rmarshall234

For my Skydiving career, a safe jump always constituted one that would allow me to pack up and make another...being dead only makes that marginally more difficult than having a bone sticking out of your jumpsuit or a foot on backwards. Yes there have always been injuries but to my uneducated eye, there sure seems to be a whole lot more hospital visits than there were 30 years ago...even taking into account the increased membership numbers. Perhaps on a pie chart the sport may have become somewhat less lethal but it certainly seems to be much more hazardous. I think if you believe the sport is 'safer' than 20-30 years ago... you're not looking at the whole picture. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I agree whole heartedly with Airtwardo and would add: The reason this is not common knowledge is that the numbers of people paralyzed and maimed are not counted and therefore not represented in the statistics. Sure, we've been killing about 20-30 people per year in the sport for as long as I’ve been around too, but how many have had their life irreparably altered because of a canopy flight. Until this gets acknowledged and the education of canopy pilots catches up to the progression of the wing, the trend will continue. Take all of the risks you want to folks, but do so with a firm understanding of the flight characteristics and limitations of the modern parachute and in particular, the variability of the air mass in which we fly. Pick up a related book and read it, take a flying lesson in an aircraft, study the atmosphere or physics. Anything to further your knowledge and make you a safer skydiver and canopy pilot. It will advance you personally, and will advance the sport as well.

What is more concerning in my mind is the number of people not on that list who are now paralyzed, missing limbs, or broken to the point that they will never be as active as they once were. There is no record of those individuals that I'm aware of, yet their fate was sealed by the same issue Michael seems to be making - which is largely ignored by the skydiving industry: The performance of the modern parachute has far outpaced the average canopy pilot's ability to control it safely.

Damn,..Jim Fee. He was the ASO at Perris in 79 and grounded me because the bridle on my (first) rig was only 8 feet and (deemed) too short. I relayed the story to him many years later and we both laughed. His twin brother lives on as Pilot Examiner Sweed Gamble, out of Ramona. If you ever run into him say.. "Hey Jim Fee, how ya doing?". He'll give you a perplexed look and say "damn, why do people keep calling me Jim Fee, who is that guy anyway?". Rest in peace, Jim Fee.

This is probably not news to many of you but... I'd like to recognize Para Phernalia and Jim Culler in particular, for their incredible rigger support and service. I've dealt with Jim on a couple of occasions and he has always gone out of his way to answer my questions and provide material so I can service my customers. My mentor encouraged me to contact the manufacturer when I had rigging questions and she was absolutely right. It's always been a good experience.

I believe the best Instructors demonstrate a sense of calm in freefall. Busy hands, too many signals, over-controlling a student - these are all demonstrations of an Instructor's own anxiety. Students (not unlike children) are quick to pick up on these things. Be calm and demonstrate your calm and good things will follow. That's what I believe.

Born. And then, they are made into good swoopers. They have natural talent to begin with but in particular, they have good instincts. And sensitivity, and keen levels of observation. And humility. And in-the-beginning..some measure of luck. But above all, they are adaptive and _smart_. I watched Jonathan Tagle make the transition, he personifies all of this.

Never jumped a Strato Star (that i remember) but Bobby Smith let me jump his Strato Flyer a couple of times as a means of cozying up to my sister. It was free packed and opened with a KA-POW. Man, that guy was tough.

My buddy Don Mullenix asked me to post this thoughtful expression of Shindig... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I never attended any of the farewells for my fellow skydivers in the last few years. Between losses in my family and those in the skydiving family it has been very hard. When shindig and I jumped on the team together I was always calmed be his experience but motivated by his energy. He always got us to laugh and never held back when we asked his opinion. To this day I tear for his leaving as well as others who have left. I only hope that they are at peace.

Most Excellent!! Fly on, brothers.

Yep. I hope those two kids grow to understand what a special man their father was.

If not for Rick Horn and Don Mullenix, I would not have made it through the AFF Jumpmaster Course. Rick for working with us before hand (the original pre-course) and Don for keeping things light and me relaxed. Rick set really high standards and made you adhere to them. I have tremendous respect for him because of that. I applaud him also, for controlling his destiny in the sport and getting out when he did. Rest in peace, my man.

Very nice, Martin. Thanks for sharing. Is that the same Yo-yo, crazy Italain I used to work with at Elsinore? Fly free Chris...you were a good guy and will be missed. Condolences to all my friends at Otay. Robert M.

I only had her for two jumps and she left two impressions: She seemed very competent and she made it FUN! I remember that hat too.

