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OK. Bill, I'll own that and apologize to the group. Not the impression I was trying to give, but obviously missed the mark.

Probably the main reason most of us stay in touch on here and have for so long. Sometimes, I think about how it all started as an extension of our conversations at the DZ's and has spanned over many years, subjects, different positions, and ultimately enough respect to listen.

I am fully white and raised in a white neighbourhood by white parents. Not sure why that would preclude me from protesting against racism in your opinion. It is honestly a pretty racist thing to say.

Some people you can argue with, exploring and ventilating a topic. Others you can only argue against. Wendy P.

I think in general one is able to make an inherently racist comment without being a racist.

I don't think you're a racist. I do think that claiming he is the wrong color, and thus his protest is invalid, is beneath you.

Hi Keith, Re: He's half-white So is Pres. Obama. IMO, no one considers either of them to be 'white.' IMO, to the world, they are black. Jerry Baumchen

90s era Vectors can be either Vector 2s or Vector 3s. Either way, sewn onto the pouch where the data card is stowed will be written the model number of the container. Generally written by hand. It will be V-(something). If you can supply that number I can answer your question. Raiders were if I remember correctly 220 sq ft F-111 type canopies. If your container is completely filled by it then no, a modern 230 ZP canopy will not fit. the next question is what reserve do you have? Up sizing the main to to fit your current weight and tolerance for firm landings while ingoring the reserve is generally considered unwise.

Meh. Another day, another fool/troll/русский-bot to add to the Ignore List.

You didn't actually read the story, did you? The job ad was for 'chaplain'. The application included the statement affirming Christian beliefs & practices It doesn't matter if 'all religions are the same' or not, although the Abrahamic faiths have more in common with each other than most adherents are willing to admit. The 1st A is pretty clear on this. Supreme Court rulings have made it even clearer. For a government entity to show favor of any religion over another is not acceptable. Your 'mechanic' analogy is so far off base, so irrelevant, that it's hilarious. Not terribly surprising, but funny none the less. And, as noted above, if the application included a requirement for the applicants to sign a statement affirming allegiance to Islam, the entire Christian/Alt Right universe would lose their minds. Do you remember when a mosque (actually a cultural center) was planned in NYC near the World Trade Center site? Do you remember the outrage? The lies? The hatred & bigotry? The lawsuits?

As a third party observer... nwt and BMAC, I think you two are needlessly seeing your exchanges as an argument. I don't think your posts are conflicting, I think they are complementary. nwt, I don't think you're wrong in assessing your incident. BMAC, I don't think you're wrong in assessing other factors that contributed to / might have prevented it. Informative reading from both sides. On another note, nwt, is your reserve still airworthy as a reserve? All that UV exposure... (Yeah, I'm joking. Sort of.)

I would say courtesy is given, respect is earned.

Hi Keith, Re: With only 6% of the population being veterans, I doubt that "most in the stands" are. I think you're mistaken, but as stated have no real quantitative measure. I went to work for a local agency of the US gov't in 1969. There were lots of veterans employed at that time. I retired from that same agency in 1999. Not many of those employed there were veterans by then. * I also 'have no real quantitative measure.' Just a gut check. IMO once the draft went away, there was less incentive to be in the military. Jerry Baumchen * The agency employed 3500 - 4000 at any given time.

I'm not ex-military or jingoistic and I've never minded standing for our anthem or anyone else's at a game. It's like a reminder that no matter how the ball or puck bounces don't forget it's just a game between friends.

For some reason, "Father's Day Jokes" crack me up. What's the best way to carve wood? Whittle by Whittle.

I'd have made them show proof of covid vaccination. From the comments: "the antifa SEALs strike again, haven't seen them since the Battle of Lake Travis"

I’m certainly not the only one who believes landing on rears as an emergency procedure is an important skill to develop - and that you should develop this skill on a beginner canopy w/ a low WL. Please recognize I’m not throwing anything in your face and if it feels like that, please know it is not my intention. I started this discussion with saying I recognize the timing and how this might be interpreted and that my intent is to help you gain some broader understanding. If you are suggesting I’m criticizing you for making certain financial decisions over your safety decisions, that is not the case. Please understand that none of what I have written has been with the intent to criticize, but, to help you understand what you could have done differently so you might not wind up in the same situation in the future and/or so you can better advise others to not make the same mistakes you have.

Id advise against in air rigging and going lower than necessary. If you've made the decision to chop - then chop. One thing you can never have enough of is altitude. Would be shitty if you ate up 6k of altitude then had to deal with something on the reserve that required time and altitude. Keep it simple.

Maybe for some, but I haven't trained for landing on rears and wasn't interested in winging it. My concern was safety above all else, and once I saw I couldn't fix it the decision was easy.

Which is unconstitutional. (And you're wrong. The ad was requesting chaplains, the application form was demanding Christians) Yes, it's specifically unconstitutional. If you want to get sued. Guess what, they're being sued. You are living in a fantasy world. Not only would multiple Christians be suing, it would be the headline news story on Fox, OAN, Breitbart, NYP for months and they'd be billing it as the death America as we know it. And you would be in full agreement with them.

Hi Rob, Re: provided the user has plenty of experience on similarly-loaded mains. That should read: provided the user has plenty of experience on similarly-loaded mains and is not unconscious. Jerry Baumchen

We argued this last month. You are required to have one more parachute that you plan to use. The regs are written poorly, but that's what they are supposed to say, and that's what the FAA will enforce... If you get caught. Intentional cutaways require a third parachute. Commonly called a 'tertiary' setup, commonly referred to as a 'tersh'. I can't remember which mfg it was that required a cut away to get a TI rating, but if a candidate didn't have one for real, they had to do one on a 'tersh' rig. UPT used to have one on the boogie circuit, used to demonstrate the skyhook. Beginners were NOT allowed to try it (C-license, IIRC).

While not 'notationally correct' (is that a real term?), canopy wingloading has usually been expressed as a ratio. More correct would be "lbs/sq ft". All the jumpers I know understand that "1.3:1" means "one point three pounds of jumper per square foot of canopy". It's still fairly prevalent and widely accepted. I know newer jumpers who went onto 'medium-ish loaded' ellipticals at fairly low jump numbers. Most of them did mostly ok. Some biffed and got hurt. OTOH, I know newer jumpers who screwed up and biffed while flying lightly loaded canopies.