FlyingRhenquest

Click on "my Stuff", then "My Profile" and select "Edit Picture". Then "Add a Picture". Hopefully that gets you going in the right direction. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

We actually had a discussion along these lines last night after the water training, wherein our instructor told a story the moral to which appeared to be "Don't pull so low! And if your canopy isn't flyable when you hit your decision altitude, cut it away!" It sounds like it's very easy to want to fight it, and it's very easy to lose a lot of altitude while you're fighting the canopy instead of being altitude aware. So if you get into a situation like that and find yourself at 1000 feet with a canopy you can't control, well now you have a problem. And maybe at that point a skyhook does make cutting away safer, but a better option is to not make the series of decisions that puts you into that situation in the first place. If you make that series of decisions on a regular basis I can think of a better safety device you should consider; a bowling ball. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

I haven't run across many web sites that actually use it in recent years. Java as a write-once-run-anywhere platform for enhanced web applications has largely been a failure. Rather than use the language that was custom-built for such applications, a remarkable amount of work has gone into getting the most out of the browser's javascript (which has nothing to do with Java, oddly) capabilities and Adobe's Flash. I'm not sure most people would have anything installed that actually uses java, unless you play Minecraft. If you don't know what minecraft is, go check out the videos. This one still cracks me up. For most people, I don't think they'd even notice if they uninstalled it. You could also just disable it in your browser and that would probably help. In firefox you can just click on the firefox button on the left side (Assuming Windows 7) and select "add-ons" from the drop down menu, then go to plugins, find the Java plug-in and click "disable." That'll at least keep web-based apps from running java apps on your browser. I run noscript in Firefox and something similar on Chrome, which prevents unknown web sites from running Java, Javascript or flash. I whitelist the web sites that are allowed to do anything in my browser. This isn't perfect security, but I feel safer doing that than not. It also makes the web significantly less obnoxious to wander around. Occasionally I have to use someone else's computer and am reminded just how "noisy" the unfiltered web actually is. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

I haven't looked at solid numbers, but I'm led to believe that an overwhelming number of fatalities in the sport are caused by mid-air collisions or collisions with the ground caused by initiating inappropriate maneuvers at unsafe altitudes. If you're going to go after low-hanging fruit, this is where you'd want to do it. Unfortunately it's difficult to solve these two problems with nifty gizmos. The solution to those seems to be good training and awareness on the part of the skydiver. Personally I'm fairly new to the sport and deploy at what I consider a "safe" altitude for my experience level. I have plenty of time to act in the event of a main canopy failure and had the cutaway/pull reserve procedure drilled into me constantly throughout AFF. When I move to buy my own rig in a month or two here, the skyhook is an option that I'm seriously considering. I'll talk to our master rigger prior to making a final decision to see if there are any major drawbacks that I should be concerned about. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Hmm, I never see the pilot way from way back by the door (and looking the other direction) like I usually am. The wording in the SIM seems vague to me, up to 20K feet. There's definitely an oxygen system, and I vaguely recall someone mentioning that if you asked for it they'd give it to you. I've just never seen anyone ask for it. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Hey All! I'm re-reading the USPA SIM in preparation for the B license exam, and noticed the section on altitude. You know, the bits on oxygen over 15000 MSL and how that's an "Intermediate Level" jump. I was a bit surprised, because pretty much every jump I've ever done has been between 17 and 18K MSL (around 12K AGL) and I've never seen anyone go for the oxygen, so I never thought that altitude was that big a deal. I also remember from hang gliding days my instructor mentioning that you don't want to go above 18K without bringing your own oxygen, so that was the number that was sticking in my head. I don't think I'd want to hang out at that altitude for long or go much above it, but it seems pretty comfortable for the length of time that I'm there. Funnily enough I can get higher in my car than the recommended altitude to start the onboard oxygen for intermediate and high altitude jumps. Maybe I should start watching my passengers for signs of hypoxia! Though sometimes they're not apparent until the passenger gets out of the car at 12100 feet and falls down... Anywhoo, what altitude do the folks at lower elevations usually jump from? Does your dropzone offer rides to 15K or higher? I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

