Capt36

>Skydiving Magazine is a staple-bound tabloid (in terms of look, not content) Don't be fooled... It is very much a tabloid too..... At least two of those folks will stab you in the back, just to sell more rags...... And, defend lying to you about it........ Be careful what you say to them... all reporters are out to make you 'bleed'.....IMHO Otherwise, it was a good source of skydive news... before I stopped subscribing..... though maybe not worth international delivery..... again, IMHO Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

During the lull, have you done any mental jumping? In a way, visualizing the whole process, is almost as good as doing it. The best basketball foul shooters....mentally sink thousands of shots, before 'swishing' those extra points. As in anything new, repetition makes you better at it. Personally, I do 'emergency proceedures', at least once a month, whether I jump, or not. That is my own way of mentally, 'staying current'. I also do them, as I finish putting on my rig. And, I usually do a final of EPs, on the way up. I also do a thorough check of all aspects of the rig, particularly if I have been 'ground bound' for a while. Gremlins can mess with equipment, even when it is in your bag, and not abused. As we know, we have to assume that 'shit happens'... So, prep to prevent it.... When I give my rig to be repacked, I assume that 'shit happens', and therefore, I repack the main...just in case it got connected wrong, or something got mis-routed, (one repack came back, with the RSL looped through a three ring!). If for no other reason, I desire to jump more than once, before buying another reserve repack ........ Any nervousness, immediately disappears, upon the door going open.... Ah, the rush of thin air in the morning......... I just can't wait to step outside that plane!!! Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Beats Copenhagen, Friday afternoon....freezing for next days...see pic Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

>Everything which happens below below 0 ft in not important in skydiving. Before you close your mind any more than you already have...... click, and see what happens "below 0 ft"....... http://www.aerialextreme.com/stockvideo/CaveBASE2003_300k.wmv Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

After they close all the DZs..... There's still B.A.S.E. jumping!!!!! Adenaline on command....... just remember the last BASE jump.... and, feel the heart-rate take off..... Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Go to the drugstore. Buy an ear syringe. It's just a rubber bulb, to hold warm water. A few 'shots' from it, will dislodge almost anything you have in your ear....safely And, it feels sooooo cool! Alcohol on the Q-tips, will help dry out what's left..... Good luck! And.... if it starts hurting, while jumping... wave off, and pull..... It really sucks, if you keep changing that air pressure, so very quickly.... You can ruin more than a day.... Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Mighty fine answer!...Errr... answers..many answers..very good! Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Our sport has lost a Helluva walking database, as well as one of the 'good people'. He knew so much, and shared it willingly. And, as a friend, he was a consistent one..... can't often say that.... When we spoke in October, he was planning to sell the shop, and retire... Dude....this is serious retirement!!! Heaven will be a bit different, from now on..... U.S. Team Fund time...again..... Thanks for the good times, and great friendship, Don! Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

>In our club we don't use seatbelts for C172, C207, but we use for C208 Change your evil ways!!!!!!... ALWAYS use the seatbelts, in the car, in the plane..... My first realization that seatbelts work, was my worst car crash.... The first realization of their use in planes was "Cowboy's Caravan" - 29Sep85...18 dead, 12 were good friends. That ended my first 'home DZ', literally. No one had worn seatbelts, except the pilot. All died. The plane had polluted fuel. The rubber band stopped at 400 feet. IMHO, the CG shifted, when the owner, or other person(s) 'did something', like move around in the plane. The wing dipped, the CG went to Hell...recovery never happened, the plane 'landed' upside down...heads rolled...literally! Had everyone been strapped in....I suspect that the plane would have landed, with no loss of life. For this Porter accident, I think everyone was 'belted' in. I truly believe that there would have been death(s), had we not worn seatbelts. On this flight, I wore my old, 'Protec' helmet, since my 'frap hat' was being repaired. For no particular reason, I added the goggles on take-off, even though I planned to remove both, after hitting the magic "1000 foot' altitude. The goggles made it possible to not get fuel splashed in my eyes. Based on the damage I did receive to my skull, I suspect the helmet saved my life.... At the very least, it allowed me to 'walk away' from the accident. Hey...it is not only your life on the line.... It is the entire plane, and those on board, that are depending on YOU to buckle up! The head gear just makes sense... It never seemed to, in the past... It does now... Yeah, I shall return to using the 'frap hat', as soon as the repairs are complete. But, I have been using seat belts, since the Caravan went in.... Maybe this message will knock some sense into anyone that feels that seat belts are not needed...!!!!! Another thing.... You have just crashed. You are not yourself. You are in shock. You are in no position to say how healthy you are. Seek, or accept, expert medical attention. I did not. But, I should have. Do not forget this lesson. I hope that you will never have to take the 'test'. But, here are many of the answers. I have absolutely nothing to gain, in writing this. You have everything to gain, by heeding what I have said here. DO NOT BE STUPID! IT MAY KILL YOU, AND THOSE YOU MAY LIKE! IT MAY RUIN A 'PERFECTLY GOOD' AIRPLANE! IT MAY CLOSE DOWN ANOTHER DZ! I do not believe that I can word it any better... P.S. Today, 15Oct05, I got in two great Skydives! I guess I just lucked up, this time..... Ya'll be careful out there! Remember, buckle up! Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

I have know Gus for 20 years. I have a great video of him, on the way to altitude, on our first meeting at Freak Brothers in '85. I really enjoyed seeing him again, just two weeks ago, smiling, and taking pictures. I just finished writing a check to the U.S.Team Fund. I hate that I seem to have to do that every year, as another great friend dies..... Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Ahhh Sunday morning reading..... After seeing the various views...the most obvious is the simple fact that an amendment would be required. And, that requires a 3/4 vote of the state legislatures, another feat.... That's why there are not 200 amendments. That 'simple' requirement...generally weeds out the crazy amendments.... such as the 'flag burning', (free speech, though I might just want to kick the burner's ass... IMHO), or the men-women only get married amendments, (separation of Church, and State....IMHO). BTW, I could care less about the idea of who marries who. Marriage is a joke! When the vow to God is, "'til death do us part.", and, at a 50% divorce rate....and, single motherhood, by choice... marriage is a no longer 'sacred'..... Once again, IMHO. The Constitution is a living document. But, it moves very slowly. Personally, I would like to imagine my one vote..would be equal to anyone else's vote. It is simply not the case. Worse yet, the 'electors' CAN vote differently from what the results would seemingly dictate. I don't think that has happened....yet. But, it could! As is.... the 'rural states' people...have greater power in their vote for POTUS, than I do....(again, IMHO). I really hate that. I really hate that over ONE BILLION dollars has been 'wasted' on this Prez campaign. I really hate that Dubya has been flying that damn 747 all around the nation, rather than getting OBL. Maybe a billion dollar bounty would entice the death of OBL... But, probably not.... Why? Because his followers are as religiously convicted, as the "Far Right/Far Left" zealots in this country. Seems that 'damn what the facts are' is the war cry of each side. IMHO, the last three months of campaigning, should 'restrict' every candidate to, at maximum, two 737-size planes. One for the candidate, and one for the 'Zoo Load', (press corps), both paid by the 'party'. Because, no matter who you vote for.... YOU are paying for the incumbent's travel, as well as the 'support team' planes that accompany him/her.... That's a big freebie for the 'party in power'! (But, of course, the security of the Prez issue will be raised..hmmmm). Well, I feel better now, with that off my chest... Ya'll vote!..hear? BTW... Concerning the electoral college system, a decent link for reading might be this one...... http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Twelfth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

Perhaps not a proud title..... However... I think you should put the 1n120 into a truer picture.... I repeat, over 50% of the jumps were 'practice' reserve rides! Those 10 were done in 83-85. They involved 'dropzone student gear', and my reserve never was used for testing...... Of the 'emergency kind', only one was 'stupidly' caused... Packing fast at WFFC, in a 'brisk' wind, in order to jump the 'Connie'. I am probably one of very few to have a reserve ride, after jumping out of that lovely Lockheed! Strike another one off the list, when that shoulder cuff got pulled apart in the RW jump, (Hey..I did not let go, and it was a 74-way star attempt). Considering the fact that, from '85 until Piras died, (Then, I bought a Cypres), I had a LOT of 'humming it below a grand', I feel OK with the results.... I am still jumping, and feel safer than ever..... Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org

2309:19 All different kinds of reasons........ However, nine were intentional test jumps.... student reserves were due for repack. So, I added a tertiary chute, and practiced for the real thing. Reaction time got better, no hesitationary thoughts... JUST DO IT! I started doing those 'practice' cutaways, just after the first 'real' ride. I was 'in the saddle' at 300 feet, (Phantom 24). I had about 150 jumps. It was a total.... I could not remove the pilot from the legstrap pouch, even after landing. It was also at that time...that I learned how to properly pack a pilot chute..... All the others were for 10 different reasons, ranging from garbage, (from packing in high winds), to losing use of the right arm, (shoulder cuff separation).... Oh, what a surprise to have hold of the puck, and not be able to do anything with it......from an extremely small material burn on the stabilizer, that gave too much of a turn, to feel good about landing it..... to losing the puck, (three weeks before the shoulder cuff went). The only time I decided to 'risk' what was there... was a 1050 ft BASE jump, which ended in a spinning lineover, on unmodified gear. Practice random acts of kindness, and senseless beauty... And, give money for Mr Douglas! www.mrdouglas.org