pack40

Protect the trees eat beavers! OVER

Oh speaking of Russian(s) check out this pic from a Russian skydiving club's webpage. It is a jubille maybe a 100th jump, who knows? OVER

>Nu shto skazat' podruga, my Amierikantsy tozhe, Russian What to say friend, we are Americans too OVER

This picture was shot this winter in Budapest, Hungary where I live. The car is an East-German Trabant. There were some other pictures I'll try to find them I got them somewhere. OVER

First freefall jumps are fun: You know: BLUE... GREEN... BLUE... GREEN... BLUE... GREEN... BLUE... GREEEEEEEEEEEN... PULL OVER

If there is anybody is from Russia, I hope he can help me. I am looking for a song, I hope somebody has it in good quality MP3 I have a 22Khz MP3. It has many titles: "Pesnya parasutistov" Ïåñíÿ ïàðàøþòèñòîâ or "Tvyorzhe sag rebyata" ÒÂÅÐÆÅ ØÀÃ, ÐÅÁßÒÀ. The original music is by "L. Afanasiev" Ë. Àôàíàñüåâà I found that it was published on a casette "Soldati VDV" (ÑÎËÄÀÒÛ ÂÄÂ-2, (1999 ã.) I also have the lyrics: ÒÂÅÐÆÅ ØÀÃ, ÐÅÁßÒÀ. 1. Òâåðæå øàã, ðåáÿòà, Ïî çåìëå ðîäèìîé ìû èäåì,  äåñàíòå ñëóæèì ìû êðûëàòîì, À çäåñü íåëüçÿ íå áûòü îðëîì. Ïðèïåâ : Íàì, ïàðàøþòèñòàì, Ïðèâîëüíî íà íåáå ÷èñòîì. Ëåãêè ðåáÿòà íà ïîäúåì, Ñîâåò çàäèðàì ìû äàåì : Øóòèòü íå ñëåäóåò ñ îãíåì ! 2. Ñëóæáà íåïðîñòàÿ, Íî äåñàíòíèêó âåçäå ïî÷åò. Êàê àíãåë ñ íåáà îí ñëåòàåò, Çàòî äåðåòñÿ îí êàê ÷åðò ! Ïðèïåâ. Thanx pack40 OVER

Joe goes to his optometrist to have his eyes examined. He says: -I need glasses with 2 dipters. The optometrist replys: -As you came through the shop-window instead of the door I would recommend 6 diopters. OVER

Blond girl introduces herself to a man. -Hi, I am Carmen! I like cars and men. What's your name? -Hmm, Hmm, Beerfuck. Two men are talking in a pub. -I have slept with you mother! Everybody freezes and looks a the men. -I have slept with you mother! repeats the man. The other looks at him and says. -Go home father you are drunk again. OVER

There is something similar if you do extreme skiing there is a little device that will transmit signals so if an avalanche hit you and your under the snow the rescue team can find you. I saw a program on National Geographic the device is as big as a matchbox. OVER

Iraqi businessman arrives to New York The airport security stops him to fill out a paper Name: OK Sex: ? The iraqi does not understand the question so he answers: Sex: Yes, I like sex. The security guy tries to explain him: -Look, sex means BOY or GIRL The iraqi answers: -Yes, I like sex boy or girl does not matter. (Actually Egyptians who do not like iraqi people did tell this joke to a friend of mine who was in Egypt) How does the Iraqi Stealth fighters look like? -Three iraqi soldier sneaking in lists slippers. Why do Iraqi man wear moustache? -So they look like their mothers. OVER

Plane Crash Kills 11 MOSCOW (AP) -- A small plane carrying a group of skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport in a remote part of Siberia on Saturday, killing 11 people on board, an official said. The An-2 plane went down about 2.5 kilometers from the runway in the village of Shalinskoye, in the Krasnoyarsk region, said Gennady Savelyev, a duty officer at the Siberian emergency situations department. The plane was carrying 11 skydivers and three crew members. Savelyev said a preliminary investigation pointed to engine failure. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/09/16/031.html My condolences to their friends and families. Does anybody from Russia know any details? pack40 OVER

jumpy check out ftp.skydivingmovies.com/UPLOADS/ I put up a file called "staticlinehungaryGOOD.mpg" It is about round static-line jumps with RS 4/4A with BE-8 reserve from an Antonov An-2 in Hungary. OVER

