johnny1488

I too have seen this happen only once, and it was on a paratec (Speed?) reserve. It was packed for 6 months and felt like the lines were stuck together. I contacted paratec and they said it was perfectly normal. I have opened reserves we see on this side of the pond more oftenthat were packed for much longer and never seen a problem with tackyness. I really prefer the coated lines for packing and wear characteristics. The next reserve to hit the market is also going to have these lines on it. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm sure they wouldnt like it, but I don't think they could truthfuly deny it. It's widely known that canopy skills have long been neglected. AT MY DZ, this particular group of jumpers seems to fit this mold. I would love to see things change. It's just some people are a lot more concerned with the happenings of freefall than to be bothered "wasting" a jump. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

When I have done it, I have done it to my close friends, usually on hopnpops, or when we "planned" a freefly exit and on "ready" I'll push someone out. It's not a random thing, just adding fun. I would not do it to someone elses group. I've chewed people a new one at the door, but would never push them if they werent ready to go. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

OK, for the record, I am not making generalizations about disciplines as a whole, I am speaking about the pretty finite lines that can be drawn about the jumpers AT MY DZ. The jumpers that gravitate towards team or organized RW, AT MY DZ, spend very little if at all time devoted strictly to canopy flight. The jumpers who do not gravitate towards team or organized RW can be seen quite often doing hopnpops while full altitude is available strictly for the sake of flying a canopy. And those RW jumpers AT MY DZ tend to dissagree about setting a landing pattern when it comes time to jumping in light and variable winds. The non-RW jumpers are fine with it. All streotypes and prejudices in the previous post are brought to you strictly as conversation about my (John's) DZ and have dug me a whole to which it appears I will never leave to return to enjoying pushing anyone out of a plane, regardless of what discipline they might or might not be participating in. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Again I am refering to, wait for it.....AT MY DZ!!!!! Like was said in the other posts, Bill and I were refering to our experiences at our respective DZs. And I can see that Sparky was been aaround the block a few times. And I am not saying anything about him, I am refering to the mentality of the RW fliers at my DZ. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

wel it started about pushing someone out the door and naturally turned to why someone would, or why they would get angry. Now we are discussing it and hopefully we will learn from it. We are not all sunshine and flowers. We can get angry. But i dont dislike jumpers because of some of there actions. do they annoy me sometimes, yes. But that leads to beer around a fire and everyone making nice nice. So to go back on topic, as long as safety is not an issure, it is extremely funny to push someone out of the door. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Well Bill made the exact opposite generalization about FF vs RW. Like I said AT MY DZ this is usually the way of things. Its also a good bet that in light and variable winds, a freeflier will land whatever way we decide (our policy) while a RW jumper will follow the wind indicator (not our policy). Weargue quite a bit over this. But this is the way of things AT MY DZ. Its not easy to teach an old dog new tricks. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Like I said, every DZ is different. If you can have your RW guys teach mine some things, I'll have our freefliers whip yours into shape. And this is not concrete. There are plenty of more than competant RW jumpers. I just think the newer ones AT MY DZ( not as many of the older RW crowd anymore) dont have as much experience as some of the freefliers. Hopefully we all continue learning. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I think more people would compete in events where, say, the cost might be lower due to not having to raise money for a pot. A lot of people I have heard say "well Im not going to pay someone elses prize, I'll just stay here and swoop on my own." Newer swoopers can get very intimidated by money comps. m not saying they are bad, Im just saying I don't think nationals should be one of them. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

This is exactly how the "old fart rw people" AT MY DZ would respond. And in my sometimes highlighted post, you would see the words AT MY DZ. AT MY DZ, this is the way things seem to be. No team oriented RW jumper would ever do a hopnpop to fly a canopy. Come and see for yourself if you think I am all ego. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

No a cash event has been held at Wildwood, once i think. Nationals have never been a cash event. If swooping wants to attract new competitors, I think a no money nationals is a great way to do it. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Hey the ones we have now are way better then the ones in the woods that were there before I got there. These have a roof at least. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That's why I am sure things are different at different DZs. Come to my DZ and you will see what I see. If I go to yours I will probably see what you see. If I could get them to do that I would but the groups I have dealt with don't want to hear it It's not logic. It's my observtion of the jumpers in question. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Do you have a guest catagory? I have a video I put together but it is over 4 minutes (way over) but would love to have it judged. Hell you can pick the best 4 minutes of it to judge if you want. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

If you think your the only one who has "gotten naughty" with some chick on that mattress, I would hate to have seen it under a blacklight! Mattresses are old hat. There isnt much at The Ranch that hasn't been violated in one way or another. And I thought a good idea might be to build the new building on top of the great hall. A kind of living museum. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I can tell the difference between someone spotting and dicking around. I usually know the spot for he day and know when waiting is simply an annoyance and when it is gonna screw us. I have been yelled at while spotting and I simply got out of the way. When the TM looked out the door he said "ohh shit" and backed up into his place. If someone wants to get out, they are more than welcome. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I think they will be, or maybe we can keep them around for the ambiance. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Well for me it is usually about discipline. When we have freefliers out first, no RW groups, they know how to spot and get the fuck out. Teams usually spend to long in the door and do not account for this when starting the clinb out. A lot of the RW people at my DZ are old farts (no offense) and do not have the overall canopy skill some of the new freefliers have and NEED a perfect spot where better pilots can get back from a larger variety of spots. It's been a long time since I have seen a freefly group take 10+ seconds once ready to get out before even starting the count. I see RW do it all the time. We have more go arounds with RW groups than we do with more groups of freefliers. I dont mean to be mean, but sometimes it is about discipline. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I could tell you how to do it on a Mac but I don't know if you are. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I loved that stove. I woke up violently shivering and gone outside to gather leaves or whatever to try and keep myself alive until load 1! Here is the first pick of actual proof! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That's when I started. Did you do any training there? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Well the ground is being prepped for the building now, so it looks like it might be in the near future. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Ralph the Beast has been talking about things like "nitro glycerin" and aminium oxide or something like that. Scary. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

We are, apparently after about 15 years of talk, getting a new building. It will house all of the aspects of the DZ, school, manifest, The Ranch Pro Shop and packing areas. If you have been here you know its been pretty "dirt cheap" in the past. It's a very exciting time but one thing is certain. The "Great Hall" is not going to be here forever. Many, myself included are going to be sad to see it go. But things move forward. So keep your eyes peeled for the "Burning The Ranch" boogie this year and come celebrate years of debachurey. It's gonna be one hell of a fire. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

This was a jail or a prison? I have only visited prisons. Nice places Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome