miked10270

"DB alive, well & jumping as recently as 1996-7" If you're interested in where he WAS (!!)(as I'm sure the Federal Authorities are) then mail me but send me your Pubkey for the response. Mike D10270.

Hi Ramon, THanx again... one further Q- Is that the Florida No. from the website or a Colorado No. (which I've lost...). Mike D10270.

Hi Jessica, I'm pretty sure tou can "fudge" the 4-year check by a couple of months EITHER WAY. I think its 3 months. For future reference the check is due on the "4th & 8th anniversary" of manufacture - so... If you send it in, say 3 months early then its good for 4 years & 3 months. If you send it in 3 months late then its good for 3 years & 9 months. Mike D10270.

Hi Ramon, Thanx for the info... Decision made

Hi Bill, & welcome back. DO you have any pics of dual deployments or malfunctions? I'm presently working on powerpoint presentations for FJCs & progression briefs (progression system)... But lacking a digital camera or a scanner I'm down to trawling the 'net & getting folk to mail me .jpgs. Thanx in advance, Mike D10270.

Hi Cengo, Let me "tidy up my "mals PP" & I'll send it to you. Mike D10270.

Re: Getting jump tickets back... Look at it this way, the 'plane's down & you go to the DZO & say "Guess what... We've just saved you $50,000 (or whatever the 'plane cost)! Can we have our jump tickets back!? Mike D10270.

The one I always laughed at was that: The "centre of thought processes & consciousness in the female is located towards the back of the brain, while in the male it is located further forward... and about 3 feet down! Or... Testicular cancer is on the increase... Men should feel & examine their testicles every 6 months... Then again their natural inclination is to do it every 6 minutes! Mike D10270.

HI there, Several airliners built in the 1960's had an "airstair". This was a section of the rear fuselage under the tail that opened downwards, kind of like an attic ladder & removed the need for jetways etc... The Sud-Aviation (Aerospatiale) Caravelle, De-Havilland Comet & Early Boeing 727 all had this. The WFFC used to have such a 727 every year, but I heard they've now lost it. Exit was via the rear airstair "just like DB Cooper" & no-one died. Anyway, having threatened tha airline with his Marzipan, got the money & 2 sets of parachutes, DB instructs the pilot to fly a specific course & altitude. He gets instruction from the remaining cabin crew on how to operate the airstair & sends him up to the cockpit. Next thing, the warning light goes off in the cockpit to show the airstair is opening & the pilot takes this to mean it's a good idea to SLOW THE F... DOWN!!!!! So the exit is do-able

OK... I'm biting!!! Personally I'm against "Capital Punishment" (spelt WITH capitals). This is not through any finer feelings for "my fellow humans" or beliefs in the sanctity of life... It's simply because if a conviction of someone is subsequently found to be "unsafe" then its kind of difficult to bring a dead person back to life! No offence to Skybytch, but I've seen a fair few trials by jury, so I've seen a fair few juries. I wouldn't trust the average juror to make a sensible decision on what to have for lunch, never mind impartially assess evidence in a criminal case. Yes, I'm against the Jury system as it stands... Mainly because most persons who actually turn up for jury service are those who're not intelligent enough to avoid it (which isn't hard). Commonly those who do sit on a jury seem to treat the verdict as a debate on which lawyer they were more impressed with or liked better!!! (or did you think it was just chance that the defence counsel in a rape trial is invariably a woman?). Would you let a total stranger off the street pack your main & reserve? NO!!! they're neither qualified or familiar with that task so if they did it they're likely to be dangerous! Would you be happy with someone who is neither qualified or familiar with the law to decide your guilt or innocence? Welcome to the Jury system. Historically, the jury was drawn from people who knew the defendant personally, but it was decided that they might not be impartial. Unfortunately, the average juror now brings his own prejudices into the court & these colour his decisions more than the evidence. The person who is "anti-police" will refuse to believe their evidence, the "womens-rights" believer will have the defendant in a rape case guilty (& ideally castrated) before the case begins, the "anti-capital-punishment" liberal will not convict on 1st degree murder, the historical victim of a robbery will already have a thief convicted without hearing the evidence. Funny, but true... A jury trial in England was abandoned in its third day after one jury member was found to be asleep throughout the trial - he was a nightshift worker & "couldn't be spared" from his job, a second juror was profoundly deaf & had perhaps heard even less than the first, & a third juror did not speak or understand English!!! Mike D10270.

OK, I was a hiker once.... "42 is the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the universe & everything". The ultimate question of life, the universe & everything is "What is Seven miltiplied by Five"!!!! Therefore the universe is fundamentally flawed!! Simple huh? Now we all know why we have to pay to skydive... Why we have to work... WHy there's clouds over our local DZ... Like I said... Fundamentally flawed. Mike D10270.

Hi There, Letting others on the load jump would depend on where they are relative to the person with the open reserve. Even then, Personally I'd be tempted to just abort the entire lift on the grounds of safety & bring everyone down. Then score it as an "aircraft emergency" & argue for the entire lift to get their jump tickets back! This would be easier to argue if half the lift hadn't exited part way up. At the end of the day it'd all depend on what seemed the safest course of action at the time, but if I was staying in the 'plane with an open reserve I'd want no movement & lots of help there! Mike D10270.