jumpy I am not a expert in this topic, but I have 31 round jumps, I have not yet started to jump with ram-airs, but I hope I can help you. LANDING: If you will wear army boots and land facing the wind nothing special will happen. The pain in your leg/ankle/butt will depend on which type of canopy you will use, if you use US military canopy perpare for a hard landing. Military chutes are for fast descent not for enjoying the landscape. Now I jump with "sport" rounds and I had only one bad landing and that was because I landed not facing the wind. It is usefull to bandage your ankles before the jump it is a bit uncomfortable but really helps. VIDEO: a) I think like a month ago we recorded some of my club member's landing I will check it for you. b) I have a video of round jumps, but only the exits, if you are interested, it is around 2MB write me where to send. PICS: Now I can only attach a pic of me and a friend before landing. PREPARATION: Both mentally and physically prepare yourself that you may land outside the DZ. Do not forget that if there is a sudden change in the wind you may land somewhere else. This weekend I landed like 200 meters from the edge of the airport. Even with my 85 kilos the wind drafted me away. One of my friends landed on the top of a tree. Fortunately no injuries, and no damage to the canopy, but it is not fun to cut a tree 2 PM in the afternoon in 30 degrees of centigrade. Power lines and railroad is dangerous in strong wind with rounds you can not manouver as easy as with ram-air canopies. So as I mentioned boots, overalls, gloves are usefull. Expect the best, prepare for the worst. OVER

Do not worry about your age I started to jump with a 19 year old guy and his father who was 59 at that time. Age does not count! OVER

Try this URL they use the Babel translation from Russian to English. If you need some specific info write me I will try to translate it. My Russian is not perfect but I can manage. http://www.skydive.ru/index OVER

Last weekend I was on my first competition! It was in Hungary -where I live- at the Kiskunfelegyhaza DZ. It was the "Veteran Parachutist Competition". Meaning that some ex-military jumpers mainly Hungarians and some foreign were there, fortunately anybody could enter, civilian newbies as me, not only military personnel, Average age was 50-55, but it was really fun. There were two categories accuracy with ram-air and accuracy with round. Total 3 jumps from 800 or 1200 meters, team and individual scores. I jumped with round chute. That was real "accuracy". 1st jump: 23,07 meters 2nd jump: 14,59 meters 3rd jump: 20,50 meters So individually I am the 6th as a team we are the 4th. I have some pictures I try to attach some and later on I will attach all. OVER

In 1998 in the gym of my former University a guy was handing out some forms to register to a static-line course. I got one, however I failed at the medical test. Reasons: I was too young (I was 22), my blood pressure is high (130/80 as far as I know is not high) I did not say loudly: Good Morning to the Royal Highness Princess Mrs. Doctor (Bitch), and many more reasons. Unfortunately the Doctor who decides who passes the medical tests, is a bit strange. (how do you say in US mentally ??? something) So in 1999, than my neighbour offered a free tandem-jump, he was a publisher of an aviation magazine who sponsored a small air-show. So I did it, although I did not want to do a tandem before in my opinion tandems are for those who do not want to jump just try it once. Than at the airport an instructor advised that ther is another hospital where you can do your medical tests and they are really helpfull and just. So in 1999/10/16 I did my first static-line round jump with a 10 year old ex-military chute. This is my story OVER

You should not be worried to much. If you are those kind of brave, loud, wise-guys making jokes during the trainings/courses, no problem, you will worried enough in the plane to be soooo silent . In the plane instead of worrying you should repeat/think through the emergency procedures -it takes only a minute-, check the equipment where are the reserve/cutaway handles. Then you can look around. If you are worried still you can concentrate on your tasks. Instead of going through stupid thoughts as "why I am here" and "I do not want to jump" you should concentrate on your primary tasks which you can set For example 1.) Today I have to make a good exit 2.) How will I make it? 3.) I will .... (as your instructor said) For me it helped instead of just sit and wait for the jump I have something to think of and if I do whatever I planned it feels very good. These are simple thing although an experienced jumper might laugh at these. After the jump send a line or two about the jump. Robert OVER

The forward speed of this canopy is 3 meters/second. The ascend speed is -theoretically- 3 meters/second -50 kilogramm 3,5 meters/second -80 kilogramm 4,2 meters/second -100 kilogramm 6 meters/second -130 kilogramm With my 84 kilos it might be 3-4 meters/second, but I think it is more. A 360 degree turn takes 8 seconds. OVER

