riddler

I never said I had THAT much money. Even if I was Bill Gates, I wouldn't own a dropzone. Too much hassle. Much better to be a fun jumper. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Do you just pay for two slots, then, or do you also give the DZ a commission? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

So let's just say I had a ton of cash at my disposal (it could happen!) and I'm also a tandem instructor - not a newbie, but not the best in the world either - say around 500 tandem jumps. In fact I have so much money, I buy my very own tandem rig and I'm qualified to jump it, etc, etc. Now I waltz into a random dropzone with a friend - not a random person I picked up on the street - really a friend that just wants to do a tandem, and wants to do it with me. I have an assumption of risk agreement that they signed for me, and they are willing to sign the DZ's AOR as well. At that point I offer two jump tickets to the DZ to take my friend on a tandem skydive. Would the DZO let me do it?

Is that as bad as it sounds? Doesn't sound like a good thing, but I'm not a TI, either. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Informative thread - thanks Kris. I'm imagining all the crazy things I'm gonna do when I get my rigger's ticket. Until then, it's not fun to have to have my rigger repack my reserve every time I feel like opening it Anyway, I wonder how this would affect a tie-dyed rig? I'm not sure what processes they use to tie-dye the containers, but the new rig I'm thinking about buying is pretty bright (yellow, orange, red), and I wonder if the woolite would fade it at all? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I am sure that pretty much every skydiver is glad that more tunnels are being built. Hopefully, the price will come down a bit after that, too. Although I've heard that operational costs are pretty high, and profit isn't all that great for tunnels to begin with. I wonder if the new tunnels have been designed to run with lower operational costs. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I agree 100%. Not a lot of DZ pilots jump as well. It' nice to get the perspective of a person that does both. Keep up the good work, Chris.

Should read - he died at the age of 1000000 Edited to add - anyone remember the japanese knock-off luggables? We had a few of those at my college.

I wasn't getting it when you explained it to me in person yesterday. But on the drive home, it started clicking. The way I had to think about this was if there is *zero* wind (no uppers, no ground winds), your canopy will open in some random direction and keep flying in that direction (assuming your body is straight and your canopy is good and you don't open in a turn). There is no force to make it turn, so it flies straight. Now, if you translate that to a mass of air moving above the ground, with yourself in that mass of air and you're already moving with it, from your point of view, it it just another still mass of air, and your canopy will open in any random direction within that mass of air and keep flying straight in that direction. The issue is how is that mass of air (along with you) moving over the ground? If it is moving over the ground at 15 MPH in some random direction, and you are moving within that mass of air at 15 MPH in some random direction, then your speed relative to the ground can be anywhere from 0 to 30 MPH. If you are lucky and your canopy randomly opened 180 degrees to the direction of the air mass moving over the ground, you will move at 0 MPH ground speed and fall straight down. If you are unlucky and your canopy happens to open in the same direction as the wind, you will land at 30 MPH relative to the ground and it will hurt. If you happen to be at 90 degrees, your forward speed will be 15 and you will also have 15 MPH sideways movement (also called a crosswind landing). Most of the time you will be slightly crosswind, and your landing will be unpleasant if you are unconscious. Maybe I should have posted this to the canopy control forum??

Very interesting - seems like mine tends to turn downwind naturally, but maybe that's just a mis-perception. You just gave me something to test on my next couple of jumps

Note to seal: from wet-water training. Loosen chest strap, prepare to PLF, swim down and away from canopy avoiding lines. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Also keep this in mind if you jump with a cypress. Probably the only justifiable excuse for a cypress fire is if you are unconscious. If you are unconscious, your parachute will naturally land down-wind. Unconscious + small reserve + downwind landing. Probably won't be good for you. Of course it beats unconscious and no cypress Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Sorry for you

All I know is we're not having a Casa at my DZ this year Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Most of my dreams (80%) involve skydiving or the dropzone or my skydiving friends. I have all sorts of dreams about skydiving. I've been writing my dreams down for about three years now (think LONG Word file ). If you think that your dreams can predict the future, I would suggest you write them down over a long period of time to find out and try to be as objective as possible. If it looks like you have some sort of precognitive ability, then go with it! It could be important and possibly save a friend's life. But it could also lead to unnecessary fear, and fear that leads to inaction can be a killer in this sport too. FYI - over the course of three years, I've found that all of my dreams have been manifestations of past thoughts or experience combined with a creative element that makes for an interesting story. None of them has shown any evidence of being precognitive. But maybe that just means I'm not "special" Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

3:1:0 Spent all day Saturday getting my hands on a new rig. Went to the DZ Sunday and did 1 jump with the old rig. Then waited around to do a coach evaluation jump with an AFF instructor, but got winded out before we could go. At least I got one jump in!! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Still looking for that 24/7 dropzone. Anyone found one yet? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Overheard Mustard at the coach course: "I have to get these two guys jumped before they go home". Context: two out-of-state coach candidates had to leave before Sunday afternoon to get back home and they wanted to get their two evaluation jumps in before they left. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

My brilliant girlfriend found it as soon as she came home from work - it took her about 17 seconds. FYI - it is on the backpack, underneath the warning label. The top side of the label is not sewn to the container, and it has an inner pocket inside that. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Someone in Longmont did this with a wind speed indicator - looked like a tiny fan with a digital read-out. I think it was a Kestral. I don't like to drop real names on public forums, so you can PM me if you want to know who. He might even let you borrow it - I'm sure we would all like to know your speed under that handkerchief you call a parachute. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

We think alike - that was the *second* place I checked Seems like a great place for it, but nope. I'm sure my rigger will find it, but I'd like to take a looksy before then if possible. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Anyone know where I can find the reserve repack card on a 2-year old Voodoo container? I'm used to them being under the reserve flap, but this one doesn't want to come up very far. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Good job! Be sure to let us know if there's any news on the other canopies. Seems like additional charges should be brought up if there's evidence that he's habitual. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

What parts should we expect to find serial numbers on? Seems like a great idea to make a list: 1. Canopy 2. Reserve canopy 3. Container? 4. Cypress 5. Altimeter (did that after mis-placing one) Anything else? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Also called "Syrah" in France and America. Same grape, different name. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD