diverdriver

It depends on the size of operation. The best jump plane for that operation will be the one they can afford to buy, maintain regularly and irregularly, hire a competant pilot with good training, and still make money. That plane will vary between all types of operations. But! If you were to ask me what plane is the best jump plane for flying skydivers it is hands down the DeHavilland Super Twin Otter. Carries 23 jumpers with plenty of fuel so no dead sticking. Lots of power in an engine out situation. Only requires 1 pilot. Fixed landing gear so no gear up landings. Flys stable and slow enough on jumprun. Doesn't require a lot of runway to be LEGAL to use short and unimproved runways (*cough CASA cough*). High horizontal tail so that premature deployments in the door should not go over the tail or only rake the tail a bit. I could go on and on. Oh yah, and it has PT-6-27 engines which are some of the most reliable engines out there. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Portland did this for me. However, Ontario did not. They cut my lock and then left it that way for transport. ltdiver TSA is supposed to make it very clear NOT to lock ANY of your luggage or it will be cut off. And as many people post here about traveling with gear I believe it has been mentioned once or twice about this. It still sucks that they don't call you back to unlock it. Like how hard is that? We just had a pilot stopped for carrying a FAA required flashlight in his flight bag. They were going to confiscate it. Didn't matter that the TSA guy was WRONG. They just do things on their own anyway. So even when you're right. Your still wrong. Gotta love the Thousands Standing Around.

Lolie_Hotspring is good. But we will need more swimsuit pics to really tell for sure. Please post more for a better determination. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

I've had all three over the years I've jumped. With glasses under goggles you save the most amount of money for buying anything new. BUT, if you get hit or don't tighten them enough you could lose them outright. Prescription goggles are nice. But I had the plastic frame snap on me at one point and just never replaced them. I don't jump like a maniac so maybe all told I put 200 jumps on them. Didn't last as long as I would have liked. Helmet with glasses under visor: I have the Bonehead Havoc now. I like it alot. It makes you look a bit like Darth Vader but protects you in a full face helmet. It's the only helmet that I can fit my glasses under. I tried the Z1 and Oxygen. Nothing fit right without making me feel like my glasses were going to snap in two. But the Bonehead Havoc has the hole face section flip up not just the visor. My glasses fit under the face section without touching the visor. It also has two pockets for audible altimeters. But the drawback of the Havoc is the $300 price tag. It fits great. I love it. And thankfully it was a birthday gift. Thanks Renee. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Ever heard a flagpole rope slapping the pole in the wind? Maybe it's not the flag but the rope that is anoying and waking him up at night. Remember how the press doesn't print ALL the facts in a story? I think this should be thrown out of court but if it's something other than the flag itself then I think it can be adressed. I know he replaced the flag type once already so I don't know what else the guy could do. Some serious communication needs to happen it seems. Chris

Great post. I just watched Band of Brothers and in one episode the men were around Foy and needing supplies. They tried to air drop supplies in and as the fighters came in to clear the area they ended up shooting at their own guys. You didn't see them on trial did you? We should learn something from our past. This trial of these fighter pilots who dropped on the Canadians is a tragic accident. The loss of life can never be replaced. It is not taken lightly either. But we are involved in a war over there and people are carrying very large noise makers. My hope is that these pilots are found NOT GUILTY of manslaughter (that's what they are being charged with right?) and put back on the line or allowed to retire with an Honorable Discharge. Chris Schindler Grandson of 2 WWII Vets. Sick of people thinking war is clean and sanitary.

Got TAB?

Naperville, IL Skydive Chicago Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Sorry Pete. Forgive Skymedic for his forum faux paux of NOT STICKING TO THE TOPIC IN A TOPICAL FORUM. Yes, I do go in the box and as a matter of fact it is for a JET now! And I be the Captain on that JET now! Who da thunk huh? But somehow I slipped through the cracks. Yah, engine out is part of it. But it's nice to practice it in each of the planes that you fly. They will all have just a little bit different feel and may have slightly different procedures for securing the engine. Good thing to practice. Medic and I used to do lunch every week when he lived up here in the frozen tundra. Chris

Yah, that's what I thought too. So, why don't you go do something naughty, Kelli, and then post it here. Me thinks the crowds will enjoy that much more. LOL. Derek is such a lucky guy. And as for the pic with the cat and the gun.......POST IT! POST IT!!!!!!

