slotperfect

Wow! Is this a busy thread or what?!?!? This web is woven so tightly it's about impossible to break any of the new subjects out into their own threads! I echo Phree's comments about DZ politics . . . please keep it civil and above board - there have been some pretty sharp random darts zinging around in here. Phree also listed the off-topic subjects very well . . . some of those conversations might prove to be fairly interesting with threads of their own At least there isn't any major stereotyping or generalizing going on in here. [/sarcasm] Now - I'm off to take care of some more ex-golden wheenie military lifer stuff. Arrive Safely John

From the TV show "Bonanza:" Each of the three sons (Adam, "Hoss," and Little Joe) had different mothers. They all died or were killed at some point before the setting of the show. Hoss's mother was a Swedish immigrant. From the TV show: "The Jetsons:" The Jetsons' dog Astro originally belonged to a wealthy man named J.P. Gottrocks. The dog's original name was "Tralfaz." How's that for obscure and useless information? Arrive Safely John

A few years ago I jumped at Greene County, KY (Bardstown) out of their Beaver. He had just put a brand new engine in it, which he told me had originally been made as war contingency stock and stored in some sort of preservative in a barrel. That engine must have been at least 50 years old. Without a doubt that engine went through all of the inspection, maintenance, and installation processes and checks required by the FAA, all performed by certificated personnel. If there had been an arbitrary service life placed on that engine it would have been destined to become a lawn ornament in front of somebody's double-wide. I realize there is a difference between shelf life and service life, and that this engine had not yet been placed in service. Parachute gear in question, for the most part, has already been placed in service at some point in the past despite infrequent use. Otherwise I think it is a worthy analogy. I think it should be left up to the *professional* decision of the individual Parachute Rigger as to whether he will choose to work on gear that is past XX years old. I agree that it is critically important to educate new Riggers on this issue and give them the information they need to make their own informed decision. Arrive Safely John

OK folks . . . please remember that this is a topical forum. Let's get the replies back on the original subject, please. Thanks, Arrive Safely John

For most people, I tighten the legstraps snugly (as I wear them). It helps a lot to have several jumps as a passenger to know how the harness should fit. I agree with Kaspar that fat legs require the legstraps to be a little tighter, although "as tight as you can" is a little extreme IMHO. I am no Schwartzenegger, but if I crank leg straps down "as tight as I can get them," my student will pass out before they get to the boarding area. The y-strap is a Strong Dual Hawk mod (pdf link). UPT will not build such a mod . . . prefers to turn up the throttle on education - fitting the harness properly is the answer. I have zero experience with the y-strap, but I have a great deal of respect for Ted Strong. I do have lots of experience with the Sigma harness, with a wide range of sizes of both military and civilian passengers, with the military passengers sometimes carrying combat equipment. I can tell you that fitting the Sigma harness is not hard once you know how to do it on various body types, and that a properly fitted Sigma harness is enough to properly secure and carry your passenger (unless the body size and type dictate that they shouldn't really be jumping anyway). Great questions! Arrive Safely John

Let's get the thread back on topic please Arrive Safely John

Happening lots this morning - it's 0515 EDT right now and I'm getting lots of them. ***Proxy Error The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. The proxy server could not handle the request GET /cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi. Reason: Document contains no data Arrive Safely John

I was a part of a small military group that was given a preview flight this afternoon. Although they have some work to do to finish the building and the parking lot, the operational part of the tunnel is complete and fully functional. The tunnel is so quiet we thought it was shut down until we walked around the front side where the vents are. It is whisper quiet outside, and quiet enough in the "waiting room" or ante-chamber that you can have a conversation wearing ear plugs with raised voices. We flew suits only, then with a military tunnel training rig that weighs about 50 pounds, then adding a 45 pound rear-mounted rucksack. With my "advanced physique", that adds up to about 370 lbs rigged weight. It was about 85 degrees outside, with humidity unusually low - about 55%. Temperature inside the flight chamber was about 80 degrees. At 370 lbs I flew at about 140 mph, which was 75% power or so. I was able to pop up above the windows, sinking down to level flight at the top third of the windows. Wearing an RW suit with booties, with the speed at 140 mph, I was able to pop up to about 20 feet and stay there. We ran two lanes to test the ability to train two flyers in the chamber at one time, which worked very well. We ended by doing 7-way RW with wrist grips and there was PLENTY of room. The flight chamber is HUGE. I have no personal connection whatsoever with the ParacleteXP tunnel, so you can consider my opinion as an objective one . . . there have been a lot of sticker shock conversations because of the advertised hourly rate; all I could think while I was flying today is that you get what you pay for. We ended the whole day with cockatillios and monkey fries (giving proper credit to Chuck Blue) at Aviator's. Big thanks to Tim, Kirk, John, and Matt for the hospitality. Arrive Safely John

I sent you all the information I have via PM. Beyond that, you can browse the Alti-2 Forums or email Roger Allen with your questions roger@alti-2.com Arrive Safely John

If you are anywhere near Raeford, North Carolina, here are some opportunities to get your Neptune updated (assuming you don't want to do it yourself): http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2950813;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed; Arrive Safely John

The long awaited Neptune software update (v.3.0.0) has arrived! I have set up four dates/times to be available for skydivers in the vicinity of Raeford, North Carolina: Fri, 21 Sep 07, 5:00-7:30 PM, Raeford Parachute Center (Aviator’s Restaurant) Sun, 14 Oct 07 11:30-5:00 PM, Raeford Parachute Center (Skydiving School) Fri, 9 Nov 07, All Day, Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (GK Black & Gold Meet) Sat, 10 Nov 07, All Day, Laurinburg-Maxton Airport (GK Black & Gold Meet) Your Neptune will be updated to software version 3.0.0. If your Neptune has the latest hardware revision (shows up as x.x.x D on the info screen), your Neptune will be fully upgraded to a Neptune2. If you have an older hardware rev (a, A, B, or C), you will gain all of the Neptune2 features except the extended logbook capacity. I will also have some spare parts to make minor repairs. I will be upgrading to v3.0.0 only; updates to earlier software version will not be available. You will need to provide a fresh battery for the upgrade. Reformatting of the memory is required: if you are upgrading from v2.6.2 or earlier, you will lose all of your logs. Be sure to transfer all logged jumps to Paralog or to paper logbooks before getting the upgrade. A version history with all upgrade features is available here If you would like to do this upgrade yourself, you can download it here I am happy to make arrangements to update your Neptune through the mail or at another time and/or location convenient to both of us. To coordinate, please send me a PM. Arrive Safely John

To me a hop and pop is deploying nearly immediately after exiting the aircraft: exit, relax, deploy. Anything beyond that is a "X-second delay." Altitude doesn't matter. Arrive Safely John

If you have the latest hardware rev (shows up as vX.X.X D on the demo screen), and you upgrade to the new software (v.3.0.0), you will have a fully functional Neptune2. If you have an earlier hardware rev (a, A, B, or C), and you upgrade to v3.0.0, you will benefit from all of the Neptune2 features except some of the logbook capacity. This upgrade requires an overwrite of the memory . . . if you are updating from v2.6.2 or earlier, you will lose your logs. If you are updating from beta v2.9.xx your logs will be saved. Software update available here or through your local Alti-2 Field Service Rep. Version history listing all the new features is here. More information can be had in the Alti-2 Forums. Arrive Safely John

Former Golden Knight Bill Brown Jr. was killed in a motorcycle accident over the weekend. He was a great team mate and friend, and he will be greatly missed. I met Bill in 1989 when we were jumping together on the weekends at the 82nd Sport Parachute Club at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Sometime during that year he was assigned to the US Army Parachute Team (Golden Knights) as an Operations Sergeant. We would continue to see Bill nearly every weekend during club operations. In December of 1991 I was assigned to the Gold Demonstration Team. I was paired with Bill Brown as his "New Guy" tracking partner for my first year on the team. We were an interesting pair . . . Bill was about 10 years older than I, and while he had done a lot of Golden Knight demos as a demo team augmentee, this was also his first full year as a Demonstrator. Bill was the consummate team mate, usually the first one in the team room door and one of the last to leave. He handled all of the administrative duties on the team and even as an "old man" gave us a run for our money shooting target accuracy. He was affectionately known to us as "Billy B." Bill left the team in the winter of 1992-1993 to take an ROTC Cadre position at the University of Arkansas. He finished his education while working there, and then retired and went to work at Wal Mart HQ as a programmer. I lost touch with Bill after that, which I truly regret. Regardless, I have many MANY fond memories of time spent with Bill, and have a ton of stories to tell about him - he was a very funny character. One day we will meet again - maybe he will greet me with a new and improved version of his familiar "whatcha got, bud?" The first attached photo is cropped from a December 1991 Gold Team photo. The second is a January 1992 Tom Sanders photo of Bill (top) myself (right) Hank Turner (bottom) and Craig Smith (left) over Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. BSBD my friend . . . Arrive Safely John

**No spoilers** I saw "3:10 To Yuma" this week. If you like westerns, you will love it. If you like Christian Bale and Russell Crowe and are just so-so about westerns, you will still enjoy it. If you don't like the actors or the genre, I recommend you see something else. The character that is Russell Crowe's character's second in command is an OUTSTANDING bad guy. That role added a lot to the movie. Arrive Safely John

I understand how important this message is to get out to the skydiving community, but (as you know because you posted the same detailed info in it) there is a

[warning] PAs are not allowed in the forums. This includes blanket PAs directed at a group of users. [/warning] Arrive Safely John

65 military static line jumps with everything that goes along with them are far different than 65 skydives. As many military people as you are around all the time you ought to know that. Arrive Safely John

The Master Parachutist Badge is a venerable award that dates back to the 1940's. Former Marines date back that far as well . . . we all fight for the same flag, partner. Arrive Safely John

You received a 30 day ban in the History & Trivia Forum for multiple personal attacks on skyjack71. Please don't think that you can continue the same behavior here by resurrecting an old thread and picking up where you left off. Disagreements and skepticism are both welcome; personal attacks are not. So far, so good . . . Arrive Safely John

It's on their schedule for 9-12 November: http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/goldenknights/2007Schedule.xls Arrive Safely John

Phreezone handles the classifieds. Shoot him a PM - if he can't troubleshoot it (he's talented like that) he'll let Sangiro know about it. Arrive Safely John

PM Viking. Last I knew he was approving all the pictures. Arrive Safely John

Forum Search results Arrive Safely John

Please take any specific conversation about sale of the equipment (e.g. "what are you selling?") to PMs. The original topic of the post is fine. Thanks. Arrive Safely John