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JohnMitchell

My son finished his A today

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My son Brett and I made 5 jumps today at Kapowsin Air Sports to finish up his A license. Although he made a tandem years ago and did AFF in two days, it's taken about 2 months to get the next 19 jumps.

He can dive and dock great, turn points and track to the horizon and back. He's got almost all standup landings, quite a few in the peas. He's on his way to being a good, safe jumper. The last two jumps today he even coached me on my sit flying. :D Says I'm not doing too badly.

Next month he leaves for Oklahoma City for 3 months training in his new job with the FAA as an air traffic controller. Then he'll be stationed in Salt Lake City. To say we'll miss him is an understatement. Those of you on DZ.com that know him know exactly what I mean. :)
So Oklahoma and SLC, look for a lanky new guy showing up at your DZ. Make sure he gets a pin check, okay? Thanks, everyone. :)
Here he is last summer with Mom and me before his AFF I. He was smiling like that in the air, too. :)

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turn points and track to the horizon and back.



On the one hand, there's a father's pride in his son. On the other hand, there's out-and-out blatant exaggeration. I'm not exactly sure how far away the horizon is, but....:)
Good for him....and good on you and V.


Don
"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

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turn points and track to the horizon and back.



On the one hand, there's a father's pride in his son. On the other hand, there's out-and-out blatant exaggeration. I'm not exactly sure how far away the horizon is, but....:)
Good for him....and good on you and V.


Don


Check the pic. The kid is several inches taller than dad, and several (many) pounds lighter. He's built to track, and from John's bowling-ball point of view it might as well the horizon.

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Check the pic. The kid is several inches taller than dad, and several (many) pounds lighter. He's built to track, and from John's bowling-ball point of view it might as well the horizon.

At least 3" taller and almost 15 pounds lighter, yep, he's built to track. It took a few jumps for him to get it right, though. He kept bending too much at the waist and wanting to go head down. Tracking is one of the few things they can't teach in the tunnel. :D But he sure dialed it in on one of his jumps yesterday. I have video of me head up trying to keep up with him after he got a head start.

The best part is that he's grown up packing and being around the sport. He's comfortable jumping but seems to have respect for it. I'm thinking he's not a candidate for becoming too complacent. He's already experienced a stuck altimeter and handled it just fine. If I hear him talking about downsizing and swooping I'll sic Mom on him. :D

Bowling ball? Come on guys, I'm only 15 pounds over my high school weight. :P

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Great post, John. And not only will he make a great skydiver, he will be a great ATC like Dad. You and V did good with him (and the girls too)

Thanks Doc. Like I said, the people like you that know Brett so well know how much we're gonna miss him.

Hope you guys had a good day jumping. We had to play Dodge Cloud all day long. :S:D

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