Usetawuz 1 #1 November 14, 2007 Just under seven-thousand USPA members have been awarded Gold Wings for having made 1000 skydives since Loy Brydon was awarded GW#1. I think that’s amazing! By any standard that’s 7000 impressive, individual accomplishments. Maybe it’s true that, on average, it is now taking jumpers less time to reach the 1000 mark than it did in “earlier times”. I don’t know and I don’t think it matters. It still requires stepping out of an ‘aircraft-in-flight’ 1000 times, along with everything else each jump entails. In my opinion that takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice! What do you think? Got Gold Wings yet? What’s your GW#; when was it awarded? How long did it take you to reach that milestone? Any stumbling blocks along the way? _________________________________________ The older I get, the better I was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CazmoDee 3 #2 November 14, 2007 My dad, Hale Castleman D-1070, is GW#601I'm behind the bar at Sloppy Joe's....See ya in the Keys! Muff 4313 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #3 November 14, 2007 Quote Got Gold Wings yet? What’s your GW#; when was it awarded? How long did it take you to reach that milestone? Any stumbling blocks along the way? Jump ONE Earned 05 14 78 GW 2740 Earned 08 15 87 DW 1382 Earned 10 02 94 DDW ?? Earned 12 23 01 (Video) 4JW 698 Earned 12 27 05 Some kids came along, went to law school and had a spell of romance for a couple of years. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #4 November 14, 2007 #6225 here, took 9 years from the first jump, or 7 years after earning the A license."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
jimmytavino 16 #5 November 14, 2007 made my thousandth jump in sept of 1979 just about seven years after my first SL.. always jumped regularly, and frequently... However I only had an A license at the time... after kids arrived in '83 and '85, i slowed down some... it took 14 More years to get to D W.. in the mid to late 80's i went ahead and earned my B C and D Lic... and then applied for GW. i'm # 3176... I sometimes wonder what my # would be if It was awarded in sept of '79... jimmy tavino ( 36 hr FF award soon to arrive...) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #6 November 14, 2007 GW#3143 DW#2378 I started jumping when I was 18 and got my gold wings at 25. School, work, and kids got in the way and it took almost 15 more years to get my diamond wings. At current pace I hope to reach double diamond within the next two years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L.O. 0 #7 November 14, 2007 My first 3 years were spent at the DZ doing nothing but flying. I did manage to make about 150 in that time. I was at the DZ four days a week. I was able to get going in my forth and fifth year getting my gold in 95(5733). I just got my quadra Diamond at couch freaks boogie on labor day. My number 457. 5000 would be a lot in most places, but on my small DZ, the DZO and DZM both have a lot more. Bob and I did out big one at couch together for my 5 and his 12000. Mary just got he 14000, number 17. those numbers still bend my mind HPDBs, I hate those guys. AFB, charter member. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #8 November 14, 2007 Gold wings #3710.....august 1991 Diamond Wings #1919 bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UDSkyJunkie 0 #9 November 14, 2007 Quote Got Gold Wings yet? What’s your GW#; when was it awarded? How long did it take you to reach that milestone? Any stumbling blocks along the way? GW# 6953, just a few months ago. Took 7 1/2 years... got a slow start due to college and a semester down under that took all my money (it was worth itLooking forward to moving south and picking up the pace... need to catch up with my dad, who had a 20+ year headstart, and got his 4DW last year."Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BCA 1 #10 November 14, 2007 Made jump #1000 in 1974, nine years after started jumping. Appllied for and received GW#1010 in 1976. BCA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fastphil 0 #11 November 14, 2007 I started jumping in 1976 and earned my GW on a BASE jump in 1980. I'll have to dig my number out of the jewelry box where my Wings live... