skybill

Hey Jon!! So where is Leon?? If he ain't postin here he needs to be!! He has too many storys to be told!! I still have the book with "All" the minutes from the meetings of "Southland Skydivers, Inc." I was the secretary of the club for most of the last half of it's exisance. SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Mike, Here's a twist on the "jelly fish" cheap-po. Back in 65, Ben Seal took Leon Riche's PC and measured all the cuts and noted them on a drawing. Then he took an old cheap-po he had and proceeded to make a cheap-po/PC out of it complete with pulled down apex and crown lines. Wallah! The "Sky Hook!" It flew like a slow PC and the landings were tip-toe!!! I put a dozen or so jumps on it before I went into the Navy. Fun!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Jose, Well, May the 8th will be the 41st anniv of my first jump and I hope to celebrate on that day if not the weekend! That's 41 continuous consecutive years by the way. 41 years ago there was no RW competition. Just Style and Accuracy and us "Fun Jumpers" Funny about contempt, it was around then too!! Somebody always had to bitch about sombody else "NOT" doing what they do as un cool, hahahah!! Oh well! Oh Brother! I've done Style, I've done Accuracy (down wind with cheap-po 7-TU's), I've done Fun Jumps aka Relative work, 10-man and sequential, I've done some free-style and some head down (V-RW) too!!!!!!! To each his own!! I can't speak for other "old Timers" being threatened by V-RW freaks but I don't think it is being threatened as much as it is just plain old contempt as I said above!! Seems like not too many years ago, people would try to lurk the hot-shot RW dives and get blown off. (been going on for years,hell, I got blown off too!) so they would go "do their own thing" and try pawn it off as V-RW or what ever!! Now they who march to the beat of a different drummer and have their own following!! I just hope it's not the pied piper and we're all just rats!!!!! The point I was tying to pick up on was the thing about your claim that during a V-RW desent you don't have the ability to see the ground too well!! Wow! personally I'd make it a point to see the ground but since I'm an old fart I guess to you I don't count. Sorry I blew your feathers up but if you want to see how the other half lives, you are welcome on any of my dives. We usually break about 4K and generally we have a good time! One thing that bugs me though is the new generation being so "device dependant!" I've heard people remark that they refuse to jump unless they have an AAD in their rig!! Others get blown away if they don't have their beeper or alt.!! By now you probably have a good visual "feel" of 3 grand and your alti. and beeper should only be "back-up" not "primary!" Maintaining good aerial/ground awareness is no low-pull!!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Anti-D, Where as I have jumped rigs packed by other people, I have never paid anyone else to pack my main canopy or any canopy I was using at the time. Also, as a rigger, if you "really" want me to pack your main chute for you, that will be $100.00 period! Sorry about that. PS. Nobody has taken me up on that,"yet!" If someone did, I'd probably raise the price to $1000.00 and the title to their BMW!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Jose, Dude, like 80 mph slower eh? Guess again? Gutter gear, Pioneer suits, French boots, Bell helmets yer talkin the home sick brick club!!!! BTW I still jump and I know all about this koolie head down, head up and doing it sideways too. Flying butt to earth is nothing new, watch "Freak Brothers Convention" video circa 1982!! Anyway, this thread is suppose to be about "Low Pulls!!" I still consider 2K as my "Hard deck" for general skydiving. If things get exotic, e.g. head down, micro hi-performance canopys, etc., I would adjust accordingly. And if yer doing head down and you ain't payin' attention to the ground, you gonna' make a real interesing crater!! Reaper beepers are nice accessories to but should not replace your eyeballs!! I use a beeper but I don't trust any of them. If you've been in freefall for a while and your beeper hasn't gone off, I'd scrutinize where I'm at for about a new york second and probably pull!! If you "trust" your beeper that much, go ahead and wait. Don't blow me off because we did 10 man! That was over 35 years ago!! I've been here every step of the way and I'm not leaving! BTW The further back you were from the exit (base and pin were always first out till things got exotic) the longer you got to go "Head Down" (nothing new) to get to the star. Total awareness of the people in front of you, behind you, the star and the ground was paramount!!! Go to www.airtrash.com and go into the blast from the past section and read the hisory of RW by Pat Works SCS#1 and enjoy. It has been a long but fun ride! PS. Where the hell were you 40 years ago? I was Skydiving!!!and I still am today! