JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    Ouch, taking the barrier like that really hurts, but I'm glad he did it right. Did he get a pincheck before he lit 'em up?
  2. JohnMitchell
    Disgusting, isn't it? I've swam with dolphins, manta rays, and sea turtles, all in the wild, keeping my distance and respecting them. I hope everyone in this incident feels guilty as hell about what happened. I can't believe someone didn't try to return it to the water.
  3. JohnMitchell
    I've never met a rigger that wouldn't let me pull my reserve at repack time. In fact, wasn't it Dave DeWolf, everyone, that said he would charge $100 to pull the reserve for a repack? He felt every jumper could use the experience.
  4. JohnMitchell
    Made my first jump in high school on a dare. Crazy amazing experience. Went back for more. As nervous as any student, but it was just so COOL. As a kid, I would watch the skydivers at airshows, being amazed by them, but I thought it was nothing I'd ever have a chance to do. I mean, really, me, become a skydiver? No way!
  5. JohnMitchell
    Good points by many. Next cycle I'll ask my rigger if he wants to watch the deployment.
  6. JohnMitchell
    Pilot chute jumps out about 10 feet, trailing some bridle. Easy enough to hold the bag in the pack tray. Pick a clean, carpeted area and I've never seen dirt or damage occur before.
  7. JohnMitchell
    The FAA management used that as a guideline for controllers when I worked there. That and blow .00. Now, whether or not it was in writing, IDK.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Aww, thanks, Chuck.
  9. JohnMitchell
    And spin them around four times real fast... Scream in their ears, smack their head a little . . .
  10. JohnMitchell
    You say Jim has one of his Porters back in Thailand? Tandem operation?
  11. JohnMitchell
    Definitely Jet Stream. Any winds aloft over 70 mph are by definition a jet stream, if I remember correctly.
  12. JohnMitchell
    As my profile shows, I, like many of us, have been around for a while. Many years of repacks and even some live malfunctions have made pulling my reserve very familiar to me. Last time I needed a repack I found a student jumper, had him put on my rig, and let him pull the cutaway and reserve. It was a good training experience for him and he enjoyed it very much. So, next repack, maybe think about enhancing the learning of someone on the way up.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Aww, I wouldn't do it. Hell, too far to make an easy beer run.
  14. JohnMitchell
    Yep . I can't see, read, or hear Dyson w/o seeing this in my head! Man, and he complained about women's bodies not being perfect? No wonder he sleeps alone.
  15. JohnMitchell
    How tall, how heavy? If you're not too big to tandem, a good DZ should have the proper gear, including jumpsuit, for you to do AFF.
  16. JohnMitchell
    So if you drop your beer, what is the maximum range at which ATC radar can track the falling can? Serious answer? Probably wouldn't show up for a couple of reasons. Small target would be usually lost in the ground clutter. Also, there's a "moving target" function that eliminates any slower moving echoes, since they're obviously not an airplane. You'd be surprised how invisible aircraft can be on long range radar when their transponder isn't on.
  17. JohnMitchell
    cross country jumps required two beers I took a beer on my first CC jumps at Lost Prairie. Beautiful sunset jump, with the sky gold, rose and purple. Can of beer foamed all over, including in my face. Now nice and chilled, I tried drinking some of that foamy mess at 14K above sea level and just kept getting a mouth full of suds. Meanwhile I'm missing out on some great scenery. I finally poured out the rest of my brew and stowed the drippy, empty can in my jumpsuit. The rest of the jump I spent wishing I had brought a camera instead. It was seriously one of the prettiest sunset loads I had ever been on.
  18. JohnMitchell
    Skydiving with square parachutes is sooo much better than static line round jumps. Enjoy! And the best part is . .. you already are expert at PLFs. You can teach some of the class.
  19. JohnMitchell
    I heard AFF training at Perris includes time in the wind tunnel. Is that correct? There's no better training tool for skydiving than a wind tunnel. But either way, have fun. Don't forget to pull.
  20. JohnMitchell
    Wow! Pretty prescient boss. . .
  21. JohnMitchell
    Perfect. If we ever meet up, first beer's on me.
  22. JohnMitchell
  23. JohnMitchell
    "The night before the launch, Ebeling and four other engineers at NASA contractor Morton Thiokol had tried to stop the launch. Their managers and NASA overruled them." This is why I don't back down on safety issues. I have pissed off my share of bosses and managers, and I really don't care.
  24. JohnMitchell
    Wow. . . eyewitness to history. You'll never forget that.
  25. JohnMitchell
    Eyewitness or on TV? I was at work, up in the training department. Didn't see it live, just heard everyone talking about it. So many chances to prevent it were squandered.