vanair

according to NJ a slingshot is a deadly weapon.

That grassy Knoll is getting bigger!!!!!!!!!!!

how much is 4 worth?

yeah, no black and white. I did have a tandem that had a tension knot in the steering line. tried flairing but it would stop when it hit the keeper. couldn't get it out, almost perfect parachute but only right turns. Told my passenger, he was no student. He keep screaming No No I don't want to fall again. Chop, clean easy landing. my guy did kiss the ground. In this situation I would have chopped. 2 big guys but the reserve opening would be sub-terminal. With blown cells it's hard to truly tell how effective the practice flair is with no ground coming up to judge against.

dolphins rock, and very comfortable for this big boy (250)

read the papers

With a black man in the White House, Who's the crackers now?

where do you get the idea that enlistment is down? every branch is more than filling their quotas.

Ditto, mid 80s woodstock Conn. We had a non current jumper that had several hundred jumps come to jump after several years. Had his chest mount, PC, Capewell rig. We all had 3 rings etc. The DZO and I decided that probably the safest thing to do was to get him current and comfortable in the air, Then transition him to modern gear, which we did reasoning that in an emergency he would try to resort to his primary training. Had some disagreement from some other up jumpers looking at his gutter gear but it worked.

Yes there is light, 13 yrs ago after being married for 4 yrs I came home from a weekend visiting my parents. There was a note saying she was sorry, all of her stuff and alot of mine was gone. She worked for a co. that would sent her to Hong Kong twice a year for about 10 days to work. She asked several times, What if they offer me the job in Hong Kong. I said honey we aint going to Hong Kong. Turns out I was half right. I saw her 6 months later in divorce court. I was devastated, I spend about 6 months crying. I ended up getting fired two weeks before Xmas. I had a pretty good job selling Mercedes. But not very effective sitting at my desk crying. But it was a kick in my butt. I got a full time job come spring in the sport we love. So that winter I went on un-employment and spend my time working as a volunteer at the hospital that saved my life 15 years earlier. I had a motorcycle accident that the Dr. said if I was 5 min later I'd be dead. Very therapeutic. Took me about a year before I could date. Then about a year later. I met my current wife when she came to make her first tandem. I was her TI, kinda cool that we have on video the fist time we met, there was an obvious attraction on both sides. Been married for 9 yrs, not all roses but happier than I ever was. Yes there is light. So hang in there!!

saw masters of the sky at the end of my fjc in 1973.

Welcome to the sport!, I don't think it's a $ issue with your husband. Ask almost any female skydiver. They are usually limited to relationships with other skydivers cause all the other men are intimidated shitless by women that have backbones where they have wishbones.

Camo so no one will see you wearing it!

she did jump, and arched, I was surprised.

Had most of the usual rather dumb questions. Some maybe a first. A guy after watching the video, yes I checked. And being briefed on the ground by a fellow TI asked his assigned TM(me). Now do you or I wear the parachute? Then, Am I on the front or back? And which way do we face?. Another one an 18 yr old girl talked the talk, wanted flips etc. then on take off in the otter started crying, gave her the talk the whole way to alt. when the pilot throttled back and leveled on jump run, she yelled to me "Why are we stopping?"

Wow learn sumthin new all the time. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/raindropshape.html Sorry, live in a cave. Don't know how to make clicky. Last time my balloon was burst was when I looked up and found out hot water DOES freeze quicker than cold water under certain conditions.

Not necessarily true, the pilots might be on o2 and have a bottle available for the passengers. 1978 I was in the first all USMC 18 way. We jumped from 18,000' out of a CH-53 chopper. Took about 40 min. More than half of that time going from 12,000' to 18,000'. We passed around an o2 bottle. I was 21 and in the best shape of my life (USMC Grunt) But I felt real silly till it was my turn for a couple of hits,my head cleared instantly. Might be different for someone acclimated to 5,000' They maybe should pay special attention to visiting jumpers. Also not true about the pointy ends of the raindrops. The air we push ahead of us reverses the teardrop. Don't believe me watch Carl Boenishs "Masters of the Sky" He catches on film 2 guys free-falling thru an open round parachute, You can see the canopy moving away from them before they come in contact with it. Lucky they missed the person. All lived, cut up a bit. Snapped 13 suspension lines.

my brother gave me a knitted finger puppet, said it was a penis warmer.

mine got wet, blanked out. still under warranty except for water damage. so I put in a pillow case with a hair dryer on low heat tied the case opening so it was basicly inflated for an hour. passed their water damage inspection so I got a new one, covered.

