airtwardo

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Posts posted by airtwardo

  1. The pilot files a NOTAM with the closest center...they usually get approved without question, however they may ask for some info on you.

    Doubtful but I've had it happen, are your trained & licensed, gear up to date etc. No biggie.

    Pilot should contact center just prior to and at the time of the jump...As in - Parachute activities will begin in five minutes & then Jumper is away...when you exit.

    If you are going into your own private land it's all good. If it's not yours you may want to ask permission first...good manners.

    Most everything is geared toward the pilot - 'no pilot shall allow' type of stuff...which means it's more his ass than yours if you screw thing up, so take care to do it right and he'll probably do it again & often for ya! ;)

    Be safe!











    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  2. JerryBaumchen

    Hi Jim,

    And just to refresh your memory:

    I remember being a 'Skydiving Saluki' and having you come and address one of our club meetings prior to the 1980 collegiate nationals...which was held in Marana.

    Later that year I ran into Tom Schapanski at an old timers accuri meet in Annawan, Il.

    I gave him one of our SIU SKYDIVING TEAM tee-shirts which he didn't take off for the whole 3 day get together!

    http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Skydiving_History_%26_Trivia_F21/1973_Collegiate_Nationals_P2418838/



    Jerry Baumchen




    Yup...that was in reply to Bill Wenger - Man do YOU ever have a memory!

    I contacted my ole college roomie today regarding the tee shirt in the movie.

    Too freakin' weird!

    We had those made up in late '79 after we'd gotten the club back up and running...sold to club members originally then to anyone who went to school at SIU & made a jump.

    Did so at a small profit to help fund the nationals...The freefall figure on the shirt was taken from a pic of my room mate & I did the design.

    Best of our recollection there were 100 shirts made in total...a single run that took a few years to liquidate.

    That shirt in the movie certainly isn't 35 years old...go figure! :D










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  4. AndreLapointe

    Did anyone notice the late US Olympic wrestler David Schultz,
    played by actor Mark Ruffalo, wearing SIU Skydivers shirt in the movie Foxcatcher ?





    a cool one like mine! ;)


    My roomie & I had those made up in 1980....THAT'S weird!


    His Bio (Schultz) says he was a skydiver....Hummm










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  7. Quote

    Snowmman, the master of all things technical, gave me a helpful map of which light illuminates for which function. Legends on the light covers are obscured when not backlit. Snowmman could probably trace the SN and tell me if Airtwardo's lovely wife was ever in command of a Continental 727 that contained this particular panel.



    I was told once how the engineer always had a big metal flashlight handy in case of a problem with the panel...if a light or gauge appeared to be in-op, just start beating on the panel with the back end of the flashlight.

    95% of the time it 'fixed' itself! ;)B|


    Got a genuine AirMike old beat up flashlight here somewhere if ya need it for your collection! :ph34r:










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  10. skygypsie

    Twardo, did Sam ever tell you about a demo jump years ago...
    he was flying a flag, the weight fell off, through a barn roof, killing a cow. ? :S:$

    Never thought to ask if that was on a Liberty Parachute Team / AirVenture Jump :P;)



    Nope...wasn't us. Our weights can't fall off! ;)

    Sam is top-notch though...saw him safely land a messed up main at AirVenture a couple years ago...most would have chopped it but he put her down right where he was supposed to! B|










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  11. iowa

    How strict are they? I haven't made a commercial flight in almost 20 years. I have a couple bags that are just over the linear inches limit.

    The next smaller is a bit too small. Can I push it through? They are soft, like gym bags.

    Thanks,



    Odds are they won't call you on it at the gate, if they're close in size...you may find no open space however in the overheads if you are in the last 30% to board.

    If that's the case they'll 'gate check' your bags...meaning it gets taken down to the hold from the gate - pick it up at baggage claim.










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  12. turtlespeed

    ******I'm not saying this was me, and I will not name the jumper that this happened to.

    Imagine, if you can, you are working at a DZ, and you come down with disentary.

    Then imagine doing a video, and [:/] having a really hard opening.

    Shorts don't really hold all that much in at a time like that.:o

    I don't think it was supposed to rain that day . . .



    Let's just say that it was a very shitty landing.[:/]:P





    Hope he logged it ~ Dumped High! ;)

    I think he did.:ph34r:

    My college roommate did the same thing...opening shock shot it up to his neck! :D

    Must have washed that jumpsuit 10 times that week! ;)










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  14. turtlespeed

    I'm not saying this was me, and I will not name the jumper that this happened to.

    Imagine, if you can, you are working at a DZ, and you come down with disentary.

    Then imagine doing a video, and [:/] having a really hard opening.

    Shorts don't really hold all that much in at a time like that.:o

    I don't think it was supposed to rain that day . . .



    Let's just say that it was a very shitty landing.[:/]:P





    Hope he logged it ~ Dumped High! ;)










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  15. I think everybody has a snot story~

    Years ago jumping into Bush Stadium...hard opening caused the flag-bag to rotate up and smack me in the face. Kinda like taking a brick to the nose...got both my eyes and nose watering pretty good.

    Ya try to be somewhat presentable upon landing at large venue demos, so 500 - 600 feet off the deck as I turn into the stadium...I pinched my nose to build up some back pressure & fired a quarter pounder snot rocket into my glove.

    Since it was the size & consistency of a jello pudding cup, I figured it was something I really didn't wanna land with.

    SO with a simple flick of the wrist, it was gone.

