Kelly

its winter here in the northeast and its been really quite lately. This past weekend we had a boogie, and lots of people showed up. I was packing all weekend and noticed a few things. Before i mention anything, let me just say that i consulted a rigger in regards to many of these individual situations and ALWAYS told the customer. what i noticed: ~closing loops wayyyy too long for a lot of jumpers (RW & FF) I probably shortened at least 7. ~closing loops too worn. I changed out 2. ~stains on canopies. I know it happens, but noticing it right away and taking care of it will diminish the chances of fabric damage. ~rigging done by jumpers to their own gear. inncorrect rigging by people who arent riggers. This only happened once, but the jumper had removed the velcro from their risers and caused some stitching to come undone. Our risers are only so wide, they have a serious job when it comes to our parachuting gear. Dont rig yourself! especially if you cant do it right! ~inncorrect sized rubber bands. ~Pilot Chutes with stitching coming undone/holes. They cost less than $100 and begin the deployment system. Dont sit by and watch it wear itself away to a malfunction. ~bridle covers that arent doing their jobs. It's an adjustment made to a lot of rigs. depending on the size of the canopy and how well it fills the container (not to mention pack job) this adjustment can be perfect for one canopy and useless for another. Make sure that your bridle cover actually does its job. it should hold the bridle there, thus, leaving less exposed bridle. ~built in twists to the brake lines. Every couple of jumps (if not every jump) you should untwist brake lines. Leaving twists in them takes away from the overall strength of your lines. Think about it like this: hundreds of very tiny lines are stronger if their braded together, seperate them into individual lines and their not as strong. ~sliders that were getting worn. Nothing bad, but did notice some minor holes (usually where the cords are to collapse the slider). Getting repairs done to your slider can keep it from further damage/ hard openings. A lot of these rigs were from traveling jumpers. They werent all folks from this area snowbound and not jumping for the most part. Safety day is coming up. Make sure you get your gear checked by a certified rigger to ensure that its up to par. just wanted to send out a few reminders. ~blue skies and fun skydives~ My little corner of the web.

alright sebastian folks! i need a ride from the airport. Im going to try to book a flight in 2 thrusdays (1 1/2 weeks) until the following monday evening. Can anybody pick me up? which airport should i fly into? kel My little corner of the web.

excuse me, but my team did pretty well too A :) i didnt get to meet any dz.com folks I was packing at 11:00am. maybe I did though afterall.... I had on a longsleeved black 'jersey all star' shirt, black pants. Was on "team cameltoe" for the beer olympics. kel My little corner of the web.

sky, youre wondering when you should begin doing bigger jumps? like every other aspect, it depends on you. Ive got friends w/ 100 jumps doing 7 way freefly jumps. I've got close to 70 and get really iffy doing a 3 way freefly. never did more than a 4 way belly dive (ignoring the tandem :) Why? cause i dont feel comfortable with the idea. The skydive itself doesnt scare me, its breakoff. I've really been thinking hard lately. i'd like to do more 4ways and then maybe a 6way. but the people on those jumps will be people I picked out. cause in the end, im the newbie, the one with the least experience. I'm looking out for me. do jumps with more people when youre completely comfortable with it.. dont rush it. cause you dont want to be up there freaking out, wishing you were down here, or up there with less people. My little corner of the web.

my point though jimbo, its not a good idea to get into a bad habit. yeah, doing a solo it doesnt make much of a difference. Getting into that habit, then going out on a group freefly (even just 2 people) going belly down can cause problems. What if somebodys above you and you go back to what you knew when you were learning (going to your belly). that can cause a huge problem. just trying to encourage him to learn a better way~ going to his back if he's got to go either way. My little corner of the web.

its already been said. Going to youre belly is a dangerous idea. youre going too fast. so work on getting there from your belly My little corner of the web.

a skysurf update: http://www.ipocskysurf.com/news/whats-new.html My little corner of the web.

