Zing

Hey Mike ... Jay said to tell you hello, wished you could been here. It was an amazing thing. I never doubted that Jay could do it. Zing Lurks

I've always kept my first nickel bet on myself. Zing Lurks

I flail as badly on all axi in the tunnel as I do in real free flailing ... it's just different. And yes, hoop dives are a blast. Don't forget to smile. Zing Lurks

We used to get a DC-4/C-54 for jumping at Ghoulidge now and then years ago. The palne belonged to Jim Blumenthal, who also used to own Fat Annie, the Carvair that's been at WFFC the last few years. Sadly, a vidiot got up during take-off and strolled around shooting video. Somehow, the video ended up at Jim's insurance company and his insurance was canceled, forcing him to sell the aircraft. It was a gas to jump out of while it lasted. Zing Lurks

From personal experience, I can attest that water below you is a good thing in the event of canopy problems with a dactyl at 500 feet. Zing Lurks

I agree ... pull-out minimizes the chances of a pilot chute in tow, but isn't a 100% solution. I've jumped Racers for years and twice I've had serious towed pilot chutes. On one, the pilot chute looked like a spinning rag. Didn't inflate, just flopped around. I pushed the bag out of the container and had a lousy opening with a spin and line twists. On the other, I tossed the pilot chute out, watched it inflate and go to line stretch on the bridle, turned my head back forward and reached for where the risers would be at line stretch ... and just kept plummeting. Looked back over my shoulder and there's my pilot chute, dragging along like a tandem drogue. Pushed the bag out by hand again and had a normal opening. Still, I like to know that if the pilot chute is pulled out, the container is open. Zing Lurks

Airplanes + people (Marine) + parachutes = aircraft problems ... the never-ending battle against Truth, Justice and the American Way I'll certainly tell him hello for you. Sorry you won't be there this time. The airplanes for this attempt are one Porter and two PAC-750s Zing Lurks

Its the hamburger joint in California where you and your significant other pose in front of the sign so that your heads block the "B" and the "r" of "Burger." Then, after you've eaten ... you get an In n Out urge ... I always thought of it as desert. Zing Lurks

I'm headed for Greensburg tomorrow to be part of the flight crew for this gig. I don't have any doubts that Jay Stokes can do 600 leaps in 24 hours ... the man is cast iron. I only hope us pilots and airplanes can keep up with him. On the last attempt, it was aircraft problems that caused the biggest delays. Zing Lurks

One thing to consider is that you'd want an emergency parachute that will sustain a high speed opening. The average pilot is going to stay with the airplane until they are convinced it can't be saved ... can't be flown ... may be on fire. Odds are that by the time a pilot decides to jump, the airspeed is going to up there, or past the redline ... faster than a low speed parachute may survive. The one time I was starting to think that baling out was an option, the airspeed was already above 300 knots. Sport Death Zing Lurks

When you jump a dactyl, try a dynamic stall and dynamic recovery ... you will get to see your parachute down below you ... do it up high. Its a fun parachute. I had 2000-plus jumps on mine when it finally wore out. It was a better alternative, at the time, to the SrtatoFlyer (AKA StratoHammer) and the Piglet I and IIs of the day. Zing Lurks

Nonsense ... remember what Peter Pan said about growing up. No more flying ... no more Pixie Dust. I ain't going for it. "No never, not me." Zing Lurks

They are pretty amazing little critters. I've been able to get them to perch on my finger held next to feeder several times. They are very aggressive about defending their territory ... ie, a feeder they have claimed. One reason you see so many in the evening is that they are all trying to feed before the sun goes down because they don't fly at night and their metabolic rate is so high that they need to stuff themselves before going to their night spots. Regarding males ... Some of the mating pairs I've observed shared the sitting on the nest and feeding the hatchlings. When the babies learn to fly, the entire family takes off for where ever hummingbirds go. If I recall correctly, there are something like 17 or 19 species of hummingbirds common to North America. One is called the bumblebee hummer and its feathers and coloring resemble a giant bumblebee. Had one of those hang around a feeder hanging on the balcony of an apartment in Murrieta, Calif. back in the 90s. Down in Cozumel, Quintanna Roo, Mexico, there is a hummingbird species that grows to about the same size as a sparrow, yet retains the speed and agility of their tinier relatives. Hummingbird dogfights are impressive displays of aerobatic prowess, including loops and rolls ... haven't seen one do a lumshovak (sp?) yet, but I have been strafed repeatedly by hummers that took exception to my presence. They come at you at speeds that will make you duck. On several ocassions, a hummer collided with a window or other solid object and got knocked unconcious. I've picked up several and held them in my hand until they came to ... classic expression of "what the fuck" before they flew off. Zing Lurks

Don't know what the final disposition of Joe's airplanes will be. Some fellows came last weekend and picked up his King Air, which was parked at Elroy. Both airplanes are now parked at the airport at Payson, Arizona. Zing Lurks

Don't know much regarding Casas, but the Skyvan fuselage is designed in the shape of a lifting body, along with the "stub wings" over the main landing gear. There is a noticeable difference in the way the plane handles with the door closed as opposed to with it open. Perris' Skyvan did have a roll-up door for a while, but the added drag of the big hole back there slowed the climb rate considerably, neccesitating the return to the factory installed door. Curiously, the Skyvan tailgates have stops installed to prevent the door from going past the frame when it swings down to the closed position. If the door is not locked open, the airflow sucks it down toward the closed position. The faster you go, the closer it comes to full closed. If it ever got past the stops, it might be catastrophic ... something like a giant dive brake. Sport Death Zing Lurks

I got caught by a dust devil at about 200 feet over the peas under a Paradactyl at the old Ghoulidge dz. For the next couple minutes I had absolutely no control over the canopy. Whirling and turning, I was lifted as high back up as 1500 feet, and toward the end was carving a turn at about 500 feet at a much faster clip than ever a dactyl did. As suddenly as it grabbed me, it spit me back out and went its way. I made a normal landing ... a mile and a half away from the peas. Sport Death Zing Lurks

Old JulieJulie ... that has to be just about the hardest luck King Air around. I never crashed it, but just about everyone else did. Zing Lurks

Hummingbirds mate in the spring ... sit the eggs for about 16 days and it takes a couple weeks for the one or two hatchlings to fledge and learn to fly. They are pretty tolerant of humans if you're easy-going about it. I've got photos of babies and parents from less than a foot away ... same pair nested and hatched clutches outside my office three years in a row. Managed to chronicle their nest-building, incubation, hatching and feeding til they all flew away. Zing Lurks

I'm a pilot. How many times have I said it? Too numerous to count ... how many more times will it take? Zing Lurks

Here's a soon-to-be-mother sitting on her eggs. Zing Lurks

My two cats, Wilma and Marge, weren't at all impressed by it. Zing Lurks

Now, now Michael ... you're even older than me, or maybe that should be "more mature," ... naw, that can't right either. It was back in the days when I was merely a mild-mannered reporter for a metropolitan newspaper. Zing Lurks

I graduated from UofA in 98 and there was no team at that time. I do recall back in the 80s there was a four-way team that went to the collegiate nationals a couple times ... I don't believe they were an officially sponsored (by UofA) team. You might check with the folks at the Marana Dropzone to see if they know anything. Zing Lurks

Aaarrrrhg matey ... it'd be Captain Pissgums and the Perrrrvvvert Pirates .... "Send me up a new cabin boy ... this one be split!" Zing Lurks

Oh well ... Zing Lurks