    Looking down at the crowd below, I immediately thought EWWWW...prolly gonna land right in somebody's :D

    My folks had come to watch - as I drag the gear to the sidelines and give my mom a hug, she explains to me that the camera was zoomed in and my goober show was live & in color on the jumbo-tron! B|

    I shed the ole jumpsuit pretty quick and stowed the gear out of sight. :$











    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  16. JohnMitchell

    Well, Vskydiver and I spent 10 days down in AZ, skydiving and visiting friends, in January, just before the Superbowl. We rented convertible Camaro and I think I had more fun that I thought I would with it. Of course, being a rental car it has GPS tracking to make sure you don't go to Mexico, etc. I got it up to 95 passing a truck one day and was afraid I'd trigger some penalties. Luckily not. :)



    It's almost magical...rental cars will do things YOUR car never can! LoL

    Couple years ago they gave the performers new Mopars to use at an airshow...some mental midget figured giving ME a brand spankin' new, Hemi Challenger would be a good idea. :D:D

    Thing needed new tires, brakes and an alignment before the first oil change!

    Reminded me of the scene in the movie Bad Boys where they commandeer the Caddy...

    "You know, Dan Marino should definitely buy this car. Well, not this one, 'cause I'm gonna fuck this one up. But he should definitely get one just like it!" :ph34r:;)










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  17. Quote

    Very nice choices in 'wheels', Twardo....



    Thanks...everything is great shape with low miles & paid for. B|

    Finally reached that point in life where dependable and debt-less are more important than Bling. :)

    We travel so much that I'm driving a rental 2 or 3 times a month...new is nice, but there's just something about a broke in bucket seat that fits like an old pair of jeans! ;)










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  21. Don't have a pic of my Flintstones Mobile... a rack of take out ribs flipped her over - in the shop for a while. [:/]

    Here's the other dead dinosaur burners. :D











    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  23. BIGUN

    ***Some people on the interwebs are incapable of switching off the "jerk mode".
    I'm sorry to see you continue to receive smart assed insensitive comments.
    It's rude and it's wrong.

    Come on guys.[:/]



    I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with your comment. Since coming on DZ.com, Abedy has received a tremendous outpouring of support, respect, warmth and friendship from this community. I found what Airtwardo said nothing more than some light-hearted humor as he inserted himself into the conversation. You've known him for quite some time and know what he's done for our community, yet indirectly call him a jerk.

    It would appear that rather than being educational - he was given a bitch slap; not once, but twice. You know, I have spent my life being called everything from the Jolly Green Giant to Sasquatch - the list goes on and I too was "Born" this way. But, I knew the people who were saying it and that there was no harm meant.

    You could have done a better job of educating him about her and her about him than just taking a side. Jim - Jerk?? Far from it. One of the most kindest and giving men I've met in this sport.

    @Abedy. Please realize that this is new information to us and you can take this opportunity to educate us. Personally, I'm not sure of the verbal rules. I live in a city that has a very high per capita GLBIT population including my sister who is gay. I've heard those in their community refer to others directly and discuss themselves as t****y. This is the first I'm hearing anyone say that is verboten.

    But, I'm willing to learn about you and your expectations. I hope you're willing to learn about Airtwardo as well.


    I appreciate you havin' my back Keith, but I don't think it's an issue.

    I think most know that my sarcastic one liners aren't meant to harm. IF I offended anyone...I'm sorry, now move on.B|

    I make off hand comments like the one you're addressing to just about everyone...about almost anything. Lets people know I'm paying attention to what they're saying and how they say it.

    It would be disingenuous of me to walk on egg shells, faux fawning around trying to prove some kind of political correctness.

    I only see Skydivers here...sex, color, size, or political affiliation don't factor in. Reptiles like turtles on the other hand...well, they bother me. :D

    Hanna and I have conversed quite a bit via PM when the thread was started, I don't think she considers me a jerk.


    Personally...the interest here isn't in Hanna's choices, it's in how she's unfairly presented with TI consequences because of them.

    They say it ain't the paint that wins the race, it's what's under the hood.

    Hanna's brain, heart & soul haven't been changed - why suddenly is she considered a risk as an instructor?

    Makes no sense to me. :S

    I think most of the 'jerk' reference was aimed at the Bruce Jenner stuff...if any was pointed at me - so be it, been called worse...I have pretty thick skin. OLD but thick! ;)










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  24. dpreguy

    Agreed.
    Samual Jackson ruined the movie. It had potential, but every time he would appear, with stupid dialog( I mean really stupid) with his gang banger ball cap cocked sideways, ghettotalk and his yelling voice style, the movie took another nose dive interval. The fantasy parts were good, but he dragged down what could have been a good movie. The skydiving is good. That's why I saw it.

    Then it ends with a girl wanting it "up her ass". Direct quote. This is not a spoiler comment, just a clue about the playwright's choice of dialog.

    Samual Jackson should stick to credit card ads with his ill-fitting girlie suits with his pant legs always above his ankles.




    Well Gosh....OTHER than that Jackie, how did you like Dallas? :P










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

  25. Quote

    (If she happens to be TI, things might be a little more complicated.)

    Hugs, Hannah



    Which I don't understand at all...

    What has one got to do with the other?

    Granted I'm just a naive farmboy...but it's my understanding that basically all you did was have corrective surgery. What does that have to do with your ability to safely perform a job that's done by either sex every day?

    Especially taking the history of prior experience of performance in the position into consideration!

    The fact that there's even a second thought given regarding your ability speaks volumes...it's outright shameful.

    In the broad sense you are the type of employee one should recognize as most fit for the position...one who analyzes a problem and takes whatever steps necessary to rectify it.

    We should ALL be so conscientious...you GO girl!










    ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~