freakflyer9999

Does anyone have a sport container that is TSO'ed for more than 300 lbs.? I've looked through as much of the manufacturer info that I can find, but none seem to have anything TSO'ed over 300 lbs. I've heard that some of the manufacturers will custom make big boy rigs, but do they have a special TSO for them? I'm just getting back into the sport and have gained a few pounds. I'm currently about 300 lbs + gear. Yesterday I made my first (beer is on the way) jump in 5 years on an MT-1XX. It will handle the weight easy enough, but I hated the rig. I can't imagine making very many jumps on this thing. It was extremely uncomfortable and heavy. The risers were so long that I could barely reach the toggles and the toggle pressure required to steer and flare the canopy was high. And flat packing this thing like the manual suggests was a major event. Anyone have any suggestions or perhaps some unused gear sitting in the closet that might work? Kenny G.

Quote Nope. The purpose of the flight for the jumpers is to get to altitude and make a jump. The purpose of the flight for the pilot is to build flight time. That is not a common purpose. Quote I've heard the argument that if you don't log the flight time then you aren't "building flight time" and therefore the common purpose is to enjoy the beautiful blue sky.

I had a wristwatch ripped off my left wrist as I exited a Porter. Still not sure what I hung it on, but it was found a few feet from the peas later that week. Still ticking.

The venturi effect in the carb of an airplane requires the application of carb heat at lower rpm settings to prevent the formation of ice. So the venturi must cause it to get colder.

A number of years I made 5 jumps in one day with a head cold. My ears plugged up after the 3rd jump. The left one popped later that evening, but the right one didn't "pop" for 2 years. I had 65% hearing loss in that ear during those 2 years. One day it just popped and my hearing returned except for the high frequencies. Kenny G.

I weigh 300 + gear. If the weather in North Texas will ever clear up, I'll be getting back into the air after a 5 year layoff. I've borrowed an MT-1XX to get current and then I'll try to find something a little smaller. When I quit jumping I had just upsized to an Omega 245, but I've gained about 25-30 lbs, so I'll probably look for a ZP in the 260 to 290 range. I had a couple of low speed reserve rides on my PD218, but I imagine, I'll go for something quite a bit larger now. There are at least 2 others in the 275 lb plus range at my home DZ and a third at a nearby DZ. We could easily get a 1/2 ton 4 way going. I can't imagine what the pilot would think with 4 heavyweights hanging off the side of the Cessna. Kenny G.

Well, not exactly. But a buddy and I talked seriously about finding an old junk car with airbags and try to fire them to find out what it was like. Never did do it though.

I know someone that had over 6000 jumps before his first cutaway and I've watched a first jump student cutaway. Personally I've had 4 cutaways in a little over 200 jumps. Always be prepared.

My fourth cutaway was a similar spinning mal and I did have an RSL as I did on the other three cutaways. The result was a couple of minor line twists on my reserve, which I quickly kicked out of. It could have been worse I guess, but it wasn't and the main reason I cutaway was a conscious decision concerning my lack of altitude awareness due to the few seconds that I took to figure out what was wrong as the G-forces of the spin began to increase. I knew I was losing altitude rapidly, but didn't know how rapidly and since my opening had been only slightly above 2,000 feet I decided to chop it. Since my mal was caused by a brake line that came loose during opening(packed by my rigger) and tied itself into a knot, I could have stabilized the whole mess by pulling down on the opposite toggle. In hindsight I probably should have, but my thought process immediately assessed "What altitude am I at?". Since I didn't know the answer I chopped and as I said the RSL pulled as I spun, but the result was only minor line twists. Had I stablized the mess, I could have taken a moment to decide whether to disconnect the RSL.

I have one in my hand. The trademark info refers to "Oblivion Ventura Calif". I'm not sure where this originally came from, but I think a friend of mine picked it up at Quincy. He collected skydiving stickers and his parents gave them to me after he bounced. KG

Yep, got one for 80 something in the wonderful state of Missouri on my way to Quincy 97.

