whoremonkey

I usually wrap my legs (backs of my ankles) around their legs (front of their ankles) to keep their body from slinging forward during the opening. This helps control their body just in case I have to cut away following the opening, almost guaranteeing a pretty stable dual body position following cutaway and reserve deployment. I also do this following exit (if able) to prevent the possibility of side spin. WhoreMonkey

I will always jump with a low timer, when asked. If I find a low timer at the loading area who is going to do a solo, and so am I, I always ask them if they want to put something together. I usually select a 2 way drill that is guaranteed to turn points for them. The only time I receive a fee for coach jumps is when I am directed to conduct a coach jump for the DZ school. WhoreMonkey

After jumping at Raeford DZ in NC for 11 years (a fantastic place by the way), I moved back to TX looking for a new home DZ. I looked around at a couple other places and quickly decided Temple was the HEAT! Everyone at the DZ has a fantastic/friendly attitude. The price of a jump is in line with most other DZs, however, you get more bang for the buck, 14,500 ft in less than 15 minutes (and that goes for the Tandems too). There are other DZs closer to where I live, but the jump benefits SD Temple offers are worth an extra hour. Altitude, speed to altitude, great vibe, and being easy to get to all make for a great place to jump. Mark Mark is continually upgrading the facilities to make SD Temple an even better place to jump. The people are friendly and welcome all who come to the DZ, no matter what your experience level or discipline is. And beer rules apply for all (beware Sky Gods).

I've had a few decide they wanted to share their last meal with me (under canpoy) and have yet to have them spill any of their processed meal on me. As soon as I'm aware that they are not feeling well, I tell the student to turn their head to the left. Then, keeping my left arm elevated (still holding the left toggle), I push the student to my left, pressing against their right shoulder with my right hand. This moves them to the left just enough to ensure anything that comes up will go flying right past me and not get any on the equipment. I just keep pushing them to my left until the puking has stopped or I am near 1000 ft. Once at 1000 ft, I no longer push against them to ensure I am able to steer with both hands. I just keep telling them to keep their head turned to the left and to try to lean more to the left. It has worked so far (knock on wood). WhoreMonkey

Yep, done it twice. No problem. WhoreMonkey

I like to stick to one two way progressive drill for new or inexperienced jumpers. This drill greatly assists them in maintaining their position in freefall. Exit: 2 way round. (I will refer to each jumper as "A" & "B". Initially "A" maintains position and stable fall rate while "B" turns in place to left for a side body. "A" takes side body grip, then release. "B" then continues to left, performing a 360, back to the original side body (this is where "B" actually determines if he is maintaining position in relation to "A". "A" takes side body grip again, and release. "A" & "B" back to the round, then "B" maintains position and "A" performs maneuvers. Back to round, then "A" & "B" perform maneuvers in opposite direction. On the next dive, following the round both "A" & "B" turn to the left and take right grip compressed accordian, break, then both perform left 360 and dock in the original right grip closed accordian. Break grip, and both turn 180 to the right and take left grip closed accordian, followed by a 360 to the right and dock in the left grip accordian again. Rinse, and repeat. I have had novice jumpers performing this dive with me so fast (only after performing the drill dive in freefall a couple of times) that we didn't even take grips between each 180 or 360 turn, but only momentarily touched and pushed off to the next turn. I tell them that if we have to bob our heads out of each others way during the 180s, or our feet touch during the 360s, then we are performing the dive well. Every novice I have performed this dive with has told me how much they enjoy this simple dive, because 1) they really learn quickly what their body does during a turn and usually correct any problems quickly, and 2) they are usually cranking out a lot of turns and docks in a releatively short amount of jumps. This dive also assists in showing them how to present their body for the other person to dock on. If you like it, it's a lot of fun for them. If not, disregard it and move on to something else. WhoreMonkey

Spent the weekend (Apr 3-4)at the Space Center. If you haven't been there yet and are looking for a place to jump in FL, I highly recommend this DZ. Guaranteed 15,000 on each jump for only $17, you can't beat that with a stick. The bunk house is FREE, only reqires a small deposit for the key. The packers perform good pack jobs. All modern facilities and great people. The only areas I could find fault with, and these are only because I'm not used to them, was sandy landing area next to the hanger (although you can land in the grassy area in the main landing area), the planes are stored in the same area where packing is performed (which may lead to damaged canopy fabric if one of the AC had/has a fuel/oil leak. The winds were marginal on Sat and strong on Sun. Overall a great place to jump. I was able to find several jumpers who were up to jumping with a visitor. At the end of each jump, I got very good vibes that all had a great time. Looking forward to visiting the Space Center again.