Yes, definitely not a tourist anymore. Congratulations. Chris

Exactly my point. There's a lot of work. And right now nothing is going on to get it done. They cut the budget which is a shame since it really looked like it had some promise. If nothing else it would further our knowledge of alternative engines to produce power for launch. We need to reopen that project and get it done. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

I believe the replacement test vehichle is called the X-33. It is an SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) vehicle so no flying debri to damage tiles. The project was using a new engine called an Aero-Spike. Awesome stuff. The project was mothballed about 2-3 years ago due to budget cutbacks from the Clinton administration I believe. Either way, we have a new vehichle to do the job and carry on after the Shuttle. But it sits unfinished in a hangar. There was once a live feed camera that looked in on it. Don't know the link or whether it is still active anymore. I hope the project is imediately reinstated and production resumes. Chris

There's nothing like Hi-jacking someone else thread OR Sales Seminar. Yah know? Turn it around and get everyone to pay YOU for your selling techniques. That could buy much more gear than saving the cost of this seminar.

What are you talking about "before it was airborne"? It was 90 seconds into flight when that insulation hit the left wing. This HAS happened before and the shuttle returned. Why would this be any different than the other flights. They obviously couldn't tell the severity of the damage created right then. They don't even know that this caused the accident so saying that it was preventable is a very premature statement. ANY accident is preventable. But having the ability to change the outcome is the determining factor as to whether it will happen or not. It may be that there was no way to tell that this would happen on THIS occasion and not all the other times. I really get irritated when people in other countries imply that the US citizens are intentionally kept in the dark all the time and only THEY get the truth. Oh please. It has also been reported that those "safety advisors" implied that the funding would effect shuttle flights in the future. NOT the current flights in the short term including STS-107 (this flight). When you report things you need to include the whole story. Sometimes we DO get more info here than other countries. And yes, we have seen the new footage with the zoomed in area of the shuttle and insulation hitting the left wing. I have no idea if anyone is able to watch that video while it is launching. It's not like instant replay in football. You don't get 2 minutes to review the tape before going on. You have a split second to decide whether to perform an RTLS (Return To Launch Site). Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Didn't show? Magine that...... So you gonna go to his course and give him an earful? Please? I wanna see the sparks fly from here.

I think that's him. I liked his response when asked about being an astronaut: "You log 5,000 hours of high performance jet time over a long career but spend 10 days in space and you are forever known as an Astronaut!" LOL....like that's a bad thing. They're all American heros and patriots as far as I'm concerned. If you run into any of these people thank them for their sacrifice and dedication to Space exploration. Chris

Doesn't the ISS (International Space Station) already have a name? Freedom?

Where did you find this riser and has the jumper been told that he was jumping a crappy set of risers?

Don't forget Fred. Way cool guy. I forget what Shuttle flight he was on. I got to be on the same plane as Fred in the 2000 attempts. And of course, I have forgotten Fred's last name. Anyone help me out?

Ok....I was searching for the exact measurements on the Buffalo tailgate width and can't find it. So I can't say that it really is almost as wide as a C-130. But having seen them up close they are like really, really big. Yah, that's a scientific unit of measurement right? Chris

Oh you can fit more than 30 in there. It will dwarf a Casa. The tail gate is almost as wide as a C-130. I believe when we were looking at actually getting one we figured on many more than that. 50-60 comes to mind but that might be a high estimate. But they are really friggin big. And with the jets on it.....oh BABY! Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

Next time you are cruising along at highway speeds open up one of your windows. Do you feel a pressure change? I believe that the pressure inside a truck/van/car will be lower than the outside ambient airpressure thus possibly calibrating at a higher altitude to fire than it would normally had it not been in a moving car. Again, the easiest thing to do here is just wait to calibrate it at your departure point and then adjust it for any variation in landing altitude. Takes out the "what ifs" of this situation. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125

It's in the User's Manual. You can't set a Cypres on the way to altitude. Why would you want it to set? It would set at the altitude you happened to be at at that very moment. It would basicly fire high if it didn't have the inhibit logic. Chris Schindler

Holy Shyte! I think I have to go change my shorts now. BRB. Chris Schindler www.diverdriver.com ATP/D-19012 FB #4125