rmarshall234

Sweeet! I helped train her up as a student and she had the right stuff from the beginning. Go Angie! Skydiving will be better for it.

Hi Scott - I also, have moved on to other pursuits and rarely spend time on this site. Your posting is a breath of fresh air in these trying times. When you first brought your Flight-1 canopy courses to Elsinore I attended and then you and Jonathan Tagle made me one of the instructors. I taught Flight-1 canopy courses at Elsinore in 05 and 06 before moving on to instruct at Perris Valley thereafter. Your program and your instruction were a game-changer for canopy flight instruction. I felt it at the time, and it is easy to say so now in retrospect. I saw the learning transition occur repeatedly and in real time with new and older students alike. Your program was so fundamental, and timely, and changed people's canopy flying skills in the course of a single day. Even students with thousands of jumps like myself. As in all good instruction, it took people out of their comfort zone to where real learning takes place. Especially, the "long spot" jump. Yes, kudos to you, and the jump pilots and DZOs (and even the instructors) that took the risk. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" as they say. As before with your selfless instruction and words of wisdom, I take your message to heart. All the best and blue skies, Robert Marshall

Cosmic, Send me your address and I'll send you my copy. I have The Art of Freefall Relative work too and a few other old-time skydiving books you will like. You can have them all.

Yes. And good leadership too. There are no good choices and some will always be disappointed but Perris made a firm decision, communicated it exceedingly well, stuck with their choice until circumstances changed, and now are making a measured return to normal. Or whatever the new normal will be. Very professional.

I don't come around here much anymore but wanted to recognize Perris and Dan BC in particular, for their Covid 19 pandemic response. Not just with decision making but _communication_ as well. This is the most challenging time for our generation and there really are no "good decisions" given the circumstances, but I think Perris and Dan BC have really risen to the occasion and have done a very admirable job. All the best with the reopening!

It's good to see John Mitchell be recognized in the Profile section of this month's Parachutist magazine. And, good to know a little more of his background. I've never met him (except possibly at the T-Mobile demo in SF.?) but have always been impressed by his presence here on DZ.com. He always seems to be measured, supportive, kind and helpful, and quite knowledgeable. Plus, as an Air Traffic Controller - a pilot's best friend! Way to go John Mitchell!

When I was working at Perris years ago I had a few opportunities to jump the jet - one of them paid for by a buddy - and I kept saying no. And interestingly, I have no regrets now. It always seemed just a little too sketchy for me...neither the airplane nor the pilots got exercised much, the runway was incredibly narrow for the gear and wingspan, the Take Off over town looked really low and fast, etc. "Just get me high enough to jump" wasn't working for me. I'm sure I would have been fine if I had made the flight - one almost always is - but I've always listened to my gut on these kinds of things. Even against peer pressure. Kind of like the time at Eloy when I was the only person (one of 44 people) who got off the DC3 prior to TO because the left engine wasn't making full power on the 1st TO attempt. Turns out that was a revenue-producing maintenance flight. Everything turned out fine on that one as well, but I was the only person who made the right decision that day.

>What's the best way to practice packing? With a Professional Rigger watching over your shoulder. Find a local rigger and ask if you can practice packing in their loft. You can do your thing and develop practice and muscle memory, and they can do their thing - rigging and paying the bills - and provide oversight and guidance as you go. Pay Them For Their Time. It will take practice and repetition, but with the right amount of guidance, you'll both come out winners in the end.

"At home in her sleep"... That's a kind and gentle way to go for such a kind and gentle person. She was a sweetheart, I always enjoyed being around her. Rest peacefully, Linda.

Bobby Smith let me jump his Strato Flyer at Perris in 1980. The opening and landing were both _Rock hard_ and we were both little guys. I had a ton of respect for him after that jump!!

>But remember I can think of only two.properly constructed harnesses that have failed in my 40 year career. Councilman, was it the stitching that failed or the actual webbing? If the webbing, type 7 or 8? Anything noteworthy you can recall?? Thanks!

