KevinMcGuire

oh my, that man is just a monster. Our generals should be more sensitive and caring about the people they kill, In fact their actions should pass a global test don't you think? Give me a break. Gladiators kill. Thats what they do. Thats what we pay them for.

buy it now or you will really pay for it later.

When I was 12 or so I had a paper route. That was also the time I began to notice girls. I used to carry my papers in a bag hooked to my handel bars. (This point becomes important later in the story) One day I passed a group of girls who were playing at the entrance of a dead end street. As I passed, a few of them looked at me, smiled, giggled, and whispered to them selves. They liked me...Why wouldn't they, I had a job. I had prospects. I was going places. Being that I was only 12, I really had no idea what I should do next so I just rode up the that dead end street (trying to look cool) to deliver my papers, but the thought of those strange and beautiful creatures kept me looking over my shoulder as I road. That is when I hit that damned parked car. My forward speed combined with the weight of my papers on the handel bars caused me and my bike to flip up, over, and onto the hood. I'll never forget laying on the hood of that car, tangled in my bike, papers strewn every where, listening to the laughter of those little girls. The worst part was that in order to put this horrible event behind me, I would have to again ride right passed them AGAIN. Stupid dead end street. Now, I can't be sure, but I think that day, I shattered all existing land speed records for a kid riding a bike as I rocketed past those strange, beautiful, and hysterically laughing little girls.

All the years I fought fire and ran EMS I never really felt bad for the dead I encountered. They had simply done what they were unaviodably going to do. Die. I know it sounds a cold but that's the way it was. Except kids. That always fucked me up... This is the weird part, I never really felt that I was fighting to save some ones life. Please don't take that to mean I didn't fight hard. because I did. Instead, I always felt as if I was fighting to save some one else from experiencing an earth shattering loss

I wondered my self how this can be a Bush issue when he was only in office 9 months before 9-11.

Maybe he's just afraid

What color ZP do you need, I'll send you some

I would but I better with a sewing machine than I am with a coumputer. I'll have to see if I fiqure out how to do it

All good advice, but if I could add something, buy used because your landings aren't going to very gracefull for a while and why spend a ton of money on something new only to scrape it up and reduce its resale value

I'll be here in the summer and I should be available. If you would like to discuss it more feel free to give me a call. thanks Kevin (520) 705-9936

Please take note of the years in sport for all but the last couple of us who have posted. the average interest level of a skydiver is typically 7 years. After that they tend to find other things in life more interesting. Finding some one with as many years experience and that is still jumping regularly as the last two other guys is getting more and more rare. Hell, even I don't get out and jump that much any more

I've never seen any patterns any where. Try finding some onw who has an old worn out on and use that as a guide.

Sent you a PM

Oh Yes, I remember that now. I recall you mentioning many of those problems when we last spoke. I think we should discuss this more. Perhaps if I can establish a track record by holding courses before August of this year, I could present a well refined plan in Chicago pertaining to the logists, training methods, and subject matter that would best serve the PIA symposium and those who attend. In the mean time however, 2007 is a long way off. If there are enough potential students interested, I would like to hold the first class at the end of March. If interested, please send me a PM so we can work out the details. Thanks Kevin

Hey Terry, I'm not sure if you recall, but last year I piched a very similuar idea to a few members of the PIA that over see these sorts of things and I received a less than luke warm response. However, I am still very interested in working with the PIA to make something like this happen. Has there been a changing of the guard at the PIA that would now make this type of training possible at the symposium?

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I have not yet decided on what to charge for training like this but I think that the cost should be fair for everyone. I feel that the course should be no less than 5-7 days long consisting of 8 hour days of intensive hands on training. Here is what I had in mind. Customized training specific to the students needs meaning, training for the brand new rigger/ sewer just getting started, or for the senior rigger needing master rigger level experience for an upcoming master riggers test or for the master rigger looking to polish their skills and learn a few new ones. Training will begin on small individual test pieces before moving on to the real deal. I have many un-airworthy canopies and containers that can be used for practice and learning. Students will learn how to deal with the many challenges of performing basic or major repairs on canopies while the canopy is draped over all them just like it would be in the real world. Things tend to get a bit trickier when you’re wearing a parachute. I can design and provide project plans to students so that they can build a variety of items in the time they are here. This could also serve as a kind of final exam. The possibilities are endless. What I can provide is this. All the machines, raw materials, practice equipment, technical reference materials, contacts for material manufactures, instruction in sewing and (time permitting) basic sewing machine repair. There may even be a possibility to provide lodging in a rented house but that is not yet available at the moment. As I said before, I have not decided on a price but it should fair for both student and instructor. What would something like this be worth to you? What would you be willing to pay to gain experience of this type? I am open to your suggestions and look forward to hearing them. Kevin .

Due to the fact that all my machines material and other equipment is here in Eloy then the obvious choice is here. The logistics of hauling everything some where eles is of course not practical. Off the top of my head I'm thinking that the best dates wouyld be at the end of march or early april.

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Is this something any of you would be interested in. I was thinking about a week long intensive training course covering everything from basic to advance canopy and harness/container sewing techniques. I'll be away from the computer for the rest of the day so if your interested in this don't expect an immediate reply but I will get back to you later on tonight. Kevin

no doubt the dental pick is a very good chioce and it is well used by many profesionals but I have found them a bit difficult to find. I have used the dental pick while working at various manufactures facililitys thourgh out the years and found them to be very good choice, but personnaly, I prefer the gasket tool. The key is to find that tool that works the best for you. I have also seen great operators use the cypres screwdriver with excellent results, but is had been my experience that it takes a great operator to use a less than great tool and still achieve nice results

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bumped so those who asked about this could see it

This little baby can be picked up at just about any auto parts store for just a couple of bucks. I think its some kind of gasket puller. I find it to be the best shaped tool for manipulating binding tape that I have ever used. There are many other types of tools that work well such as a small phillips head screw driver that has bee ground down to a point then bent with a slight angle to the tip. Or you can use a dental pick and I've even seen some operators use seam rippers Tomorrow I'll post a tutorial on how to bind a square cut on the inside of a piece of material. Again for those who care I hope this helps Kevin

You think thats something consider this. Doctors and Lawyers go to school for all those years and when they graduate, they open a practice. Shouldn't they show that they are already good at it in order to graduate?