psychoswooper

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Everything posted by psychoswooper

  1. Bump: 5 teams confirmed.. A few "stray " people who may try to put together a 6th. 1 more back-up camera flyer lined up. Lots of food, including BBQ, Honey baked ham, fried turkey & some vegetarian fare, Keg of beer. Huge bonfire. Oh yeah & of course those $15 jumps. And weather forcast says 75 degrees !!
  2. Hey Brie, you should just skip that "walking" thing on Saturday & come play Or if that's not possible, at least come out to the party Saturday night.
  3. Just Saturday & Sunday. But hopefully we can get wheels up by 9:30 Sat at the latest.
  4. We're probably gonna have 5 & maybe 6 teams . Looks like our only weak link could be a shortage of video guys So..any camera flyers that want to come play? BTW there will be a keg. Also, Bad Bobby who is administering the poker "run" game..is very agreeable to accepting bribes. And don't forget the gift exchange thingy. Bring 2 wrapped. One not over $5. The other a gag or something practical, leftover from your house, whatever.
  5. I have a few definitions: You feel it all the way down to your feet. It either knocks you out of whack, or puts you back in. You begin cussing immediately after opening.
  6. What , me ? Play? Must not have gotten my PM...I'm probably gonna shoot video for one of ya teams.....Of course, I am Sooooo bribe-able if someone needs a re-jump.... Maybe Dawn or Kim Rad will play....& there's always Tom B..... I'm seriously considering no Tandems that weekend but imagine this...the staff wants to work What's wrong with them boys?
  7. Oh yeah.. I forgot to add...We're also trying to take up a collection for our injured friend Allyson..so maybe with a little of the $$ people save they'll pitch in a bit. I hear the tree people may be there :)
  8. We have been doing Tandem/IAF progression at our DZ for about 10 years now. We still offer AFF for those that really want it. But we try to encourage Tandem Prog. because our experience has been that it works better & produces more relaxed students. Our 3 Tandems are silmilar to what you listed. However our 1st non-Tandem is a no-release dive. (Basically a 1 I AFF level 1) This allows the I to access the students fall-rate prior to release. Also the students are very relaxed because there is nothing new during freefall. Actually most students are anxious about flying the parachute alone & not-at-all worried about the freefall. Our AFF students are anxious about the freefall & not worried about flying the parachute. Who'da thunk?? We use BOC deployment & simulate this on Tandem by having them grab & actually throw away styrofoam balls (available at Walmart) that are the same size & placed in aprox the same location as a BOC. So there is no real transistion in deployment process. Most common problems (Tandem leftovers) are Feet up for landing which has already been mentioned & they usually need a little "legs out" on that 1st jump off of Tandem. Other than that it's smooth sailing. We technically require 5 IAF jumps but regularly "graduate" jumpers with 4 because they have met all the yellow card manuevers for solo jumping. I like you have the good fortune to have extremely experienced AFF I's, but I think anybody who "earned" their rating should have no problem with this program. PS: We try our best to have the students 3rd Tandem be with a dual-rated Tandem /AFF I. preferably the one who will accompany them on their 1st non-tandem whenever possible.
  9. Once did 4 Drop Zones in 4 different countries (France, Switzerland, Spain, USA) on 2 different continents in one week. But it was actually more fun road-tripping a bunch of Florida DZs in a few days. Homestead, Titusville, Umatilla, Deland & Palatka.
  10. School of Human Flight in Quincy Florida aka skydivetallahassee.com is having a Christmas Party the weekend of Dec 16th & 17th. No registration fee. All King Air jumps will be $15 cash price. to 12.5 .all weekend. There will also be FREE food. and Plenty to drink as always. A Poker jump game where you get a card for each jump & the top 3 hands win free jumps. Also a gift exchange, bring 2 draw 2. ($5 limit) Check out the website news for more details.
  11. QuoteNo It was intended (apperently never used) as a secondary reserve handle, I personally know of 2 cases of the ball being used . And these were pre-Cypres days, so 4 fatalities were averted. You can see my post about them on the " skyhook downsides" thread
  12. From Bill Booth: So, you really don't have to make a choice between the Skyhook and the Crystal Ball. Besides, does anyone know of a Tandem Instructor who actually used the Crystal Ball to save his life?" To Bill: Yes I do. First case: Tom Manning, Homestead FL: pre-CYPRES days. Single droque release days: Exited Cessna with a large female psgr. Upon exit his left arm hit the strut & became severly dislocated. Physicaly unable to reach the reserve ripcord, His only option was to pull the ball. He talked her through flying & landing the canopy. The landing was not pretty, but luckily the landing area was foot & a half deep plowed dirt...saving their butts on landing. 2nd Case: Castellon Spain. TE Marc Bonneu training new TM Serge Savin. Older style rig with no CYPRES, One drogue release & pillow-handles.. Uneventful droque fall. Followed by spinning main malfunction. Tm can't cutaway because handle is tightly folded back under MLW. Goes for reserve & has same scenario. Keeps trying to get to reserve handle. Pair gets so low that the witnesses on the ground can clearly hear what the 2 are screaning back & forth to each other. Serge remembers the ball just as Marc starts screaming "pull the ball, the ball"(in French) They crash into a huge thicket of bushes with the reserve slider about 3/4 of the way down & walk away from it.
  13. Hmm, shouldn't the building have neatly collapsed in upon itself by now?? Must have been better construction materials than the other three .
  14. Blue. Has anyone else noticed as I have over the years that a disproportionate (compared to the general population) number of skydivers have blue eyes.? I have also noticed this amongst aviators in general. Just check it out next time you get on board a jump plane. I would almost bet that more than half of the jumpers will be blue eyed.
  15. In the 3rd example just HOW exactly do the risers go all the way through the slider grommets? You're not thinking it through.
  16. I'm sure I've got several videos of him doing that in my old box of Palatka videos. As well as a hilarious video of his drunken butt dancing & singing "get on down...like a luvin machine" Those WERE the days
  17. I learned to jump in Homestead FL back in the early 80's I definately remember that term & I definately remember being a Zoomie as well. I understood it to refer to beginners whose skills weren't quite up to speed yet, so they zoomed past their intended slots & even sometimes zoomed all over the sky.
  18. Take a beer with you in case you get thirsty. It's a joke folks.
  19. 1. Can wet lines get into tension knots easier than dry ones ? 2. What other problems can a wet reserve get into ? 3. How wet can a reserve get before a repack is required ? 4. Is it routine is it for swoopers to jump "totally wet" reserves on quick turnarounds in a competition ? 1st off, my condolences to all involved, this is sad. Now, some thoughts that I have had: Asymmetrical openings can cause all kinds of problems, including tension knots. Water is heavy & can be absorbed unevenly throughout the canopy causing a variation in permeability with some lines or parts of a wet canopy opening at different rates.(Think: heavier lines or fabric on 1 side vs the other for example) IMHO a wet reserve pack job should be void until opened and inspected,. I would be interested in knowing what the manufacturers have to say about the airworthiness of their reserves when wet and whether or not it is permissible for them to be used as reserve parachutes in such a condition.
  20. "Super Dave" Garrett has taken a double above knee amputee at our DZ. I believe his inseam was about 10 inches. He was about 3'8"tall & weighed about 160-170 if my memory is correct. When he first called the DZ he mentioned that he was handicapped. Then went on to say that he was a double above knee amputee, missing part of one arm, the other arm didn't work & he couldn't see out of one eye. I laughed & said, "yeah sure, come on...who is this?", thinking it was a friend joking around. But he was for real & we were able to do the jump after spending a great deal of time (hours)figuring out if and how we could do it safely. Several of the TMs at our DZ had experience taking quads & paras, always adding additional straps. We added a few additional straps to keep things in place ( legstraps & shoulder area) & the jump went very well. I will try to obtain the video from the cameraman (it was a few years ago) & make it available to help others. In light of the recent accidents, I would not recommend attempting this by any but the most experienced TMs who also have extensive experience taking lesser handicaped individuals. Even then, you must be 100% sure that the harness and or additional straps will contain the passenger for the duration of the skydive. And that the helpers (because you will need them ) also thoroughly understand how the harness must be situated at every point & how their movements can affect the harness positioning.
  21. The first PCIT I ever saw, the pin had actually separated from a worn bridle attachment point. In that case, Pulling on the bridle would have no effect other than to waste altitude.
  22. psychoswooper

