danornan

You can buy be a beer and then I'll accept your apology....... maybe even jump with you! Dano

Call the DZ and get with Phantom. He can pick you up at the airport... (813) 783-9399 or 800-888-JUMP. Dano

Do Not Stop In Z-Hills, unless you plan to stay for a while. Most have such a good time they never leave..... Dano

I ride ( now with 37,000 miles) a K1200LT that weighs about 850 pounds wet and if not parked correctly and in gear, it can fall down. Been riding for more than 35 years and yes, they do fall over on their own. It can happen and I know of ones that have! Unless it is parked on the center stand and unless it is out of the wind and unless it is on level ground etc etc etc,,,, it can happen... Don't just assume someone pushed it over. Dano

Maybe it just fell over - Wouldn't be the first time! Ready FIRE - Aim........ Dano

Front page of the St. Petersburg Times this morning ... Debs, you are missed by so many friends and relatives.... http://www.tampabay.com/ Pictures of her last jump... with friends. Dano

Not really. I did observe, however, P3 teaches the importance of tracking teams (which automatically reduces many kinds of tracking problems), so they are already more focussed on that than the cookiecutter 20-way camps I had been to for a long time. As well as other tracking aspects than other bigway camps I had gone to. I observed that video debrief attention to tracking teams at the Texas Winter Bigway camp was good, but that only covers the 180 degree turn, tracking team formation, and first few seconds of a track, and only in the videos that allowed such debrief. It hasn't been until I went to P3 for the first time in May 2008, that I learned the concept of the 'tracking team'... I'm not saying there isn't room for improvement though. It may be that there hasn't been a massive wake-up call lately such as this freefall collison fatality after a bigway breakoff. No kidding -- I imagine they ARE going to focus on these little details a lot more now with this fatality. Hopefully! I have been on several big way formations in the past year and a lot of time and attention is spent on break-off. Numerous walk throughs on the dirt dive; I.E., first wave leave at 6,000 track to X, second wave leave at 5,500, track to X. A lot of time is spent and numerous dirt dives in practice. THIS is not being ignored nor is it taken lightly. I generally have more clean air on a 100-way then a local walk up 20-way! Dano

TK, That's why I'm not allowed to stay after the sun sets! Dano

21 skydivers participated in Joe's ash dive yesterday at sunset at Z-Hills, organized by Scotty Carbone. The jump took place at sunset with friends and family. Dano

Kevin, You were a pleasure to dock on, (and use as a target) when you FINALLY figured out where you were supposed to be! Fun floating uh! What HE said as far as organizers and plane captains. Amazing how you can take 100-ways for granted! What a blast....... DanO Dano

Naaaaaaa Mark, I left out the exclamation point! It's an individual thing and I'm for personal freedom. I've been riding since I was 16 and simply prefer a full face helmet. It is a lot quieter, saves my hearing, allows me to listen to music while riding. As far as safety, The jury is still out. Sliding on the pavement is definitely safer with a helmet, but it too can contribute to injury with weight on the head. Helmet and skydiving, definitely quieter and a little safer...... back to a personal thing...... Dano

Sort of like jumping out of an airplane! Dano

From out in the thin air, waiting to dock, watching all of the radial being crossed, I'm surprised that there were not more collisions! Too many people were not flying straight in and there were too many cross-overs and cross-unders...... Basic stuff. Formation was one that has been done numerous times and everyone knew where they were supposed to be weeks ahead of time. The organizers did a super job weeks before the jump, there was lots of time to make a change if you were not comfortable in your slot and there was no excuse to not perform. Dano

Having just gotten back from the POPS record attempt in Perris last week and reading through this thread, I agree with all that you have said. I would like to include another skill that has been hinted at but not exploited and that is to stay in your radial as much as possible and especially in the RED ZONE. I was out in the thin air and unfortunately, watched far too many unnecessary collisions. None would have occurred if the radial lines were followed. Dano

Be sure to tell the company that you are interviewing with to not contact present employer. They will understand and that is normal. As soon as the company you are leaving learns that you are looking they will plan to replace you. That too is normal. Keep quiet until the new job is secure. Basic job quest 101. Dano

I obviously don't know the details, but why would you say anything about looking for a new job until you have it locked up? Keep the drama out of it! Silence is golden..... Dano

Don't forget the water that you have in your 40-60 gallon hot water heater. Most have a valve on the bottom to drain/drink. Just be sure to turn off the power first and label it so that it is not turned on by mistake, burning up the coils....... Tip from Florida. Dano

Interesting how Lehman Brothers upper management managed to pay out around 6,000,000,000 (that's 6 BILLION) in bones this past year! They knew what was coming and decided to raid the company. They were not the only ones and the public will pay the bill. Dano

Done ! (bump) Dano

Best guess is about 20-25 minutes. The nice thing about the ride is that there was lots of room (as larges as a DC-3 inside) and easily 20 more jumpers could have made the ride. Back door stayed open the entire ride to altitude and opening is larger than a Cassa. Canvas seats on the side with huge seat belts that were easy to attach. Jump speed a little faster than the Cassa and OH WHAT A RIDE out the door. Floating was a breeze, Diving a blast. Too bad for those who missed it as it was a real treat. Thanks again to Paul for getting it set up for us. Dano

I think we did 7-8 full loads. Ended the day with a real super slow fly-by! Hate to see it go and was surprised that a lot of people didn't show up. Probably never see it at the Hills again and too bad as it was fun to jump. Beautiful day too........ Dano

Great day jumping out of the Caribou. Thanks TK and Paul for setting it up. You guys are super and it was a fun day. Too bad we can't do it every weekend! To those who missed it today, that's allllllllllllll Dano

See you in a little while........ Dano

Thanks Paul and TK.... Looking forward to it on Saturday and Sunday. Be underwater with the sharks Friday and hope to be degassed by Saturday morning! YaHooooooooo Dano

Naaaaaaaaaaaa you guys get the new Cessna! Dano