CanuckInUSA

Spectres are definitely ground launchable (preferrably in the 1.4 to 1.6 wing loading range). People will want to remove their slider and their PC/bridle to cut down on drag (plus it will be easier to launch without the slider getting in the way). Plus while I have seen people do it, I would not recommend hauling up a skydiving rig complete with a packed reserve on a Ground Launching expedition. An empty BASE container (what I have used) or a specialize Ground Launching harness is a much better option. Now there are better canopies for Ground Launching than the Spectre (which is still a decent launchable canopy), but slope and wind conditions are huge influences for successful or unsuccessful launches. Plus slope and wind also helps determine if you are doing a forward or a rear launch. Finally open nose canopies (like a Spectre) are good for low to moderate wind days, while close nose canopies are better for higher wind days. But on windy days, not only do you have to watch the possible turbulence, but you absolutely must kite your wing first outside of the harness before you ever think on getting in the harness. If you can not control the canopy outside of the harness (due to the high winds), you have absolutely no business being in the harness. That is unless you don't mind being dragged off to Kansas with Dorthy. I don't know, Ground Launching is 100% fun, but it is also 100% not safe. Gain more skydiving canopy experience and then when you are ready seek formal Ground Launch training from knowledgeable instructors. There is a lot to learn and the margin for error is pretty slim. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There is nothing wrong with you wanting to Ground Launch and BASE jump in the future. But ... Ground Launching is NOT a safe activity and since you tell us you are having accuracy landing issues, maybe you should concentrate more on your skydiving canopy control. Get another 400-500 jumps under your belt in a much more controlled environment before you decide to launch a canopy off of a mountain. Ground Launching is full of unknowns. Stall that canopy or get caught with that unexpected gust of wind over a boulder field or trees could be the last thing you ever do. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

what about "they're" you have something against "they're". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I still say "None of the Above" is the best choice for the USA (you might as well vote for Paris Hilton, she may be a space case, but at least she thinks she's hot ... LOL). But if you think you guys have it bad in the USA, you should see the clowns Canada has. "We didn't get it done" - Michael Ignatief's words during the Liberal leadership debate in regards to the Liberals failed effort to live up to their Kyoto commitments. "Do you think it is easy making priorities" - Stephan Dion's words during the Liberal leadership campaign in response to Ignatief. LOL ... so here we have a man who could be the next PM who does not know how to prioritize but wants us to believe he can control Mother Nature through increased taxation. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My very first exposure to a canopy control course was when I had about 150 or so jumps and was with Derek VanBot...(I forget how to spell his last name) aka Hooknswoop. We did about 5 maybe 6 hours of ground school and only one jump. But we only did one jump because it was winter in Colorado and I am sorry it was freezing at 13k (we pulled high). Years later my next more advanced "swooping" training was with Jim Slaton and we did at least one hour up front of ground school before we took to the skies. But after that, there was on the ground video de-briefing after each jump I made. My course with Derek I was one of several students. But my time with Jim was always one-on-one (I have received some form of canopy control coaching from Jim on several different occasions). Sometimes these coaches do travel. But in most cases you will need to go to where they are. But in most cases, one-on-one training with a talented coach is worth the money. I am uncurrent now, but there is no way in hell I would have progressed as fast as I did if it wasn't for my one-on-one coaching that I received. Plus it didn't hurt that I took the summer of 2005 off from work and jumped 7 days a week putting the theoretical knowledge my coaches gave me into real world practice. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Scott Miller is like a brand name everyone is familar with. But let me tell you that receiving one-on-one canopy coaching from anyone of the mentors mentioned at the sticky thread at the top of this forum is good. All these people are very knowledgeable about canopy control (not just swooping) and all of these people would be able to help anyone looking for help. Several years back I took one of these one-on-one canopy sessions with a person familar to many around here and it was amazing the information this person was able to pass along to me. Oh and by the way, you need the ground school portion of these coaching sessions before you take to the air. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Some people are just not smart enough to know how to handle debt. This for sure is your classic "icing on the cake" scenario. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The PST has gone downhill ever since I left Colorado (just kidding), but I would like to thank Jim Slaton and the rest of the judges, organizers and DZOs who helped make the PST happen. I only have 2 PST comps (and numerous CPC regional and championships) but it was still a great experience and we the swoopers are the losers with this news. I know not everyone was kean with Jim's style, but you have to acknowledge that Jim was ultra passionate about the sport and it will not be easy to find a successor if there even will be a successor. Thank you for all the hard work you did Jim. I appreciated the experience. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I am still wondering if "none of the above" is a viable option for the USA. Without a doubt the Republicans under GWB have seriously messed up the last 8 years and while McCain does not appear to be remotely as stupid as GWB, he is pretty much Bush light. But on the other hand Obama lacks experience and there is no way in hell the USA can afford a fraction of all the goodies Obama is promising the masses. You know up here in Canuckistan we have a long history of our politicians promising us a socialist utopian society where everyone prances around in fields full of flowers and butterflies. But in reality all we have is high taxation, a failing healthcare system and instead of a field of flowers we have nothing more than a field full of weeds as our politicians do NOT do anything they promised the lemmings they would do. So Obama is just like our "nanny state" politicians. He is promising the people in America things he can not deliver on and the lemmings are buying into it. Oh and what ever happened to Obama's promise to renogiate NAFTA in America's favor. Turns out someone who knows more about NAFTA told him "hey dude are you stupid, do you want to cut off all that oil Canuckistan is feeding you all because you want to appeal to the unionized factory workers". Haha, the man clearly does not have the experience yet to have such an important job. Yes America this is a tough choice. You have a choice between Bush light and the socialist utopian world of your savior Obama. But the media is telling you to vote for Barrack because only he can deliver you fields full of flowers and butterflies for you to prounce around in. Is "none of the above" still available? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I am not sure I understand why some people are saying this child is doomed to a life of being messed up. Seems to me we have plenty of messed up children from so called normal hetro couples. But one thing is wrong in this story. A man did NOT give birth. It was a partial op transgendered woman who gave birth. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Keith Colwick was killed in a skydiving accident at Perris Valley on July 4th, 2008. While I did not know Keith nearly as well as the Perris Valley crew, my experiences with Keith on my rare visits to Perris, at a ground launching camp in CA as well as on the competitive swooping circuits were always positive ones. Keith will be missed and my condolences go out to his friends at Perris Valley, his family and to Andrea. BSBD ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... you know I do NOT support the LIEberal Party of Canada and right now they are proposing introducing an insane (IMHO) carbon tax at a time when huge chunks of the country are facing tough economic times. In therory universal healthcare is a good idea, but Canada is in no position to be bragging about the state of our healthcare. When I lived in the USA yes I needed insurance to do this, but when I wanted to see a doctor I got on the phone, scheduled an appointment, showed up at my designated time, waited no more than 10-15 minutes, was shown to the examining room, waiting maybe another 5-10 minutes and presto a doctor is in the room addressing whatever it is I needed. In Canada I can not even get a doctor to see me. I have to show up to a clinic, wait for 6-8 hours, hope to hell that my number is called, if I am lucky I get to see a doctor, the doctor doesn't give a damn about me (they are pissed off at their poor working conditions), they put me on some dumb waiting list that could take months (or years) to address my issue. So you tell me. Are my tax dollars really doing anything? What value am I getting from my taxes when I can't even get basic healthcare. Both systems are FUBAR'ed and both countries have scum for politicians. Cutting off their gravy train at the pork barrels (even if it was only for a week or two) is the only way these morons will wake up. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Problem is, it would never work without the help of the corporations to withhold all those payroll taxes and it's one of those scenarios where everyone would need to do it and not just a small minority. But could you imagine how freaked these corrupt politicians would feel if all of a sudden their gravy train was severed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

ROFLMAO too funny. You know I am sure Barack Obama is a fine man of integrity (not sure if this integrity applies to his church affiliation) and I am sure Barack Obama has a great future as a US senator representing the people of Illinois. But he clearly does NOT have the experience to be the prez. I still think out of all the clowns who wanted the job, Mitt Romney was one of the rare people who was actually qualified when it comes to skills and experience. Romney has a proven track record running successful large businesses. Romney has a proven track record running a state as a governor and Romney has a proven track record turning around the Salt Lake City Olympics. Too bad the evangelicals of the GOP couldn't see past his moromon religious beliefs. Ron Paul was also a wildcard but the Republicans and the MSM wrote him off before the start gun even went off. So that leaves us McCain versus Obama. McCain has experience, but I am still not sold on the man (of course my opinion means squat) and Obama is NOT qualified. How he got this far is beyond me. I see the Democrates of the USA and the LIEberals of Canada have something in common. Both make wild utopian promises to their socialist lemmings and the lemmings actually believe these people mean what they say. Oh well, at least Hillary Clinton won't be prez (this time around). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If one person does not pay their taxes, it is easy for the government(s) to go after them. But what if millions and millions of people stopped paying their taxes? This would require the cooperation of the corporations to withhold the payroll taxes, so it is likely something that would never happen. But if it did, do you think the corrupt politicians around the world would take notice of our displeasure of how they run things? Would they change if their gravy train was all of a sudden cut off? I know there is tons of crap going on in the USA right now, but there is just as much crap going on with your northern neighbour. I can't think of a better way to send a message to these idiots than a massive tax revolt. They can't put us all in jail. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes they do apply here. Afterall we as skydivers are aviators. We just fly different wings. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I understand where jsaxton is coming from. Freefall is cool and all that, but some of us prefer the canopy aspect of the sport. I am not all that current right now, so take what I say with a boulder of salt. But one of the negative issues with low timers jumping high(er) performance canopies is things just happen that much faster when you are flying smaller higher performance canopies. You lose more altitude when your canopy spins up on you during a potential malfunction and even when it opens fine, you are flying around in the pattern that much faster and unless you know all the aspects of how best to fly the canopy in different WX conditions from different spots, getting back to the desired LZ is all that more difficult for the less than experienced. No it is more than just landing speeds that make flying high(er) performance canopies challenging. So it helps to have some time under your wing before people try to fly high(er) performance canopies. The gear is much safer these days than it was in yester'year. Too bad we humans continue to find ways to kill ourselves in this sport. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

War, the vast majority of the time, is an aweful waste of time, energy and lives. It's easy for us in our modern time to look back and ask "what if". But what happened between 1939 and 1945 happened. We can not take it back. There are no "do overs". An estimated 50 million people lost their lives in those years due to this war and almost an entire continent was reduced to rubble. Plus while Nazi Germany hung on for 3 more years, they really lost the war when they lost Stalingrad. But at what price? Russia suffered 20 million dead (or was it closer to 30 million) in their quest to push back the invaders. But have we learned anything since 1945? Apparently not. I am no peacenik, but ... Iraq is a total disaster thanks to that moron GWB and while I think I still support what NATO is trying to do in Afghanistan, I also wonder how much of what is going on in that country is unnecessary? It can be argued that fighting Nazi Germany was the right thing to do. But it is becoming ever so clear that going in to Iraq was one of the stupidest things the US has ever done. Or is the USA + Iran all that egar towards pushing the world towards WWIII and has WWIII already begun and we just don't know it yet? Instead of obsessing about something that happened before the vast majority of us were even born, I think we should be looking ahead and asking ourselves why we continue to support present day wars. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There is a huge low over Montana that is effecting you in Eastern Washington State as well as myself up in Calgary Alberta. It's been raining pretty steady and at times hard here for 48 hours now and I just spent close to 6 of the last 24 hours carrying 5 gallon buckets of water away from the foundation of my house (I've carted away well over 100 buckets already). Fortunately (knock on wood) my basement is still dry (the same can not be said for my neighbour) but I was amazed how much water was collecting around my house. The ground is saturated and the new water falling from the sky will not be absorbed into the earth any time soon. Dang ... I was supposed to be doing other work on the house, not dealing with floods. But as I said (knock on wood) at least I am dry on the inside and this means two thumbs up for my weeping tile around the foundation. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What part of Canada are you in Chuck? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There are many ways to skin the cat, and I have found a way that (historically) works for me. But what works for one person may not work for another. After watching the video there is a couple things that are troubling. 1) I am not a fan of having my digital alitimeter mounted on my wrist. I prefer to have it mounted on my waist (I know others have them mounted around their chests and that works in a similar manner to the waist). To me, having the altimeter mounted on my waist allows me to glace at my target below while monitoring my altitude. Putting it on my wrist takes my focus away from my target, and it makes seeing other canopy traffic even harder. 2) I am not a fan of turning at a specific altitude. Way back when, when I was still learning to swoop (heck we are all still learning), I used to think that you needed to be in a specific part of the sky at a certain altitude on each jump. But I since been taught that every jump is different and I have been taught to use a range of altitudes and to use different turn techniques to compensate for whatever altitude you may find yourself at when it comes time to turn. 3) I am not a fan of audible altimeters that people use to decide when to turn. Going back to point #2, every jump is different and people who compete in competitive swoop competitions know that you want to be over your target before you start your turn (the start of your turn to make the entry gates can often depend on cross-wind conditions). I think people who rely on audible altimeters to decide when to turn are the ones who are most likely to struggle to make the gates and/or be in danger. If people need a beep in their ears to tell them when to turn, then they really need to take a few steps back with their swooping (maybe schedule some coaching). "I turned because a bell went off in my ears" just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. It should be "I turned because my eyes told me it was okay to commit to the turn". 4) I love my digital altimeter, it has done wonders towards making me a better more consistent swooper. But it is a tool that I use to help me monitor how to get to my setup point (how am I progressing based on the current WX conditions of that jump, do I use rears, toggles or full flight) and it is a tool that tells me what sort of turn can I make based on how well or how poorly I flew to my setup point. It tells me to make a fast turn rate if I am close to my basement, or it tells me to use a slower turn rate if I am high or if I have altitude to use double fronts. 5) Finally, digital altimeters are great tools to help you get to your setup point, but once you commit to the turn it is 100% visual and hopefully our spider senses are well tuned so that we know when to get off of our front risers, finish the turn and let the canopy recover naturally with little to no control inputs. None of us is born with this spider sense and surely digital altimeters have nothing to do with your spider senses. No developing one's spider senses is all about experience and currency. Now if I could only become current again. 2005/2006 (when I was last ultra current) seem like an eternity ... Oh well, sucks to be me living in the north with a short jump season, much more expensive jump tickets and less expendible income to spend on jumping. But it was fun while it lasted. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The "Center of the Universe" being labelled a nice place? Haha ... that's just too funny. Be prepared for anything. You could luck out and enjoy your stay. But you could also get stuck in some of the nastiest traffic for 1/2 of your time there (traffic jams occur at anytime of the day). Southern Ontario (which makes up metro Toronto and the surrounding cities from Oshawa down to Hamilton) is massive. Urban sprawl on a grand scale rivaled by only a few other areas. It is the 4th largest metropolitan area in North America following only New York, LA and Chicago. You say you will be there in January? Roll the dice in terms of what to expect with the weather. You could luck out and have some nice "global warming" conditions, or you could get stuck in a classic Great Lakes blizzard. Better to hope for the best while preparing for the worst. In summary, the "Center of the Universe" (Torona) is worth visiting, but you would never catch me living there. I will spare you my reasons why I dislike the place, but it is a lengthy list. PS: as much as I hate the Toronto Maple Leafs (the NHL hockey team) and as obnoxious as their media can be, I do have to take my hats off to the actual fans of the Maple Laughs. For an organization who more often than not "disappoints", they have some true blue "real" fans following the team. Ughh ... that hurt me to admit this (haha). But it is true. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I am confused 155.52 meters or 510.25 feet is an awesome swoop (can't take anything away from Bruno for this), but people have gone farther in the past. Like Jay Moledski going 678 feet in 2005. Have I been sleeping at the wheel and someone decided to strip Jay of his 678 foot swoop? Why is this swoop now claimed as a world record swoop? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Learn how to take criticism is 100% true. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

And your point is? I don't need to be an alien to know humans create shit wherever we go. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over