Congrats!!!! I have a good shot at 60 or dare I hope 70. Made my first at 16 in 1973, so maybe if I can keep dodging the reaper who knows, anyway congrats on your milestone. And I still have my copy of "The Art of Freefall RW" from 1975. You taught me alot! Thanks, Van

Yes lose wt and get in shape before you go in. I also would have done 2 things different, At least going into the Marines, I would have shaved my head, to save myself from a very painful haircut, and not gone to Parris Island in the summer. God awful hot!!!!!!!

Semper Fi

That's cause the Marines guarantee that they will work it off you. 1975 18 year old me 260 lbs. had to lose 30 lbs before they would accept me into boot camp. Started at 229 graduated 13 weeks later at 215. Not an ounce of fat on me. My time in the Corp. I hovered around 225. Infantry, not a Remington raider. But according to the charts I should have been under 189.

Don't have an solution to check in or not question. But we have to look after each other. About 8-10 yrs ago at the ranch in NY. 1st lift was long, last guy a visiting Russian couldn't quite make it back. Did a low hook under a very small canopy to face into what little wind we had. I was on hold waiting for I think the clouds to get higher to start my tandem day. I made a comment to a friend that he might not have been high enough to plane out. It was hard to tell behind the trees. I grabbed someones bicycle and told my friend if I come out of the trees and wave to call 911. So I rode out to the runway and then to the end of it. When I ran into Mcnastys field I could only see the canopy blowing in the breeze. I ran back and waved. I then ran to the motionless jumper, He wasn't breathing and I could find no pulse. As I took off his frap hat I said to him " Buddy I'll do my best". I started CPR. It seemed like forever but I'm sure it was just a few minutes till my friend John Bracken showed up. He took over chest compressions while I blew. At one point John pushed a little to hard and I was too close. He spurted and I got a mouthful of blood. Kept going. Don't know how long we were doing it. Now surrounded by jumpers. Guy Wright said "Van he's dead, I've seen it before, he's dead". I didn't want to believe it but I knew he was right. When I was blowing his chest wasn't rising it was just gurgling out someplace else. I was all of a sudden exhausted. I never realized how hard CPR is. I was crying and had to leave the scene. I went home and drank alot of vodka to get the taste out of my mouth. Other people could assist the authorites. Later that week I called the coroner requesting an aides and Hep C test on the body to see if I had anything to worry about. He said we don't do those tests and then chastised me for stopping CPR once it was started. I asked if it would have helped, he said no but that it's not up to me to decide. I said I don't have to be a Dr to realize it wasn't working. He was dead. They found a chunk of his shin bone 30' away. So I put my request in writing and CCed the chief medical examiner and the mayor. About two weeks later I got a reply that the tests were Neg. I wasn't sure if I believed him but I'm O.K.

Had a novice friend that around 1980 had a sentinal fire under her main, 2 out hard landing broke back. Sued Steve Snyder and or his Co. Don't know how much but she won a fair amount of money. There were probably others. Sometime late 70's C182 my father climbed out at 7500 my brother started to climb out, I was 3'rd heard a pop his sentinal fired I saw his chest mounted reserve going out. He was half out the door. I started to reach with my right hand to grab it. thank God it had no pilot chute. In the split second realizing that that was a mistake. I pushed him as hard as I could with my left hand. I think this was right after I graduated USMC boot camp so I was pretty strong. His reserve started to open as he was almost all the way out, He slammed into the door frame on the way out, with my right hand between him and the door frame. My brothers reserve went under the tail, lucky no pilot chute. So he had a long ride under a 28' round. My father said he was out there and all of a sudden the strut jerked back and hit his chest, He looked at me like WTF. I pointed back at my brother. He realized, so we just did a 2 way. Picked up my brother, he was fine, the plane was fine. My hand was fine, other than being swollen to twice it's normal size for a week. Sentinal must have gotten confused in the door burble or something. I never used one and thats the day my brother stopped using them. And that was the end of it. we didn't look for some deep pocket. For what? my sore hand. Plus according to the disclaimer it's only a paper weight. And we are old school.