tbrown

You look fantabulous ! Welcome to Club Forty, where the real hotties live ! Of course at my age, I want to check I.D.s if a woman caims to be 30. Which is purely hypothetical anyway, as I'm happily - and faithfully - married to a woman of 47. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I find no fault with her pack job, other than wondering why she felt a need to unpack it in the first place. The 4 Line Check up the center inside lines was for real. The whole pack job was definitely for real, less the bungees, which she didn't hook up. But this is Raquel Welch, who the fuck am I to complain ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I thought pimps drove Cadillacs. Your girl's not working hard enough. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I'm thinking the same thing. Shipping Fed Ex insured sounds safer to me - especially if Mullins is flying the Fed Ex ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It was a dark and stormy night. I turned on the TV and "Ripcord" was on, in glorious black & white. That was the first time I ever saw an image of freefall. I found it rather confusing, because I thought the man must be falling, but he looked like he was flying. But it was so beautiful, I knew I had to do it. I had also seen a Navy frogman jump into Lake Ontario the year before at a Sunday open house for a Naval ship that was visiting town. Then around the time I was totally hooked on watching "Ripcord", I was out for a Sunday drive in the countryside with my family and saw TWO parachutes coming down over a little airstrip. They must have been sport canopies, because I remember the bright colors. I was sitting in the back seat going mental, yelling stuff like, "Look ! Skydivers ! Stop the car !" For a lot of us, our first jumps were a homecoming experience that was just waiting for us. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

My favorite of his books was "Mother Night". Me too. There were parts of that book that were so funny I thought I'd stop breathing. I was laughing myself to tears reading his description of a bunch of decrepit old Nazis wheezing their way up a staircase for several stories. The funniest part was that I was thinking, "I shouldn't be lauging about these guys, they're Nazis. But it's so funny I can't help myself." Living through the firebombing of Dresden as a POW, after being captured in the Battle of the Bulge was a defining episode of his life. My little brother used to clean his swimming pool in the Hamptons back twenty years ago and he got to actually hang out and talk to him a couple times. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

So what's he gone and said/done now ? (Just curious, nothing would surprise me either....). I don't think I HATE him though, nothing that he says or does affects my daily life either way - and he is good for a laugh now and then. Last I heard, he was going around saying Obama wasn't "black enough", or something to that effect (tee-hee). Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The old Army jeeps used to have an on/off switch, just like a light switch. I guess back in WWII the Army didn't want to worry about GIs losing their keys in the middle of a battle. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well Jeanne, would YOU want that job ? I mean aside from your undeniable ability to open a can of whupass, why would anyone want it ? I just hope he's not trying to set something up for Jeb or Cheney. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Don't know if this one's been posted at Monster.com yet, but the White House is looking for a "high powered" official to coordinate the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sounds like a "motivated self starter" would help, and "thinking outside the box" might help even more, unless you have something to say that displeases The Great Decider (TGD). Guess TGD hasn't heard yet, the voters still want out. In other news, Defense Sec'y Gates has announced the standard tour of duty will be extended to 15 months. I really do have an immense amount of respect for those of you on these forums who have served in either or both of these wars. I know some of you have come back missing an arm or a leg too. One of my daughter's friends was killed over there two months ago. I know you've given it everything you've got. I just think The Great Decider has done all of you - and all of us as a nation a great disservice, at least with the Iraqi war (and yes, I do think Afghanistan is a "good war"). There will be no good options; not if we stay, and not if we leave. Eventually we will leave, if history offers any examples. But not until TGD is safely enjoying his pension back at the ranch in Texas. He's already said so himself. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If you're worried about the "investment value" of a rig, you're in the wrong sport. Old gear never sells for as much as new, which is why people buy so much used gear, especially main canopies. If you can sell your canopy for 60% of what your next one will cost you, you'll shrug it off and live with it. I jump a Pilot and absolutely love it. I've also owned and jumped a Spectre and have a very high regard for them as well. But the Pilot has a much longer & flatter glide, by far. That will help you get home from the long spots that will happen. As for the openings, both canopies are lovely. You don't really want too fast of an opening either, though in my experience the Sabre2 is quicker, yet still comfortable. If you're throwing out your p/c by 3 grand you should have no problems with any of these canopies. And since you're in the market, definitely demo a Safire2 if you can. I've never jumped one myself, but the people I know who own them are in love with them. It only makes sense to try before you buy. