slotperfect

Some suggestions: -Contact the manufacturers themselves with a brief explanation of your interest in these numbers. tedstrong@strongparachutes.com Ted Strong, Owner mark@relativeworkshop.com Mark Procos, RWS Tandem Director -Or you can contact USPA to see if they track that sort of information. groupmbrs@uspa.org -Bill Booth, President & CEO of RWS is a DZ.com member (billbooth) Out of curiosity: 1) Why are you interested in these numbers? 2) Why did you leave out other systems? (Sigma, Racer, Eclipse) Hope this helps! Arrive Safely John

Definition?? I am reading here that a "Bandit Jump" is an "illegal" demo. I have always heard of bandits jumps being AFF with a non-rated experienced skydiver on one side. Anyone else heard the word used that way?? Arrive Safely John

I grew up farther North in Cabot, far from the commercialized ski community of Killington. The town used to be Sherburne, if I'm not mistaken, before there was a vote to change it to match the name of the ski area. Maybe Muenkel and Gawain can confirm this for me. To me, the big commercial ski havens of Killington and Stowe were never truly Vermont. I will remember it fondly as I knew the place, the people, and the way we lived. It has changed in many ways since I left 20 years ago, enough to precipitate my parents' moving and to make me never want to live there again. As far as secession goes, good old Vermont cartoonist Jeff Danziger published a book about the state of Vermont seceding from the union a few years back. Arrive Safely John

Absolutely HILARIOUS! Arrive Safely John

I am hearing you say that your friend's personality type is that of a controller. His love for driving race cars is evidence of that. We get many people like that at our DZ, and they choose to take the first jump course and do an AFF jump - even if they only want to make one jump just for the experience of it. Perhaps we as skydivers - friends, instructors, etc - can ask the right questions about why an interested party wants to skydive, and recommend AFF for those who we feel would not enjoy the limited control of a tandem. Arrive Safely John

You hooked me too . . . hilarious! Arrive Safely John

Farewell, Derek.. Thanks for all your contributions here in the forums and to those around you. Have a great life. Arrive Safely John

They fell under USAREC in 1995 or 1996, after my tour there was over. Sort of. Any enlisted MOS is welcome. I served with Airborne Rangers, Special Forces Medics, Illustrators, Air Traffic Controllers, Forward Observers, Supply Specialists, and an An Army Bandsman (French Horn) to name a few. After making it through tryouts their branch must approve the move. Once they are there the slots are "MOS Immaterial." I am a 92R (formerly 43E), and held an 11B (Infantryman) slot while I was there. Arrive Safely John

1) Flyaway in Pigeon Forge, TN SkyVenture in Orlando, FL Free Fall Simulator at Ft. Bragg, NC 2) Absolutely. It is a FANTASTIC training tool for freefall skills. 3) I love to train (that's fun to me) so it's win-win! 4) No, and no. 5) I would invest the money to train in a wind tunnel (apart from the free Ft. Bragg tunnel time) if I had an agenda - stuff to work on. Arrive Safely John

Dalailama is a current GK and therefore absolutely correct. As a Has-Been, I add this . . . During these times of conflict on two fronts and considering the numerous deployed soldiers of all MOS's, individual soldiers who are interested in trying out for the team may find getting permission to do so difficult from their Chain Of Command. Another difficulty is that even if their COC were to release them for tryouts, and they were to make the team, their Branch (Infantry, Special Forces, Quartermaster, etc) still has to approve the move. There is a chance of a soldier making it through tryouts with flying colors and never getting the assignment because their branch says no. Despite all of this, I feel it is still worth the effort for those who aspire to be GK. Arrive Safely John

Congrats on your new home, Lisa. I wish you many years of happiness and safety there. Arrive Safely John

I think this is the best point I have seen thus far in this thread. Perfect. Arrive Safely John

Any specific questions can easily be answered by a quick phone call to the manufacturer(s) of the gear in question. If this were me, I would call the harness/container manufacturer first, then call PD. Arrive Safely John

Some people have years of training and experiencing in evaluating possible risks, and reducing those risks through planning, training, equipment, etc. so that the risk is as small as it can be. I consider those people "comfortable" with taking risks. This element does not include those who are comfortable simply because they are grossly uninformed. Others have become so used to the risks they are taking that they really don't even think about the dangers any more. I consider those people "complacent" with regard to taking risks. In my opinion, those who are "comfortable" will have a long, successful skydiving career, and those who are "complacent" are at a much higher risk than "comfortable" foks who have prepared for a risk-taking endeavor. Arrive Safely John

Congrats . . . may your neck heal quickly and your first solo jump bring you blue skies and a soft landing. Arrive Safely John

First, there are numerous threads on this particular subject here in these forums. A search may further pique your interest and/or help you become better informed. Next, I will throw in my two cents for this thread . . . I get this question a lot, and I am compelled to give honest answers stemming from my experience in the sport and my awareness of the risks involved. Is skydiving dangerous? The short answer is: "Yes". The answer that seems to put many skydivers on the defense is: "Yes, but . . ." Many skydivers choose to follow this response with statistics or by comparing skydiving with other routine activities. Personally, I shy away from statistics, as they can be manipulated to suit the person quoting them. See more of my thoughts on that subject HERE The rest of my contribution to that thread reflects my view on skydiving being safe or not. I will add that people have different comfort zones. This set of limits may have been self-imposed, or may be as a result of many other factors such as upbringing, past personal experiences, or cautionary words from someone with little knowledge of the issue. Part of the value of skydiving for me early on was smashing the walls of my self-imposed comfort zone, and discovering the endless challenges that the sport brings. When one of my tandem students walks away from the dropzone a little less afraid of the world we live in, and more confident in their ability to take on challenges in their life, I reap my own small reward. When one chooses to start skydiving, and applies the "crawl, walk, run" theory to each new experience in the sport, especially by taking advantage of available professional instruction, they are in for a long, safe, fruitful skydiving career. I hope yours is as incredible as mine has been (thus far - I ain't done yet)! Respectufully, Arrive Safely John

Congratulations, brother. I acknowledge you for loving yourself enough to set your body and your mind free. Arrive Safely John

-I am more careful about searching first before I post a question or newsy tidbit. -I now read all of the posts in a particular thread before I post - that prevents me from posting info that has already been posted, and allows me to contribute to the subject more completely. -I removed my AOL IM Screen Name from my profile due to being bombarded with IMs leading to porn sites. -I changed my email address from my home addy to my dz.com addy because of the spam factor. -I stopped asking folks in the incident forum not to speculate but to stick to what facts are known early on, until the fatality investigation is complete. No matter how many times I explained myself, many people still don't get it. -As personal stuff goes, I post it if I feel it contributes, or that there might be someone who can help me with an issue. Otherwise I stick to PMs. Arrive Safely John

This is a great place to get started. Best of luck to you! New Runner Arrive Safely John

I jump PD canopies, and had this problem once long ago when I first started jumping them. To fix it, after collapsing the slider, I simply throw the lanyards over the top of the slider, which effectively shortens the lanyards by the width of the collapsed slider, and lays them on top out of the way. I have not had a problem since. I have no experience with tandem canopies that have a collapsible slider. Out of curiosity, what canopies are they?? Arrive Safely John

PRO packing an MT1-X or MC-4 is a pain in the ass, as previously stated because it is too tall. Flat packing it on the other hand, is easy. I have also been told that they did not come with packing tabs because laying the canopy out without them does require a cursory inspection of the material. The newer MT1-X canopies I have seen do in fact have packing tabs. Arrive Safely John

The first stop during the countdown of the CYPRES 1 is the battery strength. If it gets below 5700 it will shut itself off after giving you an error code. The CYPRES 2 power supply does not require changing like the CYPRES 2, therefore there is no battery strength stop during the countdown. Arrive Safely John

I get paid $30 per jump, $40 if I pack the rig. I use school owned tandem rigs. I don't need more for heavier people . . . they are equitably distributed amongst the Tandem Masters on Staff such that having one or two heavier folks in a day is not physically taxing. Besides . . . I AM a bigun myself! Arrive Safely John

27.5 miles . . . about 35 minutes. It's an easy trip. Arrive Safely John