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Skolls, Within the last coupleof months or so there was a coupleof threads on "Pie," "Pie Rules" and or the like. Take into consideration that there are no rules except "Jungle Rules!!" People play make believe and make up this silly shit to satify their own vanity! Any one can make up "rules" all day long about pieing people for some dive or another or whatever. The bottom line is that there are,"NO rules!!!" Any one who claims some primal "Right" to pie is blowing smoke. No one has the "Right" to pie me, or you for that matter. Anyone who tries can and will have revenge bestowed upon them 10fold!! I have never been involved in another person's pie job and I really don't care to have anyone (I don't care how good of friend you consider yourself to me or what the event is) trying to pie me. I'm really not into public humiliation, that's what pieing is and anyone who considers it some kind of "Honor" is blowing smoke!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi N2, Can you post a photo of your kitty?? SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Scratch, The way the Security pig rig (RSL) worked was there was a lanyard from the L/S Riser to the end of the reserve R/C housing by the Ripcord. Upon cutaway, the riser left and pulled the Reserve R/C housing out of its socket leaving the Ripcord in place. This would tighten up the system and extract the R/C pins from their cones. Now the only thing left was for the riser thru its lanyard, attachments and R/C housing to do was unsnap the 4 snaps and the reserve is on its merry way. I saw Charlie LeBlanc and Leon Riche put extra D-rings on the front of their Security Pigs and do intentional cut-aways circa 1964-65. Those were the days. SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Jaap, Bottom line,"DON'T BOUNCE!!!!!!!!" I don't know about Canada but unless the rules have changed (they probably have with all these whiney ass hi-puller wierdos taking over the sport!!) 2.5K if you are a student, D-license is 2K. I miss the old daze when we would take a 10 man to 3.5K break, turn track and dump at 2.5K. And like that's considered conservatively high!! Like, 1000' or 5 seconds to get away from each other "should be enough time!!! Now everyone won't jumo unless they have a Cypress and 3 kinds of audible alts!!! What ever happened to using your eyeballs to check alt???? SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Sky, "No problem GI!! Been there, still do that!!" It's so much fun to see their eye's get as big as pie plates!! Not to mention that you begin training them by hand and before long you have another hot shot to add to your dive list!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi C24, Amazing! Giving away a good main canopy? What am I saying, Bin there, done that. Funny that you should menion that! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi N2, Well, you have a heart! Kitties have a way with us. They find us in the most unusual ways? Fartsarelli showed up at me and Chris's apt. in HB.,Ca. by the dumpster saying "meow, I bin dumped!" We invited him up for some left over kitty-krunchies and he stuck around till his dying day some 17 years later! I opened the door to my apt. in Costa Mesa on Christmas Day 1994 as I heard some scratching and there was this black kitty looking up at me saying, "meow, I'm moving in!" Angle Food McSpade is 10 years old now and still a sweetie. The topping on the cake was my friend Nancy Doyal stealing this long haired grey and white kitten from her neighbors in HB, Ca. as they were abusing it. She asked me to keep it for a few days till she could find a home for it. O.K. I say and take the kitty. A few days later I bug Nancy,"Well, have you found a home for he kitty?" "I'm still working on it!" she says. A few days later I query her again and I get the "Coupe' de Grace!,""Well Billy, I was hoping that you would take her!!" A moment of silence over the phone then I say,"Dammit Doyal, you've sucked me in again!!" The "Fuzzy" was with me till she just passed right before Thanksgiving being with me for over 15 years of unconditional love. I hope you and your kitty have a long and wonderful life together. SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hey Wart, How did it feel to be a "Test Jumper" and you weren't even on the payroll!!!??? SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi S.M.#1!!!!!!< LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Dude for the "Dressing-UP!!" that your dad deserves!! I was at the launch of the smoke at the "Cave Tangi!!" Hell, my family was from Hammond and the Cave was "The Place" to go in those daze!! All that is left anymore is the marqui out front and the parking lot . God I miss those daze!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi VSG and Lisa!!< God I didn't even know it was your birthday!! Well Happy B'day and many happy returns Lisa, and will you skydive with me the next time we are at Raeford!! the weather is getting better ( the winter doldrums are being put to rest!!) SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Sunnie!!, if it's jus the "colors" than give your favourite niece or nephew a canopy chart or two and rak of crayolas and have them go at it!!! If you mean the Shape of the canopy, then get the "foiled again"program and run thru all those epler and other airfoils. I like the epler 205 for some model airplanes that I have built as the performance charateristics remind me of doing a low pass ina Cessna 310 "iNVERTED" running on nitro!!! Eat my smoke Dago Red!!!! God I'd love to say that!! But the reality of the situation would be to have a plane that can do it!! Slow is not Fast, Being the first guy x-c the finish line is fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

