towerrat

you guys are harsh Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

Megadeth Anthrax Exodus King Diamond M.O.D. S.O.A.D. Iron Maiden Testament Obituary Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

you bastard I should have known better, but you got me Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

anytime I think of something bitter I think of the stuff that separates pecans in their shell. That has got to be the worst taste on earth. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

my head is backward I sit up drinking a beer working at night sucks......... my neighbor sees me he thinks I am a drunkard I'll offer him beer..... The whole world wakes up I crawl in the bed to sleep the sun is too bright....... Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

QuoteI'm waiting to hear from the "there's nothing wrong with it - I do it all the time" crowd I doubt very seriously you will find anyone to openly admit to using drugs while skydiving on a public forum, or at least no -one who will defend it. My best guess is you'll get a lot of "back in the day" type stories, and some " this one time at band camp...". I don't really get upset about who does what on my DZ, I just pay attention and take note of the things I need to stay away from. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

As my best bud Sammy Simpson once said, and I quote: " Never get involved with a woman who makes a public spectacle of herself " Truer words were never spoken Sam. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

QuoteAnd, while I don't want to sound critical, I think the notion that you must be a pussy if you rely on an expert to initiate you into a life-threatening and frightening sport is macho crap. You have the rest of your life to throw yourself out of the plane alone. There's nothing noble about doing it on your first jump. *** I agree, and I know of at least a handful of grown men who have turned into blithering idiots after leaving the aircraft for the first time. I don't care who you think you are, you really have no idea how you will react to freefall the first time, and I would be willing to bet some of those guys wished they had gone on a tandem first. I think it allows for immersion in the element without having to worry about all of the things that go along with an AFF jump. I did a tandem, and I'm glad I did. A skydiver is a skydiver no matter how he made his first jump. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

Quote: Hey, Not to be a jerk, but please be careful with the canopy advice. A lot of what you wrote has issues. *** I didn't write this. It is someone elses response to a post on a very old message board ( from the eighties). If you look at the bottom you'll see where I noted the first paragraph. I was actually interested in the part about the " rubber canopy" and thought it was a unique, albeit incorrect way of looking at canopy flight in general. I posted it here to see what type of reaction it would get from modern pilots, my intent was not to give any advice. I obviously didn't do a very good job of defining my intent, nor of seperating my post from theirs. My apologies for the miscommunication. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

QuoteI will be helping somebody move on Sat morning, I love you man!!!! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

I didn't realize that was you today, I should have introduced myself. I'm that fat bald guy with the red and black tye-dye Wings. Congratulations, you lived! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

shut up stick man, I'd kick your ass but I feel sorry for ya. I've seen all of the Chuck Norris movies so I know some pretty good moves! I was too sick to go to altitude today so I did hop n pops all day. Working on the swisoop......I finally feel current again, what with the broken wrist and then all of the hurricanes, I was out for almost 4 months. Hey Rick, if I put Bomb Squad in front of my name will I be as cool as you? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

QuoteSublime... 40 oz to freedom... One of the best ever written, what a fantastic record.I have kept it in my car for better than 2 years, I rarely take it out for something else. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

