nebug

I had a blast handle on my piggyback (1972) and never had to pull it thankfully. D B a local here in Nebraska had a total (belly band pilot chute twisted) and spent the rest of his life trying to pull it. The center dowel had to be drilled out or it would jam in the housing unless you pulled straight down or had the reserve rc housing tacked a few inches up so the housing could flex with the pull. Probably why it was banned. I remember a manual choke knob on the dashboard of Ford F-100 pickups that you had to finess or the engine would never start and most of the other stuff mentioned except the irish cop thing. edited because I can't spell

Votes 1185/1186 We need to get it together on Round 2!! Pete & Ed

Or they could just using a laser printer, create a fake bank check or money order which you wouldn't know until after you sent them the 'excess' funds by Western Union. When you sent money by Western Union, you can't get a refund for fraud and it's almost impossible to trace the culprits.

Most demos that I have observed were reasonably tight (probably why a pro rating? required). No collisions apparently occurred and no one injured. It may be just the media filling space in the report or just being uninformed about the nature of demos. (Not unheard of)

Sorry, forgot to vote yesterday. Got son Pete to register (the FJC student who DNFI ,hooked it, and broke his fem last July). So 2 votes today. Pete's vote :#776. I'd get Farley my dog to vote but he is an incurable WHUFFO and doesn't have email. Won't be at DZ today, going to ZOO with beautiful 2 year old twin grand-daughters. They're total criminals but grand-daughters trump skydiving every time!!

Maybe for a basejumper's journey. Switch?

Hi Jamie, vote 515 in the bag.

It would have to work a little differently than the units today. I would hate to give up BOC pilotchutes. I had way too many PC hesitations back in the day. (I got slammed once when a PC hesitation on a rings and ropes Stratocloud packed for low speed opened at terminal.- Yeah, I was asleep at the switch on that jump.)

PLFs are an essential skill for staying out of the emergency room. I don't have a lot of jumps like others, but I do have over 250 jumps on rounds. I was too fat even back in the day(60s/early 70s). I jumped a C-9 (28' milsurplus canopy)which meant I made big dents in the ground every jump but I never got hurt because I learned how to PLF really well. Even rode a 24' unmodified reserve a couple times. Haven't got hurt on squares either despite some abrupt arrivals. Don't ever let someone dis you for developing survival skills. That's how you keep jumping even when you're an old toad like me.

Just another returning old toad. I quit jumping in 1979. Started again last summer. No sweat. At 62 years old now. Lots of other old toads at the club too. The guy who gave me my recurrency training is at least 10 years older than me. Old Toad

Back when everyone was jumping rounds, that technique of zeroing the drift was so obvious that it practically wasn't even mentioned among jumpers. It's not so obvious on squares but it still works.

QUOTE: It's a matter of throwing out the biggest net they can, and seeing what they can catch. I'm surprised they haven't also included the rig manufacturer, canopy manufacturer, jumpmaster, etc. Very sad. My previous experience with lawyers (My divorce) is that many are typically ruthless and not really concerned with facts in their claims in order to achieve their objective. [Following is hearsay] I heard that the previous owner of the airport where I jump was once sued many years ago for putting gas in a transient aircraft that later fatally crashed in a weather accident. [Just my opinion] The lawyers may be holding back the other potential defendants for a later lawsuit if this one doesn't work out for their client. Also SSK may be named for the reason it would pressure SSK to testify accusing the rigger of gross negligence. Same with the other apparently unconnected defendants. SSK may not be their target at all.

Maybe a dumb question. I just came back to the sport after a long layout. Yesterday, as I was getting out, I lost my right shoe. I waited a couple of seconds and then left. Is something like as freefalling shoe a hazard to be concerned about to a jumper in freefall?

Mark Nice to hear from you again. My son is now walking without a boot with just a little assistance from crutches. My other son recommends time at the gym time for upper body strength. I'll be demoing some canopies to find one that better fits my situation. If a brake line fails, I'll probably have to chop. There's no way I can riser flare this canopy at all. I'm looking at the Pilot. My rigger friend jumped one and says it feels like it has power steering on the toggles. I'm going to look at the Silhouette now also. I have a Navigator in the club, I can try. My old Strato-Cloud was a 230 ft 7-cell canopy that I found very manageable and it landed nice. I'll actually settle for anything that will land me soft and keep me jumping as I get older. Money is no object on the canopy. My son's first night in the hospital was $13K. I got some red para-cord and made a monkey fist handle for my PC. I fumble when I grab and it's unique shape should be easier to grab. Regards, Ed

