JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    Looking in the rear view mirror at the approaching bike?
  2. JohnMitchell
    And the instructor watched the ground practice and didn't correct him, right? That's frustrating. Two things here. . . Talking is not really teaching. Effective teaching for skydiving calls for explanation and demonstration of a task, having the student demonstrate it back CORRECTLY, then repetition for skill retention. If your students aren't doing every task on the ground that you expect in the air, they aren't being trained as well as they should. And when they demonstrate the task, correct any and all shortcomings until they can do the task correctly. If you don't have the time to do that, don't instruct. DSE, you taught me my first flight course for wingsuiting. You had me practice every task until I got it right (took longer than you thought it would, didn't it?). I remember quite a few corrections from you before I got it dialed in. But it paid off in the air with a great first flight. That's the way to do it.
  3. JohnMitchell
    Ooo, maybe I'll use that next time they won't listen. You and I have both done too much of that, haven't we?
  4. JohnMitchell
    Holy $HIT! Super serious and hilarious all at the same time. I'm glad the kid got to screw that up on the ground.
  5. JohnMitchell
    Super true. You have to be so careful how you say things to students. I've worked very hard make my lesson plans as unambiguous as possible. And by watching what mistakes are commonly made, you can improve your instruction by focusing on those points. Student performance is the best indicator of instructional performance. Teaching well is not easy, but it's rewarding.
  6. JohnMitchell
    Plenty of crazy to go around. The Daily Sun shows me that. Really sad thing. Yes, that woman might have been totally in the right and those boys totally wrong. But really, suing? That's just bent.
  7. JohnMitchell
    Good looking house. Maybe someday we'll swing by for a beer or three.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Yep and pay down the principal early if you can. For those who have an FHA loan and had to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance), when you have at least 20% equity in your home, either thru paying down the mortgage or increased property values, you can often get a refund on some of your PMI payment, usually paid at the beginning of the loan. There's a lot of paperwork to do and they are pretty coy about letting you know a refund is available, but it can be 3 to 4 figures in your pocket. Certainly not chump change.
  9. JohnMitchell
    Absolutely correct. It works like this. For every dollar you give me in interest, Uncle Sam MAY give you back 28 cents. If you give me nothing, Uncle Sam still lets you deduct about $12K anyway if you file jointly. It's a sucker's game. However, if you HAVE to borrow the money, at least it helps a little. Even with all the charity expenses and property taxes, we haven't claimed any higher than the standard deduction since we paid off our home years back. Our accountant shakes her head but I'm fine with that.
  10. JohnMitchell
    While you're young and mobile, buying doesn't always make sense. Although there CAN be some appreciation in value of real estate, esp. in a hot market, in the long term housing tends to follow the inflation curve, making it not a great investment, merely maybe a good investment. We're currently selling a home we've had as a rental property for years. Will I make money on it? Yeah, some. Would I have done better in the stock market with fewer headaches? Yeah, probably. But there is something to say about owning your own home. Pride of ownership, permanence, whatever. And money is pretty cheap right now, bringing down mortgage cost. I guess my advice is buy a little less house than you can afford; what you need, not a McMansion.
  11. JohnMitchell
    Thanks for the links. Used to be you were told not to pick berries, eat food, etc. growing too close to highways and roads. Lead everywhere. The super high octane aviation fuels of the 30's, 40's etc. were chock full of tetraethyl lead. God knows how many suffered what ill effects from it all.
  12. JohnMitchell
    Unless you're jumping a rig with dual RSL attachments (Racers, correct?) I feel it's not necessary. People say that the RSL will cause the main to stay attached. I have a hard time seeing how that could happen, esp. with the tension off the pin end of the reserve ripcord. (assuming that either the AAD has fired or the reserve ripcord has been pulled.) I don't include disconnecting the RSL in my EP training for 2 out on single RSL rigs. Comments to the contrary are welcome. BTW, I am NOT a rigger.
  13. JohnMitchell
    3 days.
  14. JohnMitchell
    Don't knock it 'til you try it. I find them to be wonderful..
  15. JohnMitchell
    He's my go-to guy for physics answers. Okay all you doubters, imagine a goldfish swimming aimlessly in his fish tank, which is in a train traveling smoothly down a straight track at 30 mph. Now pretend that fish is you flying your canopy in a giant airmass moving smoothly across the face of the planet at 30 mph. Can you feel the constant airspeed and stabilized rate of descent no matter which way you face??? Oh Hell, if you can't, I don't care. Too many pilots still can't wrap their head around that principle either. Just make sure you give me 45 degrees before you follow my group out the door.
  16. JohnMitchell
    The ladder theory is totally true. Women always say they want the nice guy, but they really want the one that makes their heart beat a little faster. Nothing wrong with being a nice guy. Just make sure that's not ALL you are.
  17. JohnMitchell
    Ahh, to have grown up on a DZ skydiving.
  18. JohnMitchell
    I say it's the food, not the drink. Dunno.
  19. JohnMitchell
    Stop it, guys. You're making like marriage more and more. . .
  20. JohnMitchell
    Ahhh, thanks for that gem.
  21. JohnMitchell
    I think the laterals should have been a little tighter, IMHO. There's a long plane ride up. Good time to double check everything.
  22. JohnMitchell
    Make sure, too, that you practice your EP's correctly. Are you looking and grabbing the handles properly? Are you pulling in the correct direction? The correct direction is always the direction the cable housings run. On most rigs, that means straight down, but many people practice punching straight forward, away from their bodies. This is wrong. Are you arching as you prepare to cutaway? Do you extend both arms back into your arch after you cutaway? I put my feet on my butt and arch for all I'm worth before I even pull the handles. I'm 10 for 10 on stable cutaways.
  23. JohnMitchell
    That would be a GREAT job for her.
  24. JohnMitchell
    You can practice your EP's with your rig on, or even just in your head. Repeat the steps until they are part of your DNA. Ask an instructor for guidance if you feel you need any. One of the hardest things of handling any problem is accepting that you really DO have a problem. I think denial gets people into trouble more than anything.
  25. JohnMitchell
    I take a tip from the old tandem manual. If it's an amazingly windy day, I disconnect my RSL at 1000' in case I have to chop when I land. It actually came in handy once. . .