riddler

Woohoo! 13K balloon jumps. I'm in! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

From the 2004 SIM A maximum time limit for students is not specified by USPA. However, if it's past a few months, there's going to be more scrutiny for you. It'll be up to the S&TA at your dropzone to determine how long is too long. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Maybe a better way to do business? Container manufacturers take a 50% deposit at time of order. If they want the remaining money on time, they build the rig on time. Contract spells out they get paid less and less the later they are. If they are one week late, they only get 40% for second payment. Two weeks late, 30%, etc. If it's really late, buyer gets container for the original 50%. Contract also spells that when the container is done, buyer must present final payment within one week, or lose both deposit and container, at which time, manufacturer can sell container to someone else. I sometimes structure contracts like this for IT work. Seems that money is the best incentive to get the work done on time. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Can't do the protec thing. Air seems to flow into the helmet and affect my flight characteristics. Maybe the helmet I borrowed was too big? It's hard to invert when your head is being forced up by wind. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Only 131 A far cry from my goal of 200. This year's goal: 250. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A torch? As far as being raped by a woman, I don't know if that's possible. It would kind of be like trying to shove a marshmallow in a piggy-bank. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

But not the spell-checker, which explains the high post numbers. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

J, you're mama looks skeered. I bet my mama could kick her butt. Nice

I agree - Foster's is crap. The wind you feel when you stick your head out the window is in the middle of a vortex of air that is caused by the slipstream your car pushing the air out of the way. It is far from linear, so the idea of "relative wind cancellation" does not apply, although the wind will be less because your car is not pushing as much air out of the way. Theoretically, if you got in a place that was flat and for some reason the hurricane wind traveled in a straight line, and you managed to drive that spot, exactly downwind, and your car and your head had zero surface area (I know some people like that ), then yes, you would feel no wind. But then again, if you had zero surface area, there would be no surface to push the air against, so no you wouldn't feel wind. Next late night riddle. Given that I sleep naked, If I woke up and came downstairs because I heard a noise, and there was a burglar in the house, would the burglar flee in terror or rape me at knifepoint? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You can make most canopies softer opening by just having your rigger sew a pocket in the slider. The extra drag of air in the pocket slows the descent of the slider down the lines, and results in a slower opening canopy. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Zero G on night jumps are fun. Lights are out, dark outside, then suddenly, your head in on the ceiling. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Sometimes when winds are high, I've landed in the plane. My DZ has a rule about ground winds and not jumping when they get past 26 MPH. Landing in the plane is about the most frightening experience for me. Most of the time, I'd rather take my chances with high winds. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Perception of cold is tied to relative humidity. When I was a kid in boy scouts, we had this thing called a Polar Bear badge. To get it you had to sleep in below zero degree weather. Sleeping in it is much harder than standing in it. When it's -28, not including wind chill, you forget your homophobia and crawl into your best friends sleeping bag But the coldest I've ever been was swimming in a mountain lake in Colorado. It was much warmer than zero, but when you're in the water it turns your bones to ice quick! You haven't been cold until you literally can't breathe because the temperature paralyses your diaphram. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

There doesn't need to be. The only commitment the space shuttle has now is to the ISS. Using the STS to launch satellites is a complete waste - that can be done much more efficiently with unmanned rockets. The only reason the US government keeps the shuttle is ego - to keep ahead of the few other countries that are doing manned space trips. There is currently no economic or military reason for humans to go into space, and until we find one, we'll continue to have little or no funding for it. Look for future space developments from corporations. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's not hard to make a mostly non-metallic zip-gun out of thick rolled cardboard, a rubber band and a small nail or straight pin. They don't work very well, but they do work. Would be pretty easy to get by security. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Kept happening to me too. Really, I was just leaving them on the ground after packing and forgetting about them. I can only hope that some poor packers found them and are making good use of them

Question: are pull tests recorded on the reserve card? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

This is a good tip - I'll start using that. My risers have elastic stow keepers. I like them, but the one complaint is that when I push the excess steering line through, I have to push pretty hard, and it tends to fray or separate the threads of the steering line. Seems like I'm decreasing the life of the steering line. I had a steering line break once. Don't want to repeat that!! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ditto - Tri 190 loaded at 1:1. A great canopy for beginners. I still have it, but want to sell it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Drag for a non-collapsible PC is going to be primarily due to the diameter of the pilot chute - something that is not necessarily related to wingloading.

I'm sure is was public or private education that taught him to speak english, not his father. And as this is already turning into a political thread (it had to happen sooner or later), I am outta here. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I don't want to turn it into another insurance thread - we've had a few of those already But the problem with waivers is that the third party doesn't sign them. So the whuffo observer who's one-of-a-kind car you just dented, and who never signed anything, will want compensation. Not much he can get from the poor skydiver except a used rig, so he goes after the dropzone, which is perceived to have lots of money. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

One of the reasons that USPA dropzones require USPA membership is liability. As USPA members, we have third-party insurance in case we damage other's property while skydiving. For instance, if you hit a non-DZ plane or car while jumping, the damage would be insured if you are a USPA member. Dropzone owners don't want to be financially liable for your skydiving. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I think they mean to do that. The AFF instructors are so good, they just have one holding on to him, while the other flies around and corrects minor problems with his body position. This one foot is a few inches too high - let's just fix that. Yeah, that's it Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Can't say I like any politician, but cheers to ol' George for having some fun in his old age. In fairness, I should point out I've bumped my head and just about every other part of my body on the way out the door. More than once. Out of curiosity, who does his AFF? I would guess the Golden Knights or someone with military ties. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD