JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    Yes, yes, we know our country has a prudish streak in its culture. I don't like it anymore than you do. Now be nice and enjoy the pic.
  2. JohnMitchell
    Jeff Alexander here in Western Washington, USA is a skydiver and beekeeper.
  3. JohnMitchell
    I gotta say I like the saying on the back and remember, the price of art goes up after the artist passes away. That might be anytime for this t-shirt.
  4. JohnMitchell
    I think Fat Mike sums in up nicely in one of my favorite songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czx2p-GHBhk
  5. JohnMitchell
    Super cool. I wish I could have been there. Was he selling that book? I would have bought a copy fer sure.
  6. JohnMitchell
    Definitely paying attention to the important stuff.
  7. JohnMitchell
    Yeah, for my son's maneuvers I showed him how we taught barrel rolls, then just said "Do it any way you want." His 24th and 25th jumps, working on his A, he went up and coached his coach (me) on my sitflying.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Yeah, I was trying to figure out exactly what they were doing. My son did the regular progression but combined a couple of jumps. His canopy skills are very good too, having almost all standup landings and easily getting on target landing for his A license. On his 9th jump he had an altimeter stick on him but was aware that the needle wasn't moving, other jumpers were deploying and the ground was getting bigger. He pulled at a safe altitude. Someone less comfortable flying their body may have been much less aware. Maybe all those years at the DZ payed off, dunno. I've heard anecdotes of tunnel rats being cocky about safety in our sport, but I haven't experienced it first hand. I have seen cocky students before. Haven't we all?
  9. JohnMitchell
    True enough...if you're only concerned with air skills. I hear that kind of thing a lot. If the air skills are second nature, that leaves more time to focus on canopy control, altitude awareness, etc. How is it bad that the student doesn't have to struggle with freefall problems?
  10. JohnMitchell
    Tunnel time can make AFF a breeze. I;m sure it will be a huge help to you when you start up AFF.
  11. JohnMitchell
    He's pretty far from a tool. Very bright, hard working young man. Ohhhh, not with a broken back.
  12. JohnMitchell
    My son does a lot of parkour. Some of it has a risk of injury. I worry about him. I don't think I could laugh at a video of him injuring himself.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Fuck, he should have tried to PLF. Damn, that looked bad.
  14. JohnMitchell
    That was my biggest Hollywood moment too. I thought he'd bring it in upside down. When those jackscrews fail, they strip and the whole tailplane is free to pitch up and down. It's very much a single point of failure kind of thing. Years ago a DZ had two pilots (yes, two) flying their new-to-them Porter. After the jumpers left, they pushed the nose over into a beta descent. Some bracket broke on the elevator trim mechanism and they were unable to pull out of the dive. So they pushed it thru to pull out inverted, then were able to roll it upright and find a power setting under which it was controllable. They then drove it onto the runway, holding their breath the whole time.
  15. JohnMitchell
    I think you could help that girl. . . My favorite line in the movie Splash was John Candy hopping out of his Corvette, excitedly waving a copy of Penthouse and shouting "They printed my letter 'Lesbian No More!'"
  16. JohnMitchell
    Clickified
  17. JohnMitchell
    Many years ago a coworker stopped me in the hall and asked me about techniques for flying parachutes. I said it varied a lot from type to type and asked why he was curious. He and another coworker had just bought a powered parachute. I said to read the owner's manual and follow its advice. He said it just had one page of instructions and wasn't very helpful. About a month later, the other coworker was flying over the White river behind our facility. I'm not sure what happened, but it sounded like a stall, then spun into line twists with a partial collapse. He spiraled down out of control and crashed into the trees along the river, minor injuries. The guy that had talked to me and a few others watched the whole thing in horror. I don't think they flew it after that. So the moral is, I don't know, maybe take lessons?
  18. JohnMitchell
    I remember that show. I'll have to watch it again.
  19. JohnMitchell
    I'll be at the radar scope. . .
  20. JohnMitchell
    You obviously didn't watch the video. Great clip, great song, super cool guy on the drums. Local boy, too.
  21. JohnMitchell
    Gotcha.
  22. JohnMitchell
    Yes, times HAVE changed. Companies are using Chapter 11 laws to bust unions and void pension agreements while giving bonuses to top executives. The progress unions made is taken for granted by too many people. Witness the rise of so many part-time, minimum wage, no-benefits jobs replacing good jobs. Walmart - Treats their employees like shit, yet the Waltons are filthy stinking rich. Costco - Treats their employees very well, with benefits, pensions and decent pay. Their CEO makes 2.2 million a year, chump change in this day and age, but that should be plenty for anyone. The world used to be very different, but the unions forced change. We're sliding back in the wrong direction today.
  23. JohnMitchell
    Not for sure. Just very likely. Has it really taken this long of a thread for you to get that point? If the guidelines say 160, stay there and get some experience. You'll stay out of the hospital/morgue.
  24. JohnMitchell
    Hmmm, didn't seem to list a size. . . don't know if it'd fit me.
  25. JohnMitchell
    What, she missed your nuts?