377

I don't know enough about Skyhooks, MARDS etc to add any comment of value but I did see some Skyhook cutaway demos at WFFC that took my breath away. Let's just say that the demo jumpers had absolute faith in the Skyhook. Had it not worked, that would have been their last jump ever. I had seen Stevens Cutaway System RSL deployments back in the day but they were nothing like the Skyhook. I had no idea that a reserve could be fully deployed so quickly after a cutaway. I am not a rigger but I am a patent attorney. If Bill cited and accurately described the prior art and still got his patent claims allowed, then he did invent a patentable improvement. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

At the 2005 WFFC I had a super slammer opening that broke several lines including one steering line. My main was a docile Triathlon 210 which was flying straight so I thought I'd just land it flaring with rear risers (had never done that prior). I was still above my hard deck and tried a right and left riser turn, no problem. I tried a rear riser flare which started just fine but transitioned suddenly into a violent right turn. WHOA! Tried it again, same result. Some kind of asymmetry caused by broken lines was creating weird and dangerous flare characteristics. CHOP CHOP. Hello PD 193R. Never assume that just because you can turn safely in a damaged canopy that you can also flare safely. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Pirate DZs. Pirate comm bands. Reserves that have not be I&R'd in years. There are always ways around "mandatory''. Many of the workarounds are crimes, but outlaws never think they will get caught. https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/survivalist-ssb-cb-freeband-channel-frequency-list/ There are more than a few unlicensed pilots in AK. No FAA ramp checks at the more remote strips. The USPA is tasked with herding ornery cats. It is a no win no matter what they do. When you have an org that represents "rugged individualists" dissatisfaction and criticism is inevitable. I've seen the exact same dynamic in commercial fishing orgs. Sure the USPA could improve, be less wasteful and bloated, etc. but I'll still renew as I have for decades. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

We have a match! Altitude Shop and Top Secret. Vallejo CA. Rock climbing and skydiving gear and a rigging lift in a downtown retail store. Unique. Miss the old days, but not the canopies. Soooo much better now. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Tapewells Extended B4 Stevens Cutaway System Chute Shack Western Parachute Supply Altitude Shop Mister Douglas Diaper KAP 3 Twill Sled Barish Snyder Acid Mesh TriConical Sailwing 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

When you still have any one of these: 1. Wind drift indicator. 2. MA-1 pilot chute. 3. Cotton canopy sleeve. 4. Altimeter stopwatch belly panel. 5. Balloon suit. When you know what any one of these is: 1. Cardinal Puff. 2. Capewell. 3. One shot. 4. B12. 5. McElfish. 6. Sentinel. 7. Pucker vent. 8. T-Bow. 9. Navy Conical. Please add to these lists in your replies. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

When the next oldest jumper on the load is 1/3 your age. When you mention Lodestar and the other jumper thinks it is some kind of RW formation. When your kid says "why do you even bother worrying whether some piece of gear will last 25 years?" When you pull a 42 year old Pope Valley $5 jump ticket out of your wallet and Bill Dause says: "It's still good here old timer." 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I am well aware of how the award works. And there was no long process needed to vet Douse, he had JUST been fined by the FAA almost half a million dollars. And my dues would not have to go up, raise the GM program fees. As for getting rid of the award, an award that means nothing is a waste of time. Let's get a few of the facts straight. Dause, not Douse. The FAA proposed a fine. Nothing has been paid by Mr. Dause except to his attorney. At the time of his award, he was a member in good standing, and met all the criteria set forth for the award. top I know Bill Dause has been the target of much criticism lately due to the double tandem fatality. I jumped at two of his DZs (Pope Valley and Lodi) and have personally seen him ban jumpers who did careless/unsafe things. To brand Bill as a person who does not care at all about safety just isn't accurate. I gladly pay my USPA dues. They do a lot of good work fighting for DZs rights to exist at airports that receive fed funding. The liability insurance that comes with membership is well worth the fee. Could they do a better job? Sure, but it's not a dysfunctional outfit. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Met Scotty for the first time at WFFC. Larger than life guy, so warm and welcoming. Had many a Carbone meal and every one was good. You not only got a great meal at a fair price, you also got Scotty who could spin a story like no other. He will be missed. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Hah! I am a huge Reggae fan. What kills me are the dreadlocked white boys at the concerts trying their best to sound street/yard Jamaican. There are even lessons online: http://theorangemango.com/how-to-talk-like-a-rasta/ https://jamaicanize.com/translate?text=you+fake+rasta Yah Mon. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Beatnik is a good friend of mine. I've given him some vintage gear and it's in good hands. He doesn't sell or flip donated stuff on eBay. He expertly restores rare stuff to jumpable condition. He is an FAA Master Rigger and does it right. He has taken some miserable but historically important gear and made it like new. Beatnik actually jumps a lot of the gear he collects. That sets him apart from most other collectors who may jump a PC or Cheapo now and then but wouldn't even consider jumping some of the more temperamental canopies. Some day he will catalog all his gear and put up an online museum. He's a full time active duty RCAF Captain and some things will have to wait for retirement. If you are thinking about donating (or selling) retro gear you couldn't find a better home for it. Beatnik is devoted to preserving and documenting historical parachute gear AND JUMPING IT! 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

USPA, like all such orgs, has become bloated and less efficient over the years, but it still serves a valuable function in lobbying to keep skydiving legal, affordable and hard to arbitrarily exclude from federally funded airports. The liability insurance is a good benefit. If, for example, you ding someone's vehicle on a landing, its covered. I'd join even if my DZ didn't require it. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Photognat wrote: That's really cool. Did you send anything to Parachutist? Nah. I think most skydivers find this nerdy activity a yawn compared to head down, wingsuits, swoops, CRW etc. Its primary appeal is to ham radio operators who get really stoked about the novelty. There are very few intersections between ham radio and extreme sports so that draws many to seek radio contacts with our jumpers and help out as ground crew. Hams really love the unique QSL cards. https://parachutemobile.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/hf-qsl-card.jpg Our team members have done some good work on live video. We have tried many combos of cameras and transmitters (440 MHz, 1.2 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8GHz), towed camera rig for canopy shots without a camera flyer, APRS physio telemetry (HR and blood O2 saturation), etc. Hopefully some of that tech stuff can benefit the larger skydiving community that isn't into ham radio. One surprising bit of data is our heart rates as reported by telemetry during the jump. I've been jumping since 1968 and figured that I wasn't really scared after so many years and jumps. WRONG. My resting heart rate is about 78 on a good day before coffee. I've seen it spike to 168 during jumps. Two peaks are seen, one after tossing the pilot chute and waiting for a good canopy, the other during the final landing approach. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

