalized for doing things others didn't have the guts to do. Steve McCurley CSPA #A693 APF #E663 Judge ratings for NZPF & APF Watch my video Fat Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWkEky8GoI