SkymonkeyONE

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Posts posted by SkymonkeyONE

  1. I"m a HUGE fan of doing tandems in booty suits, but have gotten out of the habit over the last year and a half just because it's so damn hot where I live now (AZ and TX before that). Tony will make you some booty pants with EXTREMELY durable leather knees and butt if you ask.

    Chuck

  3. mccordia

    Just order a black wingsuit, and stand around in it for 10 minutes and it will be hotter than hell the day Hitler arrived!



    You speaketh the TRUTH!

  4. Todd is a great young man. He's been out here to Coolidge a few times and I witnessed him in the tunnel, during his AFF, and just yesterday landing from his 14th or 15th jump at Eloy. His canopy control skills are excellent and he's done everything in freefall ever asked of him. Again: he's a great guy.

    Chuck

  5. I've had a PRO card since the program started and I think everyone owes it to themselves to get qualified, particularly if they are in the business of training others. I also think it's a good idea to compete in canopy piloting competitions, at least at the local level. I competed at the pro/open level for five years and it was a tremendous experience. You owe it to yourself to get as qualified as possible.

    On that note, I don't think non-PRO-rated swoopers who do not possess AFF tickets have any business teaching basic canopy control to students. Just my opinion.

    Chuck
    AFF/SL/TM-I, PRO, S&TA, PFC/E, MMPCI, etc, etc, etc.

  6. I ALWAYS pull my slider down over my brakes before I remove it. I have NEVER in TEN YEARS had my rings "fly up" my risers or cover my dive loops. I find it odd that people talk about that happening.

    PS: yes, we have been jumping removable sliders for that long. At least half of us had them at the PST pro meet in Panama City in 2003.

    Chuck

  7. I jump Wings containers and I made my magnetic keepers exactly like you described: I cut the elastic and added velcro to the center and forced it under the flap. I've been using this for two years for jump when I don't have time to re-rig my removable slider in between loads.

    Chuck

  8. I jump a side-mounted Contour Roam on every AFF/coaching jump I do. It's an invaluable aid for debriefing. It is MUCH less a snag hazard than a stupid-ass GoPro mounted up top and it doesn't get bent out of position when head jamming when you are flying the inside slot on AFF. I've got rails to move it from left to right side depending on what position I'm flying. GoPros take great video, but I've only seen one bracket for them that I like. It does not use the stupid clear plastic stock case and mounts very low in front and tucks under the pads. Jason Spinnichia (Spinnach) made it and it's great. No possibility of tilting forward or back. Very slick.

    Outside video on AFF is a joke. It's purely a money-making effort by DZO's which is held up by straws and the whining of people with no ratings or who simply refuse to use them anymore "because they want to swoop on every jump". If someone wants one on a Cat A so they can show it to their friends and family, great. Other than that, it's a total waste of money, particularly when most of us are jumping tiny cameras with very-wide-angle lenses that require no head turning to get the critical debriefing shots, even while hanging on. Ouside video on anything higher than a Cat C release dive is particularly worthless and a complete waste of money. There is no possible way that an outside video guy on a one-person cat D, E, or F is going to get any different a shot than I am because I am 100 percent focused on my student and in slot.

    I've never had a student throw a PC around my head, but that's a good shot! I've been punched in the face at pull time PLENTY of times, though, when flying main-side. B|

    That is all,
    Chuck Blue, D-12501
    AFF/TM/SL-I, PRO, S&TA, MMPCI-18, PFC/E

  9. Not trying to hijack Spot's thread, but anyone who can't get out to Elsinore can schedule the course any weekend with me at Eloy or elsewhere in AZ. I'm moving back there full-time tomorrow to start a new job.

    Chuck

  10. DougH

    You exposed him to a dz.com shit storm, but you also probably introduced his product to a handful of people that didn't even know it existed. :)



    I agree and thought it was a good advertising move on the OP's part. Made me take a look, that's for sure.

    Chuck

  13. I saw this this morning on Facebook and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought it was going to be a sort of parody for a second, then I realized that it was TRULY remarkable. Amazing. The astronaut clearly had this planned before his trip and it came out superb. Unbelievable. Watch it now and save it.

    Chuck

  16. it's much, much easier to to front flips in full flight than to stall out and nail a backflip at speed. a backfly-to-backfly backloop is much easier than starting from your belly.

  17. Quote

    You dont need nasty spins and cutaways to deal with big suits. You need flying skills, and you dont get those by spending money on nylon. You get those by spending money on jumps.



    That's the absolute truth. And that does not mean going out by yourself and just flying on your damn belly for a minute from five grand. It means being as comfortable flying on your back as your are on your belly. It means being able to do sequential docks and acrobatic moves. Being able to float along stable on your bellly in your Phantom does not qualify you in any way to borrow your buddy's mega tarp. Even if you do get away with it, you'll definitely suck at it.

    Chuck

  18. We at this dropzone (Skydive San Marcos) and my previous dropzone (Raeford Parachute Center) use slightly modified CYPRES pouches worn sideways on the chest strap as our radio pouches. Perfect.

    Chuck

  24. Ryan Scarlet is about your size and he flies the piss out of a Phantom 2. Don't think for a minute that you are going to "need" a huge suit in order to fly with others; it's simply not true.

    Chuck