BigMikeH77

The Boulder County commissioners meeting ended this afternoon after denying Independent Skydive Company's application for a land use permit to allow jumpers to land on a large parcel of agriculturally zoned private property, claiming mainly their concerns that there was no 100% guarantee that every single skydiver would land on target 100% of the time. Also at issue was the sanctity of a nearby Burrow Owl habitat. the DZO of Independent bent over backwards to do everything in his power to minimize impact to adjacent landowners, even so much as to restrict his operations - and pointed out that balloons and aircraft are not held to a 100% standard but in this case HE is. The main opponents to the permit were our usual suspects, despite the commissioners, zoning staff, and legal counsels acknowledgement that noise impact could not be considered... Every single voice in opposition was one of the local cronies, and many focused on bashing an entirely different dropzone than the one in question. I think Boulder County is walking a very fine line between land-use and economic discrimination, but that's just my opinion. Although the DZO was advised to continue to find another "more suitable" area in which to use as a landing area... They did not, however, specify what characteristics would define "suitable".

It's not your fight. No matter how loyal you are to your buddy, it's not going to do anyone a lick bit of good for you to get involved. And that's that.

NO They are NOT just for HP landings - they ought to be used to ENSURE that you get your landing pattern correct and are NOT a liability to others in the Pattern by having predictable Downwind, Base and Final legs!! We ALL have a duty of care in the Landing Pattern. Woah there... relax. I didn't say they were just for HP landings, I conveyed that they were intended to benefit those canopy pilots the most. This is in fact backed up by the manuals and L&B marketing for my audible. I also said that the low speed alerts are a good reference to have and a good tool to use. And nowhere in my post did I even begin to send a message that I (or anyone for that matter) somehow don't have a responsibility to my friends and other jumpers on the load to safely and predictably fly a good pattern. RELAX.

I also have an Optima II and am getting to know it still (have only had it for over a week), but I like the features. I have "ride up" alerts set to 2k, 5k, and 10k and check those against the visual on my hand, although I still find myself peeking at others' hand-mounts just to compare. For high speed alerts I have mine set at break-off, pull, and oh-shit/decision altitudes. From what I understand the L&B Quattro adds the option of a fourth alert, but I decided that could possibly confuse me and opted for the 3-alert Optima II. I use the canopy alert tones only as reference and don't base any maneuvers solely on them. I believe they are intended more for high performance stuff than for standard "straight in" patterns, but nonetheless it's nice to have the extra reference. Some sort of logging capability would have been nice, but that was an extra $100 I just didn't want to spend.

Thanks :-)

Where???

That's the spirit! I know lots and lots of folks who were extra nervous on their first hop-n-pop. I happened to have had an instructor next to me on my first who clearly saw my apprehension and helped me with the spot, then gave a thumbs-up. That little bit of reassurance went a long way. I think the key really is to relax, just like everyone else on the thread says. In time, you'll get better and even ENJOY them!

Sometimes things can be effective yet have looks and a "coolness" factor that leaves much to be desired. First thing that came to my mind are OTG goggles. I wear glasses, and needed the over-the-glasses goggles until last weekend when I finally bought a respectable full-face helmet. The OTG's were clumsy. On one occasion I failed to tighten them down enough and the wind caught underneath them, instantly blinding me in freefall. They smooshed my glasses into my nose and against my eyes, and bent them all up. They worked, though... USUALLY. but maaaan were they ugly. No one ever said anything to me about it though, probably because for the most part what's important is safety and having serviceable gear - not necessarily good looking gear. But then again, looking good on the outside tends to make you feel good on the inside. Before/after attached.

I dont know what YOU'VE been looking at on the web, but mine was an ad for an all-inclusive resort in Cabo..

As requested.. One of them looked like This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR2RNYwMAQc

--ISTJ-- Introvert(33%) Sensing(25%) Thinking(12%) Judging(11%) You have moderate preference of Introversion over Extraversion (33%) You have moderate preference of Sensing over Intuition (25%) You have slight preference of Thinking over Feeling (12%) You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (11%)

It wasnt just one test pattern. Seriously, it was freaky. The Indian Head Card had a voiceover of someone reciting a civil rights speech, there was one HD pattern that had pictures of women in bikinis in one corner, a ticking metronome type thing at the bottom, and moving black-and-white stripes in a small window.. The only one I didnt see was the old BBC test pattern with the girl playing Tic-Tac-Toe. Each Test pattern lasted for about one minute, and had its own intro screen with a short description. One was said to include "pink noise" but clearly included "white noise". Others had voiceovers in 5.1 that said "left, left, left... right, right, right... Surround left, surround left, surround left.."

I was woken from my slumber this morning at about 2:00am by the television broadcasting the most BIZARRE test patterns for over 30 minutes. There was the traditional "Bars and Tone" and the "Indian Head Card", but things got really weird with test patterns intended for HD devices. It was the most psychedelic thing I've experienced since I was 18!

My favourite comment on that page...

Indian (Dots not feathers).

On one of my coached jumps, I spiraled my canopy without being fully aware of where others were. Darn near spiraled right into my coach below. Ever since, I'm like an owl up there - totally head-on-a-swivel. That was a very stupid mistake.

Mine shall be embroidered simply with "Mat 14:31" "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”"

There will always be a very small number of complainers with nothing positive to do. This isn't limited to Longmont, as it has been recently pointed out. I just came across this 2013 report for St. Louis International Airport which stataes: "The City of St. Peters recorded the most noise complaints with a total of 188 complaints (90%), all from one caller." Remember, these are numbers from an INTERNATIONAL airport. Clearly, the Longmont complainers have nothing better to do if they are so bent out of shape because of the relatively quiet turboprop and piston GA craft. Keep things in perspective. The complainers are no better than internet trolls who just so happened to have escalated issues to unreasonable levels. Skydiving - and Skydivers - won't be run out of town. In fact, we might just make it a better place. On an unrelated note, I'm about to head out of town on business - It's been a while since I've boarded a plane and NOT jumped out. How weird.

Funny, I was told that it's the folks on the ground who are supposed to get out of your way. But that was in reference to a straight in, regular pattern.. And before anyone freaks out let's assume that we all take reasonable precaution to NOT hit anyone who has already landed... So which one is it? If I'm getting my stuff together and hear a canopy coming in, and can't see the pilot until a second or two before impact, what should I do - duck and cover or jump?

You know, one time I was in a pretty bad relationship. Girl kept cheating on me. Each time was the last time, and always with the same guy. She left me for him, then him for me, then she'd be in a relationship with the both of us, then just me, then just him, then me and him, and round and round we go. I was in a weird place in life back then, and was a real glutton for punishment. Kind of like stirring the pot, then putting the pot on a boat and rocking the boat while stirring the pot. You know I love ya, but re-hashing something that torqued everyone a couple of months ago... Jeez. You REALLY ARE a flying Rhenquest.

^^Word. Sometimes it gets pretty busy and congested out there. And after a great jump and nice landing, how awful would it be to get broken and/or break someone else because of a collision in the landing area? I mean, I'm certain it's happened - too often - that's just my take on it.

Fundraiser at Howl at the Moon

Yes, when I saw what had been released my initial thought was "Brought to you by the Ministry of Propaganda".. lol So colour the people of UAE lucky then, right? One of their rulers is a righteous skydiver. Maybe we need some of those here in the U.S.

USPA has indicated that they have "alerted the FAA in the early stages and we remain committed to keeping the FAA directly involved." and they "will also continue to be a resource to both DZOs." When asked what I can do as an individual, it was mentioned that both DZO's are incurring legal expenses and that I might consider donating money to them directly. So... I'm in the mood for a fundraiser. Any suggestions?

...And a lion with a full tummy