chuckakers

The (whuffo) friend that sent me the link asked me if it was real. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

On the left or right? Left Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You don't remember Bill Grimm? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

uh...a Pioneer? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Belize, August 2008. I'm the cute one with the short hair. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Damn, TK. I was just minding my own business, surfing dz.com, and all of a sudden - BLAM there it was. I will never be the same. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Marcus Schrenker, 38, from Indiana. According to the news reports, he owns a couple planes hangared at the Anderson, Indiana airport. Looks like he ditched his plane via parachute. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/12/florida.plane.crash/ My guess is he was trying to disappear but his plane didn't make it to th ocean. Evidence...damn. Police: Pilot made bogus distress call before plane crash Six-seater went down Sunday near Blackwater River in East Milton, Florida (CNN) -- The pilot who signaled air traffic controllers that his windshield had imploded and that he was bleeding before his plane crashed faked the call and later checked into a hotel using a false name Monday, authorities said. Authorities identified the pilot as Marcus Schrenker, 38, from Indiana. Authorities say they are looking for him. "All indications now are that he made some type of false emergency call [and] abandoned the plane by parachute," said Sgt. Scott Haines of the Santa Rosa County, Florida, Sheriff's Office. Haines said the pilot checked into a hotel in the Harpersville, Alabama, area under a false name. Harpersville is 30 minutes east of Birmingham, Alabama, and about 223 miles north of Milton, Florida, near where the wrecked plane was found. iReport.com: Are you near the crash scene? Tell us what you've seen Haines did not know the whereabouts of the pilot. "I do not believe they have him in custody," he said. Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office got a call at 2:26 a.m. from the Childersburg Police Department in Alabama saying that a white male, identified as Schrenker by his Indiana driver's license, approached a Childersburg officer at a store. Schrenker, who was wet from the knees down and had no injuries, told the officer that he had been in a canoeing accident with friends, the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office said in a news release.Schrenker had goggles that looked like they were made for "flying," according to the release. The Childersburg police didn't know about the plane crash, so they took Schrenker to a nearby hotel, authorities said. When police found out about the crash, they went back to the hotel and entered Schrenker's room. He was not there, they said. According to Santa Rosa authorities, Schrenker had checked in under a fake name, paid for his room in cash and "put on a black toboggan cap and ran into the woods located next to the hotel." CNN could not immediately reach a representative for Schrenker. The phone number listed for his business address was disconnected. He does not have a home phone number listed. He is listed online as president of an Indianapolis agency called Heritage Wealth Management, but no contact information for that agency was available. The address of the business is the same as the address associated with Schrenker's aircraft in aviation records. Police in Harpersville told CNN they had no immediate comment. Federal investigators were helping in the probe. Earlier Monday, federal investigators said they believed the pilot may have parachuted out of the Piper PA-36 aircraft before it crashed at 9:15 p.m. CT Sunday in a swampy area of Blackwater River in East Milton, Florida. Military jets found the aircraft Sunday. The plane was lying upside down, its door open and the cockpit empty, according to Haines. Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said a "detailed review of radar data" and the fact that the plane had switched to autopilot suggested that the pilot might have parachuted. The pilot was the only person aboard, authorities said. On Sunday evening, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers and told them the plane's windshield had imploded and that he was bleeding profusely, Haines said. That call came in when the aircraft was about 35 miles southwest of Birmingham, Alabama. Controllers tried to tell the pilot to divert the flight to Pell City, Alabama, but he did not respond. The plane appeared to have been put on autopilot around 2,000 feet, Haines said. The plane was scheduled to land in Destin, Florida, authorities said. Military jets that first spotted the wreckage described the cockpit as empty. Bergen said the cockpit was mostly intact and the door to the aircraft was open. The corporate plane does not have an ejection feature, and the pilot did not have a parachute when he took off Sunday from Anderson Municipal Airport in Anderson, Indiana, airport manager Steve Darlington told CNN. Darlington described the pilot as "accomplished" and said he owns "a couple of airplanes" and flies regularly. Helicopters, planes, boats, and dogs and rescue crews were involved in searching the area. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