I like mine. comfortable. fits my short frame well. Leg straps stay put when im sit flying. Good bridle protection. Good pin protection. Email me, ill give you a lot more details as to why i like mine.. I've been on ambulance calls all night and im too exausted to really think right now.. My little corner of the web.

hey! thats just mean. Ash and burner are good people . Of course i spent a lot of time w/ ash when i was out there and he could be a bit odd (he's a total ball buster!) but he's definitally a good friend for life now. just kidding . let him know Kelly from xkeys says hello and to send those damned pictures from the memory stick! My little corner of the web.

i replied in the other eloy vacation thread. camp out. you cant get much easier. just be sure to have an air mattress, warm clothes and enough blankets. Its cold in the desert at night. Camping area is nice, not many bugs (had one spider in my tent the entire time). go and rent the key for the gym if you want. the other showers arent bad. just go in there at odd hours and you've got them all to yourself. My little corner of the web.

ah. i wont be apart of the record attempt. Too many people on that skydive for me and my low experience/jump numbers. but i will do other jumps! just need smaller #'s of people. My little corner of the web.

"dirt dive leader" ya know, i was tired. I couldnt think straight.. that was a funny day. My little corner of the web.

2 seperate bunk rooms. each is long and narrow with rows of bunks in there. Next to the bunk house there is also a tiny kitchen, it leaves a lot to desire. a good thing is the rec room. its got a couple of couches, so you can sit around at night. If youre not 21, dont try to get served in the bar. it will only lead you to be permanitally kicked out of the bar. when i left they were planning to do work in the bunkhouse. i spent 5+ weeks there, lemme know if youve got any other questions. freefrogfall@hotmail.com My little corner of the web.

ya know, liz, georgie, jen and I deserve all the credit for this boogie to be :) we went out to dinner and started complaining bout how were stuck here while their all in PR. so we joked about having a boogie. Turns out the snow birds are loving the idea! as far as my bathing suit goes.. it will match this time. no more pics of my underwere on the internet :) oh yeah! i think we should get the guys to join in the bikini contest. that would be great.. ive got a couple of extra ones laying around. maybe a dress or two..Some makeup.. with a few 'artists' we could have a contest "guess that cross (dressing) keys stud" bahaa! My little corner of the web.

whats this stuff about me cleaning the pool? i think theres a stipulation in one of the emails stating that bathing suits are required to clean out the pool..... My little corner of the web.

yeah, but John likes me. He lets me work on his dropzone. I dont really want to piss the boss off :) haha. he'de prolly get a kick out of it. he did do the whole banner thing when Tom petty was playing in philly. flying a banner that said "that aint freefallin, go to freefalladventures.com to freefall!!" or something like that. absolutely hilarious My little corner of the web.

for those interested. I guess we found another official name for the boogie to be. From: "Execulink" > Reply-to: skydivecrosskeys@coollist.com > Subject: 2 Boogies! > > Well, we are deep in plans for Freezefest, and everyone who is coming > needs to send me their #1 reason for coming to Freezefest. If your > entry is chosen, you win an Arctic Stearman BiPlane jump!! > But following Freezefest on the very next weekend is a little-known > Boogie at Cross Keys. Yes, it is the First Annual Puerto Rico North > Boogie! There will be Island Music, Tequila Sunrise jumps, bathing > suit contest - anything goes! If there is enough call for it - we > will even clean out the pool! > So let me know if you are in, and I will count on you to help the > famous freefly team ChimpFinger, and RW cousins GorillaGrip to create > our own entertainment! > Liz email liz with your suggestions if youre able to make it out to the Puerto Rico North boogie (unofficial "Screw Puerto Rico boogie") its going to be really cheesey, but well see if us newer jumpers can pull off a good weekend and a mini boogie. My little corner of the web.

she might be our pilot. one of em.. thats why she showed up now, in the winter, to try and get a job this season. now send me this damned email sick boy :) freefrogfall@hotmail.com My little corner of the web.

ach. um.. who sent that email? our chick new pilot (possibly) suggested it.. then said they could show up and we would just ask "Are you Fu%&ing crazy?!?!" haha. forward me your screw PR boogie email. (we really need another name.. johns gonna kill me for that one) My little corner of the web.

sorry to hear that! hope the new job gives you lots of jump $. BTW. the weekend after freezefest most of the Xkeys gang plus some other friends will be in Puerto Rico for a boogie. Those of us who couldnt afford to go are trying to organize a little "Screw Puerto Rico" boogie. We still need a name, since we shouldnt really put down our own boogie :). It will be a normal weekend @ the dz, with a few crazy things thrown in. NO special aircraft, no special events, no superstar organizers.. just a group of poor, bitter skydivers, trying to make a good time out of a cold winter. http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/html Updated!!

long story short.. i had a horrible landing. caught some thermals, a bit crosswind, didnt finish the flare. In any case i came in for a very fast, very hard PLF to the left side. I didnt do a very decent PLF and it ended up with my knees/legs slamming in then the rest of me. It seemed like slow motion, the left side of my head hit the ground very hard. It felt like my neck was jello, and my head was just off on its own mission. i gathered myself together and sat up. took the helmet off. not a bit of damage done to it! I was just thinking how some people dont wear helmets. So glad that i do. my neck is pretty sore as is the rest of me. But i was able to walk away. I gotta thank my nvertigo for that one. wear a helmet! make sure it's a good one too! BTW: my protrack suffered no damage. The helmet didnt scratch at all either. I can always hear my audible (its mounted outside the helmet). I like the fact that i can tighten it. basically, the helmet rocks. im very happy with it.

cross posted from the safety and training forum. watched as two jumpers with relatively low experience had a canopy wrap while in the pattern. It didnt happen on opening, they were both in flight for a little bit before the wrap. The lower jumper cutaway. the other jumper had to land his main with the other jumpers main wrapped around his body. Lines around his helmet, stomache, legs and feet. a total wrap. Reason I'm posting this is b/c they both blamed eachother. They didnt see eachother, must have been a little off level, resulting in one jumper canopy being snagged by another jumpers body. Please please please, dont think youre now safe if you dump and have clear airspace. Remember to look all around. BTW, the jumper entanged w/ the canopy only suffered very minor injuries, but his jumpsuit was trashed. The lines burned gashes all over it. His ankles were a little red from the lines. Luckily, its still a little cold here so they were wearing a few layers of clothes. Watch out up there guys, and make sure Canopy control is a big issue @ safety day and every other day. http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/html Updated!!

watched as two jumpers with relatively low experience had a canopy wrap while in the pattern. It didnt happen on opening, they were both in flight for a little bit before the wrap. The lower jumper cutaway. the other jumper had to land his main with the other jumpers main wrapped around his body. Lines around his helmet, stomache, legs and feet. a total wrap. Reason I'm posting this is b/c they both blamed eachother. They didnt see eachother, must have been a little off level, resulting in one jumper canopy being snagged by another jumpers body. Please please please, dont think youre now safe if you dump and have clear airspace. Remember to look all around. BTW, the jumper entanged w/ the canopy only suffered very minor injuries, but his jumpsuit was trashed. The lines burned gashes all over it. His ankles were a little red from the lines. Luckily, its still a little cold here so they were wearing a few layers of clothes. Watch out up there guys, and make sure Canopy control is a big issue @ safety day and every other day. http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/html Updated!!

ya know, i went to that site and saw something that made me wonder... a pic of a tandem student from Princeton University in New jersey, doing a tandem skydive over Skydive Crosskeys in New Jersey, with a camera flyer working in New jersey, at Xkeys... this is an australian web site. student isnt australian.. figured it was given with permission, but now I wonder... student prolly submitted the pic, but still. Camera flyer should be mentioned. http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/html Updated!!

i forgot to tell you.. before i did my coach jumps i was told to go up and do a couple of skydives where i just got comfortable flying on my back, experimenting with my legs and arms. I did it and found that i had developed a tendancy to go right to my back when my sit went unstable. That helped a lot, and now im working on going to a sit stable instead of right to my back. Its a step in the right direction... http://kel197.tripod.com/skydivefriendsTRIPOD/html Updated!!