Airgump

i disagree! my little brother bought and ran several disposal wells over the last several years and just recently was bought out by chesapeake. before he got into the business, he and his father-in-law were damn near blowed to hell when lightning struck an oil tank on the well location. pretty much everything burned to the ground, but the well was shut in and nothing down hole was lost to the surface. none of his wells ever lost any fluid and were all inspected by the licensing agencies. all dykes and sumps were kept to spec and when one was hit by a tornado, nothing was lost that couldn't be sucked up with a vacuum truck and pumped into the replacement tank. weird/funny thing was the same reporter that chased my ambulance to hospital was the first one to show up at the location my brother was almost killed at. when the dip-shit reporter asked them if they worked at the site, his father-in-law looked around and said "not anymore!" conoco/phillips and exxon have become anal about safety since the time i first broke out into the oil patch. c/p's fields down in TX have gone well past 5 years without an accident of any type in the whole field. in the old days ('70's and 80's), dope and booze was common place. and with that came death and destruction. most of the knowledge boxes on the rig contained an eight-ball of coke, a mirror and razor blade. the drilling companies back then had shit for equipment and if the work didn't kill you, the equipment gotcha. since then safety is no joke in the patch! anyone at anytime can shut down about anything in the name of safety. the hands that work on the rigs are hair follicle tested for drugs and alcohol. safety meetings are held before every tour and before any major task on the rig like nippling up or laying down drill pipe. crews get safety pay for each hole they drill without a lost time accident. guess all of you professors respond with cartoons instead of intelligent conversation. all of you tree huggers need to buy obummer's electric cars, move into a cave, and leave the rest of us alone. your reply to my post reminds me a lot of bill von.

back in '92 i went to work for a well service company. my first day on the work-over rig we were sent out to repair the casing on a "salt water" disposal well. they (the residents around the well site) had complaints about some chemicals seeping and making its way to the surface. as we started work on the well, the channel 4 news chopper from OKC comes flying in and lands a few hundred yards from our work site and set up their cameras. the whole obamanation went south from that minute onward. we had a tank with some fairly heavy mud loaded with barite ready to pump down the well bore to "kill" the well while we took off the wellhead and install the blowout preventer. we laid the wellhead aside, picked up the stack and the spool that should have bolted up to the flange of the well head but was the wrong size. as we were reversing direction and setting the stack aside, and picking up the wellhead and first joint of tubing, we could see the mud level rising fairly quickly and bubbling like a rabid dog. we had the tubing made up and was lowering the wellhead into position when she "came to see us" (well started flowing). we a working in what we call the cellar. it's a concrete box about 4 or 5 foot square and about as deep around the well. in my time working in the oil fields i have seen my share of blowouts and wasn't too concerned. we unhooked the the winch from the wellhead and started to attempt to bolt the head back down. by this time, she was really blowing good and strong. the bolts wouldn't make up because the well was flowing with more pressure than we could offset. no big deal, we usually take a chain and boomer wrap it around the wellhead and flange and suck in down into place. when i returned to the cellar the well's flow had filled the cellar completely full of really black nasty fluid and was starting to reach the surface. we turned to the pump crew to get them to start pumping on the wellhead to kill the well again, but those hands had run away. on our second attempt to tighten the boomer on the chain, my driller passed out and went under. i grabbed him and pulled his head and shoulders above the surface. as i was trying (unsuccessfully) to get my driller out of the cellar, our derrick hand also went down and another hand and i grabbed him as well. if it wasn't for a couple people that were standing a few yards from the well, we'd all have died in that little hole in the ground. this was before cell phones so we had to get on the radio and try to get some help out there. it was roughly 20 minutes before the ambulances (3ea) showed up and loaded us all up and made the half hour drive to hospital. all of us were suffering from breathing problems and our capacities were diminished to various degrees. the news chopper beat us to hospital and when the ambulance doors opened there they were with cameras running. out we come flying two handed "screw you" gestures. (our family weren't even notified yet and these jerks are trying to flash our faces all over TV. the solution in our work clothes ended up making almost everyone in the ER ill, and we were stripped down and the clothing was sacked up and thrown outside. after a lengthy investigation by the state, it was determined that the casing integrity was compromised. that in itself was not enough to make us ill and was the primary reason for our being there. it was what this private owner had pumped down the "salt water only" well that damn near killed the lot of us. it was found that saltwater from some local H2S wells was pumped down it, as well as chemicals from an old air force base in burns flat, ok that the army corps of engineers disposed of illegally. the chemicals were what dissolved the pill that was pumped down to "kill" the well. had those chemicals not been in the well, we would have had plenty of time to reverse our direction before blowing out. had the pump hands not run away and left us behind, we could have pumped another pill, even though the well was running like a new buick, we would have still managed to kill it before it got out of the cellar. had the army corps of engineers followed through on where their waste products was disposed of, those chemicals would be elsewhere and "all" we had to deal with would have been the H2S, which would have killed us almost as quickly. as it turned out, myself and another hand were allowed to go home that evening after our blood gasses looked better, but the rest of my crew stayed overnight with two of them spending a couple days in hospital. this incident is just as inexcusable as boeing's 747 cargo door's design and their efforts to fix the problem. the well was killed by another crew and the well owner embarked on several years of legal battles for the damage he caused. i tried to google this incident, but nothing much since it happened before the world wide web was invented by mr. gore. this is the only link i can find to support my claim against the army corps and such. http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=19941474856FSupp618_11376.xml&docbase=CSLWAR2-1986-2006 the well owned by GW Harrel in Roger Mills county, Oklahoma was cemented and the surface was restored to green fields and farmland shortly after this incident by the state of oklahoma. i still feel like someone's steppin on my grave when i drive by that spot even today. just one of many brushes with the reaper that i came out on top.