This is getting interesting. Given he was president of a company called Heritage Wealth Management, he might have been trying to check out. The plane on auto-pilot heading due south should have flown over the ocean until running out of gas. He makes a distress call and no plane would ever be found. He lives happily ever after on a tropical island somewhere.... except the plane crashed and gave it all away. DOH! http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/12/florida.plane.crash/ Police: Pilot made bogus distress call before plane crash NEW: Police: Pilot Marcus Schrenker checked in to hotel under false name NEW: Pilot reportedly told police in Alabama he was in a canoeing accident FAA says investigators suspect pilot parachuted out of plane Six-seater went down Sunday near Blackwater River in East Milton, Florida (CNN) -- The pilot who signaled air traffic controllers that his windshield had imploded and that he was bleeding before his plane crashed faked the call and later checked into a hotel using a false name Monday, authorities said. Authorities identified the pilot as Marcus Schrenker, 38, from Indiana. Authorities say they are looking for him. "All indications now are that he made some type of false emergency call [and] abandoned the plane by parachute," said Sgt. Scott Haines of the Santa Rosa County, Florida, Sheriff's Office. Haines said the pilot checked into a hotel in the Harpersville, Alabama, area under a false name. Harpersville is 30 minutes east of Birmingham, Alabama, and about 223 miles north of Milton, Florida, near where the wrecked plane was found. iReport.com: Are you near the crash scene? Tell us what you've seen Haines did not know the whereabouts of the pilot. "I do not believe they have him in custody," he said. Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office got a call at 2:26 a.m. from the Childersburg Police Department in Alabama saying that a white male, identified as Schrenker by his Indiana driver's license, approached a Childersburg officer at a store. Schrenker, who was wet from the knees down and had no injuries, told the officer that he had been in a canoeing accident with friends, the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office said in a news release.Schrenker had goggles that looked like they were made for "flying," according to the release. The Childersburg police didn't know about the plane crash, so they took Schrenker to a nearby hotel, authorities said. When police found out about the crash, they went back to the hotel and entered Schrenker's room. He was not there, they said. According to Santa Rosa authorities, Schrenker had checked in under a fake name, paid for his room in cash and "put on a black toboggan cap and ran into the woods located next to the hotel." CNN could not immediately reach a representative for Schrenker. The phone number listed for his business address was disconnected. He does not have a home phone number listed. He is listed online as president of an Indianapolis agency called Heritage Wealth Management, but no contact information for that agency was available. The address of the business is the same as the address associated with Schrenker's aircraft in aviation records. Police in Harpersville told CNN they had no immediate comment. Federal investigators were helping in the probe. Earlier Monday, federal investigators said they believed the pilot may have parachuted out of the Piper PA-36 aircraft before it crashed at 9:15 p.m. CT Sunday in a swampy area of Blackwater River in East Milton, Florida. Military jets found the aircraft Sunday. The plane was lying upside down, its door open and the cockpit empty, according to Haines. Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said a "detailed review of radar data" and the fact that the plane had switched to autopilot suggested that the pilot might have parachuted. The pilot was the only person aboard, authorities said. On Sunday evening, the pilot contacted air traffic controllers and told them the plane's windshield had imploded and that he was bleeding profusely, Haines said. That call came in when the aircraft was about 35 miles southwest of Birmingham, Alabama. Controllers tried to tell the pilot to divert the flight to Pell City, Alabama, but he did not respond. The plane appeared to have been put on autopilot around 2,000 feet, Haines said. The plane was scheduled to land in Destin, Florida, authorities said. Military jets that first spotted the wreckage described the cockpit as empty. Bergen said the cockpit was mostly intact and the door to the aircraft was open. The corporate plane does not have an ejection feature, and the pilot did not have a parachute when he took off Sunday from Anderson Municipal Airport in Anderson, Indiana, airport manager Steve Darlington told CNN. Darlington described the pilot as "accomplished" and said he owns "a couple of airplanes" and flies regularly. Helicopters, planes, boats, and dogs and rescue crews were involved in searching the area. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Strange. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/12/florida.plane.crash/ More detail on this one. http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/national/nat_wala_fla_pilot_missing_after_plane_crash_200901127522156788 Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