She put me out on my very first jump. A static line, gutter gear, Cessna 182 jump at Perris Valley in Oct of 78. W. Ski and Doo-da taught the FJC the weekend prior, but we were winded and came back the following weekend and jumped with her. There were 56 of us in that FJC and we were originally going to go out of the DC-3. With characters like these, it's no wonder I fell in love with the sport. Blue skies - Audrey F. Jackman I-78.

As far as material selection and construction go, and stagged deployment with cotton break cord and BAT slider, I've been particularly impressed with the Butler 450 Lopo. They demonstrated it at 345 lbs and 180 Knots. Seems like a reasonable choice for those Big Boys flying the MX and Extra 300's. Does anyone have any personal experience with this rig? It may not be the fastest opening PEP, but it sure looks strong. I understand they make a 550 as well.

That's a great story. As I'm reading down I'm also thinking "don't key the mic". What a predicament....lots of fuel, lots of O2, and praying the final leg of the triangle doesn't enter the equation. As to your previous mention of Sean Tucker being arguably the best airshow performer, no argument here. Aside from leaving his aircraft on occasion, I understand he's also broken a dozen crankshafts. He has a hilarious story and video of taking a coed up on an Acro flight when he lost one of them. The guy's amazing.

You might also want to mention the importance of flow in regards to egress. This was taught to us in air racing school: GLASS CLASP and YOUR ASS Glass being the plexiglass canopy and clasp is the seat belt. As with the FAR’s, this was also written in blood. The idea is that you don’t want to release the seat belt, only to find that you can’t now release the canopy and are left with one option - a forced landing without seat belt protection. It’s happened before. Certificated aircraft are better, but when you start looking at some of the experimental stuff with one-off canopy designs, this becomes a real issue.

Holy Shit !! Is that from the Test Drop Incident? Buy that pilot another beer. For me. I'll pay you back when I see you next. As I heard the story...he brought you and Joe AND that aircraft back to the ground safely.

I have been very fortunate to work with many extremely talented and passionate Instructors through the years but there have been a few others that (although managing the safety aspect of the jump) were doing a disservice to the "teaching" aspect of AFF. I believe this is primarily why we are there...to "teach" students to one day be fully responsible for their own safety. Over controlling the student is a detriment to the learning process for many reasons, only one of which is because it causes student/instructor alienation. As I mentioned in a previous post...congratulations for taking control of your own student progession.

Yeah it was awesome, one of my most memorable jumps. You guys pulled out all the stops to make it safe, educational, and enjoyable. Not saying I wasn't scared too.....one would be foolish not to be. A sad day indeed, I left ELS to drive over the hill and pick up Bob's car and return it home. I remember Pat as well, nice job saving him. Btw, a possible addendum to your tag line....'but you can teach it a lesson every now and again".

Chubby was a good thing as I recall....It was minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit at altitude and we were so layered with clothing I felt like the Michelin Man. Attending the Chamber training at Edwards AFB and making the jumps at APV was a tremendous experience and education. Sparky, is the jumper in the right forward seat of the King Air Bob Smethurst by any chance?

Judy and I brought a couple of -relatively newbie- jumpers from Brown Field out to APV about that time and their experience was profound. A dozen years later, they still talk about the exceptance, joy, fun, and good laughs that Apple Valley offered up....unconditionally. Too many to mention; but Joe, Rose, Mike, Rich, Tim, Paco, Jim, and Pat come to mind. Blue skies to all....you did good work. rm

"And I dare say it wasn't just me, there are wholesale generations of us!" ----------------------------------------------------------- You can include me in that group. It was The Art of Freefall Relative Work that hooked me, and then United We Fall reeled me in. The explanations, photos and stories inside, allowed me to keep my head in the clouds through the mundane activities of the week until I could return to the (actual) sky and clouds the following weekend. Those are some of the best memories of my life and I still have the tattered pages of those two books tucked away somewhere. Congratulations Pat, on your longevity in the sport and contributions you've made, and a host of "good decisions" to have allowed you to make it through 50 years! Robert Marshall

There is not substitute for a good foundation. What you learn in these first 20 or so jumps will set the stage for the kind of skydiver you will become. Follow your instincts. Congrat's on doing your homework/research instead of just "showing up" at the local DZ and stepping into the tide.

> It would give them a sense of our vulnerability on the road ------------------------------------------------------------ "Vulnerability", yes. The best -single word- I've come up with as well. Riders are fully exposed on a 500 lb machine and drivers are fully protected in a 2 ton vehicle.