JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    I was gonna say Hawaii but you guys would laugh at me. Love Italy but I think Spain might be better for jumping. Australia and hanging with Squeak would be high on the list.
  2. JohnMitchell
    That . . . is . . . bad ass.
  3. JohnMitchell
    You did all the right stuff. "Quadrant clearances" are something I used often, "Cleared all quadrants Astoria Vortac, 10 NM radius" or even "present position" for a fix in lieu of a navaid. Works really well for test flights and training. With that said, some controllers are unfamiliar with those types of clearances and are hesitant to issue them. I believe KC center is still split FL230/FL240 between high and low sectors. Climbing that last 1000' would have required coordination with the controller above her airspace. I've seen controllers either too busy or too lazy to do that. Not sure what the case was for you guys, but I saw plenty of lazy in my career. Overworking the traffic? Boy Howdy have I seen that done! Can't tell you how many times I've tried to "bring down" an over amped controller. Best thing you can do is bring some calm to the sector.
  4. JohnMitchell
    What part of the country are you doing the flight testing? Sounds like a lazy a$$ controller didn't want to make a point out to the high altitude sector. I worked a ton of flight test over the years and learned to accommodate pilots a little.
  5. JohnMitchell
    Nice job you did. Gotta admit it looked a little scary to me.
  6. JohnMitchell
    You got me to tear up too, damn it. Sorry to hear about Gary's passing way too soon. He sure touched a lot of lives on this planet. We should all try to live that way. Thanks, Twardo.
  7. JohnMitchell
    I wanna take her on a tandem.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Hell yeah!
  9. JohnMitchell
    Reminds me of the old joke when a whuffo says "What do you do if the weather is bad on the weekend and you can't jump?" "Well, I throw myself down the stairs, stuff a dirty sock in my mouth and burn a couple of hundred dollar bills. It's just like I went to the drop zone."
  10. JohnMitchell
    Hell, wouldn't even have to be a wingsuiter. . .. I have zero desire to jump out of any airplane upwind of the engine or propellor.
  11. JohnMitchell
    It's pretty.
  12. JohnMitchell
    Hey, pull time is no time to meth around.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Sounds like this instructor wants them to beat the canopy. I think that should be the benchmark, but sounds like some are looking for speed.
  14. JohnMitchell
    I am a static line instructor, and I NEVER told my students they had to beat the static line. I told them to IGNORE the static line and do a smooth "arch, locate, pull, arch". I did have the caveat that the static line couldn't "wake up" the jumper. They had to start the sequence right on exit. AFAIK, this policy never caused any problems. Having students try to "beat" the static line is unfair and just makes them rush too much. Aren't we trying to train "smooth"?
  15. JohnMitchell
    Here's what I want. . .
  16. JohnMitchell
    Doh, I know, I know! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qssvnjj5Moo
  17. JohnMitchell
    I've never used two hands on a cutaway. I feel with a little refinement in technique it's easy to cutaway with one hand. And that velcro on the handle. I've never felt that either!
  18. JohnMitchell
    And you and I know people that survived the Lodestar somehow. Ernest K. Gann was correct when he said "Fate is the hunter."
  19. JohnMitchell
    You assimilate knowledge short term during the day. A good night's sleep will collate it into long term memory. In a perfect world, I think every student would train, get a good night's sleep, then jump the next day.
  20. JohnMitchell
    Hear, let me cut some for you.
  21. JohnMitchell
    Enjoy your little girls and treasure every moment. Our "baby" is now 20, lives with us still and is like the coolest room mate ever, but even she'll be gone someday. Congrats, buddy. You and I know what true happiness is. Oh yeah, and condolences to your long suffering wife.
  22. JohnMitchell
    I had an Irish uncle who died in a brewery accident. He drowned in a open vat of beer. . . They pulled him out twice but he kept jumping back in.
  23. JohnMitchell

    BORED!

    JohnMitchell replied to JoeyH's topic in The Bonfire

    Just two,but how they got inside the lightbulb no one knows. BTW, I love your Jimi quote on the sig line.
  24. JohnMitchell
    :0:0 Vskydiver and our youngest daughter spent the weekend at iFlySeattle for a SIS event. Super fun, but I spent the weekend at our new house closer to the DZ, laying tile and doing some electrical work, etc. I had my rig standing by but the weather at the DZ was $hit all weekend long. Squeak, 24 jumps? Nice going, you lucky bastard.
  25. JohnMitchell
    Second kid, had her first one when she was 15, probably got pregnant at 14. This is all so wrong in so many ways, from what she did to how our society is so full of unmarried teenage moms. . .