jonstark

Wasn't 84 the year of the 90 way? I was a load organizer during the Easter Boogie for 84, 85, 86. Great times and good dives! Jon

If you have the collection appraised just remember that you will probably be able to get only 60% of that value. If it is just a box of old coins that a collector had laying around it may have been picked over for any value. You can buy periodicals with coin values if you wanna do the looking yourself.

Dislocated right shoulder leaving a Lodestar just starting to stall. Was able to roll over and catch the flopping arm and got it back into place to throw out my belly-band pilot chute. Still gives me a hard time 35 years later. jon

I've been slim all my life and have had to really arch to stay down without weights. (hate 'em!) In the winter I find myself grabbing a handful of nuts and berries or snacking too frequently and put on 10+ pounds that has to come off about annually. At least it isn't as hard to stay down anymore. jon

I'm afraid if they gave me an enema you could bury me in a shoebox! jon

Can you tell me where any regulation states a requirement to notify of the FAA? jon

IRON CITY! "It's the pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom." Old Frothingslosh

When posed with a similar situation I usually go have a cuppa with the guys at the diner, go home, cook up a steak, pour a drink and the TV clicker goes like a chainsaw. Can't do that with wife and kids home. jon

If you're thinking twenty years out then I predict the regulatory climate to be dramatically different than it is today in both the UK and USA. If you're thinking about making a small fortune as a DZO you better start with a big one... jon

If you want to try something pretty wild then do a back flip but stay all tucked up with your chin down and knees together once you get going. Hold this position. Keep holding... You'll feel the relative wind hit your feet and flip you over backwards faster and faster. The rotation speed will increase to an amazing rate! It's wild! Surprisingly, it's simple to stop on a dime and return to flat and stable on command. You may be dizzy for a sec tho. WooHoo!! jon

Great story!!!

I am so fortunate! My parents have retired to a facility in Annapolis filled with WWII vets and mostly Navy retirees. I get the great privilege of shooting the shit with some of these guys whenever I visit. They were flying Lightnings, Mustangs, Wildcats and my personal fav the F4U Corsair at 19 or 20 years old after a few short weeks of flight training. Each and every one of these gentlemen are the most modest and unassuming people I have ever met. Back in 1974 when I had just a couple jumps I mentioned that I had jumped to a visitor at the aircraft mechanics' school I was attending. Shore nuf he jumped too. At night. From a thousand feet. Counted to ten and pulled the string... I had spent enough nights in the clubhouse watching the guys play Cardinal Puff held in rapt attention by their noshitthereIwuz stories to know this guy was full of BS. Good lesson to learn early in my career. jon

+1

Our DZ was located on an airport that was surrounded by corn, soy and peanut fields. We put a LOT of students into those fields. We also had about 10% of our students who were military and came from Beaufort, Perris Island and Fort Stewart. Just about every time we had a group of military students and one or two would land in the crops they'd come back with a rattlesnake or two. I wonder just how many near misses our other students had with those snakes! jon

There is still no regulation or rule with the force of law to prohibit anyone from taking a 16 yr old up on a jump. If you wish to then feel free to do so. Any lawyer would easily make you look like a scofflaw rule breaking renegade in front of a jury though. jon

[X] other It's about damn time! jon

I've been reading on an iPad 2 but find it pretty heavy. Am thinking a Kindle may be better. jon

There was a group of skydivers who took exception to Jim Hooper's having grounded them for allegedly pulling low and drinking while jumping among other things. Rick Haglund got a hold of a Beech 18 and started their own DZ not too far away from Zephyrhills. Anybody remember where they jumped? jon

Don't feel bad. Whenever I post the thread usually comes to a screeching halt. My name oughta be "Threadkiller". jon

Depends on how many tandem masters are on site. Your scenario requires three loads if all tandems are getting video. The DZ is going to have to have a lot of staff and gear ready to go to get it done in rapid succession. There's probably plenty of opportunity to fit in a fun load or mix and match as needed. jon

Much more likely that SCUBA has changed your ears. The pressure changes and likelihood of injury are FAR greater. jon

Best/Worst was in 1973. The Who at Madison Square Garden. At that time it was regarded as the loudest concert in history. It was amazing but excruciating. Worst/Worst was Bow Wow Wow in 1982 or 3 on Orlando. -UGH- jon

OLD It was an outdoor sport... Somebody would call out "jumprun!" and we'd all look up to watch our friends jump and how well they'd do. Big suits ripping through the air in freefall were NOISY! Kiss pass on break-off. Pulling at 2000' wasn't low at all. Somebody on the ground would yell "PULL!" or "CUTAWAY!" if they got nervous. The Safety Officer wasn't afraid to bruise your ego if you screwed up. We spotted ourselves and a long walk back reinforced the spotting lesson. We packed outside. The gear was antique, snaggy and could kill ya. NEW Nobody looks up. We have no idea how our friends' jump went. We weren't looking. Full face helmets. No more kisses! Pulling at 3000' is LOW! We don't spot ourselves and trucks come to pick us up if we land more than a couple hundred yards away. We pack inside. We watch ourselves on video and consider it a debrief. The gear is sleek, modern and can kill ya. jon

No real diff... You're still dead unless you do something about the predicament you've put yourself into. jon

How much are they asking for the STC? Can it be done by others? Are they selling kits? Can it be locally manufactured? thx, jon