freakbrother

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Everything posted by freakbrother

  1. Yes, it's the rallying call for the far right that has replaced WMD scares. . . www.freak-brother.com
  2. This happened to me when a packer didn't properly stow the excess brake line on my velcroless risers. (I now stow it myself if I use a packer I don't know). Anyhow, I reached above with my free hand to take the tension off the brake line, and the finger released no problem. . . www.freak-brother.com
  3. Fatalities Each Year: 1992 - 27 1998 - 44 1993 - 41 1999 - 27 1994 - 30 2000 - 32 1995 - 27 2001 - 35 1996 - 39 2002 - 33 1997 - 31 2003 - 25 You mean canopy deaths, I meant deaths period. . There's a bit more detail in the attached graph. . . www.freak-brother.com
  4. Sure, but how is the mechanics of lift production different (as was claimed) between a rotor blade and a wing? Both impart a downward momentum to the airflow resulting (by Newton) in lift. Both have airfoils, both have tip vortices, both have inflow, the pressure distribution over both airfoils agrees with Bernoulli's theorem, etc. . . www.freak-brother.com
  5. The whole single testicle thing is is a very emotive issue for France. You see, in late 1939 - early 1940, the lyrics of a VERY popular song went: "Hitler... Has only got one ball. The other... Is on a garden wall. Himmler... Has something sim'ler. And Goebbels... Has no balls... At all." So perhaps NOW you can see why they're so upset! Mike. Sung to the tune of the Colonel Bogie March (aka the music from The Bridge on the River Kwai). . . www.freak-brother.com
  6. Well, here's the issue as I see it: 1. What exactly is the proposal that is being discussed? Brian's WNE chart ("NEVER EXCEED") or BillnDereknLisa....'s draft BSR which is significantly different? 2. If the issue is to force more canopy training, how does that affect someone with N+ jumps (where N is the top of the WNE chart) who decides to downsize with no additional training? Experienced jumpers are killing themselves in just as great numbers as inexperienced ones. 3. Some have argued that the data available shows gender and age to be more reliable indicators than jump numbers or WL of the likelihood of a landing accident. MAYBE this proposal is addressing the lesser problem. Don't you think we should try to find out for sure? Hence discussion is a good thing and will help to get the best outcome. I think those trying to shut down discussion are doing us a disservice. I have to commend Bill and others for being willing to listen and to modify their proposal from its original form in the light of comments received. . . www.freak-brother.com
  7. It's coming in a Nautilus shell? Or will the new suit look like THIS . . www.freak-brother.com
  8. they're the same glove (neumanns) with a different logo. how are they "better"? arlo Better logo? . . www.freak-brother.com
  9. I know a guy that had a bad deployment in a birdman jump, cutaway and pulled his reserve but his main lines had wrapped around his foot. So he ended up hanging upside down with 2 out and foot tangled. He used his hook knife to cut the main away. . . www.freak-brother.com
  10. Add "The Ladykillers" to godawful remakes of classics. . . www.freak-brother.com
  11. That's cool. Thanks for the clarification, Coulda done with it earlier, I guess. Nothing like arguing at cross purposes to waste a lot of bandwidth.
