dudeman17

Anyone who was around a dropzone when Point Break came out will remember the positive influence that movie had on our sport. Skydiving schools saw a great increase at the time, and I used to think, 'geez, if that many people came skydiving because of that, I wonder how many people took up surfing?' If I recall correctly, Patrick and some of the other actors (but not Keanu Reeves) made some jumps, and he did make some jumps in the movie but was mostly doubled by Jim Wallace. Jeff Jones, Jeff Habberstad, Steve Rahm and Ted Barba were some of the others who worked on the film. His brother Don was an active skydiver and base jumper, but I don't believe he made any jumps in Point Break. I think Don did do the building jump in the movie Drop Zone, though. Condolences to Don and the rest of Patrick's family. Unlike a lot of Hollywood, he seemed like a class act.

" The Sigma main closing flap is pretty worthless at staying closed. " If you tuck one of the edges of the pin flap under one of the side flaps it stays closed pretty well.

That reminds me of a story that happened a few years ago. Not really a jump story either, but it happened on the way to the drop zone. I was on my way to Taft from L.A., and after getting off the freeway was driving down a road that runs between farmlands. Power lines run along the road. Ahead in the distance i could see a cropduster working the fields to my right, the side the power lines are on. He would buzz in over the lines, do his thing, turn around and dust the field again, pulling up over the lines at the last second. I was driving an old 280Z with clear glass T-tops. As I approached where he was working, the timing was just right to where he was going to buzz me, so I came to a stop to get a good view. I sat there stopped on the road and watched as he approached from the right. He was right at ground level, and as he got closer and closer, my grin widened. Well, my eyes were the next thing that widened, because it became clear that the sumbitch wasn't gonna pull up!! I jammed it in first gear and stepped on it, getting out of his way just as he flew under the lines and right behind me. It's not every day you almost get hit by an airplane in your car. And I still wonder whether he was laughing or cursing at me as he flew by.

I remember the number system. Carl had patches made for I think the first 500. I've got one. I first did El Cap in Oct. of '81, the year after the legal jumps. Here's a bit of perspective: El Cap was my first BASE jump. My El Cap number is four hundred something. My BASE number is under twenty.

In Nick's 'Freedom Bridge' pic, the guys in the back are Lane Kent (with the hat) and John Starr. The girl with Don is Dana (I think that was her name), his girlfriend at the time. I took her on a tandem once. And the guy sitting at the right of the pic is Simon 'Jake" Jakeman, author of the book 'Groundrush'.

Just came across this thread. In Bird5 my guesses of Tommy Owens and Jim Wallace were confirmed by other posts, and the sitting guy in the yellow tank top looks like maybe Mike Sheerin. The question i have is, well, they all look kinda serious, and Tommy Owens looks like he's gazing intently at something and he has his camera... might that indicate that somebody's bounced?

Lots o' variables here. I tend not to arch so much, because as has been pointed out, my hips aren't so much in the wind as in the student's burble. With my knees down a bit and out, they are like outriggers, giving me more control. It's called 'anhedral'. The student's leg position can contribute to chipping. If their legs are outstretched, it seems to want to chip more, if their feet are up on your butt it seems not to want to do it. If it is wanting to chip, more arch, outstretched legs and arms more forward will help quell it. But what do I know, I've only been doing them for eighteen years...

Actually, Hank did not invent the line stow pocket. It was invented by someone at Para-Flite, I think Elek Puskas or Jake Brake if I had to hazard a guess, when they came out with the first square reserves, the Safety Star and the Safety Flyer, and it was on the side of the deployment bag as it is today. Hank, Al Frisby and a few others adapted it to the tail for freepacked mains. Al put one on my canopy when i got my first square about that time. I was the one who then brought it to BASE jumping, well over two and a half decades ago, when BASE jumping was first beginning. The other reply about the tail pocket and the tailgate being two different things is correct.