If you're in it just for the adrenaline rush, you get a lot less of that once you get over the initial terror of jumping out of an airplane. My first AFF jump was the biggest adrenaline rush I've ever experienced. I still get one now, but it's pretty tame compared to that first one. Personally I enjoy having miles of empty sky to play around in, the focusing effect the jump has on me, hanging around the skydivers at the DZ, being that close to planes and watching my skills visibly progress. Is it for you? Only you can answer that. You don't have to commit to AFF though -- if you're 4 jumps in and are like "meh. Skydiving..." you can just not go back. You can also go read the USPA Advanced Progression SIM and see if any of that sounds interesting to you. For me, there's more than enough to keep me busy and interested, I think for as long as I am physically and financially capable of jumping. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Ooh! Planning anything special? I did flips on mine. A LOT of flips! Hmm. Come to think of it, I really haven't done flips in a while. Gonna have to put that on my to-do list... I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Oh, I know, you made that pretty clear in your reply. It's funny how much the situation changes over time. I have more tools in my toolbox now, am much more comfortable with how a skydive is supposed to go, and know about how long I have for a lot of situations now. I'm actually tempted to try a goggle-free jump one of these days when the temperature isn't cold enough to freeze my eyeballs, and they're flying the Cessna. If I got out last and left a lot of room so the jump could turn into a high pull if it needed to, it'd probably be reasonably safe. I'd want to talk to my eye doctor about it first. The lasik was years ago but it'd kind of suck to hit terminal and have my eyeballs explode or something. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Heh well today it might be a different situation. That was one of my first coach jumps out of AFF. The fact that we'd been discussing that very situation on the trailer kind of sped up my reaction, too. My instinct, on student status as I was, was to respond in this way to such an emergency. He agreed. I did wave off before pulling, but he was ahead of and below me. Not quite as safe for the guys behind me, but we usually leave decent separation between skydivers. These days I'd pause to see if I can see anything. Particularly in a large group I'm going to exercise a lot more caution about unexpected moves like that. Hell even if I can't see on my belly, I can try going to my back to see if that lets me at least see my altimeter to get to my planned deployment altitude. It's not like you don't have time at 8K feet. Of course these days I check my helmet straps before every jump, so that's a lot less likely to happen now. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

I lost my helmet and goggles on a coach jump, just as I started my track to catch up to my coach. Funnily enough my coach had just asked me what to do in that situation. I just pulled where it happened (Around 8K feet) as we'd discussed. I do pull my goggles down from time to time under canopy. Airtwardo's story makes my flesh crawl. I had lasik back in 04 and really don't want to mess with that. Funnily enough that helmet turned up again several months later. I'd attached a sticker to it and put my name on it. The person who found it in their back yard googled me and E-Mailed me that they had it. I stopped by and picked it up and now that I look at it, I can't find a strap adjustment for it where it will still fasten and also not pull over my chin with a little effort. I do make sure to check that on my current helmet before every jump, now! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Mine was a 1983 300ZX Turbo I got second hand with 66000 miles on it. Within a month both the clutch and turbo died, adding another couple grand to the price tag. I put another 160K miles on it before trading it in. There were just too many things going wrong with it that point to keep it going. I steered clear of Nissan for a long time after that, because I didn't think they'd be able to match the experience of that old Z car. Later generations of the Z got lackluster reviews. I gotta say their current Nismo is definitely a step up, and really the first car I've driven that I've actually liked since then. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

I think I'll probably be much more keen on it in the spring time. Heh heh heh. There are a lot more people to blame farts on in the King Air, though (This sword cuts both ways...) I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Sounds like the Navy guys who set up camp at our DZ for a couple weeks. They had a Sienna with a tailgate and a pretty hard-core looking oxygen system. I saw them jumping a couple of times on the DZ's usual "off" days. At least once thought to myself "That can't be our guys. They're all coming down in the same direction!" All one after another in a tidy little pattern. I can't find an argument against a travelling DZ that would really stand up, other than I'm sure there are probably a few FAA regs that would make it problematic. I think that you'd have to sell a fair number of tandems at each destination in order to pay for gas, food and airplane maintenance. Possibly the cost of living and any drama in the group might suck the fun out of it. You could always pitch the idea as a reality TV show! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Yeah, a couple of companies have tried to send me down the management road. That just doesn't feel productive to me. I didn't spend two decades building formidable technical skills just to go into work and spend all my time creating spreadsheets that no one will ever look at. The other advantage to IT is that when one company tries to send you down the management path, you can always find another company that's willing to pay you $10000 a year more to do the same technical work you were doing for the first company I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Bwahaha! Hello from another guy who falls like a brick! Funny thing about falling at 140 miles an hour, when I do manage to slow down to 120ish, it feels really unstable to me! What are you afraid of, exactly? You have a parachute, and you know how to use it! You have another parachute in case that one doesn't work! What's the worst possible thing you can imagine happening? I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Bah. Lawyers. And keep in mind that you're selecting a jury pool from a population where at least some of the people think it'd be feasible to have windows that passengers can open in a passenger jet... I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

