JohnMitchell

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Everything posted by JohnMitchell

  1. JohnMitchell
    Yes, but it better be a good one and it's harder than you think. One of those little ones on the rig probably won't cut it.
  2. JohnMitchell
    About 340 m/s at sealevel. At 120K, about 200 m/s. Unlike true airspeed that varies mostly as a function of pressure, the speed of sound varies as a function of temperature. These figures are from a googled graph, but it showed a straight line function. I suspect the graph may not be accurate. At about 40K feet, the temp starts to rise again, so the speed of sound does too. Edited: Just found another graph corrected for temp. At 320 155K, the top of the stratosphere, Mach 1 climbs back to 320 m/s due to the higher temperatures in the stratosphere.
  3. JohnMitchell
    Does your neighbour know?? Yeah, when I posted that I wondered if anyone would ask that. She was very distraught and her husband was sick, so I did the job for her. Cat was ~18 years old.
  4. JohnMitchell
    Nope. The main risers, of course, attach to your harness with the 3 ring release system, so the main can be released. The reserve risers are sewn into the harness and can't be. One thing to remember is that your main parachute, while very reliable, has a few design compromises that make it softer landing, more responsive in turns, glide farther, etc. It's can be packed in minutes by semi-skilled people. The reserve is designed with one thing in mind: to make it as reliable as a parachute can be. It takes a highly trained rigger up to an hour or so to inspect and carefully pack it.
  5. JohnMitchell
    Not too long ago I buried a neighbor's cat, Petunia, down by the river under a shade tree. It's a nice place to be. Sorry you lost your pet.
  6. JohnMitchell
    Our DZ actually has that policy too. It doesn't change my lifestyle but a person or two left.
  7. JohnMitchell
    Same with our own Leap for Lupus Foundation. Every ticket sold, every t-shirt sold, 100% goes to the University of Washington Division of Rheumatology research lab. Vskydiver, several other jumpers and I spend hundreds of man-hours and thousands of $$ out of pocket doing this every year. Our only payout is to DZ's taking up our LFL Charity Tandems. Even then, every DZ has given us a very generous discount rate. You can't beat the people in our sport.
  8. JohnMitchell
    Actually I've known one or two of those. . . And that would explain forgetting the PRCP handle. . . So far, no response.
  9. JohnMitchell
    That woman is either a genius or a ditz. Not sure which. . .
  10. JohnMitchell
    Privacy? What's that? I can't even see a doctor without giving out my SSN#.
  11. JohnMitchell
    That's a good thing to learn early.
  12. JohnMitchell
    Thanks, we're heading out to the DZ this morning. We'll do our darndest to keep it safe.
  13. JohnMitchell
    Were any of his comments true, like jumping from 4.5K when he was expecting full altitude? Or the student with the improvised handle because that was missed in the gear check? Things like low pulls do have to be confronted. My style of "coaching and counseling" depends entirely on the attitude of the recipient. Since I wasn't there, I can't say what anyone's attitude was like that day. Enough people love The Ranch that this one negative review won't hurt it at all. Some new people come into this sport with unrealistic expectations. You can't please all the people, all the time. That's kind of what Lincoln said, right?
  14. JohnMitchell
    I was trying to save the hassle of a repack when I got hurt. I had a friend with a Pegaboat during that era that had a 50% malfunction rate. Luckily he was a very fast rigger, repacking his own reserve many times trying to sort that thing out.
  15. JohnMitchell
    Thanks for sharing that. I've landed with tied off brake lines and been okay. Heck of a PLF. I also ended up on crutches landing a 5 cell canopy with single broken A line. Right at treetop level I knew I had royally screwed up. A really good PLF kept the injuries to a minimum. That made me vow to never land a broken line again. I have twice had the brake line knotted off at the keeper. It was very easy just to grab the line itself above the keeper and fly/flare the canopy. Something to keep in mind should you ever find yourself in that situation. But when in doubt, hell yes, chop and pull reserve.
  16. JohnMitchell
    Damn, does that mean you're a dickhead?
  17. JohnMitchell
    Damn, you make a lot of sense.
  18. JohnMitchell
    Buying gear before your first jump is HIGHLY unusual. One has no idea what they will need. Enjoy your student jumps, learn as much as you can and look around for appropriate gear when you have 15-20 jumps. You'll have new friends and mentors that can help you find something great for you.
  19. JohnMitchell
    Just like firearm accidents. . . "I was playing with it and it just went off."
  20. JohnMitchell
    Not just great guys, but leaders in our sport. They made 4 way what it is today.
  21. JohnMitchell
    Yeah, he's actually slept in our house. Almost housebroken, he is.
  22. JohnMitchell
    First jump 40 years ago this September, 17 year old kid in high school. Had years where I made 250+ jumps on weekends, holding down a day job. Got a new career that involved weekend and shift work. I had a few years of 30-40 jumps a year, just barely active. Had children, surgeries and more responsibilities, but managed to make ~200 per year for the last 15 years in a row. Those numbers are chump change to the full time guys who do it for a J-O-B or the team guys with their scheduled training days and competition schedules. But I've seen so many of those guys burn out and fade away. In the meantime my wife and I have done great demos, skydived in the tropics landing on sandy beaches and had countless other great adventures in the sky. We've met some of the most wonderful people you could want to meet in this world. For us, the slow, part time path has been the right one.
  23. JohnMitchell
    That was great. Thanks.
  24. JohnMitchell
    Yep, canopy control is where it's at. Nice job. Here's one where my wife piloted our canopy stack to a dead center in the peas.
  25. JohnMitchell
    No $hit? Talk about an abuse of power. I thought the USPA was all about promoting skydiving. I'd call for a resignation right there. My home DZ competes by having the best aircraft, best student program and lowest jump rates around. That back stabbing stuff is chicken$hit.