ZigZagMarquis

Actually, it's F16's you'd be worried about. Happened to a GA flight over Cross Keys on Wed when Bush was around Philly Nah... I'm more worred about the black helicopters then those Texas Electirc Lawn Darts...

Maybe you could call up Bush Sr. and get him to pull some strings... ya know, Skydiving, Sport of Presidents and all... . With the days of GPS upon us, its interesting the FAA is still isuing TFRs based on a distance on such and such VOR radial... would be much simpler to just state a Lat/Long and Circle of such and such Radius to such and such FL. Anyway, if I was flying in that area, I'd get out my chart, plot the TFR, then add at least half again to it and then stay hell and clear away from that... don't want those black helicopters chasin' me down!!!

C-Man, I was about to suggest the pull-test thing, but you beat me to it. Question though... I was taught, you don't pull the same spot on a canopy twice... ergo, part of the reason you mark the spot. Not pulling the same spot twice being true, in the case of a localized problem like maybe getting some DEET on your main, if you're going to re-test again later, how close to the original spot do you think is too close?

If your DZ has a hanging harness... next reserve repack, get with your local rigger and hook you and your rig, sans your main, to the "main risers" in the hanging harness or a suitable substitute... suspend yourself & rig a foot or so off the ground... Cut-Away & pull your Reserve.

ummm... can't believe no one has said it thus far... BEER!!!!!! Anyway, congrats, you're no longer a 2-digit-midget!!! ... you're now a 3-digit-midget.

Rub some bugs on it... Just kidding!!! Look up-post at what riggermick said.

hmmm... you might want to work on that "back-sliding" problem it looks like you have there... ... but seriously, that's cool!

I always tell the whuffos that these are for the coroner to pick you up with if you go in.

I suppose one could make that arguement and I could see where there would be circumstances where I'd agree, while I'd also say that there would be circumstances where I'd disagree... I suppose I was assuming (I know, possibly a bad thing) that this gal who owned what ever shop it happened to be was stamping money going through her place with something that was akin to being an "advertisement" for her business. I can see where the Fed would get a bit "ouchy" about that and my personal feeling on that, if that's the specific in this cae, is that it would be disconsiderate of other on part her to do so... but *shurgs* I'm not a lawyer so I don't know what the real "legality" of it all is. Also... free speech and all withstanding... I'd venture to say, its still up to the Fed and the Fed alone whether or not to take a bill out of circulation for what ever reason. In other words, even if you "win" the arguement that you can stamp any paper bill that comes through your business with what-not, I doubt you'd get far trying to tell the Fed they have to keep the bill in circulation for X-amount of time. Heck, what's the point anyways? Isn't the average time a paper bill is in circulation like 6 months anyway before it is deemed too "worn"??

She's lucky she didn't get in trouble... Anyway, at any DZ, I wonder how much "cash" is actually used other then say the gear store or gee-dunk... I'd expect that most jumps are paid for with check or credit card??

Night Jumps!!!!

I'm assuming you mean turning your canopy in one direction and taking note of speed and then turning it around and taking note of speed going the other way? Faster one is downwind. Is that right? I was taught this technique on a canopy control course and it's the one i use most frequently if i have to land out. Correct. Also, hopefully you're not "so far out" that you cannot see a windsock or flag or the direction folks who made it back to the DZ are landing in. Also, also, if you're "out" and there are other folks out there with you landing before you, watch which direction they land in... if they're down-wind, they'll kick up a lot of dirt and dust which will give you an indication of the wind direction... just be careful not to do a low turn trying to get get on the wind-line or what you think the wind-line is.

