JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    Not when it's that funny. Ahhh, David, you lived enough life for a dozen people. Thanks for all the great music. RIP.
  2. JohnMitchell

    Australia day

    JohnMitchell replied to Zep's topic in The Bonfire

    Great commercial. I don't particularly like lamb, but 'cause of that I'll give it another try.
  3. JohnMitchell
    Have a great time on your jump. I saw on your webpage you had "7 things to do on Oahu." You left out the best one. Go make a tandem jump on the North Shore. If you're there next month, come over to Pacific and I'll take you on your 2nd tandem.
  4. JohnMitchell
    When it positively, absolutely has to be there overmonth. Amazing hub-n-spoke-n-hub-n-spoke-n-hub . . . . Thinking about it all would slow down the process. Ship it all somewhere, now, even if it's wrong.
  5. JohnMitchell
    No way! Good luck.
  6. JohnMitchell
    They don't feather it so much as reduce torque on the left side. It's still turning about the same RPM, just not pushing as much air back. Of course, even if you shut the engines off, there's still a lot of wind out there since the plane's flying close to 100 mph.
  7. JohnMitchell
    Good advice there. Nothing wrong with some of the older reserves. They are tested each pack job and rarely used, and I really don't think they vary much in quality. A new AAD is a good investment. I recommend Vigil for it's lower cost/year and convenience of ownership. Our family all jumps them. If you buy a used one, remember that they have an expiration date, and you'll want to calculate how much value is left in the unit. Absolutely. Just realize that, just as cars need new tires occasionally, main parachutes need new lines every 800 jumps or so. Figure that into your price. But it's not unusual to get 2K jumps from a modern zero porosity main parachute. Avoid any of the old F-111 parachutes from the 80's. They're good for only 1K jumps at best. Best used as car covers anymore.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Malfunctions are rare, and you know that you can usually "feel" when the canopy has opened correctly. I agree with your statement, that you want to take control of it quickly. However, when jumping with groups of people, I feel it's best to grab the rear risers and look for traffic that may be on a collision course with me first, then do a detailed check of the canopy. If you're deploying at a safe altitude, there should be time for all this. Of course, if you're falling out of the sky under a spinner or hurtling towards Earth with a streamer, you'll quickly "feel" that and you'll soon leave all the traffic behind. Now is a good time to quickly check canopy, assess the situation, and cutaway if need be. No traffic checks are required, and, you're correct, there's nothing you could do about traffic anyway under an uncontrollable canopy. Hopefully at that point other people in your group are on their rear risers, watching out for you.
  9. JohnMitchell
    Thanks for the reply. The sport certainly has evolved from the static line days. I remember j/m-ing my first student when I had 47 jumps. It was a busy day at the DZ and the kid was on 5 second delays, so they said "go up and put him out." The good ole days.
  10. JohnMitchell
    I don't really know much about the coach rating, never had one. But I've seen coaches teach the entire FJC. Aren't they able to do ALL ground prep for subsequent jumps? I'm sure you remember the old model. First you were a Jumpmaster, and could do and train anything BUT the FJC. Later you got your instructor rating and could then teach the FJC. Considering how critical a good FJC is, I was surprised when the USPA lowered the requirements to coach rating.
  11. JohnMitchell
    Got my rating in Utah in 1983 at a Cessna DZ. I had actually done a "bandit" aff jump in 1982 for a hangliding instructor friend. In '84 moved to WA where no DZ's were doing AFF, so the rating lapsed after a while. Got my rating back about 10 years ago and been doing AFF since.
  12. JohnMitchell
    Yes it was. I've seen other people die and we know it's not pleasant. Maybe this video circling the globe will be a real wake up call for some.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Best answer so far. For the scientifically minded, all the other posts above pretty much cover. I find the physics of skydiving fascinating.
  14. JohnMitchell
  15. JohnMitchell
    With other things going on, I only made 1 jump New Year's Day. We had beautiful warm sunshine and a temp inversion for 2 days. Sunday and Monday, all set to jump, back to the cold drizzle.
  16. JohnMitchell
    I agree you have to be mentally prepared every time to chop and go to the reserve. I don't agree with the split second thing. It's often taken me a few seconds (that I knew I had) to troubleshoot some of my slower malfunctions. But, correct, don't waste a lot of time with a streamer or spinner. Remember, please, too, that as you jump with larger groups of people, avoiding collisions during opening takes precedence over checking canopy immediately.
  17. JohnMitchell
    I'm hoping the peeps in the back rows hear it someday.
  18. JohnMitchell
  19. JohnMitchell
    Okay, now I'm scared.
  20. JohnMitchell
    Many factors work together to determine the quality of your instruction. Instructor experience, attitude, and ability are some of the biggest. Time allowed for training and practice and quality of the training and practice are also important. How dedicated is the DZ to turning out a quality student? How good is the gear? How high are the jumps? I know there are many great smaller DZs, but I'll stick my neck out and say the bigger ones usually have more experienced instructors (or the newer instructors have very experienced mentors), bigger, higher climbing planes, and some of the newest, nicest gear.
  21. JohnMitchell
    All these people I see in the sky and on youtube chopping with their legs flopping out in front of them, wondering why they're flipping all over the sky. . .. I'll repeat myself for the umpteenth time. When you're chopping, as you reach for your handles, put your feet back on your @$$ and ARCH. I've never had even a bit of instability on any cutaway using this method. Saves time, saves lives. Yes and yes. On the old 7 cell, F-111 mains, which were designed like reserves, I don't recall anyone ever spinning up with just line twists. Never a reason to chop. Thanks for the gear lesson, RR.
  22. JohnMitchell
    OMG, she thought she was a twin. She's a TRIPLET!
  23. JohnMitchell
    Hey, don't knock superficial. Although I think TS is probably a very nice and sincere person. But the whole world doesn't need to be brooding goths. . . Awww, maybe a long shower?
  24. JohnMitchell
    I learned that less is more, that throwing out and simplifying is liberating. I learned that Yoga is really, really good for my back and I intend to do it more and more. I learned that gullible is NOT painted on the ceiling.
  25. JohnMitchell
    EZ. Chicks B H8Rs. Just the way it is.