rmarshall234

I didn't know him well but certainly remember him. He really lit up the dropzone when he was around. Exactly as you described him. Those were really fun times and Mitch helped to make it that way.

Nice. Thanks for the clarification.

>That was before turbines and 15 sticks per pass. I know most of the jargon, but... "sticks per pass"?

Holy crap. AC, you're still alive....:-) Merry Christmas, brother rat.

>I would take my helmet off so they could get a good look at my face…..you know in case they wanted discuss >the issue on the ground. Yes you would. Here's one instance where taking my helmet off was the last thing I wanted to do though. It was my first week on staff @ perris after 5 years @ elsinore.... Shooting video and my tandem, pax, and myself where last out of the otter and we were long. Like really long. Like on the other side of the power lines on the other side of Ethenac road long. And I knew the uppers to be relatively light that day. Pat Connatser was flying and had a pilot-in-training in the right seat. She was about 20 something wearing a pair of shorts that if you pulled them out of the dryer and held them up they would be about 8 inches tall. Point-being, he was distracted that day. So....I toggle the switch and refuse the spot and he shuts off the light, yanks the a/c into a tight 270, flies right over the top and continues towards the southern end of the 215. By the time he gets there he's wondering why the hell I'm not going and screams "what are you waiting for"? I yell back through my helmet and bite switch...."the green light". Now well past the 215 he turns on the light and I say "you want me to take this now??". Another really tight turn, back over the top and me and my tandem guy leave. Fast forward a bit and I'm not even off the landing area and Moley is out there asking me " tell me what happened?". I can only imagine that when Pat called down on the radio the conversation went something like this..."who the hell is that guy and why is he still working here?". To both of theirs credit, I continued on at Perris for another 3 years or so. I wore my helmet as often as possible around Pat C though...:-)

Hi Buddy, Yeah, I had ways of dealing with it too. Mostly, just ignoring them. Or, stepping aside and asking them if they wanted to go now. That just slowed things down even more however, since now they were wondering if there was something out there I had seen which they didn't know about. Ha! That caused them to then take a really good look, which just pissed everyone else off even more. I guess the thing that bothers me most (and possibly the original poster as well) is why would our playmates want to poison the atmosphere by yelling at one-another when we are about to experience one of the most incredible experiences life has to offer. (I'm preaching to the choir by responding to you directly on this Michael, you taught me more about skydiving than dozens of others combined.)

>And I've always thought the screaming Go, Go, Go, was damn near an inflight emergency they way it's >conducted daily just about everywhere I ever been. I couldn't agree more. Always a pet-peeve of mine too. Especially, since I grew up spotting round parachutes when the motivation to learn/spot was very high. So in every single case when I was looking out the door, I knew more than all those idiots yelling "go, go, go." Here's a website that is worth checking each morning before heading to the DZ. http://aviationweather.gov/products/nws/sanfrancisco By knowing the winds aloft forecast you can then look out the door before jumping and see how much the uppers effect your drift in FF. Todays forecast by way of example: In the region of Ontario Airport (ONT) @ 12000ft, the winds and temps are predicted to be 3627-07. Translation......winds from the north (360 degrees) at 27 knots (27) and the temperature at that altitude will be minus 7 degrees Celsius. You'll learn a lot by applying this simple task and you can take some measure of comfort at least, in knowing that you have better information on hand than all those bozos screaming go, go, go. And if nothing else, you'll at least know how to dress for the freefall portion of the jump. :-)

Just watch the weather channel for a period of high pressure moving into the area. They can forecast it and when it arrives it generally stays for a number of days.

Not much room for error on that approach. Sweet!

This is probably just a matter of talking to the right person. Find out when Tom Riddick is teaching (at Skydive San Diego) and show up and explain your situation to him. He's the best instructor I've seen, and incredibly passionate about his work. Right in your own backyard.

Happy Birthday, old timer. Thanks for the link....I'm a huge Jimmy Buffett fan but somehow have missed that one. It just moved up to the top of my list of b-day songs though. The Stearman certainly helps! If you ever get to San Diego, it would still be nice to meet you and buy you a beer. Sorry about loosing your Bro...:-(

It's not my decision to keep it up but if it were, this is how I would respond: For those that think they are bad-ass skydivers or aspire to be and especially the canopy pilots, do a little cross training and take some flying lessons. What you learn about flying fixed wing aircraft and operating in the VFR/Part 91 system will help make you a much better and much _safer_ skydiver. I'm sure the same could be said for other aviation related activities, but this I know. For one of the most recognized and accomplished individuals in our sport to turn a normally life threatening situation into just another "no shit there I was" bonfire story seems to me anyway, testament to the Abe Lincoln philosophy which goes something like this: "If I had 5 hours to chop down a tree I'd spend the first 4 sharpening my axe". Preparedness, that's why I feel it is relevant.

That's a great story, thanks for sharing. I particularly liked the part where the wind blew him to shore and he stepped onto land "without even a damp sock". Reminds me of the Sean Tucker quote..."good luck comes to those best prepared".

I couldn't disagree more. A wing is a wing is a wing.. Aside from his thousands of hours as a fixed wing pilot, I'll bet he was applying *everything* he knows and has learned about lift, airspeed, drag, glide angle, emergency procedures, etc. To a fixed wing pilot that is accustomed to landing on long paved runways, I'll bet that field would look impossibly small. For someone that is used to landing a parachute in fields a fraction of that size, I'm sure it looked do-able. It all crosses over. Way to go, Bill!

Sorry for being lazy and not looking it up...but can anyone list his seal identifier?

Also, if you want to stay within the skydiving industry you might want to call Allen Silver. I'm not sure if his belts are PMA'd but it would be a worthwhile conversation nonetheless.

Yes....fly free brother. Nothing but good memories of him...always cheerful and trying to help everyone out. I believe he was on the Nevada State record several years ago with my wife. Got a picture of it in the hangar..I'll have to check it out tomorrow when I'm there. He's an easy one to spot in freefall :-)

Derick Parker...wasn't he the big guy - LA Fire Fighter? Hell-of-a good guy too as I remember.

Skydiving is inherently dangerous. It always has been. It is also a sport of composure. I believe the difference between then and now is that the gear has become so good and so reliable, that one's ability to stay composed when things start to really unravel is not tested until much further along in their skydiving careers. People still quit skydiving when they discover their limits, they just get many more jumps under their belt before this happens and so it appears to be less dangerous. It still comes down to the same thing...there is a planet coming at you at 120mph, what are you going to do now?

I for one, appreciate John Sherman giving his time to post on this forum.

>Hug your skydive friends...often. Amen.

>So in conclusion, “I look up and if I can’t land it, it’s gone.” I do not do rigging in the air. >Sparky There is no one in this sport - that is still alive - whom I respect more. One might do well to heed this man's advice.

Interesting. Very nice post.

Just so I'm clear on this....the slider was properly uncollapsed for the pack job and on opening the right side kill line snagged in the cascades and self-collapsed that side of the slider causing a spin?

Learning how to skydive is not physically difficult but certainly is a mental challenge and I would say requires two very specific things: Commitment and Faith. As for the commitment part - set a goal and stick to it. And when you get in the door of the airplane, be totally committed to the next 5-6 minutes. As for faith - have faith in your equipment, faith in your instructor(s), and most importantly - have faith in yourself. Having said that, practice your emergency procedures and have faith in them as well. If after time you find it difficult to maintain faith in any one of the above, make a change.