skybytch

Yeah. Me too. A very satisfying ending to a great series. and many thank yous to JK Rowling. Now I need to go start a spoilers thread cuz dammit I wanna talk about the ending and the other person in the house isn't even halfway through yet!

Which leads us to the question - Would you shove your fingers up some man's butt to get LP jump tickets? If yes, how many would it take?

Meth. Duh.

Oh, and the Spectre can smack the hell out of you every once in a while too. Actually, any canopy can smack the hell out of you every once in a while. To the OP - the correct answer to your question is whichever one you prefer to fly and land. The only way to answer that question is to fly and land as many different canopies as you can - demo, demo, demo. You can get demo canopies from most manufacturers or through gear stores. Don't limit yourself to one company's products. PD makes great canopies, I love my Spectre and have no desire to jump any other canopy, but. There are other companies out there (Aerodyne, Icarus, Precision, etc) that also make great canopies (Triathlon, Pilot, Safire2, Fusion, etc.). You'll only find out if one of them is better for you by jumping them.

Ah, but will you have a story or three to tell about the good times you had with friends while picking it up? I will.

Attempting? Whaddaya mean, attempting? I'll have it in hand in less than 14 hours, 35 minutes from right now. Guaranteed. How do I know? I know cuz I spent the last few hours making absolutely sure. They started giving out wristbands at 9 am at the evil major chain bookstore in town; I was there at 7:40 am. By 9 am the line was a couple hundred people long. I'll be #58 to get a book tonight, yeah buddy!

Scott Christensen took one up in Perris back in '96-ish. He's got a good story about it. There used to be a picture from the jump on the wall at the Bombshelter, dunno if it's still up or not.

Couldn't narrow it down to just five books, I had to put two series in there... Illusions - Richard Bach The Foundation series - Isaac Asimov The Harry Potter series - three more days!!! The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz Gone With The Wind

Wow. Dude, that sucks. I hope for your sake that it's over soon. Thanks so much for your sacrifice.

Don't do S turns on final. They make it very difficult for anybody coming in behind you to figure out where you plan to land, which in turn makes it very difficult for them to then choose where they need to fly/land to avoid you. The only times it's okay to do S turns on final is if you are the only canopy in the air (ie you did a hop and pop on your own pass) or if by not doing one you will hit an obstacle. You could have avoided the situation entirely by holding in brakes instead of spiraling down. This would have allowed the video guy (who I assume is jumping a smaller, faster canopy than you are) to get beneath you and land first.

Without thinking twice. Myself, my son, both of my parents and my brother all offered a kidney to my cousin when his failed. But he needed both a kidney and a pancreas; the docs said it was better to get both organs from the same person and since we only have one pancreas...

And even if they don't fit perfectly, they're super comfortable!

Only issue with that is it the exit altitude. Most new jumpers freak out a bit when they do their 5000 ft hop n pop after doing 10+ jumps (it looks awfully low if you're used to full altitude, and there's the issue of getting stable out the door). Now imagine doing it with 2 or 3 total jumps, all from the top... That could be a good option at a dz that does static line though.

That TM is taking on a LOT more risk than you are. Yeah, you've got shit all over your helmet but the TM has 200 pounds of stupid actively trying to kill him...

The underoos I remember my kid wearing weren't shirts, they were tighty-not-whiteys. I always thought Superman looked pretty cute on his butt.

I've accomplished many things that I've wanted to accomplish. I've experienced many things that I've wanted to experience. If it's my time, it's my time. All bills are paid when the ship lifts.

If the MLW is correct for your torso length and the container is sized for the canopies you intend to put in it, 20-40 pounds probably isn't going to make a huge difference. If any part of the harness is too big for you it will likely be the legstraps and/or laterals (the parts that go from the bottom of the container into the MLW). Legstraps are fairly inexpensive to have shortened. Laterals are a bit more involved but not too bad. Like others have said, a master rigger with a harness machine or the manufacturer can adjust things so that it fits you better.

No worries. As it turned out we had plenty of food for everyone who hung out. I just had to give you a small ration of shit.

Yeah, it's that "maybe" area that could really screw you. I had two broken D lines on opening a few years ago. When my brain rejoined me, I checked altitude and I was just above my hard deck. Did a control check and it kinda flared... so I decided to land it, which in hindsight was not the correct decision. But I was unsure about my ability to land the reserve on my back safely (was at a dz with a bit higher msl altitude than my home dz), I was supposed to do a couple more jumps that day (training camp) and I had never cutaway. Other than a few scrapes and bruises and a really dirty rig and jumpsuit I came out of the landing okay. But if I find myself in a "maybe" situation again, you better believe it's gettin' chopped (assuming I'm at or above my hard deck, of course).

Okay. So at what point in the progression do you think a student should have satisfactorily completed the (very basic) canopy TLO's for Cat B? I submit that planning and flying a good pattern and the ability to flare at the correct height are more important survival skills than are stability and pulling in freefall. Why? For one thing it's like you said - in freefall you are there to assist them; under canopy, you aren't. For another, how many students have you seen or heard about being injured or killed because they forgot to pull or were unstable in freefall? Now compare that to how many students you've seen or heard about being injured or killed on landing (whether due to landing where they aren't supposed to - which indicates poor or no pattern - or from not flaring correctly). I'm not picking on you in particular, tdog. I just think that if education is the answer to reducing canopy related injuries and fatalities - and I think you agree with me that it is - why are we not insisting that students get it right by not passing them on to another level/category until they do?

Because, according to the SIM, the following are TLO's for Cat B - Why would you pass someone who didn't satisfactorily complete all of the TLO's of the category? And if you don't?

Caught this shot of "someone" landing in the wave pool at a local water park on a recent demo. I'd post the one I have of the guy bringing in the flag but I'm thinking about sending it to one of the mags...

Hey now. 40 is close to old, but it's not old. Really.

Happy 40th, Brian!

There is a lot of good information and answers to your questions here. Talk to your instructors about canopy sizing.