slimaffi 0 #1 August 4, 2013 Timber already posted an incident thread, so I'll lead off here. Jim was much more than the sum of all the many hats he wore. His accomplishments are too numerous to list here. He was and always will be a true friend and brother. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Please help collect some memories here for them. Blue Skies Brother Jim, Slim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lazarus_762 0 #2 August 4, 2013 I knew Jim, I wish I had known him better. He was a geuinely good man, friendly and helpful, cheerful and positive...this is a sad, sad day. Jim, you will be missed. Blue Skies, Black Death, my brother... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bolas 5 #3 August 4, 2013 Saw this and figured it was for his dad AKA "The Colonel." Leanne in the video above described him perfectly. Blue Skies Forever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fpritchett64 0 #4 August 4, 2013 Wow! This is sad news! I saw Jim a handful of times back in the late 90's at Emerald Coast. He always seemed to be very soft spoken, kind, safety conscious, and humble. I'll never forget Jim as he sat right next to me flying the otter on my very first airplane ride. I was 13 then and always knew I loved the feeling of flight. After that first flight, I remember showing up for some time following-wanting to fly. They'd always have a headset available and Jim was almost always flying. I'm sure I drove him nuts more than once playing twenty questions. Such sad added proof that this sport can claim the lives of even the best. BSBD. Fly Free Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skychas 0 #5 August 4, 2013 Always made it a point to talk to Jimmy on Memorial Day Weekend. A part of the family I love to visit at Emerald Coast. He will be missed. BSBD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Usetawuz 1 #6 August 4, 2013 Blue Skies, fly free Jim. _________________________________________ The older I get, the better I was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #7 August 4, 2013 Sad, sad day for my Emerald Coast friends. Jim was a stand-up guy, one of the good ones. Haven't been to the DZ down there in more than a decade, but lots of good memories, and one bad one. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lauraliscious 0 #8 August 5, 2013 My heart goes out to everyone down at Emerald Coast. Even though I haven't been there in quite some time, ECSC was my original "home" DZ, it's where I got my A license and Jimmy was the key person in making that happen. I showed up at the DZ with 17 jumps under my belt and I hadn't jumped for 11 months. I had gotten kind of lost in the coach program at another DZ and then some time elapsed and I wasn't current anymore so I just didn't jump for quite a while. I went to Emerald Coast to decide if I wanted to get back into the sport and really become a skydiver or just give up on it. Well, the person I talked to about getting back in the air was Jimmy. He told me I would have to do a tandem since they were a tandem progression DZ. I balked. I mean, I had 17 jumps!!!!! I was already a jumper!!!!! I just wanted an AFF check/recurrency jump and get back in the air so I could make a decision! Well, Jimmy being who he is told me that I could go to another DZ that might do it my way, but he wanted to make sure I got back in the air safely. I didn't jump that day. I went home to think about it. Well, I showed back up a week later, did the tandem with Jimmy and got back in the air. And my life has been changed for the better ever since. Thank you Jimmy, for being a positive role model and mentor to so many. BSBD. Enemiga Rodriguez, PMS #369, OrFun #25, Team Dirty Sanchez #116, Pelt Head #29, Muff #4091 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sean_S 0 #9 August 5, 2013 Jimmy and Slim led my A-license training at Emerald Coast. You'll see the same words written about Jimmy when you read the news articles and people's posts: a soft-spoken, safety-conscious and knowledgeable mentor. His rock-solid expertise and attention to detail make this accident even more shocking. It's gonna be incredibly tough being at the DZ without Jimmy's physical presence. I'm going to sorely miss him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timber 4 #10 August 5, 2013 Services for Jimmy Horak will be held Thursday August 8th.At the Holy Spirit Catholic Church at 10650 Gulf Beach Highway in Pensacola, Florida. Visitation will be from 10am to 11am. Mass will follow at 11am. Burial will be at Prince of Peace Cemetery Highway 98 and County Road 95 in Elberta, Alabama. All who had the privilege of knowing Jimmy are invited to attend. Jimmy had such a deep passion for skydiving and aviation! He treasured fellow skydivers and was always looking to make the sport as safe as possible. Jimmy would want us to learn as much as possible from this incident apply it and carry on with the sport we love! Blue Skies Friends! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WickedWingsuits 0 #11 August 6, 2013 I was lucky enough to meet Jim on a visit to Gold Coast in 2008. I was doing a HALO jump and he was one of the guys on the load. Such a mellow fella that sent relaxing vibes through his eyes and smile, while at the same time being a wealth of experience. I visited again last year and he was one of the locals that instantly made me feel like I was at a home DZ. Sad for the dropzones that I know he had such an influence at. BSBDSummer Rental special, 5 weeks for the price of 4! That is $160 a month. Try before You Buy with Wicked Wingsuits - WingsuitRental.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marchcc 0 #12 August 6, 2013 Jimmy was the one that always made me feel good about our sport. He was the rational voice of concern for the rules and the safety of every jumper, from old to new. If you ever had any issue, question, concern or just wanted to talk skydiving, Jimmy was the man to go to. For this to have happened to him serves as a constant reminder that we as skydivers walk a delicate line each time we jump regardless of how safe we we try to be. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” Jimmy left a trail, one that I will always remember and try to follow. Jimmy, my instructor, my mentor, my friend, although you are not here in person, you will always be with us in spirit. Fly free brother and Blue Skies! Chad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TFFTM 1 #13 August 6, 2013 Jim Horak is a big reason I still skydive today. It had to be close to 11 years ago now that I accompanied the Alabama Gang to my first boogie on Memorial weekend in Elberta. I had about 7 static line jumps, not progressing well and thoughts of quitting had entered my psyche. It works out that being a non-jumper I drove the van to pick up skydivers from the Flora-Bama for most of the weekend and in exchange Jim offered me an Instructional tandem. Though the jump was “free” I was very hesitant. His presence calmed that demon on my shoulder he spent a lot of time going through the dive flow before and critiquing my performance after. He cleared me for AFF IV and instilled a confidence that I carried with me throughout my time as a student. It was his spirit, attention to not only detail but to me as a student that made me want to continue in the sport. To this day I do not know what would have happened if it would have been anyone else. The things I have done, seen and will do because of Jim’s attentiveness to me that day is a debt that I will struggle to repay. Thanks Jim BSBD. - Daniel BSBD Home of the Alabama Gang Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayneflorida 0 #14 August 6, 2013 Jimmy wore many hats and whichever hat he was wearing at the time he had my utmost respect. I'm a better person for knowing him. Blue Skies My Friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slimaffi 0 #15 August 6, 2013 At the family's request, I've started http://jimhorak.last-memories.com for collecting condolences and memories and photos. Please pass this on, especially to those who don't use facebook. For those that do use facebook, Jim's page is here: http://www.facebook.com/jim.horakjr Thanks, Slim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L_Settlemires 0 #16 August 8, 2013 This morning at Skydive Miami some new people were jumping and we started swapping where we had jumped. They told me about Jimmy and I couldn't believe it. I'm still in shock. Jimmy made me the skydiver I am. Jimmy was the first person I met at ECSC when I started my civilian skydiving. He guided me through my training and instilled that essential attention to detail and safety in everything we did. I had just emailed him on the 3rd about taking a course from him and wondered why he didn't immediately respond. Jimmy was so much more than a skydiver, he is the kind of man I want to be. The epitome of the quiet professional. I do not have the words to express how lost I feel. My heart goes out to his family and everyone at ECSC. Blue Skes Jimmy. It won't be the same without you. Lamar Settlemires Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #17 August 11, 2013 This article showed up today on al.com: http://blog.al.com/live/2013/08/veteran_skydiver_lived_for_fam.html Very well written and positive story on who Jim Horak was."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voodoo78 0 #18 August 19, 2013 RIP Jimmy You are the reason I'm where I'm today BSBD Tom KinnQuote Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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