hi again mark Just made my first freefall yesterday. My jm was 80 years old, the pilot was over 60 and I'm 61, just 3 of us, so it was a geriatric load. Old habits die hard I guess. I just can't get used to letting go of the pilot chute. After I get it, I just hold it like a trophy. Going to work on it at home this week. Anyway, it was supposed to be a hop and pop but I took it down for 5 sec. It felt so good. Then I held the pilot chute for 1-2 secs before letting go. But I was stable so I'm good to go. I jumping a 300 ft F-111 car cover for a main and it's really killing me on the landings. I actually think I would land softer on a round, but I don't have one anymore. I am deficient in upper body strength so I can't flair beyond chest level. I looking for something with lower brake pressures like a Navigator 260 or a Pilot. I think I might rent a the Navigator this Saturday and see how it goes. Yesterday was a hoot !! I love this stuff! I made 3 jumps. The reason for the 5 week delay from my 1st jump and the free fall was that my son also jumped with me last month and hooked it in and broke his leg in 4 places. So my wife said I couldn't get hurt until my son could take care of himself. She gave me the clearance this week. Thanks for the encouragement! Blue skies! ed

In early 1971, down in Florida, I had my first malfunction (PC Mk1). Shot + 1/2 capewells. Cutaway/reserve deployment Ok. Unmodified 24' T-7 ripstock reserve canopy. The swinging was crazy. Landed on a golf course green on a down swing. !!Don't ever land on a golf course green!! Harder than concrete. Knocked all the air out of me. Immediately had Jimmy Godwin (name dropping here) cut 3 holes in my reserve. Next reserve ride in 1973 from a StratoCloud. Still 1+1/2 shots. Couldn't believe it was the same canopy. The landing was so nice without all the swinging. I think except for the time needed to activate them, capewells gave me a better sense of security than 3-ring single handle releases though I've never had a mal on the 3-ring system. Maybe I'll feel different if I have to use the 3-ring on a malfunction.

I just made my 1st jump last week since the summer of 1979. In the interval, I got old (61 yo), fat (265) and have an arthritic hip. The only thing available was something called a Strong Student Hawk (How old I don't know) and a KT-9 (300 ft2) main. I had a master rigger completely take the rig apart and inspect everything, put a Cypress in it and repack everything explaining why he was doing everything. He had no financial interest in the transaction other than the inspect & repack fees and said used properly, it would safe for me to use. I didn't pay much for the rig itself. The main has about 200 jumps on it and seems to require an aggressive flare to get stopped at the bottom. It's the penalty for getting fat I guess but I losing weight and looking for a Navigator main suitable for an old man. Don't expect any swoop landings from me. Sometimes you take what you can get and try to be extra careful until you can do better. The jump was a hoot!

mark: Jumped yesterday. You were right. A little nervous, the door opened and I couldn't wait to get out to the end of the strut. It's really fun just to hang on the strut with your feet in the breeze. I let go to a too short free fall. I jumped on a no wind day and had to do a butt slide on landing. I can't believe it's just as much fun as an old man as it was as a 19 year old. I think I need a smaller canopy though. Mine drives like a truck and the toggle pressure is too high. It takes most of my strength to land. Flares well enough though. Thanks for the encouraging words. ed

Just got my AAD ready to install in my rig and reserve repack. Since you went through what I'm about to, can I expect any jitters the next time the door opens on jump run 30 years later. My first jump will be static line (No AFF here). Thanks for posting.

I jumped with Jimmy (D-126) at Kissimee. He signed off my C-license app. I think he was the ASO. When Jimmy went up to Eustis to check it out as a dz, I and a couple of other guys jumped in from Jimmy's 182. I think he had to leave Kissimee because of Disneyworld opening (Sept, 71). I don't know. I left for a Vietnam tour about then. I have a picture of Jimmy exiting the 182 holding a giant plastic whiskey bottle. He was a great guy.

I jumped back in the sixties. Now I'm in my sixties and starting out again. I bought a rig last Monday with a CYPRES AAD. Never jumped with an automatic opener before. The local dz requires complete retraining (I'm ok with that). The CI has graciously offered to do my training and has advised me on the purchase of my rig. Expect first jump this Saturday (SL) with a new log book. Question: Is this jump #361 or #1 in my logbook and anything to look out for?