the way i read the article she was in a 50/50 deal with discovery channel, in that case she lost treasure and she also lost the same amount of treasure for her sponsors. total loss $660M. i guess the anointed one won't be getting a bag full of $10.00 donations from her this campaign cycle.

maybe headhoncho can find a special place for ya in the forums or on the safety tab.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/05/07/losses-at-oprah-winfrey-own-reportedly-approach-330m/ Since she had such a dynamic role in getting the anointed one into office and "saving" the olympics, one can't help but think there may be some poetic justice or karma involved in this news story.

there are many H2S wells all over the US. we have our fair share of them in OK too. kind of funny when the locals start trying to shake down the oilmen/women (my sis is an industry engineer) on wells that have been contaminated for years before the oil field starts exploration and wouldn't ya know the second that derrick is laid over and the rig is hauled off the company finds itself being sued for the old well they had nothing to do with. kinda like the spray and pray antics that the ambulance chasers persue in skydiving that you're so fond of. gee methane found in a well, guess the only way that can get there is those evil, greedy, oil field hands. tar pits in downtown LA, man those guys must have had a time machine to pull that one off!!!

hey bill, haven't seen ya around the oil patch in the 30 odd years that i've been in and out of it. where did you get your petroleum engineering sheep skin from? might want to stick to your bailiwick of what ever it is you do. enclosed are two pics of the same well. you can throw a rock from the wellhead and hit either of these two houses. the well's been there for several years now and the water still is good to go. this well is about 1/2 mile from our water well and no effects there either. this is not the only well in this area either.

Zhills is the place whether a belly or freeflyer hands down. you can get muffed there too! awesome staff and the DZ is first rate all the way around. just try to stay out of the fire pit!!!!!!

take it from me, it's legal but expensive to play with turbines. call betsy at Eloy, tell her what you have in mind. in my case, playing with beer kegs in freefall, she assigned greg gasson as my project manager. i really can't say which was the most fun,,,,,making the jumps or the interface with folks like greg and betsy on a project that has never been done before. greg is awesome figuring fall rates. in our case we added about 60 pounds of sand to the keg in the picture. previous one has same weight but in water, that one damn near killed us on exit when it started to slosh side to side. here's one of sonic's pics of us getting out of the van, with our secondary camera man Ash White trailing us out of the plane.