My son didn't want to wait in the car while I took my ham license exam so I invited him to sit for the test too. He (and I) had zero operating experience as neither of us had a ham license. I studied ahead of time and got lucky. I passed everything qualifying me for the top license, EXTRA class. My son, with ZERO prep, passed his TECHNICIAN class exam and got licensed. It's that easy. I've met a lot a wonderful people in ham radio but there are a few dickheads who can really ruin the experience. Ham radio operators get invited to work with law enforcement and firefighters providing backup comms in real and simulated emergency events. The dickhead hams like the "cop" aspect... they REALLY like it. Some go beyond the orange vest and try to dress like SWAT. A few even drive black Crown Vics with various antennas hoping they will be perceived as unmarked undercover. Believe it or not there is a market for ham radio operator badges that look similar to a real police badge. https://www.google.com/search?q=ham+radio+badge&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1674&bih=864&tbm=isch&imgil=F_JxQb2-7L02sM%253A%253B3wawmztkP5FqaM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.reddit.com%25252Fr%25252Famateurradio%25252Fcomments%25252F2y439h%25252Fham_radio_badge%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=F_JxQb2-7L02sM%253A%252C3wawmztkP5FqaM%252C_&usg=__ubOvKhkPGQ-fUxq5B7ed5MlPlO8%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjjxanyj9bOAhUO9WMKHf3GAV0QyjcIKw&ei=soO7V-OkHo7qjwP9jYfoBQ#imgrc=F_JxQb2-7L02sM%3A https://www.google.com/search?q=ham+radio+cop+uniform&safe=off&biw=1734&bih=864&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi426bdktbOAhUL62MKHToyCrsQ_AUIBygC#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=ham+radio+uniform&imgrc=SYBwoxf9d2lYtM%3A Now that I've vented, I still like ham radio a lot. Two weekends ago I communicated with hams in Japan from under canopy in CA. It was a hop and pop from 13.5 to give max hang time for radio comms. They LOVED IT. I got a nice note from one who said "his [mic PTT] finger was still shaking". Good times. https://parachutemobile.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/qst-pm-article.pdf https://parachutemobile.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/dsc_0203_1.jpg 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Accumac wrote: Unless everyone is licensed stay out of the Ham Bands it is illegal and heavily policed. The FCC doesn't do much enforcement in hams bands unless someone is doing something really egregious. Ham bands are mostly policed by ARRL appointed band cops (so called Official Observers, with no real legal authority) some of whom are frigging COP WANNABE MORONS. ALL of the people talking in my ham skydiving group are licensed. We identify with callsigns only every ten minutes as the law requires. At other times we just use descriptive names like Jumper 1, Drop Zone, etc. So this ARRL OO comes on, listens for a minute or two and assumes we are unlicensed ham band intruders. Demands that we immediately identify ourselves with FCC callsigns. We ask him to standby, we are in the middle of a jump, but tell him we are ALL licensed. He then proceeds to JAM US. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I belong to a club that combines ham radio with skydiving. Most of our comms are done under open canopy but I've experimented with freefall comms. Here are some general conclusions about suitable mics. The radio part is fairly easy if you use simplex. Duplex (both can talk and listen simultaneously, like on a telephone) is harder. We use ham radio frequencies and can do cross-band duplex on 144 and 440 MHz. but there are many license free options including FRS, MURS and .1 watt FCC Part 15 ops. Throat Mics: forget about it. Tried MANY including military ones and all had terrible intelligibility. "Mushy" describes it. Rare Dynamics Mics: Bought a used pair and they are VERY VERY good mics, but IMO not worth the new price. OK, I admit it, I am a cheapskate. There is no E-magic, no active noise cancellation or any equalization circuitry, just a really great mic element. I figured they must have just rebranded someone else's element but so far I cant find anything that substantiates my hunch. It may be 100% made by them. O2 Mask Mics Great value if you can find the right ones. Look for "quick don" emergency O2 masks on eBay. They have a cage framework that allows pilots to slam them on fast if cabin pressure is lost. Nelson has several models with high quality internal mics. These masks cost over a thousand new but are cheap on eBay. They come out of boneyards from obsolete airliners. The mics are gold plated and give audio that is 85% as good as Rare Dynamics at about 5% of the price. Inside a full face helmet any high quality mic will do an OK job. It is important to mechanically isolate the mic from the helmet shell which vibrates and can add a lot of noise. Suspending it on compliant foam helps. Good tips in general: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Reducing_noise This company makes some big claims for their INVISIO headsets, even mentions suitability for freefall comms. I've not used their products: http://teaheadsets.com/index.php/invisio.html?mode=list Pay attention to impedance matching. Sometimes you will need a transformer between the mic and the input circuit. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Tony Pit Special suit is well designed and flies great but: I had serious color runs in a cold water wash. Two zipper pulls have broken off without abusive handling. The main front zipper failed after only 16 months (about 35 jumps) and getting it replaced was expensive. Tony refused to fix anything free or even for a reasonable price. I got my zipper replaced locally with a better quality zipper for far less than Tony Suits wanted. I'm not sure they used the best quality zippers at the time mine was manufactured. Maybe that has changed. Hope so. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I'll never forget the kindness of a bunch a RW hotshots at Elsinore who in 1973 pushed a visiting low skills kid (me) onto a DC 3 and built a 13 way star around me. Not only that, they followed up with an SCR sign up sheet and I got the patch. It was quite a canopy show after opening. Mostly squares, a couple of PCs and me under my 1951 vintage surplus orange and white candy striped C9 round. When I returned to my DZ (Pope Valley) the locals thought I had stolen the SCR. They knew my RW skills. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Would have been nice to have one of these to provide real time winds aloft data: http://www.detect-inc.com/profiler.html http://www.ofcm.gov/r14/pdf/chap2.pdf For a while the Navy had something similar operating at Marina CA near the Skydive Monterey Bay DZ. Its results were posted live online and were quite useful. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

What worries me is what the next skydive-related mega stunt will have to do in order to attract serious commercial sponsorship. Luke's risk was extremely high. Perfection required, no plan B. The next one will have to top Luke's stunt. How far can it go before we see a fatal outcome? Sure glad he made it. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Roger tower, 377 will hold short. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

http://www.skydivemontereybay.com/skydive/pricing/ Priority boarding and the rest of the "VIP package" adds $140 to the cost of a tandem jump!!! Good grief. When are they going to sell business class or first class jumpship seating? And a special airport/DZ lounge for those who fly up front? Where does the fleecing stop? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Great article. Congratulations! I own some "C list" rigs and it really hasn't been much of a problem. I have 3 rigs and all of them are orphans: Reflex Eclipse NARO You can get airworthy spare parts if needed, just takes some searching. The only hassle I had was when I had to do a cutaway from my Eclipse and lost the freebag. Took a little searching but I found a good one at a fair price, Turns out that a Vector bag would have been legal too. I wouldn't trade my Eclipse (with hip rings) for any other. It is hands down the most comfortable rig I've ever jumped and I've tried many. The best advice to a gear hungry newby is WAIT. Rent or borrow for a while. It's too easy to buy the wrong thing when you are green and dying to own your own rig. Also you may be hustled by sellers who will prey on your lack of knowledge and push really janky overpriced outdated stuff. Wait, cool down, get advice from trusted colleagues and riggers who aren't trying to sell you anything. 377

In researching this assn I found this unrelated but interesting article from the Sept 29 1940 issue of the Milwaukee Sentinel. It's about civilians participating in a "volunteer parachute jumping course". See attached. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

See attached photo taken from October 1950 FLYING magazine. What was this group? Never heard of it before. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.