This is jump 6, September 1997, in which I demonstrate a perfect unstable exit. I trained and jumped at JumpTown in Orange, Massachusetts in 1997 and 1998, before I moved to Wisconsin.

Now I'm a tandem instructor at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois. Skydive Chicago is one of the largest drop zones in the country. In addition to taking students on their first and second skydives, I sometimes help mentor novice skydivers who have recently graduated from the student training program, and teach them the basics of flying and formation skydiving. At the moment (the end of 2001) I have 650 jumps.

I'm also a member of Team Funnel (TF #34), a group of jumpers who enjoy jumping with novices and introducing them to formation skydiving in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. This is a jump that Robert "JAKAL" Lawton (TF #43) filmed, where Marcelaine Wininger got to approach a formation to dock and then funnel it. She flew over it a couple of times, but we made her keep trying until she could get in!

More to Life Than Just Living

This is the part where I shut up and share with you a glimpse into the beauty and depth of the sport, expressed by others more eloquent than me:

	They probably can't even see you from down there. You know they can't imagine what you feel. This is where you've always wanted to be. And it's so much better than you imagined. A sky pouring out in front of you that's as wide as your grin. So this is love. You should have given in a long time ago.
I'd like to share a passage written by Roger Nelson, the manager of Skydive Chicago:
	My friends, skydiving is only a moment of time in each of our lives. It is not happiness it is a way we express ourselves. It is something you never forget and should use for strength. You should remember when skydiving was new and intriguing. When you tried to tell everyone what you experienced because you wanted to share it with those around you. When the feeling lifted you up beyond the normal "water cooler squabbles" and everyday issues of life. What is sometimes nearly conveyed but mostly over looked, is skydiving is a mindset. It is nearly all mental, and is an understanding of control and destiny that can be conveyed to everything you do.
A quotation to ponder when making a night jump:
	When you come to the edge of all the light that you know and you are about to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will remember how to fly.
Links to longer works:
	Each Jump a Reminder to Live, by Ian Gillespie
	12.5 (author unknown)
	Song of the Godfrogs (C.G. Godfrog)

Safety in Numbers

If you're a skydiver, I'd like to show you my Freefall Drift Simulator. It shows how two groups of skydivers in freefall will drift in the wind, and how far apart they will be when they open their canopies given the amount of time between when they exited the aircraft. This is an important and very highly debated safety topic in the sport, and I hoped this applet will bring some visual clarity to the problem. Unfortunately, the applet is written using a technology from Hypercosm, which is out of business, so unless you happen to have the player already installed, you won't be able to view it. Go to the page anyway though, because it has links to other sites such as John Kallend's original version of the simulator.

LeapFest, Spring 2002 Pictures

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