Hi there, It's about time I got a new "shiny thing"

Hi there, Unless you jump at a DZ with a dealership it's not so much a case of who to buy from, more a case of who to buy through. Talk to a rigger you trust, someone who has been around. They are established and are almost certainly your easy path to getting stuff to try out. Having said that, by the time you pay for carriage for your try outs, it may make more sense to travel to a DZ with a large dealership for a vacation so you can try out at least most of your wants. Mike D10270.

Yeah... But "next" for what!!!? Mike D10270.

Hi there, I have it on very good authority that the pic is not correctly captioned. Skyhawk is in fact the human child in the picture, but he's really saying "If I bring you more food, can I be next?" Mike D10270.

Hey... C'Mon... What are you guys worrying about!? The Canadians will NEVER dominate the world! First battle they get in to they're going to lose. Bear in mind that there is a distinct tactical disadvantage in battle when you have to give each order twice, first time in French (which nobody understands), then in English (which your opponents will hear anyway)! I agree with MattB... "Generals Claire & Jenny" definitely need something to occupy their excessive free time. Like I suggested previously... Canada as a country is kind of liike the average Canadian... Big & very empty at the top! Mike D10270.

Hey there, Personally I don't see the problem with jumping over Easter. Just lean on your (new found) religious beliefs -- you want to spend the day getting "Closer to God"... About 12,000ft closer. Mike D10270.

HI Denaga, Just a suggestion regarding your dual-Deployment. As I understand it, the only time you should cut away in a Dual-Deployment is jumping Square-on-Square IF the canopies transition into a Downplane. Square & round reserve = the main will fly into a "nose to earth" position & you will be suspended from your round reserve. Forget about steering - control will be VERY limited & via the reserve steering toggles. Square / square in "Biplane" (one canopy behind the other) = steer GENTLY using front canopys toggles (main is comonly front canopy). Square / square in side by side = steer GENTLY using main toggles. Square / square in Downplane = cutaway main IMMEDIATELY regardless of height!!!!! Be aware that either a biplane or (more likely) a side by side CAN transition into a downplane, particularly if you are not gentle with your steering input! SO... "Be prepared". Mike D10270.

Hi there, With a reserve PC out in the plane, grabbed & smothered, then the affected jumper & at least one other is staying in the 'plane. The "one other" is the person who's going to "cuddle up" behind the affected jumper, control his pack & make sure no other stuff falls out. If it is practicable, other parachutists may exit provided that this does not involve moving the affected parachutist unneccessarily. This is NOT the time for moving around & pushing past a guy with an open reserve. Let's face it guys (& gals), this is a somewhat tense situation (probably of the "Brown Tension" variety

Hi there, Personally I think the Darwin Awards get the pitch of their stories about right. While that perticular BASE fatality was tragic in the obvious sense... There is some dark homor in this happening during a "BASE safety" demo. I don't see that they were laughing at the fatality, more at the timing. BTW anyone else read about the philipino skyjacker, the grenade & the home made parachute!? Mike D10270.

Hi there, Just a short tale. A guy I know went for a "management" interview. During this he was asked to rate his communication & leadership skills & he replied "excellent". He was asked to justify his high opinion of himself to which he replied "I am a skydiving instructor. Every Saturday morning I take 12 people I have never met before & within 6 hours I have both motivated them & taught them the survival skills neccessary to jump from a 'plane 2/3 of a mile above the ground safely!" Got the job!!

Hi Cengo, I've also been playing with PP for lessons. WHat have you got so far? I'm still after pics of the following: S/L hang-up (Cessna/Porter), Dual deployment in Biplane, Canopy/Line Damage. Meanwhile, mail me. Mike D10270.

Hi Dutchboy, "The centre's costs for the repeat jump are the same". Not necessarily... Assuming the centre is giving decent training for each level, the centre saves at least 3 hours of instructor time for a repeat Level 1, and a good 1-2 hours for each successive level. AFF is not intensive in terms of the number of times an instructor jumps with the student (a perfect 8 level AFF course is only 19 slots). It IS intensive in terms of the time the instructor spends training, briefing & debriefing the student, but much of the training for a repeat level has already been done, so "slots + kit hire + say... $20" is the "no profit" option taken by some AFF Schools. So... $100 or so is fair for L1-3, $80 for L4-8. Of course, the person who completes AFF in the minimum jumps tends to be in the minority, so some schools cut back on the base price & charge full rate on repeats. ALso, with larger schools, much depends on how the school pays the instructor. If they pay the instructor by the hour, they can easily lose money with a slow instructor or pupil. If they pay the instructor a set rate per jump, they risk the instructor giving "skimpy" coaching in order to get the student in the air & thus earn money. Bear in mind that unless the AFF instructor is a close personal friend, they are not instructing for fun, but for money. This is a business so it has to provide a living! That said, while the school or instructor has to show a profit, they also have to give "value for money" or risk losing custom. Not easy!!! Mike D10270.

Hey 'Sis, Help me out here, FFF is impugning my sanity!!!!!!! Methinks he needs to be "properly attired" to answer my questions... Perhaps something with handcuff & Razorwire accessories? Mike D10270.