winsor

I keep a lot of rigs in date, but only one logbook. The likelihood that the particular rig I am using is in proximity to the logbook is way less than 100%, and I don't always get the odd jump recorded. Often I will show up somewhere that turns out to have jumping in progress, grab a rig out of the back of the plane or car, and get on a load or two. It's easy to lose track of such jumps. In addition, I misplaced a logbook for a couple of years and recorded jumps in a haphazard fashion along with my flight logs and whatnot. Reconstructing my logs for that period left out a goodly number that I know I made but couldn't track down sufficient details to bother recording. I think it was one of the Hunt brothers that said, when asked how much he was worth, that someone who knows how much money they have doesn't have very much. The same is probably equally true of skydives. Blue skies, Winsor

Much of what I do is time-dependent, sometimes to the extent that a few seconds make a difference. I have two Omega Speedmaster Professionals. One of them was a college graduation present some 25 years ago, the other was on Mike Mullins' wrist in Vietnam when Neal Armstrong was wearing his on the moon. I'm wearing the one I got from Mike now; the graduation present is due to go back to Switzerland for its periodic maintenance. Blue skies, Winsor

Well, I'm going to be in the London area on that date, so it could be doable. I'll have to figure out where Brixton is. Having my body clock set to Eastern Daylight Time might be useful for something that lasts until 3 AM. I usually don't stay up that late. Blue skies, Winsor

Alcohol REALLY didn't agree with me. 6,191 days - but who's counting? Blue skies, Winsor

I'm not a big fan of regulating things one way or another, I much prefer recommendation. Having said that, I strongly recommend that you go out and jump your pack job. Modern parachutes are designed to be amazingly reliable. I have seen people who were maddeningly meticulous about their pack jobs as well as those who just threw it in the bag and jumped it, and don't recall a great deal of difference between the two groups in terms of malfunction rate. By packing your own parachute you stand to benefit in a number of ways. For one thing, it demystiies the whole thing as you develop a hands-on familiarity with everything from soup to nuts. For another, you have the opportunity to perform your very own preflight inspection of your equipment. If you see a brake line finger trap that looks like it's worn a bit more than you like, or something else where your reaction is "I don't like the looks of that," you can bring it to the attention of someone who has been around longer and find out if it's a non-issue or something that could be a problem. When you are at pull altitude, it is nice to have a working knowledge of that upon which you are depending to bring you to earth in a nice, controlled fashion. I know it is reassuring to have someone who trust to prepare the gear, but it is even better when the person you trust the most is yourself. The only way I know to develop an intimate familiarity with your gear is to work with it. Pack it yourself, fire the reserve when it's due and participate in the repack if you can find a rigger who doesn't mind. I prefer to have a customer on hand while I'm working on their gear, since it's their life it will save if the reserve works as advertised. I also want to demystify the reserve, so they understand that it's just another parachute (albeit a very carefully packed variant). Jumping your own pack jobs is a really good idea, and can be a useful way of honing some lifesaving skills. In addition, you can dial in the kind of openings YOU like with your canopy, as well as saving time and money. Blue skies, Winsor

Out of shape (like now) I have a 30" waist and 42" chest; in shape it's 30" and 44". Do I qualify? yes 30/42 = .71 but you also have to be in the strongest 2%. Okay, if I don't take a shower for a couple of days I'm sure to be in the strongest 2%.

Out of shape (like now) I have a 30" waist and 42" chest; in shape it's 30" and 44". Do I qualify?

I find it funny that 2% are members, about 25% claim to be members and 75% have a total lack of interest in being associated. (Perhaps they are the smart one's. ) The only legitimate reason for Mensa membership is to get laid. Brilliant women are much better in bed. Trust me. Blue skies, Winsor

I have been a Mensa member since I was 25. There is no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, creed, national origin. People within the group have religious or political affliliations, but no agenda is supported by the organization. (edited for spelling) "Agenda" is the plural of "agendum." That should be "no agenda ARE supported..." or "no agendum IS supported...." Similarly you have: criteria/criterion data/datum addenda/addendum and so forth. What's Mensa? Blue skies, Winsor

Most of the African and African-American skydivers I know are Caucasians. Are you, by any chance, trying to refer to Negroes by that description? Mincing words accomplishes nothing. If the terminology was good enough for Martin Luther King, Jr., it's good enough for me. Blue skies, Winsor

I don't see it. Look in the mirror, Ron. Though you pushed the limits as you were coming up in the sport - and got the odd wake-up call for your trouble - you generally asked the advice of people whe had been around a while, and paid attention when it was given. Now that you have been around long enough to lose friends and acquaintances, and to watch the ingredients of a disaster come together time and again, you put your two cents in before someone comes to grief. You are distracted by the people who are hell-bent on destruction and maim or kill themselves in their defiance, but I assure you that there are more who pick up on the dangers cited by by those of us that have (so far) managed to survive them. On more than one occasion I have had someone come up to me and thank me for taking them aside years ago - though their ego may have been bruised at the time. Keep the message out there, and to a large extent it will sink in. Blue skies, Winsor

