riddler
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Everything posted by riddler
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Slipping Through the Cracks? (coaching question)
riddler replied to BikerBabe's topic in Safety and Training
Coaching never used to be a requirement in skydiving. It used to be an informal thing where skydivers sought out other skydivers for help in accomplishing some goal. Most skydivers seem to do this naturally, but there will always be some that don't have any desire. I don't there's anything wrong with that, as long as those people are at least safety conscious. My belief is that coaching was formalized and required for an A license specifically to make sure those few people don't slip between the cracks. There's no pressure for anyone to actually get an A license, but if he wants to jump at any other USPA DZ, they will likely not let him jump unless he has a checkout dive with an instructor. I don't think there's any reason to force someone to get a license, but he is really limiting himself by not doing it. I wouldn't be concerned unless you see flagrant safety violations. Outside of that, each skydiver needs to find their own path. -
If it's your first broken bone during a skydive, it calls for beer. 2:2:1 Bad weather on Saturday (or did Canuck already say that?) and ... 1 new rig!! Beer pending because I didn't decide to keep it until I finally managed to jump it on susnset load yesterday. Voodoo/Lotus 150 - quite a step up from my triathalon 190, but handles and lands great. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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If you were in Colorado right now, you might be eating ... SUSHI with all your fellow skydivers. My ex-girlfriend used to let her two cats and one dog lick all the plates. I know they went through the dishwasher, and it was cleaned and all, but it still made me queasy eating off them. Everyone be safe and have fun this weekend!! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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I've had a triathalon 190 for about a year now, and 95% of my openings are wonderfully soft. I don't roll the nose - only the tail. I disagree with anyone who says triathalons are known for hard openings, only because I've put my last 100 jumps on one, and that's not been my experience. A few of my openings have been brutal. I blame my bad packing, not the canopy - once was a broken steering line. No canopy opens great 100% of the time, and if anyone ever invents such a canopy, I will buy it. It helps to be a good packer - I am not.
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Wow - I never thought of applying waveform analysis to the picture. I wonder if a Fourier Analysis could help us detect the anomalies caused by random gusts? j/k Bill - a good explanation for enginerds. But with my lack of pilot training once again rearing it's ugly head, I have to ask if this is a typical scenario? Right now, I'm visualizing large cubes of air moving over the ground with me in it. As I descend, it's probable that I will hit a few different cubes moving in different directions, due to thermoclines, etc. But how likely is a gradient of force in one cube? It seems more likely that the entire mass will move at the same speed and direction, unless a completely new mass is entered.
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This was originally explained to me as why a canopy would naturally turn downwind - that person said an unpowered boat would naturally turn downstream. It made sense at the time, but I now see why this is wrong. I believe that comparing a ram-air canopy to any kind of unpowered vehicle is not a valid analogy. A ram-air canopy, if inflated, always has forward movement, powered by gravity. An open canopy is much more like Hook's example of a submarine that has the propeller turning, even if you can't steer it. Even if you are unconscious, your canopy still has forward power, as long as it is inflated.
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Welcome to dropzone.com! We're all idiots. If you don't like someone, feel free to browse through their past posts looking for idiotic things they say. BTW - yours is not a stupid post at all - other will learn from it. There are plenty of drunken posts that are much worse. But you can only edit/delete your own for up to 6 hours after you post, so your drunken words and typos are also immortalized after you wake up with that nasty hangover.
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Physics 111. Force is caused only by acceleration. Therefore, you will only get a "push" if there is a gust in that direction. When you are in the airstream, you are flowing with it - there is no "push" force because you are going at the same speed as the wind.
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Real TV and "Expert Skydivers'...My rant....
riddler replied to LawnDart21's topic in Safety and Training
Speaking of "used-to", I did a search through the latest SIM and I can't find anywhere that the D license level is called "expert" anymore. I think USPA is being very cautious with their wording these days. Has this been removed from all UPSA publications? -
Not sure where to post (heebie jeebies)
riddler replied to adamjenner's topic in Safety and Training
I'm a little anxious on every jump, and sometimes I have a bad one that makes me pause for a moment, but I immediately think about what went wrong and how to correct it. Then I am anxious to jump again and practice my techniques for better safety. You will probably have a few jumps that scare you - I think it's part of the sport. When you have asked others, thought it out, and practiced a procedure for handling that situation, it will not scare you. "Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear ... " - Frank Herbert -
I think this is a great idea. Most DZs that I have been to have a rule about the directions to track (usually 90 degrees to runway). It's good to get students learning which direction they are facing, so they know how to track off. I ended up right above a two-way last week and the student tracked fine, but the *experienced* jumper tracked right down the length of the runway (and towards jump run, no less). I pulled a little high to avoid them. I know that some people do really have trouble with compass directions. Many people are more landmark oriented, so it's good to get them out in the landing area and ask them which way they think is north. south, east, west. If they have too much trouble, it might be a good idea to just have them look where they are pointing relative to the runway. Usually people that have lots of trouble with compass directions are great with landmarks.
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Or better yet, use his feet to absorb the shock of impact. Can I just state for the record how much I really appreciate and respect This Guy? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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Michael - you must jump with Jeannie and I as well. Are you resettled now? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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A better question might be to ask which DZs are more open-minded, then go there yourself and experience it.
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Jesus is/was always a rebel. No way on RW. Probably even FF is too old-school. I'm thinking starts on the edge - base jumping or blade running, and creates a brand new paradigm in the skydiving world. I can see him now - "Hey Moses - check this shit" (waves hands in freefall and the clouds part for him to fall through).
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My guess as well. You are likely slumped over to one side in the harness, causing a slow descending spiral. That's only if you're lucky enough to have a canopy that opens straight. Most of my openings have a small turn to begin with (typically end cell closure one one side).
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I've never seen one before. by Low Profile, they mean the amount of metal that sticks out of the velcro is much less (i.e. the "top" and "bottom" of the D are shorter) ? Any other differences? Smaller diameter metal, shorter overall height of the D, etc? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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Well, to be fair it says "Mike Hunt Aiken County Sheriff". Not only a rough night, but apparently the County Sheriff is responsible. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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This is sort of a camera Karma I've noticed. The one jump that you forget to turn on your camera, you get hurt. So let's all be safe out there and remember to hit the record button. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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I think you mean jumping a sheep ewe. At least he doesn't like boy sheep. I haven't got April parachutist yet What page?
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I'm not sure chalk would adhere to a ZP canopy very well - on opening it would probably look more like the infamous baby-powder "explosions". Not to mention getting smeared quite a bit while packing. I wouldn't put any sort of chemical (marker, etc) on my canopy unless it was ready for the trash-bin. Never know what might react unfavorably with the fabric. At the very least it might stain permanently.
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One of my buddies on AFF ate nothing but bread for an entire week to save enough money to make his next AFF jump. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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Zee - rumor is that you completed AFF. Any truth to that? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD
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I only know of two DZs that allow minors to do tandems. Can anyone ballpark what percentage of DZs would allow this? 1%? 10%?
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I didn't know any still said dadgum. I think I'll try to bring this one back by using it nefariously around the dropzone. "Dadgum, get outta de plane!" "I'm tryin' to pack 'ere, dadgumit" "Dadgum parachute jus' 'bout broke my dadgum keester" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD