slotperfect

Sounds like if I were in the Canadian Army, I would have more time to skydive during the week!

I'm definitely going tomorrow night. You and himself wanna make the drive? Arrive Safely John

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! Thanks! Arrive Safely John

Tampa area folks: what is your recommendation for the best Cuban food? Arrive Safely John

Wow! This is a blast from the past! FYI . . . the OP (UTD) was a mega-troll with about five other troll aliases here in the forums. He and his alter-egos were banned from the site back in the summer of 2006. Arrive Safely John

What an effortless and joyful tandem that was! Samantha was VERY switched on for a first time skydiver, especially at such a young age. I was very impressed by her being so at ease, so attentive, and not having to remind her about ANYTHING! It was an honor to be asked . . . you two were some of the first dotommers I got to know online, then eventually in person once you moved east. It was fantastic to see you again. Thanks for posting the pics . . . Kevin Carver (THERatBoy) was the camera flyer. It was great to be "in the groove" with him again; I had not been paired with him in a while. It was also nice to find myself in Bravo Sierra again as well - filling in while the PAC is in the hangar for its 100 hour inspection. Next? Arrive Safely John

I am originally from Vermont (Cabot), and I am well acquainted with the "risk vs. reward" discussion with parents of teenagers wanting to make a skydive. I am happy to answer questions for your Mom if you think it would help. Let me know and I will PM you my phone number. I cannot find a New England DZ that takes students under 18 . . . you will have to travel quite a distance to make it happen, or head "Nord" of the border into Quebec. Arrive Safely John

Ummm . . . he's 16. USPA's minimum age is 16 with notarized parental consent. From the USPA SIM, Chapter 2: Most dropzones in the US require students to be 18 either because of state law or on their own accord. As NWFlyer stated, there are a few USPA dropzones in the States that will train 16 year old students. Arrive Safely John

The question is . . . what are the prerequisites going to be for the I/E rating? It used to be meet a long list of quals (which were not easy to accumulate) and pass a written exam (also not easy). Currently, to be CD you have to complete the AIC, even if you are a CD in another training method . . . e.g. a current CCD must complete AIC to be a Tanden CD regardless of other experience and qualifications. Arrive Safely John

Added Mickey Thoms (mickochet) from Bodysport USA! Arrive Safely John

1 part Bacardi 3 parts Club Soda 12 Mint Leaves 1/2 Lime 1 Wedge of Lime 1 tbsp Sugar OOOPS! That's a Mojito . . . I thought this was the rum lover's thread! Arrive Safely John

EXCELLENT! I love to hear that! Remove the word "reasonably" and I agree with you. However, making that assumption is the wrong thing to do. I have to chew on that one for a while . . . That's the idea! My point exactly! Arrive Safely John

Assuming that the user watched the countdown and saw it end in "something other than 0" - if the unusual behavior cannot be repeated in a few more on/off cycles it qualifies as "odd behavior that can't be replicated or accurately described." I would not jump the rig until the manufacturer is consulted. Arrive Safely John

Then please email your feedback to Airtec - don't just post it here. Reps from both Airtec and SSK read these forums regularly, but this type of feedback is best sent directly from you the customer. I disagree - I think it's just plain common sense. Military users have been doing exactly what the service bulletin states ever since we started using them in the 1990's: -Switch the CYPRES on, watch the countdown. Anything other than "Zero Down" means look the error code up in the manual and comply with the resulting instructions. Anything out of the ordinary such as an unknown error code, a blank screen, or the unit shutting itself off without explanation results in the rig being grounded and the manufacturer (SSK in our case) gets a call. Nearly 100% of the time we pull the unit out of the rig and send it back for testing - I cannot recall one case of a unit not being repaired. All of our jumpers, Jumpmasters, and Riggers have been taught this common sense approach. Then you turn it on again, this time paying attention to the behavior of the unit. Then you ground the rig and call the manufacturer - again, it's just plain common sense. This choice I can completely understand, providing the user knows for a fact the unit is in fact switched off. If he turned it on and walked away from the countdown, returning to find a blank screen and a unit that he cannot get any further activity out of in the display, assuming it is now "off" is a huge assumption and he is taking a risk in jumping it. The decision tree is easy: -Turn it on -Watch the countdown -Error code? Read the manual and comply. -No explanation in the manual, odd behavior that can't be replicated or accurately described, or a blank screen that does not respond to input? Ground the rig and call the manufacturer. This service bulletin is telling we military customers to do something that we have taken as a common sense approach from day one. I applaud Airtec for considering this important enough to educate the masses with a service bulletin rather than just handle it as an isolated incident. Arrive Safely John

I found out about it here first. SSK Military Industries sent out an email to its military customers later the same day. Arrive Safely John

I'm using them in the hard-to-change places like the overhead lights in the hallways. The light is different, you're right, but in those locations it really doesn't matter in my house. Arrive Safely John

I didn't notice the DOM in your post. You may indeed be able to upgrade that rig. Sorry for the confusion! Arrive Safely John

There is no Skyhook retrofit for the Odyssey. You will have to buy a new rig to add a Skyhook. Arrive Safely John

Bada bing, bada boom. Stuck. You got it. There is another recent thread full of good conversations on the same subject here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3042000;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed; Arrive Safely John

Jay Leno's Garage Enjoy! Arrive Safely John

Mine was one of GM's dreaded "X-cars" - a 1981 Buick Skylark. It NEVER ran right the entire time I had it! Arrive Safely John

The performance criteria only required it to hurl a softball a distance of three feet. 10x has got to be an A. Arrive Safely John

There is a Trebuchet in my back yard! It was an assignment for his Honors Physics class in high school. He found the plans he wanted online, got a friend of his to help him go get the lumber, and enlisted the help of a neighbor who is a carpenter to build it. It is very simple - throws a softball about 30 meters - but VERY cool. He wants to pursue an education in Mechanical Engineering after graduation . . . no doubt this has fueled his passion. I want to build a big one! Arrive Safely John

I grew up in a very small town (742 people). One of our more wealthy residents owned a yellow 1966 Jaguar E Type convertible. He had a natural siding "modern" house built, and hired me when I was 17 to paint it with lightly tinted stain. Because he allowed the siding to "weather" to the right color, and that obviously happened on the "weather side" of the house first, it took me several months to get the job done waiting on the house to reach the right base color on its own. The cans of stain and brushes were kept in the garage only a few feet away from the Jag. I was very careful around the car, and was sure to seal the lid on the cans with a hammer each time I used them. He called me one Friday and asked me to come out to do a rather difficult side of the house that Saturday (high gable with an elevated deck below). I had an away soccer game and was unavailable, so he worked on that side himself. He was not quite as careful with the can lids. They had a 3 year old named Tad. Tad wanted to paint like his Daddy, so he snuck into the garage, worked the lid off a can of stain, and had painted about half the car before Dad found him. Arrive Safely John

I also use the local ASOS telephone numbers to get real-time automated reports for airports in close proximity to the DZ I am jumping at. You can find your local numbers here: http://www.faa.gov/airports_airtraffic/weather/asos/ If you are a fellow Raefordite, here are the local numbers: Fayetteville (910) 484-1546 Laurinburg (910) 844-5338 Southern Pines (910) 692-4287 Arrive Safely John