    06 VW GTI

    I have a 2005 1/2 Jetta TDI (basically a 2006 released mid -05) It is awesome. I love everything about it. I really & truly have gotten 40-42 mpg average over the 1st 10,000 miles, combined city & hwy & I fly on the hwy. I previously had a 03- Jetta. Right now my TDI is in the shop-- no problems just having some cool stuff added...bike rack etc.. So the dealer loaned me an 06 GTI. Holy Cow! I'm glad I don't own it because I would definately be racking up the tickets. I love the fuel economy of the TDI but the GTI 2.5 gets up & goes like mad.
  23. But sweet Mary, I live in South Georgia, we still use black and white TV's, Thermal fax machines. and marry our cousin's............ Eve is your cuzin ? Man that changes everything]
  24. QuoteSeems really weard that you ARE MAKING ACCUSATIONS about something with out asking the person you are accusing. I did ask the person, (the friend) The rig owner blames the "friend", The "friend" blames the rig owner. Somebody is lying to me. Somebody forged my signature- more than once. Both can't be telling the truth, unless they took turns forging
  25. So, a jumper brings me his reserve to repack. There on the data card are 3 of my signatures. Only problem is, they're Not my signatures. Turns out he had been giving his rig to his "good buddy" to bring to me for repacks. He had been returned a rig with a forged signature & no repack. Hey what are friends for? Forgot to ask if he actually handed over the $$ for the "repacks" or if his "Good buddy" took the "bonus point" approach by claiming to have "taken care of it" for his friend since his friend had often loaned him the rig. Then the owner recently was returned his rig, reserve unpacked, because it had been loaned to another jumper who had to deploy what was now my -at least 2 year old- pack job. (the last one that was real) Sorry just had to vent a little.