  12. Well, there seems to be some disagreement about what "NEVER EXCEED" means. Does NEVER mean never, or does it mean never unless you test out? That seems to be a source of some confusion. Clarify that and I thing a lot of the arguments will go away. For my part, I'd like a complete dissociation from jump numbers, and reliance instead on training and proven ability. . . www.freak-brother.com
  13. I have a pair of white back Reeboks (with grey leather palms), lasted about 4 seasons so far. Picked them up at Sportmart. They fit fine, and I have long fingers too. ALL WHITE may be a problem. . . www.freak-brother.com
  14. Beats me, but I scored 8% . . www.freak-brother.com
  15. That's why there was a shift of the axis and a change in the rotational period. Angular momentum is still conserved. My source is Aviation Week & Space Technology, it's in print or I'd post a link. They site NASA for the calculations. NASA uses spacecraft tracking stations all over the globe, and their station in Singapore evidently moved a considerable amount to the west. How is "rotation axis" defined? Moved with respect to what? Once influences of the Sun and Moon's gravity are factored out, the rotation axis must pass through the Earth's center of mass. Did the center of mass shift 8cm? With respect to what? . . www.freak-brother.com
  16. Indeed. The Ladykillers is another example of a remake that would have been better not made at all. PS Is that a RELIANT? . . www.freak-brother.com
  17. They are called cartridge starters and they were quite common for aircraft engines. Used a lot in WWII. See, for example: www.worldzone.net/technology/mike1087/canberra/canberra.html . . www.freak-brother.com
  18. Here's an interesting track I saw last year: He seemed to be moving pretty fast and flat in the video, although I only saw him do it once during the boogie. Rest of the time he tracked "normally". It's a capture from interlaced video so the quality sucks. . . www.freak-brother.com
  19. All the way from Titan, courtesy ESA: planetary.org/sounds/sounds/RADAR_sound.mp3 . . www.freak-brother.com
  20. OK, I'm on a roll now. Four more pics from a recent "invitational" 100+ way. That means everyone there is supposed to be good at all aspects of big ways, it's not a training camp. Watch how the jumper with the pink sleeves turns straight into her track (I'm fairly sure it's Flyangel2). See how much altitude and distance she gains compared to the jumpers around her. The guy who starts out on her left (black suit) must be catatonic. He just stays there in his Mantis, doesn't seem aware that there's a big way breaking off around him. The guy on her right also seems rather slow to figure out what's happening. REMEMBER, these are all in the first wave of a staged breakoff. A couple seconds later the next stage will be following them. It's very disconcerting to turn to track and find some slowpoke from the previous wave staring you in the face! Also, frame20, different jump. Guy at bottom left - this is a track? . . www.freak-brother.com
  21. You don't think higher WL's are more dangerous? Derek A wingloading, in and of itself, is neither safe nor dangerous. A high wingloading combined with insufficient skill AND judgment is dangerous. Jump numbers != skill Jump numbers != judgment skill != judgment . . www.freak-brother.com
  22. What's incredible is that anyone actually listens to it. . . www.freak-brother.com
  23. OK, here are 5 partial frames from a big way last summer, right at breakoff. Less than three seconds covers the entire set of frames. Same six jumpers are in every frame. Number the jumpers #1 through #6 from the left. frame 0 - breakoff just signalled. Jumpers 3 and 4 have released grips, and #3 starts his turn. frame 1 - jumper #1 missed the signal, #2 thru 6 are turning frame 2 - #2, 3 and 5 have finished their turns. #5 is already in a track. #1 hasn't responded yet. frame 3 - #2 and #5 in full track, #1 is turning #6 made slow turn but is in full track. #4 still grabbing air. frame 4 - #5 is already about 25 ft ahead of #1. #2 and 5, the quickest to get into a full track, are clearly moving ahead. #6 is catching #4. . . www.freak-brother.com
  24. I don't see what is wrong with a community wanting their children's textbooks to be accurate... and I certainly do not see that there is any Consitutional issue with the sticker. J Neither do I, as long as it's done consistently with EVERY scientific theory having identical treatment. So we'd sticker: Relativity Newtonian Mechanics Quantum mechanics Thermodynamics Chemical kinetic "laws" Genetics Evolution and a whole lot more. Of course, we'd need a lot of stickers. . . www.freak-brother.com
  25. Watch a few big way videos. Getting away from 100+ other skydivers is very important, yet you see all sorts of tracking from outstanding to awful. The best trackers DO enter the track while still turning; by the time they've done a 180 they are already accelerating away. However, being able to turn straight into a flat track takes practice. Getting a little training from a really good tracker helps too. I was fortunate that Roger Nelson, who was a really good tracker, instructed me. I have video that illustrates the point, I'll see if I can capture and post some stills from it. . . www.freak-brother.com