JohnMitchell

so cool!

Sad. People underestimate trains, always trying to cross ahead of them or something else stupid.

Very common reaction.

I shouldn't laugh at that one, damn it, Andy!

I get an occasional spam in there. haven't ever opened it, just deleted.

Exactly what theplummeter said. With such big planes in the sky, 1000' vertical can easily look like less, maybe 500'. In fact, when two aircraft, separated by only 1000', are merging together in the sky, we're required to call traffic to both aircraft. As the aircraft approach at closing rates of almost 1000 mph, it's hard for the pilots to tell if the other a/c is above, below or at the same altitude. Our traffic calls keep them from doing a panic evasion maneuver. However, if you were up at cruise and an approaching plane WAS only 500' below, you'd probably feel some quick maneuvering by the pilot as the controller tries desperately to "pry them apart."

LOL

That is EXACTLY the right thing to do. Same thing world class skydiving competitors do when they're competing. Stay focused and calm by keeping your mind on task.

One thing I've done in the past is pack my reserve canopy into a borrowed container and make a jump on it just to check it out, esp. after a repair job (on a 26' lopo). Has anyone else thought about test driving it before they stake their life on it?

Well, it should be obvious on the ramp as to which plane is missing a gear door. Many different things could have caused it to fall off, from metal fatigue, improper speed control by the pilots to mechanical malfunction or improper maintenance. I wonder which it was.

In my intoxicated youth I walked across the hood of a car or two that stopped with its nose in the cross walk I was using.

Yes I do. Crisp as new crackers. The cash thing? I do remember not too many years ago grocery stores would NOT take credit cards. Cash or checks only. If you asked to use a credit card they looked at you like you were a penniless hobo. And banks were often closed on Saturday as well as Sunday. So if you needed dough, you had to find an ATM, less common back then and sometimes out of service, or find a place that would take your check for a certain amount over. So yeah, things have changed.

Sorry you didn't pass. Was it a slow turn or an uncontrolled spin? Sometimes the student just doesn't think to pick a point on the horizon and hold steady.

Hi Spot. I did just that and it worked great this weekend. I'll keep an eye out for gremlins but I think your idea fixed it okay. Thanks.

I have a couple of rides on my Raven I, loaded around 1:1. Nice standups, no problems. I watched a young woman stall one out and get injured. I doubt it was loaded to highly because she was such a little girl. Just too much flare, too easily stalled.

Good reasons, both you and Aphid. But for day to day Americans it's not usually necessary. Some people just seem bank-phobic or resistant, and I see that as poor judgement. I've been the foreigner taking a week's worth of euros/pesos/lira/francs from the ATM at once to save a bunch of fees.

I like the "leave a number" bit too. It's been a while since I've found anything more than a twenty. Smaller amounts aren't worth the hassle. I heard a jumper one day bemoaning that he had lost his wallet with $2000 in it, something he did routinely after paydays. Sad, but WTF, why carry that much cash around? That's what checking accounts and credit cards are for. The only time I have that much dough is when I'm buying or selling something big. But I keep that $$ on a short leash, in an inside pocket or my safe.

You should have gone skydiving instead.

Damn, well I'm glad it was fake and no one got killed.Thank you for your service and hoping for you and your unit's safe return.

Many people, when they track, keep their bodies arched, their legs not fully pushing down (knees still bent) and their arms back behind their bodies, blowing back in the breeze. This is not really a track, but a delta position. It's used to move across and down to a formation. It is NOT the most efficient way to get maximum horizontal separation from a formation in a set amount of altitude. Two things: 1 - Stability costs you performance. Performance costs you stability. If you're arching and trailing your arms behind you, you're letting air past your body instead of using it to go forward. When you're in a good track, it's a real balancing act to stay stable. With practice it becomes natural. 2 - If you want the air to do something for you, you have to PUSH on it. The more you want to go fast and far, the harder you have to push. A sideview of someone in a good track shows the body straight and flat, from head to toes (which are pointed all the way back), with the arms level with the body, not behind. A slight bend forward in the waist can sometimes add a little more speed. I like my feet maybe 6" apart and my hands no more than 6" from my hips. Yes, shoulders rolled slightly forward, certainly not arched! This is not a relaxed position. It's like planking in midair. I'm not the best tracker in the world. But I work at it and do pretty well. I see way too many experienced jumpers that track poorly. I have videos of people with over 1000 jumps who meat plow away, legs barely pushing, hardly making any progress away from the formation. Maybe I shouldn't complain. They're certainly nowhere near me at pull time. Tracking well is a hugely underrated survival skill. The ability to track well has gotten me out of many sketchy traffic situations. Plus when you hit a really good track, it feels really good.

Our kids are a blast.

Yep, same one.

It's pretty easy, you have to admit, to roll the shoulders either way. I totally agree with this, and since most people's problem with tracking is that they don't push hard enough on the air, I recommend palms down.

I once started the small claims court process on a driver that rear ended me, no insurance, and wasn't paying. A small filing fee on my part had a Sheriff's Deputy deliver the court summons to his door. He got in touch with me prior to the court date and settled in full. Worked for me.

Our oldest daughter started community college at age 16 while still technically in high school. She soon had a job tutoring adults who were struggling in their return to scholastics. She said she was especially popular as a tutor because she could explain fractions so well. She actually had one woman in her 30's, trying to get her real estate license, who cried when my daughter was able to finally teach her how percentages worked. My daughter didn't graduate high school because she lacked a phys. ed. credit. But she graduated the two year college instead with a AA. She now had a BS in engineering and has someone paying for her MS as we speak.