***I have almost a thousand jumps but I dont see me able to get my D- any time soon especially with day light savings coming up..*** All it takes is a sharp pencil to get your night jumps done for the D

Be careful about relying on a tetrahedron. Airports sometimes pin them in place to indicate the runway that you are to use. This may happen when a runway is temporarily closed or for other reasons. KG

I've met Dana a couple of times. Once at Quincy 97 while standing in line for breakfast I noticed the guy in front of me was wearing a skydiver wristband and two artificial legs. A few months ago I met Dana at a demo he did for a local school. Dana didn't have a ground crew that day so he asked me to help catch the flag and keep the crowd back from the small landing area. He told me then that he has made over 500 jumps since losing his legs. He certainly doesn't let the missing liimbs slow him down. Dana is also a helicopter pilot and continues to fly as well. I've also seen him a few time in the local Walmart, since he lives about 10 miles down the road. Anyway he is certainly one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He travels the country giving inspirational speechs as well as being a spokesperson for the prosthetics company that provides his artificial legs. If I remember correctly he told me that one of his legs actually cost over $40,000. Of course the prosthetics company prefers that he not use that particular one when skydiving. KG

I traded a couple of PMs with Pengy. I believe that the thread was a real request for help. Pengy has continued to logon several times since the thread was locked, however, he has not responded to my last PM. Of course I did tell him that I was not a professional and that professional help was needed. KG

David, Let me start by saying that suicide is not the answer to life's problems. Life is terminal on its own. See where it leads. I don't have any idea why you are considering this. Did your girlfriend/wife leave you? Lose your job? Just plain depression? There are lots of troubles in life, but all of these things can be fixed. Lots of other responses have already told you to get help or to just leave the problems behind by a change of scenery. Those are all good advice. On the other hand, I do personally believe that suicide is a better alternative to the slow agonizing death I watched my granddad suffer through. Five years with cancer. Two years on his back in a nursing home. If your situation is a terminal illness, then then answer is still the same. Please seek professional advice to make an informed decision. Suicide is very final. Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of the death of my best friend. He died while skydiving, doing the only thing I ever saw bring him life. I have to tell you though, it was not a pretty sight for those of us left behind. My friend did not commit suicide, but the result was virtually the same. His family, the skydiving community and I have all grieved for our loss as I'm sure we will grieve for you. It has been a tough time for several of us. I haven't jumped in four years and neither have several others who were present that day. Now with all that said, I would like to ask you two questions. Are you at the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that when you die, you will go to heaven? And If you were to stand before God today and He asked you "Why should I let you into my Heaven?" What would you say? If you don't know the answers, there are many people who can help you answer these questions. If you don't know who to turn to for answers to these questions, then I know I can find someone for you, if you will let me. Kenny G. P.S. If this is a troll, that's ok. It doesn't hurt to discuss this issue in an open forum. Perhaps there is someone else reading this thread who is contemplating suicide.

And where can you get one of those? (Not that I'm buying one, just curious) [url "http://www.paraflite.com/html/Tactical1.html"]Para Flite[url]

I sold a similar rig with Cypres and about 50 more jumps for $2,500 a few years ago.

I spoke to Bill Hazlet several years ago at Aerodyne (he answered his own phone) concerning scaling of parachute performance. I'm a heavy jumper, which is what initiated the conversation. We were primarily discussing the carrying capacity/strength of the larger canopies. His explanation was that many of the processes, materials, etc that go into making a canopy are not scaled when the canopy gets larger in square feet. For instance the seams and the threads used to sew those seams remain relatively the same. The height of the ribs and other features of the canopy remains relatively the same. Bottomline his statement was that a safe wingloading under a smaller canopy may not be a safe wingloading under a larger canopy and for that reason he would not sell me a canopy without losing weight. I'm actually glad he didn't because I ended up buying an Omega instead of a Triathlon. I think the Omega was a better performing canopy.

I wasn't on the load, but I saw the students unloading on the ground. Five S/L freefall students on board with one JM. The first student apparently balked in the door of the Porter and wouldn't jump. The DZO/pilot decided to descend with all the students instead of trying to move everyone around. He nosed the Porter over into a steep dive which resulted in all 5 student FXC 12000's firing as they went through about 2500'. As I said I was standing there on the ground watching as all 5 unloaded from the aircraft carrying their reserve pilot chutes in their hands. Funny but very scary at the same time. I did quit jumping at that particular DZ along with several others because of this incident as well as several other incidents. The only time I personally rode the plane down was when the Caribou lost power in one engine during climb out. With a tailgate full of S/L students and barely 1000' of altitude we all decided to ride down with the plane.

I've been out of skydiving for a few years and I'm considering getting back into, but I've gained several pounds. If I remember correctly, most containers are TSO'ed for a maximum of 254 lbs. I would estimate my exit weight at 315 lbs. Besides a modified tandem container are any of the current "sport" containers TSO'ed for this much weight? KG