And I have couple non-diapered C9s in great condition which I pulled out to replace with new Strong 30 ft Lopos. :-) I'll make someone a good deal if interested.

I will ask Allen - thanks. Anybody have contact info for Bob Celaya? If so, please PM me.

Anybody know someone in the CA/AZ area that can inspect/service a Martin Baker "hot" ejection seat? I have a customer that is looking for someone. I thought of Mike Owens or Bob Celaya, but don't have contact info for them.

And to add.... This was the Ala Doble (double wing) Ranch in Esparto, west / northwest of Sacramento.

Any Old Dogs here that attended the fly-ins at the Vern Dallman ranch in Northern California in the 90s? Old Yolo or Pope jumpers? One of my rigging customers mentioned this to me, and it sounds like one of those "you had to be there" type of experiences. If you were there, I'd love to hear the stories. With all the aerobatic flying going on, there must have been some skydiving too.?

>I am seeking a serious mentor/friend who is willing to help me to continue to progress in my skydiving career. Good for you. And good luck! I wish someone had made a well spoken, well informed, and well thought out request like this to me, when I was still active. It feels good to give back to someone who is appreciative - and you sound like that kind of person. Blue skies.

>Unfortunately most of you folks won't be able to offer an informed opinion, but a few will. I have quite a few jumps on a Turbo Z 165 loaded at 1:1 and still have it. It was / is a good canopy and fun to fly. It's been awhile since I've jumped it but the one thing that sticks out in my mind is how quick the toggles turns were. And it seems like the lines were long - in comparison. It always felt like these two characteristics would make it easy to self-induce a malfunction by being too aggressive with the toggles. Am I remembering this correctly? Mine is still in great shape and if I ever start jumping again I will put it back into service.

And V-Tapes for line attach points. And a half-stow diaper. Flakes, folds and packs just as easily as the Midlite. I'm stoked, a replacement for the obsolete C-9 (my post from a few years ago).

This would be the new Strong 30 ft Lopo. I just installed one today in a mdl 306. Very impressive. It's rated for 300lbs @ 175 kts. I thought it would be a scaled up 26ft Midlite but it's got some interesting features. An extended skirt, and, when flaked out on the packing table it doesn't appear to be a true conical shape. There is camber, as viewed from apex to skirt. I wonder if this improves the inflation speed.?

I understand the argument and it's probably a good one but consider this: Every time the pilot does a preflight -which is required by the regs- he is certifying that the aircraft is airworthy. The same thing doesn't apply in skydiving....there isn't always a Certificated Individual on the hook, passing the liability from hand-to-hand for that particular flight (jump). Where did you get that? A preflight does not certify anything except the pilot is willing to fly it. There is no sign off for a preflight.There are so many things a pilot can not see or never been trained for that could kill them that doesn't show on a preflight. Rental pilots never even see the sign off for the annual or 100 hour unless they are taking a check ride. §91.7 Civil aircraft airworthiness. (a) No person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in an airworthy condition. (b) The pilot in command of a civil aircraft is responsible for determining whether that aircraft is in condition for safe flight. The pilot in command shall discontinue the flight when unairworthy mechanical, electrical, or structural conditions occur. The broader point however, is that with pilots and airplanes the FAA always has someone they can go after, a Certificate they can pull. Not so with skydivers.

I understand the argument and it's probably a good one but consider this: Every time the pilot does a preflight -which is required by the regs- he is certifying that the aircraft is airworthy. The same thing doesn't apply in skydiving....there isn't always a Certificated Individual on the hook, passing the liability from hand-to-hand for that particular flight (jump).

you might want to edit one more time to remove the part about "pencil packing", i'm pretty sure that's a violation of the CFRs but don't know the number offhand..

>Any suggestions? Rigging is very much about trust. Once people learn to trust you they'll start using your services. You can start with your friends (who trust you already) and offer them a free repack (people love free stuff) and once their friends find out you're rigging and get an endorsement from your friend they will likely start using you as well. It will take time so you might want to keep your day job for now.

>Ted Turner: 'Early to bed, early to rise; work like hell & advertise.' Nice quote, Jerry!