Hope it works now OVER

See attachment ZF-2 So this is the type of the chute, which made me the ankle pains. Simple and easy for simple and easy guys like me. OVER

Here in Hungary the legal requirments to jump is 15 years plus one day of age and finished elementary school. Fortunatly here there are very very few legal cases. I heard of one case recently when a jumper laned on a tree and he sued his club because they rushed to help him down from the tree he got injured -spine injury- and he suid his sports club because the club should have called the Fire Dept. to take him down from the tree. The sad thing is that the injury sounded serious but the guy was back to work afetr a half year. Later on he sued the club at the end after 2 years, the club had to pay him and give some money for him every month for some years. The club now is nearly bankrupt they had to sell the their equipment. Oh yes and those instructors who where there during the incident are no longer in the club. I think that if the guy would have real serious injuries e.g. he would have been in a wheel-chair for rest of his life I could understand him. But now he can buy a new car get some free money every month and have no medical problems. I would not sue none of my fellow skydiviers unless they screw something really up and I would have some real serious problems for rest of my life but even in that case I would try to work out some system that the club would not go bankrupt becasue of me. The problem that here the judges or police who is investigating have no understanding of the sport. If anyone at the court tries to explain it he seems more guilty in the eyes of the judge. But regarding the age question there are some 15 year old boys/girls who are able to jump. I think this is always depens on the instructor if he sees that this boy is taking it seriously, prepares himself mentally and physically than there can not be any problems. If I knew at that age that I can jump my life maybe would be diffrenet now. OVER

Date: 1999 October 16. DZ: Godollo, Hungary Club: Microburst Sky Voyagers Altitiude: 800 meters Airplane: Antonov An-2 Parachute: RS 4/4 with BE-8 reserve (East-German military round) Opening type: Static-line This is how I started as that time I was at the University I had little funding availabe so now after three years I have only 24 jumps. Also I had to change to a different skydiving club as my old club after a while only existed for championships -you got to be a club member to be able to compete-. But this year is promising I made 10 jumps -WOW- and I palne to reach 50-60 in 2002 to be a so-called basic-instructor (batboy or orderly to the instructor) or what -no rights you stay a "student" untill 200 jumps, but the title sounds good -especially to girls-. So this is my story. OVER

BACKGROUND I live in Hungary I have 24 jumps I jump with round chutes (ZF-2, I a container which in which you can fit ram-air canopies aswell, with RSL, CYPRES) THE PROBLEMATIC JUMP (1000 meters with 10 second freefall) Three weeks before I had a very hard landing, which made me a week of ankle pains. The problem was that I did not land facing the wind, but in a 90 degree angle. The problems started when I had a terrible exit, I opened after/during a tumble. For round chutes that is not the best but actually not very dangerous at all as they say it would be for a ram-air. Maybe I was a bit angry/anxious because of the exit/opening, and I did not pay attention to choose right landing area so I was above the center of the runway, from where I could not see the wind-socks. So I tried to guess the wind direction by looking at ground and watch where am I drifted. AM I RIGHT? If I want to determine correct wind direction, if let's I am at my own I can't see others. I felt that if I do not pilot the chute just leave it to the wind after 10-15 seconds I could see where is the wind drifting me. That is happened more or less but that 80-90 degree difference made me a week of pain. I looked at a point on the grond under me and tried to see whether it is "going" under me or I am "flying over it". This is what I have been thought but it not that easy as it seemed from the books. Does anybody have some better solutions. I know some general rules as looking at trees, smokes, bushes and see how/where the wind moves them, but I think that's not a feasible plan. THANX Robert PS: It is very sad for me that after 24 jumps I could make such a big mistake and make a landing that a first jumper never even makes. OVER

OK Military overall: Originaly it came from Germany it was issued -I do not know when- for tank personnel. It is comfortable. It came with a "interior part" another overall -insulation- for winter use. AND it was so cheap $35. Dutch military boots: -Hey I am an international man-. I traded the boots for a sling-shot. Skydiving T-shirt: Got that free, because I am a so nice guy. Once I let a newbie jump instead of me -so he could jump his first on that weekend-. So out of $38 a slingshot and a nice personality I have my clothes. Anyway for round chute jumps -BANG- that's good, when I upgrade myself to ram-air I'll buy some fancy stuff. OVER