As an avid reader of these forums, may I please say...... LOL, LOL, Laugh Out-fuckin-Loud. I really did. Thanks for that. And always watch the horizon. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Train for the mals and don't do things to give yourself one. That'll take care of 99% of your fears, statistically, anyway. Don't worry about the dreams. They're dreams. They're fun if you don't let them haunt you. As for your mind - see the beauty. Whether riding in the plane, climbing out, doin' the deal, turning to final, or walking in, there are a million beautiful things that can happen and a million horrible possibilities that come with them. See the beauty. Train for everything else. How's that? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Nice job, Evelyn. That one made ya work all the way home. I hope the skydive was fun.

oooohhhh yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhh.

I don't believe those statistics should be interpreted in that way. If I recall, multiple choices were allowed in the poll. Thus, one person could vote that he subscribes to both "Parachutist" and "Skydiving". That's only one person, but two votes. And a large number of the total votes may fit into this possibility. So it's NOT really saying that of all the respondents, only 52% are USPA members. It's more like saying that, of all the USPA members that get "Parachutist" as part of their membership, all but 9% of them also get "Skydiving" (52% - 43% = 9%). Gotcha, John. My pea brain didn't catch that. But it kinda does bring up the subject. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

OK, so after 381 votes, it appears that 52% of respondents subscribe to Parachutist. Aside from the folks that are from outside the U.S., it looks like there are a lot of U.S. jumpers that aren't USPA members? Are there that many non-USPA DZs? Are there that many USPA DZs that don't require membership? Has USPA become that irrelevant? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

It would pretty messed up to ask a dealer to measure you and then buy gear from someone else. Measuring for a rig isn't rocket science, and unlike measuring for an RW jumpsuit, you don't have to be accurate to an 1/8 or 1/4 inch. Grab a friend, wear the thickest clothing you might jump in (including jumpsuit), and follow the directions. Measure everything twice to be sure, and a third time if your measurements don't match. Ask around. There are plenty of jumpers who have experience taking measurements. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Contact the manufacturer. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

And of course an error on a t-shirt is quite a controversy. I guess you didn't know that Jim and I have been friends since he learned to skydive. Now go take your meds. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Jim, was that directed at me? I was not bitching, just pointing out an amusing mistake. I assume you noticed that those are tandems on the graphic. Besides, I'm waaaay past bitching about any DZ. I think we did 150 tandems during this event! That explains it. The artist had tandem on the brain. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I've been very pleased with my Z1 from Parasport Italia. It has a very small profile, great visibility, and I like the one-handed operation of opening and closing the face shield, which also has a frame around it for rigidity. No downside so far after a buttload of jumps. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

That may be a policy where you jump, but a quick look at USPA documentation I'm pretty sure will show no recommendation against it, and the BSR's only state a "rigid helmet" as a requirement for all but tandem students. It's common for DZs policies to differ from the "standard" from USPA, but it's important to differentiate, especially here where people often run at the mouth and brain with misguided wisdom. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/408886.html Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

or a pilot chute from a laundry chute for that matter. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Not sure, but you might try this is a starting point: http://www.south-padre-island.com/recreation/skydiving.html Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Yeah, whatever on the nuke thing. Let's stay on course, Bill. Many (dare I say most) Arabs want the Jews dead and Israel gone. We can dispute the cause of this particular attack, but it is the Jews - not the Arabs - who have given the live and let live approach a try over and over again. Explain to me how Israel should behave when their neighbors openly say they want to destroy them just for being Jewish. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX