darkvapor

I would stay away from any site that does the following: http://hotbar.com/site/license.htm HOTBAR COLLECTS AND STORES INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW AND THE DATA YOU ENTER IN SEARCH ENGINE SEARCH FIELDS WHILE USING THE SOFTWARE. HOTBAR USES THIS INFORMATION TO DETERMINE WHICH ADS AND BUTTONS TO DISPLAY ON YOUR HOTBAR TOOLBARS AND WHICH ADS TO SHOW YOUR BROWSER. THIS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION IS STORED SEPARATELY FROM THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEB PAGES YOU VIEW AND THE DATA YOU ENTER

I've got some of that Ace Pure Silicon Lubricant that was recommended a while ago. I haven't used it on my cables yet, but I have sprayed it on a few other things around my place. It doesn't seem to lubricate very well. I was expecting it would act more like an oil lubricant that would keep its slick feel, but this stuff seems to dry and not actually lubricate anything. Ya'll sure this stuff is good stuff to use on the cutaway cables?

I suppose price is the most important factor. However, once I establish a good relationship with a company, I will be willing to pay a bit more before going to another cheaper place. For my new rig, I bought a canopy at a place because they were the cheapest around. However, I received such good customer service, that I went back for my container too. I would have liked to buy the reserve and cypres there too, but for a poor college student, I would have rather saved 200$. But whenever I am looking for another product, I always check with the place I have shopped before at and enjoy doing business with.

Very interesting related article that Mike Gruwell wrote last week. http://www.chutingstar.com/riggerrantandrave.html -------------------------------------------- "Cowboy's Caravan" leaves questions unanswered in deaths 11-Nov-02 -- Georgia's worst skydiving accident occurred Sept. 29, 1985, and many of us in the sport today know little about what occurred and what skydiving was like back in the 80s. But I recently was given the book "Cowboy's Caravan" to read, which is an account of the accident and investigation as well as a window into Georgia skydiving in the 1980s. The book was written by Robert L. Williams, the father of one of the skydivers killed in the crash. His son, David "Cowboy" Williams, a skydiver and pilot, was also the owner of the Cessna Caravan that crashed not far off the end of the runway at the Westwind drop zone, near Jenkinsburg, killing all 17 aboard. Having not been a part of skydiving during this time, I can not verify or substantiate the facts and story presented in "Cowboy's Caravan," but the author does bring up several interesting points about certain friends of "Cowboy" who were involved in drug operations as well as problems with the aircraft itself and the fuel barrels at the drop zone. The official cause of the crash released by the National Transportation Safety Board was water in the fuel; 34 percent water to fuel in the tank. The official report is available on the AOPA web site at www.aopa.org/asf/ntsb/index.html. Part of the report states, "Fuel in the tanks was contaminated with water and foreign material with the appearance of brown algae…(This aircraft) had a history of fuel contamination…(the) aircraft was estimated to be 370 pounds over its maximum weight limit." In addition to the author's other theories on the reason for the crash, one of the most interesting parts of the book is the general history of jumpers who are still in the sport today, including Dolphin manufacturer Mike Furry, Georgia jumper Louis Bottoms and instructors Bill Scott and Billy Rhodes. "I still believe the crash was not an accident," the author concludes. "I have hope that someday there will be evidence to prove what actually happened." To order this book, click on this link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1789195734 I haven't made up my mind if this is in horrible taste or not. If the accident they were referring included a fatality, there wouldn't be any doubt in my mind, but since there wasn't, I'm undecided (but does the distinction matter?)...

I've done some extensive searches before for a nice background image for my computer... today I gave up and decided to create one for myself. I thought I'd share it just incase anyone else wanted one. I "borrowed" the picture from the PD website, so credit due is credit given. Fifteen minutes in photoshop and out came this. Lemme know what ya'll think.

one more..

here ya go..

You can add dishwashing soap (like Dawn) to that list of stuff. It acts as a great anti-fog substance. Or you can just anti-fog liquid. Not sure exactly where you buy it, but I have a bottle that came with my bonehead boomerang. But dishwashing liquid works great (and cleans as it works). Just smear some off, and polish it off. I've done this trick with a paintball helmet's face shield and it worked great.

Sure, the credit card companies are immoral and unethical, especially in the information they give out and educating the public. HOWEVER, what ever happened to personal responsibility? I like having a high limit, it allows to me purchase things that would otherwise be difficult (like buying a whole rig over the internet). Just because they give you the credit doesn't make it their fault that a person maxes out their card. And I think bankruptcy laws SHOULD be very harsh. If people get in over their heads, its their fault, and I don't see a single reason that they should be allowed to just ignore their debts. People used to be sent to jail for being debters, I think we have it rather easy now.

I've done that twice so far. It's horrible for your grades (cuz you know you won't actually care what happened that day), but I've had a blast both times. I didn't mean to blow off ALL my classes that day.. but one jump turned into two.. two turned into three.. and by the time I checked my watch.. its 7pm and the sun is down... go figure..

This is from the linked material I posted earlier. 850912.. Andrew Thorton III, retired Lexington, Kentucky Police Department Narcotics Officer, crash landed via parachute in suburban Knoxville TN with 79 pounds of cocaine. Several other duffle bags of cocaine were found in the Chattahoochee National Forest, totalling approximately 400 pounds. ref:multiple news reports. See 870112, 871123, 890225, 900820, 930409, Sally Denton, The Bluegrass Conspiracy, Doubleday, 1990.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_type=AND&search_string=mechanical+advantage+mini+rings Go through those past threads to read about the mechanical advantages of the rings. I believe its something like: Larger rings have a 200:1 mechanical advantage while mini rings is something like 30:1. Big difference, however, its not so bad that people don't recommend or use mini-rings. I'm sure there have been incidents of hard cutaways as a result of using mini-rings, but most people say they were able to cutaway just fine. For the risers, I think 500 jumps might be a tad much. Maybe closer to 300 (just to be on the safe side), but it all depends on how much you use/abuse your gear. Maybe call the manufacturer for a better estimate.

Well, it was ingrained in us in the FJC. If there is any doubt in your ability to land your main, then go to your reserve. I think if people get into the mentality that they should land their main and save 50$ on a repack, then a lot more people are going to get hurt. And its always better to get rid of a questionable main then find yourself in an irrecoverable situation where injury is likely. And as AggieDave said, most people are flying canopies near the edge of their abilities. I think trying to land a canopy backwards is just asking for injuries. But that is just from my newbie perspective.

Well, from what I know, the biggest disadvantage of mini-risers is that they are weaker and wear faster. Meaning you have to be more diligent in replacing them and making sure they are in excellent condition. However, they look better and have lower drag. I'm not sure what mechanical disadvantage AggieDave is talking about. There is a mechanical disadvantage in using mini-rings over regular rings. But no *mechanical* disadvantage of mini-risers. Just their slightly higher failure rate. That's what brought me to ask my earlier question about what causes catastrophic riser failure.

What I would like to know is: In the documented cases of mini-riser failures, have they been sudden failures or due to lack of maintenance and timely replacement? If I remember correctly, I think the general recommendation for replacing minirisers (other than obvious wear and tear) would be around the same time a canopy needs relining. Would regular replacements have prevented mini-riser failure? Or is it an inherent weakness in the design?

I started out at Skydive Texas... hundreds of acres of open grasslands to land in... and if you couldn't hit that, hundreds more acres of flat grassy land around it.. In my limited experience, I haven't had any problems landing at any of the places I've jumped, however, its certainly nice to look down and see infinite possibilities..

http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1994Nov8.191455.18815%40cnsvax.uwec.edu&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain Try that link.. just a short blurb about the incident you mentioned, along with what looks like a reference. It is dated as 850912 (09/12/1985)

>>I'll say it again: Do not pack a canopy (that you >>just hooked up) before checking it's connected >>correctly! I totally agree. However, shouldn't it be obvious that *something* is wrong during packing? When you first pick up the canopy to start packing, the nose would be pointing away from you, instead of towards you. Correct? To me, it would seem like an obvious mistake that should be noticeable during the packing process. Even if you miss the nose being on the wrong side of the canopy, there would be twists in your lines when you lay the canopy down (or have it over your shoulder). I usually look behind me and check the lines regularly to make sure they are all straight and not getting away from me. I don't think this type of error is really something that can be missed (but it obviously is, since I have heard of many many occurances of this happening). Am I wrong to assume that this type of mistake is something than you can catch in packing? (Not that there is any excuse not to do a proper inspection before packing).

>>The main landing area is fairly large now but it's >>still a HILL. That part sucks..... It's a good thing that most of the load goes to the swoop pond (atleast when I was there). Their main landing area can't really handle more than a few people on approach at a time. And yea.. that hilly landing struck me as odd. I hear there is a lot of nasty turbulence off the trees.

>>drilled in the head by a wad of car keys from >>10,000 feet - DAMN ! Worse than looking up and seeing your main with parts of it shredded? (more likely, since I doubt your keys would slow down in mid air to wait for you to reach the ground before they hit you).

Yea.. the problem I heard about with Monroe is that there are too many trees. ASC kinda has the same problem. I've only jumped there one day, and I was lucky enough so that wind lined up with the main landing area nicely. However, the landing area is just a clearing in a forest.

What happened? Btw, when I get back to Texas in January, we are gonna jump.

There were several threads about the boomerang in the past month. Do a search, I would type up what I said about them again, but I am lazy.

22 jumps before I moved to another DZ. Didn't have much choice since I had to go back to school. Visited my 3rd DZ before jump 30.