while browsing some post from 1985, I came across this. ----------------------------------------------------------- Although I *loved* freefalling, once I was under canopy I tended >to get nervous. The old pros at the drop zone would tell me not to worry >about it when I had an end cell closure or when the wind knocked the >canopy around a little, but I couldn't help imagining it collapsing >with 100 feet to go. Once while making a 180 degree turn downwind, the >wind gusted and the canopy appeared to be shrivelling up. I was still >on radio at the time, and the instructor yelled at me to turn back into >the wind. I also ran across someone who, on her second jump, stalled >her canopy on final approach and broke her leg. > Am I crazy for having "gear-fear" *after* I've got a good canopy, >or are there some real malfunctions that can occur on the ride down? Calm your fears. As a mechanical engineering student, I had to take several classes which delt with forces and stresses, aerodynamics, physics and so forth. I can assure you that the canopy CANNOT collapse on its' own. In fact, if it were made of rubber, it would try to stretch itself even larger. Remember though, the canopy is an airfoil. Nothing more, nothing less. You, as the pilot, can MAKE it collapse if you want to, by stalling it. But the instant you let up on the toggles, it will begin to reinflate. Guaranteed. It will take a few seconds, however, for the canopy to reinflate and dampen out the resulting oscillations. That is why you NEVER NEVER stall a canopy at less than 500' off the deck. When you "flare" the canopy to land, you are stalling it. The trick is to do this so that the canopy just stalls at the instant your feet hit the ground. The girl you mentioned who broke her leg obviously stalled, or "flared", a little too soon. You're better off to flare a little late than a little early! As far as your canopy shrivelling when you made a 180 deg. turn, that can occur momentarily if you make a FAST turn, because you are essentially stalling one side of the canopy. As soon as you ease up on the toggle, that side of the canopy will reinflate very rapidly and fly normally again. It makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE whether you do this upwind, downwind, or crosswind. The results are the same. This is because the canopy is an airfoil, and is only affected by the RELATIVE velocity between itself and the air mass it's flying through. The velocity of the air mass relative to the ground has utterly nothing to do with how well the canopy flies. Thus, if a gust of wind hits the canopy from behind (as would be the case if you were flying downwind), the canopy momentarily "sees" a much lower, or even negative, relative velocity. So, it may lose lift and drop a little, but if left alone it will simply speed up to match the new wind speed and will fly just fine again. Needless to say, you don't want to be in a downwind orientation near the ground -- but then, you shouldn't be anyway. That's why you were taught to always land upwind. That way, a gust will hit you head-on, and will actually increase lift momentarily. Because of this business of relative velocities, it is wise to make slow turns if you are in gusty conditions -- especially if you are less than 500' up. If you are making a hard turn, or if you are in deep brakes, a gust from behind will very likely stall all or part of the canopy. So, in these conditions keep your toggles in the upper half of their range. In summary, don't worry about the canopy collapsing for no apparent reason, but DO worry about how you fly it! Get used to it by doing intentional stalls at a safe altitude (over 2000') so that you KNOW what things feel and sound like just before a stall. Try some stall-turns, too. The ride will scare the hell out of you, but the canopy WILL reopen! Blue Skies and Happy Stalls, It was the first paragraph that caught my attention. Anybody? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

I'm sick. I wanted to come out but couldn't muster the energy. I'm hoping tons of Zicam and Nyquil will do the trick Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

I am a regular. I'll be out tomorrow. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

Thanks mr. Kalb, you beat me to it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

I have survived and have kept my power. It was out for about 5 hours this morning, but came back on. I consider myself very lucky, as a good part of my 'hood is in shambles. Lot's of trees down, power out almost everywhere, debris strewn all about, etc.Several of our local businesses have been wiped off of the map, including a sports bar and a produce market. We lost several hundred feet of privacy fence behind my house,and the fence at my new house. I need milk and can't find any, as hardly anything is open. Can't get beer either. I found a baby squirrel on my doorstep, he must have been blown from his nest. We dried him off and put him in a kennel, and he seems to be better. I'll let him go in a day or two, when my yard isn't flooded.For now he's happy with peanuts and warm blankets. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

the fellow in question here is one of the most meticulous people I know. I promise you that he is legit, and his work is good. He is also at a large loft owned by one of the best, a place I have no problem sending my gear to. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[ get's ten foot pole] Look dude, I'm not sure where you got the idea that skydiving is not dangerous, but you need to open your eyes. Have you bothered to read the incident reports, ever? Yes, there may be more people dying on the golf course, but there are also a lot more people on the golf course than there are jumping from aircraft. If you truly think that this is a safe sport then you need to take up basket weaving, as you are obviously too " challenged" to understand the risks involved with skydiving. I'm not sure what part of " jumping from aircraft' you don't understand. Maybe you just haven't seen anyone hook themselves in, or never had a friend do it. You can die, and jump long enough there's a good chance you'll get hurt, and very possibly die. Make no mistake about this my friend, because a lack of respect for this sport is a sure path to disaster edited for spelling, NOT content..... Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

I've eaten jam sandwiches. You know, where you take two pieces of bread and jam 'em together cuz there's nothing to put on them? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

Lucretia, by Megadeth. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

The Love Boat. Webster Who's the Boss Empty Nest Wings Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

Does anyone know whatever happened to Jay Browning?Myself and a few others around my DZ have a standing bet on that guy, and I'm wondering if he's still alive. The last time I saw him he landed once in the swoop pond while trying to surf the pond (300 jumps, crossfire 129,about 180lbs), then shortly thereafter put it in a tree. I just wanna know if I can go collect my cash yet. There was video of him at skysurf.com of him almost burning in. It was pretty sick. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

whatcha eatin? whatchamacallit. but what's it called? whatchamacallit. I know but what's it's name? I just told you the name! did not! did too! did not! did too!!!! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!