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Usetawuz 1 #12 November 14, 2007 I made my first 13 jumps in 1966. Didn't jump again until mid-1969 (Viet Nam kept getting in the way). Got my Gold Wings in '74, five years after "re-starting". GW# 763. DW#243, 12FF#216, etc, _________________________________________ The older I get, the better I was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SansSuit 1 #13 November 15, 2007 First jump: 06/94 GW# 6584: 07/04 DW# 2655 07/07 Just the record, there are tons of jumpers who never bother with getting the awards. Me, I like the purteee certificates for my wall. Yeah, and the tradition. Peace, -Jeff.Peace, -Dawson. http://www.SansSuit.com The Society for the Advancement of Naked Skydiving Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveJack 1 #14 November 15, 2007 GW#1544 DW#422 Guess that makes me an official old fart! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JSBIRD 1 #15 November 15, 2007 FJ-1975 GW2668-1987 BASE359"Now I've settled down, in a quiet little town, and forgot about everything" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #16 November 15, 2007 This might just end up in History and Trivia but here is a question for you low-timers... Who signed your certificate? Ottley signed mine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bozo 0 #17 November 15, 2007 QuoteThis might just end up in History and Trivia but here is a question for you low-timers... Who signed your certificate? Ottley signed mine. Ottley signed my Gold Wings. BJ Worth signed my Diamond Wings. bozo Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Usetawuz 1 #18 November 15, 2007 Norm Heaton signed mine _________________________________________ The older I get, the better I was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Usetawuz 1 #19 November 15, 2007 I'm sure there are a 'few', but I doubt many didn't bother to apply for Gold Wings once they qualified. I don't doubt there are many qualified who don't bother with the subsequent levels. Kinda 'old hat' by then. I'm not much of a collector either, and never bothered with FF beyond the 12-hour _________________________________________ The older I get, the better I was! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peckerhead 0 #20 November 15, 2007 QuoteNorm Heaton signed mine That is a milestone my friend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wdy_bnckr 0 #21 November 18, 2007 I find this very interesting as in the 'old days' the jumpers I knew were eager to get their ratings when they earned them although i never got my Free Fall Numbers, I did get the wings. Gold wings #66(42d civilian) Dec. 66 Diamond Wings # 13 Sept 69 D Diamond Wings # 5 Dec. 71 Made my first sport jump in Feb 62. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,304 #22 November 18, 2007 Hi Woody, Well, I go back almost as far: First jump: Feb '64 GW: #3047; signed by Ottley, with a very nice personal note on the transmittal letter. Here in the Pacific NW, in those days, if you made 50-75 jumps a year you were doing quite a bit of jumping, as a weekend jumper. I remember when, ~ '68 or so, a guy made 200 jumps his first year. It was considered almost nearly impossible until then. How was it down in the Carolinas? JerryBaumchen PS) One local jumper made the comment one day how it was not possible to get a D license within only 200 jumps. I had about 175 jumps at the time, did a quick analysis of what I needed and got my D at exactly 200 freefalls. Times have changed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wdy_bnckr 0 #23 November 18, 2007 Hi Jerry, I believe our weather was made for sky diving. Very seldom did we get washed out for the entire weekend. I was like you, when I got to 175 after 2 years, I decided that I needed to get going and make a few more jumps every weekend as I had a wife, 3 children and a meat packing business to take care of during the week.(She's still with me after 48 1/2 years) I trained Bobby Frierson in '64 and encouraged him to get his D in a year(911). So, I guess you can say we were blessed to have such good weather. Talking bout Ottley, he use to come down and jump with some of his buddies that were going to USC in Columbia. We would take him to Fairfax where we were getting tach time rates(Hop and pops for$1 and 7500 for $2.50). He never got over that and wanted to be a member of our Paracuhte Team (Vikings, we were from Denmark,S.C.) Everybody had a nickname so we named him Team Fossil... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scroadload 1 #24 November 21, 2007 First jump Aug 11, 1968 1000 Oct 23, 1971 GW #6909 Feb 15, 2007 Took a while getting around to do the paper work.D-2626, SCR1999, SCS641, NSCR2350, GW6909 Blue Skies!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billeisele 130 #25 November 21, 2007 woody - have not heard about you in awhile, i'm in Columbia, Burke is still around and Eric Halter is flying to Otter for us at Chester, you should come visit sometime, X-Mas party on the 15thGive one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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