ripcords

Thank you. He not only watched it change, he helped it change for the better. Don Kellner, as of this writing, has over 36,000 jumps. He keeps logs for each and every jump, as do I. Last month Don and I went up for a skydive that put us at a combined total of 50,000 jumps. Hopefully you will read about it in Parachutist. I spent time to write up a nice press release and send it out to all of the local newspapers and TV stations, but not one of them covered it.

You can get a 40 exposure roll of aps film for your elph or be less tongue happy so the tandems can have landing shots

I just bought a PC1000 and was thinking of returning it in favor of the HC90, since I use a top mounted helmet. Maybe I should hold onto it. It may bring a better price in a short time.

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/Sony’s-2006-MiniDV-Camcorders.htm I found this today. News from the consumer electronics trade show. Apparently, there are only four new minidv camcorders to choose from and none of them are matchbook style. Sony seems to be putting their emphasis on the DVD camcorders rather than the mini dv.

So what is the advantage of realXtream over a dz putting their own streaming video's on a separate section of their own dropzone website, that is dedicated to that application?

Several years ago, I had the same question about the Atlanta area and skydiving over Christmas. I called all of the DZ's in the area. ASC was the only one that said they would be open. They were open, BUT THEY WEREN'T JUMPING! What a waste of time. P.S. - That was before we knew about ASC and skyrides, etc.

For the slender gals and guys, it is important that they wear a rig that has a narrow enough yoke so that it keeps the rig on their shoulders. The design of a harness is with the main lift webs as the main structural load bearing straps. If a chest strap is overly tightened, such that it causes the main lift webs to V-in, it will put additional stress on the chest strap. This can cause the strap to be cut and damaged by the metal adaptor. Snug is good, overly tightened can be damaging and potentially dangerous.

If you get a chance to go to the collegiates, GO! It is a great experience, even when you go by yourself.

Although the Above the Poconos Skydivers does not have a web cam right on the dropzone, there is a link to the Penn State Hazleton Campus weather page that has a webcam view of the beautiful Conyngham valley near the dropzone.

Yes, canopy control is vitally important. That is why at our DZ we start with an introductory tandem skydive, followed by the solo jump training class. Then the student does a skills evaluation tandem skydive which allows them to practice freefall skills, but evaluates their canopy control ability. Then they do two or three IAD jumps to gain confidence under canopy in a solo environment. Finally they concentrate on freefall with our AFF style freefall progression, yet still work on canopy control objectives as per the Integrated Student Program.

I would have to check with USPA for the most up to date US specs. Perhaps Paul Sitter, Don Yahrling, or one of the current AFF Course Directors may know them off the top of their head. From the point that the AFF program started with Ken Coleman in the early 80's in the United States, they did not have a single fatality for many years.

Having taught both methods: IMO AFF is most definitely safer for the student and the stats show that also. Your learning curve is also so much faster because you have the immediate, in freefall feedback. Best of luck with your skydiving training.

Congratulations Carolyn! Way to go.

I concur. Good Job Jan! I have already added a link for www.wheretojump.com onto our links page of our site. Keep up the great work and thanks again for not giving up the fight.

Oh you didn't know? They already have their own fake National Skydiving Association, the NSA, and all of their dz's are members of it. They have had it for quite a while now. It has a beautiful map of the nation with hundreds of dz's listed, but all links lead back to skyrides.

DeLand has Skyventure Wind Tunnel nearby, which is a great training aid and it can be used in the rare event of bad weather.

After a 14 hour day of looking through over 35,000 lines in the logbooks, here are the results for the number of Don Kellner's malfunctions, although I may have missed one since my eyes are starting to go crossed with this job. Hopefully this post will be coherent. A grand total of 19 malfunctions in over 35,000 jumps. When I list malfunction numbers, I am only referring to those canopy problem situations that warranted Don going to his reserve parachute. His first malfunction was on his 1937th jump, which was his first square parachute jump. He had done 1936 round parachute jumps and gone through 11 years in the sport prior to that without a malfunction. In the following 15 months he experienced a total of eight malfunctions as he test jumped the new square parachutes that were being developed. In 1980, he experienced a double malfunction with one of the first square reserves available. In 1990, he experienced a malfunction when jumping one of the first high performance parachute designs. I would like to think that the work that he and other pioneers in the sport did, allow the rest of us to enjoy the low rate of malfunctions that we see today.

Welcome to Dropzone.com! I enjoyed celebrating your 18th birthday at Above the Poconos Skydivers in such a memorable way

We have a gentleman that is now over 80 make it to level 3 AFF when he was in his 70's. He decided to stick to tandems now. His love for the sport is an inspiration to all of us.

Well put. He was an amazing person and we already miss him terribly. What a loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Don & Darlene Kellner

I love my Infinity rig. The company's attention to detail is impeccable and their customer service has always been superb. The rig itself is very secure, attractive and comfortable. From a rigger's point of view it is well made. I would definitely recommend it.

I have made 103 so far this year. Not bad for winter in the Northeast. My personal best year was 901. Would love to do 1000 in a year, but I follow the philosophy - concentrate on one safe jump at a time, don't worry about the long run. If you get hurt, you will make many less jumps that year. Don Kellner's best year to date was 2534 jumps in 1991

Any current news on Sky's the Limit?

Out of curiousity, why move to static-line if you are already doing IAD?

That is so great. I can imagine how scared that I would be taking my Mom, but I don't have to worry about it. She is content to stay inside the plane. What a wonderful thing to be able to share with your mother!