54.63511% - Super Geek I'm surprised. I didn't know what half of the references were (I'm not into gaming, and don't watch much teevee). Blue skies, Winsor

That's all I wanted to hear. Just so you know that the parameter in consideration here is the speed of the aircraft with regard to the air mass at opening altitude. The expression in parenthesis provides that value. Uncorrected for the winds at opening altitude, groundspeed can give you an approximation. It does not, however, provide "the answer," which can be demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. In the case of a downwind jump run, effective speed is significantly less when corrected for winds at opening altitude than it would appear if groundspeed alone is taken into consideration. As a matter of practice, a fixed minimum time between groups should likely be related to the true airspeed of the aircraft. If you want to increase the time between groups above that minimum, doing so by means of some systematic approach is advised. Going below the fixed minimum time between groups has all the appeal of low-pull contests. Getting away with it repeatedly does not make it a good idea. Blue skies, Winsor

I think it would help if you explained yourself a little more. How's this grab you? Oh, and Bill's algorithm - Exit separation = (groundspeed of aircraft + winds at opening alt) * seconds - is, in fact, the punch line. Blue skies, Winsor

You don't have to have an A license to jump at the Convention. You must be A qualified (or some such thing - 50 jumps or whatever) to jump in an unsupervised fashion, but you can make jumps ranging from tandem through AFF through coached jumps (for the cost of an extra jump ticket with a Load Organizer at Tent 3) on up to world records (if any are being arranged at that particular Convention). It is not unusual for someone with well less than 50 jumps to start the Convention jumping one-on-one with us, and end the Convention turning points with groups and jumping whatever specialty aircraft (balloons, biplanes, helicopters, etc.) as they see fit. For a low-experience jumper, there are few places where you can get more jumps in less time with better people for less money. The Convention is a great venue to get good fast. Blue skies, Winsor (LO Tent 3)

Actually, you are trying to space out the group of jumpers along the ground track of the jump aircraft, so ground speed has everything to do with it. Why do you think they use more time between groups when the winds aloft are cranking? It's because the groundspeed of the air craft is reduced. Actually, I couldn't care less about how jumpers are spaced over the ground. My primary concern with regard to spacing between groups is keeping people apart in the air. People confuse spotting with separation. They are both considerations, but hardly interchangeable. Blue skies, Winsor

A) What your ground speed measures has precious little to do with separation in the air. Minimum time between groups is still minimum time between groups; a function of air speed. This is especially true for a downwind jump run. B) The temperature has even less to do with separation than does ground speed. Blue skies, Winsor

My favorite saying is "Smoke a joint a day and..." uh, I forget the rest.

The 45 degree rule works great as long as there is not an inversion, we are using Fahrenheit, and the temperature is low enough (like a maximum of 35 degrees Fahrenheit) at exit altitude. If you watch the previous group and wait until they are in 45 degree (Fahrenheit) air before your group exits, you should be just fine. Estimating the temperature of the air through which the previous group is falling is an art that takes years to master. Of course, with modern electronics available, I'm sure someone could come up with a temperature transmitter that could provide the necessary information to make this the method of choice throughout the sport. In the meantime, however, using one of the other methods that keep groups centered many hundreds of feet apart at opening altitude will have to suffice. Blue skies, Winsor

No.

Freak. Fuck with a hippie, a hippie fucks around; fuck with a freak, a freak fucks back. To the uninitiated they look about the same - long hair, earrings, beards, kinda scruffy. However, hippies drive VW buses while freaks ride Harleys. Blue skies, Winsor

Why would the terrorists attack France? I thought France was the best friend they had? You are misinformed.

Wait a minute - are you telling me that it is LEGAL to run with scissors? Next you will be telling me that it is lawful to go swimming within half an hour of eating, or to jump up and down on the bed! If this is true, there ought to be a law! If something dangerous exists, it must be because there was a law they forgot to pass. Yeah, that's the ticket. Blue skies, Winsor

Judging by some of the Ugly Americans I encounter around the world, it is hardly surprising. Add to that the sheer inelegance with which we traditionally wield both power and "aid" and you have a pretty repellent mix. When people ask me if we have lost our fucking minds by virtue of one particularly enlightened policy or another, I can only answer "I suspect so." We are a nation with a short attention span, and we do not tend to do our homework. Our leaders are but a reflection of who and what we really are. When we are finally and fully hoist with our own petard I will refrain from a good "I told you so," since I will be as badly screwed as my fellow countrymen. Thus you should all enjoy yourseves, since it is much, much later than you think. Blue skies (with dark clouds on the horizon), Winsor

I think these are round parachutes used by the military. You usually have to jump them in lower winds. I don't recall what they renamed the T-10 after they made it one of those high-performance "steerable" parachutes, but T-13 or -14 does not sound right. FWIW, you do not have to jump them in winds any less than you do a ramair. We would jump them in 20 knots in a New York minute. Of course, a goodly number of us would wind up getting medevaced out, but that's part of the Airborne experience. Blue skies, Winsor