Ash filled in for greg gasson shooting my second lift of my keg jump with kelly burton, phil liu, jeffro and myself. in his exuberance to burn a dvd immediately after the second jump, he ended up getting cross threaded with mike m., his boss, about using some company assets to get the video done up and onto the big screen at the bent prop. he got a butt chewing, but we got to watch the video over a few beers and freak out the budweiser delivery man when he saw us skydiving with a beer keg. you can see the second jump that ash filmed on my youtube channel under the user name airgump. thanks ash! for all of the good times that we had while i was passing thru eloy over the years you were there. keep pat m, debbie l, and johnny gates out of the cold beer until i get there. blue skies my brother! 4rust Gump

sounds like a job for "billy the exterminator" it would make a great "made for TV" episode! www.vexconinc.com

The reason Oklahoma is OK, is because we have trouble spellin medeokra only a couple months into a MN winter, wish i wuz back home in the land of gun shows and 3.2% beers.

RICK! going to try to get back down that way first week or so in Feb. will holler as that magical time approaches. waiting on new gear from Bonehead that should be done by the end of Jan, and had to send the brand new RW suit Tony made me back to get the booties enlarged to fit my huge freaking feets. got 27 inches of snow up here since i saw you last. this is one time i wish they'd lay me off

i still get email updates from the ranch, haven't been there in awhile, and am sad all this has come about (see attached .pdf). went down to the Keys Boogie this year and ended up spending more time out at Z-hills than I did at the Keys. can't wait to get back there and hang out with dem dere City Folks. miss you guys!

given the choice, Z-hills, perris, or eloy. not too psyched about what billy richards is doing to TK and Deland, so, my shadow probably won't be falling on the blue sky ranch anytime soon. spent most of this season down at skydive dallas before i got laid off that project and sent to this frozen tundra to finish up a telecom project.

typical great white north problem, wonder when these people get out the skis for the jump planes? forrest, forrest gump

'cause I can't get my car out of the motel parking lot. even if i could, they won't even let the snow plows on the road up here anymore. this state sucks butt! can't wait till this project is over and i can get out of here.

anything short of liberal can be over come!

maybe, enforce our borders?

Skydive minnesota has one of the sweetest C-182's that i've had the chance to jump. the grounds, hanger, and folks there are top shelf all the way. Though there is a tandem mill with a turbine aircraft about 30 miles closer to me, i would suggest driving the extra few miles and spend one's hard earned money at a place that has the most friendly people and treats their clients (whether a new or experienced jumper) as good as gold. Kelly and Nick run a first rate drop zone. you should get out there ASAP so you too can feel the vibe. gump

USA Field Artillery Officer OKARNG and ILARNG- '82-'88 forrest, forrest gump

talk to Jim Wallace when you get out to Perris. He has mega experience with "special" situations.

da "list" would look more professional if you used the same size font. forrest, forrest gump

I met Nick when he first showed up at Eloy. I didn't have a ride when I was there, so I made a lot of trips to the Wal-Mart at Casa Grande with him sitting in the passenger side of the old van he bought when he got the the states. At first he was amazed at the size of the place, but that quickly gave way to irritation when the checkout lady wouldn't take his passport to buy beer. It totally blew him away that he couldn't buy beer. Another time in Casa Grande with Nick and Leander (from Austria) when we were at the all you can eat chineese place. He was asked by one of the local rednecks what country was he from, when he replied "South Africa" the redneck wouldn't believe it and said as much to Nick. After a second of thought, he told the redneck that his mum bathed him in Clorox as a child and that was why he wasn't black. The redneck replied "that must have hurt," and Nick replied, "No not near as bad as when mum ironed my hair out straight!" I tried my best to keep from wetting my pants and from splitting my guts with insane laughter. Nick, thanks for making my second year in the sport so much fun! (wow, 5 years passes so quickly) The pints and good times we shared will be cherished memories all my life. You told me back in 2005 that you were going to be an instructor, and what an awesome one you became! Fly free, my brother and save a pint for me! BSBD, Dave "Gump" Williams

daaaaaaanm, the donkeys should ditch the lame fleetwood mac song that has been played endlessly since bill ran for prez and look in to ole john conlee. maybe he can change "rose colred glasses" to something along the lines of "these soft silken blinders" or something. maybe it's more like over exposure to him, his bad ideas and a total disregard for promises made. i think he needs to stay his ass home, turn off the teleprompter, roll his sleeves up and freaking work on getting something done. like maybe some jobs. funny how this clown is always late for press conferences, then beats us to death with his fascination with the word "I" but never once looks straight into the camera. the teleprompter must always be located well above the camera's line of sight and off to the left or right guess it's hard to look the american people in the eye when you're trashing their country and jet setting around the world apologizing for everything.