ManBird

Hey all. Some of you know me. Some of you don't. Well, after reading this, you all will. I'm generally a pretty straightforward guy. I might use a picture of a girl blowing a bubble as my avatar at times, but I don't have a gun range with pictures of third world children for targets or anything weird like that. However, I do have my dark side, and I need an outlet. I think that the healthiest way for me to keep from going too far off into the deep end is to confess these peculiar thoughts to understanding, sympthetic people. I do have a few dark ones, immediately on my mind, that I need to get out. Phew... here goes: ====================================== 1. I want to live in my car I drive a 1999 Dodge Intrepid. One night, I needed to pull over and get some rest. I simply cannot sleep in a car seat, so I had to find another way to lay down. It turned out that when I lower the back seats and slide into the huge trunk, it makes for a very comfortable bed. There are times that I go out to the drop zone, and rather than go home, when I very easily could, I just snuggle up in the trunk of my car. I clutter it with junk just to feel a little more snug. Both my girlfriend and I have slept back there. If we had access to a shower and didn't have a cat, I'd try to talk her into moving in. 2. I like watching fat girls cry Now allow me to stress this right up front: I'm not aroused by crying fat girls. I simply enjoy it, the same way one enjoys the news or Invader Zim. I don't know what it is. When I see girl, her hair in a pony tail, 200 pounds overweight and crying on the phone at a bus stop, I just want to take off my shoes, have a seat, and enjoy the show. 3. An immediate problem I've recently (last night) discovered that if I have a few shots of absinth and eat a raw red savina habañero within minutes of each other, the result is essentially pissing fire out of one's ass. Sorry, I told you I had a dark side. ====================================== Thank you for reading. It's therapeutic. More to come in a future volume of ManBird's Dark Secrets. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Hackey on my 28" ZP PC with 6' kill line bridle. Practice gold ball on my 32" F111 PC with 10' kill line bridle PVC on my 36" ZP PC with 9' bridle Cap on my 42" F111 PC with 9' bridle "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Just strong arm people. I'm new and it's working on me. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Basically, yes. However, there is this level of fine tuning for both positions that I've found impossible to explain in words. That little bit extra makes a big difference in flight performance, for both lift and glide, whichever you're going for. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

A hot air ballon and two cliffs. It was Leo Dickinson and Andy Montriou that made the jumps. There is or will be a film named, "Flying With Falcons." There's also a documentary out there (same footage) called, "Lucy—The Falcon That Flew With Man". Leo's site should have more info: http://www.adventurearchive.com "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

The times that I made it past the 180s mark were generally in an edge-of-stall-flight mode. However, you can get still get close to it and kick ass horizontally. I've had a good number of FAR flights with delays of over 160s. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

HAHA! Nice! Is that the S4 prototype thingy? "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Naw, stalled flight will do crap for a BASE jump. Go far, fast! "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Just being there that day was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I showed that video and the first stowed jump video to a friend last night, and he was very impressed by both. He asked "Why did he land in the water both times?" And I replied, "Oh, because he's a paraplegic." He had no idea.

I need to compile some video of my Katana openings. I get consistently kickass openings. As far as nose, slider, etc. I don't do anything. I don't shove the nose and don't cup the slider too much (like I did on my Sabre and Sabre2). Don't roll anything. Just flake it and wrap the tail. During deployment, just hold real still. I've found that attempting to correct with harness just result in a spinning opening. I did notice at one time that PD recommends, on the Katana, to not shove the nose or cover it with the slider, as it contributes to off-heading openings. And good call by hkf on twisted brake lines. I've noticed that they not only affect the opening, but the flight itself. I check for and correct twists on every pack job now (at least every three), and that helps a lot. I have a tendency to stow my left brake with a twist. Weird. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I did notice that you changed the figures a bit (49MPH is totally normal on a Classic -- especially if you're tall and skinny). It sounds like you're "hugging the air." In other words, you're flying in a "stall" position. You can get a good fall rate this way, but you don't go anywhere -- not really flying. When you flatten out and fully extend everything, your fall rate will go up a bit, but you should get a much better glide. If you're gaining 20mph in fall rate by flatten out, then there's something you aren't doing right. People always ask, "what's the best arm" position, when they should be asking, "what's the best leg" position. I suggest that you pay more attention to your legs than your arms. Make sure your knees are locked, toes pointed, full extension on everything. If you fly your legs right, you'll see your glide go up and your fall rate go down. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

I, too, have seen the Neptune "wait" to start logging with later versions. This is better than what it used to do. It used to start logging right when the door opened on a lot of aircraft (especially tailgates), so some people would come down from a lower wingsuit flight (6K or 7K) and report 70s - 80s delays, when 30s of that was jump run. One of the nice things about using Paralog with the Neptune or JumpTrack with ProTrack is that you can sort out these things a little better. Screw what the unit reports back or what summaries are made. If you had a 10,000' freefall over 141s, you had a 48MPH fall rate. End of story. You can't argue distance over time. Would I be correct in assuming your Neptune is an audible for you? If so, disregard those 26MPH, etc, figures. You'll never get accurate tracking with your unit on your head. This is why you need two or three. The ultimate setup is three -- one visual, one audible, and one in your sock or pants pocket for recording data. A Neptune on your hand will still have anomolies every time you rotate your wrist to look at your altimeter, but it will still be more accurate than on your head. Personally, I'm OK with ditching all of the above on BASE jumps and using one visual on skydives. GPS is still fun, but fall rate tracking got old for me a long time ago. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Hey, my packing kicks ass. I only have one canopy malfunction (rental gear that I did not pack at 38 jumps).

NEVER! Not yet, anyway. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Of course. And they have wide open shares, as well (nothing interesting, though). There are some rare special occassions were dumb people and computers DO mix (like when they live downstairs). I knew this day would come. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

HAHAHA!!! Holy crap! I have Internet access at home now! Thank you, neighbors! I love free wireless. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Tell me about it. See attached. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Sorry, I had to. The size and orientation of the photo was just too perfect. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Yes. That is, unless your family doesn't need to rely on you in any way at all (see attached). "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Uh... the first name is irrelevant. The point was Robin Williams. Are you taking me seriously? I posted a picture of a forward thinking pear named Rob, some weird flipper guy, and a Robin Williams movie poster -- and you took me seriously. Wow. PS Wow. OK. You have one last chance. Look at the attached pictures and try to take me seriously. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

You so totally just responded! You lied to me (see attached)! "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's all well and good. Of course family comes first. But that's just it. Family comes first. Complaining about a skydiving gear manufacturer not bending over backwards for you because you have prior commitments is just silly (see attached). PS The "custody" comment was in regards to skydivers that have knocked someone up. It was a joke (hence the wink), not targeted at you. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

OK, now you're just being weird (see attached). Check the profile of your average active/fulltime skydiver (marital status, number of children (in custody )). If I had a house and family, I probably wouldn't have time to be super-active in my hobbies. I also wouldn't be spending half my income and time on parachuting, either. Welcome to skydiving. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

Per conversation with Chachi. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click

That's awesome. I'm going to wear pants for the rest of the day. "¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯" Click