Now tell them where to find a current altimeter setting and dew point. Well... that web-site had a link to where you can find that info... right under the gooie where you input the info and get the answer, but here it is... http://weather.noaa.gov/ ... so, an example, for California City Skydive at apx 0950L, 17 May 06 (use North Edwards AFB for current conditions... close enough): Altitude 2454 feet Air Temperature 73.9 degrees F Altimeter Setting 29.97 inches Hg Dew Point 46.9 degrees F ... thus: Density Altitude 4063 feet Absolute Pressure 27.407 inches Hg Relative Density 88.64 % So, this means that although the field elevation is 2454', if you were landing your canopy (or airplane) there at the time / conditions in this example, your canopy (or aircraft) would perform as if it were landing at 4063' on a standard day.

http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_da.htm

Good for you!!!!

Yeah, we used to make our own too. Ah, the good ol' days when real fireworks weren't yet illegal and no mailbox was safe from a cherry-bomb... Anyway, Rapter PM'ed me with a pic of an M-80 Smoke Grenade... so they do exist... see, I told y'all he'd know... anyway, I still say they don't look like a Mk18 though.

... it would probably be one of those helmets with a crappy latch on the chin-strap...

hmmmm... interesting... what I knew as an M-80 growing up was more like a quarter stick of dynamite...

m-80 smoke grenades? ... are they kinda like a Mk-18 smoke grenade, but with a bigger "Bang"??? Anyway, listen to MJO-Sparky and Rampturd... they've set themselves on fire in an airplane more then most folks I know...

You're right, all exit counts should be acompanied by motion and silent counts work really well, but everyone needs to know its going to be a silent count... anyway... but if you sound off like you got a pair, the pilot should hear your verbal count too.

Rob, I've heard this argument over-and-over again on the DZ over the years as well as I've engaged in it myself as many times as I've run from it... however... for the sake of discussion, I'll throw out, to let folks cut-up on, that a student-rig with Rip-Cord & SOS much simplifies training, normal and emergency procedures for the AFF student who show's up and will ever only do one or just a handfull of AFF jumps and never seen again on the DZ; ESPECIALLY when combined with an RSL and modern-AAD... obviously both requried on student gear anyways. HOWEVER, for those students that show up and are destined to turn into real skydiving addicts... who'll ditch their whuffo significant other, hock their stereo for jump tickets, disconnect the cable to save money for jump tickets and 10 years later have 1000s of jumps, several rigs and a closet full of boogie t-shirts to show for it... THEN... absolutely, with out a doubt, only ever teaching them one main deployment and cut-away/reserve set-up would be the way to go. I think the trick really here is we need to invent some sort of crystal, mood-ring or weegee-board to have students lay their hands on when they show up on the DZ to tell the future skydivers from those not... Anyway... NoShitChick... never done a Static-Line jump, eh?!!? I think you need to get a rigger to set-up a student rig for a direct-bag static line deployment and find some ol' grey hair around the DZ that held a static line jumpmaster rate to put you out... come-on back out to Cal City... I think I can remember how to hook you up... "ARE YOU READY TO SKYDIVE?"... "GET IN THE DOOR"... "GO!!!!"

... hmmmm... hope that was a joke... but, if not, its bad enough that that a non-rigger person checking and tagging gear at a boogie wasn't given even the least bit of guidance, like, "Put the tag HERE and NOT here"... the really really bad thing is the person jumping the rig, if they in fact really did, didn't notice or do a self-gear check and realize how fucked up that is... "Here's Your Sign."

Is it true that at some DZ's in Florida, they have folks who "lurk" the place watching for cut-aways and they'll go snacth up your cut-away main and then "ransome" it back to you for a fee under the guise of having "rescued" it from the "swamps and gators?" I mean, giving someone a reward for bringing your cut-away main back to you is one thing, but someone expecting it least you don't get your property back is another. There's no connection between this system and that rumor is there?

Patience grasshopper... once you have passed the test and mastered the technique of packing new ZP you too will then be able to enjoy the entertainment of watching newbies go through the same trials and tribulations, but don't snicker or be too snide before offering them calming words and a bit of assistance...

... uneless he pencil packed one of his own questionable pack-jobs...