In IT (Programming, specifically) a good manager keeps external groups off your back and lets you concentrate on doing your job. I've had three or four good ones over the course of the past couple of decades, but far more bad ones than good ones. Fortunately I rarely work on a team large enough for there to be a whole lot of politics that directly affect me. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Sounds like the worst Marvel superhero EVER! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

I'm actually pretty happy with my home DZ. With a King Air, Twin Otter and Cessna 206B, really nice rental gear, great people and (Perhaps best of all) 10 minutes from my house. The only thing I'd change is to rotate us 10-20 degrees South so that jumping in the winter isn't... like it was yesterday. Jumping from 12000 AGL when it's 40 degrees on the ground seems like a very efficient way to make human ice cubes. I know, I'm a total wimp... Of course, if I really wanted that I could just move to 10 minutes away from Deland. I'm pretty sure I could find an IT job in that area if I were so inclined. Actually if I were looking to make the perfect drop zone, I'd just move the entire operation to Curacao! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

My GOD they're making them enormous these days! Don't they know there's a fuel shortage on? Eeh. I'm kind of a fan of the vertical wind tunnel, and kind of wish I'd spent about half an hour in there prior to my AFF 1 jump. Other folks here complain it's not really anything like skydiving, but I think learning what the wind feels like and getting to where you're reasonably stable on your belly might free up more brain cells for other things. Things like paying attention to your altimeter. Or maybe it won't. This is also a great sport for shattering expectations. You're a few pounds heavier than I was when I started. If that affects your fall rate like it did mine, I'd suggest making damn sure you're altitude aware and pull when you're supposed to. My instructors were terrified they might not be able to catch me if I got away from them and didn't deploy when I was supposed to. One of them later called me "The fastest falling, most altitude aware student I've ever seen." So if you fall fast, also be altitude aware! Actually, be altitude aware anyway. Don't forget to breathe on your first AFF jump. I think I did my first three without breathing. From like, the moment I got on the plane. Though not breathing sometimes seems like it has some advantages... I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

The problem is then you have some 12 year old freeflyer heads-down carving around you on your jump like it's nothing. It's bad enough putting up with that in the Wind Tunnel! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

Hah! They did 2 tandems with video out of that thing a couple weeks ago! The first time I went in it with 6 people, the guy in front of me sat on my leg for the first 3000 feet. Good thing he left at that point, because it was going to be him or me! I actually find it to be somewhat more comfortable than being stuck in the middle of the King Air, but I get concerned with the number of body parts that fall asleep on the way to altitude. With neoprene socks on it was pretty comfortable, but my ass was cold half-way into the flight (We have a high-tech cloth and velcro door.) It was actually a pretty comfortable jump too, for all that I couldn't feel my fingers by the time I hit the ground. I got a nice slide on the snow when I landed, before walking it out. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

It hit 50 today, so I just had to swing by the home DZ, over lunch fill out this year's legal paperwork promising not to sue them if I die, and jump out of the Cessna! I seem to only be able to tolerate one jump out of the Cessna though. After that I'm ready to wait for the weekend and the Otter or King Air. I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

It's supposed to get up to the mid 40s for the next few days here! I need to pick up a box of latex gloves tomorrow morning. The worst part of these cold weather jumps is not being able to feel my fingers when I hit the ground. Latex gloves under the ones I normally wear seem to keep that from happening. I have some neoprene socks that are very nice (I actually bought some more pairs so I could wear them around the house,) a fleece vest I can put on under my jumpsuit and a neoprene hat and face mask I can put on if I need to. I'm set to jump in any conditions my home DZ will fly in! I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?