JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    You can't make good conclusions without good information, obviously. The USPA and manufacturers are usually in the loop on these investigations, right? Those are the folks I would imagine we'd have to look to for definite answers. But they have their own schedule and perhaps a different agenda. IMHO.
  2. JohnMitchell
    Ha, looks like all the little piggies are going to market.
  3. JohnMitchell
    "Teasing the turtle". That's an expression I've never heard before. . .
  4. JohnMitchell
    I'll send him my copy of "The Grapes of Wrath".
  5. JohnMitchell
    Hey JC, how ya doin'?
  6. JohnMitchell
    Thanks for the list. I watched one of those and am knew a couple of the others. Damn, that's a lot of dead people. How can such experienced jumpers pull the handles in the wrong order?
  7. JohnMitchell
    Hundreds? Wow, I've only done dozens. Of course, I tell them that if they don't get their feet up I'll get to use them for a pillow. That's usually is a great motivator.
  8. JohnMitchell
    perfect!
  9. JohnMitchell
    Nice work. Enjoy learning to track. That's my favorite level to teach.
  10. JohnMitchell
    Glad you got out of that one. What a concept, break the law or get a ticket for obeying it. Here's a clip of WA state cops working the freeway the other days for speeding . . . or maybe NOT working it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Es1RiupA0
  11. JohnMitchell
    I used to love taking the top down on sunny winter days, ski gloves and parkas for a brisk drive.
  12. JohnMitchell
    It's just cooling off up here in WA state enough to start brewing. I plan to start when I get back from Boston late October. This summer I started a hop plant, so I have an ounce or two of homegrown Nugget to throw in the batch. I'm loving IPA's these days but not sure what I start out with this season.
  13. JohnMitchell
    No kiddin', Brrrr! Electric gloves?
  14. JohnMitchell
    Don't know if that's fun, but it's damn good what you're doing. Thanks.
  15. JohnMitchell
    SOS was a nice system. I had one for my AFF students for a while. Plus a DZ I taught at had those.
  16. JohnMitchell
    Another time we were visiting a DZ owned by a long time friend. We also had another friend, who had gotten weathered out at our home DZ, making a tandem, so we asked if I could swoop and my wife video. The DZO said sure but the TM, who didn't know us, had his doubts. I tried to reassure him with our jump numbers, ratings, experience. We preplanned what would happen and how, then went up and did it to the letter. My wife parked 10 feet out videoing. I flew up, stopped, took a gentle grip. 6000' I tracked off, etc. All was cool. After the TM opened the canopy, our friend, the passenger, was a little nervous when he exclaimed "Wow, they fly better than I do!" She thought maybe she was in the air with the wrong person. The TM excitedly told my wife later that he had never had anyone dock on him before and it was a lot of fun! So done safely it can be a lot of fun. A good briefing for a first time tandem chaser is imperative.
  17. JohnMitchell
    My wife has swooped many of my tandems. She likes to come in low and in front, get their attention, then come up and dock. She says that very often the lights are on but no one's home.
  18. JohnMitchell
    Good analysis of the situation and possible plans of action. I, too, remember the 70's and 80's and all the hard learned lessons of the gear revolution. When in doubt, just pull the reserve.
  19. JohnMitchell
    Hmm, I bet I could get some bar stock and short pipe stubs and weld one up. . .
  20. JohnMitchell
    I don't do the can but I've got a nice gas fired smoker and a secret rub. We do ribs, chickens, Thanksgiving turkeys, pork roasts, briskets. . .
  21. JohnMitchell
    Yep, that happens, doesn't it? Oh well, she's very gung ho and athletic. I'll be glad to do a bunch more tandems with her. Next time she gets an altimeter and gets to pull.
  22. JohnMitchell
    I fight daily to stay down to my flying weight. You look gorgeous. Funny how women are so judged and men just figure their beer gut makes 'em sexier to women. Here's me and my belly flying buddies last weekend. I'm the guy in white. And a shot of a tandem I did yesterday. Young lady was making her third one, so I had her checking canopy and flying us around. I think she's hooked and needs to take AFF.
  23. JohnMitchell
    Yes, it is tiring, and a little counter productive, since you're using the wrong muscles to arch UP against gravity. I recommend throwing a pillow on the floor in front of the sofa, lying down on the pillow facing away from the couch, then arching with the tops on your feet pushing lightly down against the edge of the cushions. Too many AFF students need the repeated "legs out" signal and this drill seems to help. You can also practice the dive flow standing up. Just make sure you keep your head back and a comfortable arch the whole time. Good luck to you.
  24. JohnMitchell
    Good analysis. That was one of my initial thoughts too.
  25. JohnMitchell
    "When in doubt, whip it out!" Words to live by. More than one person has chopped a good canopy. At our DZ, we don't give them a bad time about it. We don't want anyone second guessing themselves.. I landed one I should have chopped once. Had a broken A-B line on a Cirrus Cloud 5 cell main. Thought I was okay until I reached treetop level. Then I knew my rate of descent was too high. I flared, it stalled and I thunked in with the best PLF I've ever done. Severely sprained ankle and cracked leg bone. Nothing that didn't heal, so don't worry so much about landing a marginal canopy. Just practice your PLF's.