OK fREENCHY "68," What do "Whuffo's" smell like in the morning??? 69?????????? SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Sandy, What do you mean that none of the guys would let you talk to their wives, "Don't you remember 'MY" wife Chris at that time?" I can't say which of you two was "More!!" exhuberent but the call is close!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hey Jim, Asshole went in and never bought his beer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Murrays, The plaster bird bath was in the Perris Ghetto for a long time and eventually "disappeared from view." Perhaps it may still be under someone's trailer or?? Al Frisby or one of the oher old farts may know what happened to it?? The detail was pretty good in the crater when I saw it!!!! Trying to find the bird bath today may be like trying to find the "Queen Anne's Revenge" here in NC at the coast!! The ledgend lives on!! I think that some of the detail was lost but the basic shape was intact. (perfect cookie cutter imprint!!!!!!!!!!!!) SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Johnny, There's also Norm and Deana Kent's son Ramsey Kent who took to the air at an early age. SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Kun, The touchy feelie thing, who knows?? Around ground society thereare all kindsof cool handshakes that transent the traditional clasp hands greeting. The "Beat" generation of the 50's had the cool touching palms flat and sliding away slowly. I was there way of saying,"We cool dad-e-o!!" The pre-launch stacking of hands, final words from the organizer and practice count (there are many),"Heathens, Yeah>White>>>Women!!!!!!, "Eat,>>>F*ck,>>>Skydive!!!!" The list is endless!! It's just more of grown up (?????)people playing,"one potatoe-two potatoe!!" SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi RKO, Funny thing you should mention that!! Love Rum and coke "with" a squeeze of lime thus the "Cuba Libre!!" This one's about dead so I'm off to the kitchen to fix another one!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi BV, Here's my WAG (Wild Ass Guess) from the curb and the grey wall with some scrawling on it and the pole (looks like the type of temp support for an overhanging balcony) the place could be somewhere in the French Quarter (New Orleans) during Mardi Gras! And trust me, if this is the case than that is really "Low Key" from some of the stuff I've seen down there over the years!!!! SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out

Hi Saskatoon Murray! hehehehe, you have to be talking aout Guy McLaughlin formerly of So, Cal and now of Sweden!, Yes that's true. Sorry I didn't get a photo of the crater but I got to lurk it just the same. As the story goes, this guy seemed a bit "off" and was given by a couple of people (Bad Bob Appleton for one) the,"Bowling speech!" He pressed on in the stratic line progression program and made it to his gradution dive. This was his "first" from 12500', first RW, first kisspass (with Black Death Anna, "the kiss of Death!!") and last but not least, his first bounce!! Ric and BDA leave the plane and she hooks up with him and gives him a "kiss." They check alt., split , do a 360" and hook back up and repeat till about 4 or 5 grand where BDA "waves him off as to say dive over, go open chute now (get it?)" Well, dumdum does the 360" but is staring "UP!!!" in space looking for the love of the rest of his miserable life for another "Kiss!!" At the last second he sees the ground and attemps to go fetal. from the impact it appears that his knees and elbows hit first and the rest of him follows, face down. Good impact, not nothing out or even attempted. The ground was freshly plowed and it rained the previous 3 or so daze so all was ready. His indent was so clear you could even make out the 3-rings and the weave of the cloth from his clothes. He was wearing some kind of button front shirt. The buttons were the typical 4-holed type with 2 bartacs. When he hit, the compression fractured the top exposed button on the bartacs, and when they pulled him out, the outside parts of the button were left in the crater. I lurked them!!!!!!! One nigh when we were out drinking, I gave one of the pieces to my buddy "Red Beard" for safe keeping. The other part of the story is Doc Johnson and the plaster of paris. "A properly functioning mind (never mind the AAD) could have prevented this fatality. SCR-2034, SCS-680 III%, Deli-out