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If something smells rotten, it probably is. Trust your instincts. If you think it's a real stinker, then get in touch with Sangiro because he doesn't want crooked ads in the Classifieds either. Personally, I had a wonderful experience buying my rig through the dropzone Classifieds. The seller is a well known contributor to these forums, and the sale was brokered by a reputable gear dealer who is also a well known .com contributor. Everyone was agreeable with shipping the rig to the loft at Perris, where I had it gone over by a Master Rigger who pronounced it a sweet rig and packed the reserve for me while I watched. I paid up and everybody was happy. A very basic word of advise though - and this NOT about "new vs old gear" either. It's about newbies buying their first rigs. You're new, you're SO hooked it's endearing to us - we've all been there. It's like discovering sex all over again. You want a rig so bad you can almost taste it. You're also particularly vulnerable at this point, because you don't understand a lot of the finer points of what you should be looking for - and looking out for. Aside from simply being ripped off by crooks who would take your money and leave you with NOTHING, there are also some less than ethical people out there who would sadly give you a "great deal" on some really bunk gear that they know they could never sell to anyone else but a newbie. That's why you must have everything gone over, in person, by a qualified rigger. It is an established practice for dropzones and rigger's lofts to act as a safe escrow for both the buyer and seller. Anybody who won't provide pictures or accept an escrow arrangement with an established loft or dropzone is probably a crook who needs to be shut down before they victimize somebody else. But most importantly - TAKE YOUR TIME. There's plenty of good used gear out there, at prices you can afford (well, sort of...). It's just a matter of time until you connect with the right rig that will fit you with canopies that are appropriate for your experience level. In the meantime, keep jumping demos and comparing them. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This sounds interesting, try running tis past your rigger. PD reserves have a hole in their sliders and are said to give a "brisk, but comfortable" opening at terminal, though I haven't had the pleasure as yet. Might a slider for a similar size PD reserve be suitable ? Aside from the 7 cell/9 cell difference in canopies, it would at least be worth investigating. The idea of keeping the original slider for resale of the canopy is so obvious it's brilliant. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sweet pic Howard ! Anybody out there know the identity of these five Beeches ? The two at the rear look like the Otay Beeches, we used to call them The Blue Coffin and The Greenstar Express, for the blue stripe on one and the green stripe on the other. All small door Beeches too, makes my knees hurt just looking at them. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What, no poll ?! I feel short changed ! Sounds alright to me. You've got a good reason to do it and plenty of experience with ROL setups. By all means Jimmy, go for it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Good answers all. I don't live or die by what happened to JFK by any means, it's just that too many people around the periphery of the case died so soon after, or so they say. I'd still like to see some real proff before people go off the deep end and blame a former US President (LBJ) for masterminding the whole thing. As for Joh Hinkley Jr., we all KNOW he did it for Jody... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If I recall correctly, Mullins spent a small fortune on his legal team, and the case attracted a great deal of media attention. Neither of which are crimes, last I heard. If I were accused of anything so serious, I'd spend a fortune on my defense as well. The biggest reason so many innocent people end up on death row is that they can't afford a decent attorney. As for media attention, the ingredients for a circus were all there. Husband and wife Fed Ex pilots, skydiving, etceteree, etceterah.... There's a reason we have jury trials in this country and that jury has spoken. End of story. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Hmmm, innerestin'.... A few years back one of the cable channels, I don't remember if it was the History, or Discovery, or A&E Channel, ran a pruported expose claiming that LBJ was behind the Kennedy assasination. They produced an interview with a woman who had been a maid, working the night of 11/22/63 at a big socialite gathering around Dallas. She claimed that LBJ made an appearance, in high spirits and was roundly congratulated over what had just happened. I had a couple problems with that right off the bat. For one thing, it's a fact that LBJ flew back to DC with Mrs. Kennedy and the President's body onboard Air Force One and that he took the oath of office onboard the plane. The other thing that REALLY bothered me was the way this network just leapt out of the blue and accused a former President of the United States, who has since died and cannot defend himself, of complicity in the murder of a sitting U.S. President. That's a VERY serious charge to make. We're not talking about UFO abductions or Anna Nicole Smith communing with Marilyn Monroe's ghost here, this is much more serious stuff. That's not to say it couldn't have happened. I've never believed that Oswald acted alone. And Oswald's killing by Jack Ruby was an obvious setup, just watch the film sometime. It's a joke to think anybody could've got away with that unless it had been planned in advance. But as more and more of the key witnesses - and players - have died off, the truth gets harder and harder to discover. I still have to question the motivations and interpretations given this story by the people involved. Right now it stands as somebody's report of what they believe E. Howard Hunt made as a deathbed confession. As such, that's worth reporting. Whether it's true or not, or whether the facts can even be established anymore after 44 years, we may never know. But I'd still be VERY careful about accusing a deceased former President - however unpopular - of something so heinous as bumping off his predecessor. After all, Johnson was cagey enough to know that if he could do it to JFK, others cold just as well do it to him. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Talk to a packer, or a rigger first. You might get some good tips on speeding up your opening. For starters, most people think that pushing your quartered slider back from the nose will help pick up the pace a bit. Historically, the big problem has been getting Sabre openings to slow down and not go the other way. Also, your perspective as a BASE jumper may have given you a different set of expectations, since you guys pull lower and want/need faster openings than the average skydiver. Slower openings and higher pull altitudes have been the sport's answer to the brutal openings of the early model ZP canopies. A lot of people nowadays are dumping between 3000 and 3500 ft, if that puts you in the saddle in the low to mid 2 grand zone, enjoy the ride. Personally I love the bedroom soft openings and don't think I'd enjoy a mesh slider at all. As for closed end cells and wingloading, BASE jumpers generally use bigger boxier canopies and even some extra vents to equalize and speed up inflation, boxy so you can sink into tight landing zones. With a skydiving ZP canopy, you can go smaller, anything over a 1.0 WL should have no serious problems. I get occasional cell closures on a Pilot I load at 1.2, but a tug on the brakes opens them right up. Just ask around about your openings though, no need to go break yourself in half over it. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I know and jump with guys who are still jumping old Vectors and the early PD F-111 canopies. And they often don't have an AAD in their rig either. But these guys are also the original owners of their rigs and they've got hundreds, or thousands of jumps and they know and understand their gear and their choice of no AAD is theirs to make, though Al Kreuger's recent accident makes a strong case against anyone not using an AAD. The problem I have is that newbies don't have the judgement to understand the limitations of the older gear. They may not understand that ragged out velcro is useless. They might say "sure, sure" to a "belly flying only" advisory on a velcro'd rig, but the first time they want to sit up and skid around on their butts with their new friends, they're going to do it anyway. They might think of no AAD as a "savings" - I know one newbie with less than a hundred jumps, who's thinking of replacing his Sabre canopy with a Safire2, but he "can't afford" an AAD, not even a used Cypres. I told him as gently as I know how that his thinking needs an adjustment. As for canopies, aside from the fact that newbies are just better off starting out with ZP, the old F-111's are simply ragged out. They don't flare like they used to because they've got several hundred jumps on them and everybody (except newbies) knows this. If you've got the experience to nurse a decent landing out of a ragged out old canopy, then God bless you, go for it. But they don't and they shouldn't have to deal with it. As for reserves, all I'm gonna say is that thank God the riggers have the final word on whether they'll even pack the things - hopefully the responsible ones have the guts to condemn an old reserve that's past its prime. What would you rather see your kid driving around in, a five year old Honda Civic that's been inspected by a mechanic, or a beat old Ford Pinto that's leaking oil, brake, and transmission fluid all over the driveway ? I'm sure the Pinto costs less, but you want the brakes to work when your kid steps on the pedal. There are just too many AFFORDABLE rigs with tuck tabs, AADs, BOC pilot chutes, and ZP canopies on the used market for the kids to be taking a chance on beater rigs. And there are some SERIOUS ethical questions about why people keep trying to sell them the old beaters. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've been reading this Thread title wrong - I thought it was "Sexiest Ads", not "Sexist Ads". Well duh, and here I was articulating my appreciation for a sexy ad, not a sexist one. Oh, what's the use ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Why not? Well, having started myself with a B-12 harness container and a sleeved 28 ft 5TU mod and a 24 ft surplus chest mount reserve, I do recognize the economy of buying an old rig. (I also bought a 1964 original Paracommander in 1976 and held the thing together with a liberal helping of duct tape). But a lot of these kids want to start freeflying and a lot of the older gear's just not safe for that. And nobody else will buy these rigs BECAUSE THEY KNOW BETTER. And newbies don't. So they buy an aging rig that needs a lot of work and a main canopy that's ragged out and always will be. And then a few weeks later, when they're beginning to sober up about the "great deal" they got swindled with, they find a REAL rig they could've maybe afforded if they hadn't spent all their money on an old piece of "crap". It's not funny either. It's now 2007. The plain truth is by now there's plenty of 21st century gear in good condition on the used market. Gear that's got AADs, freefly friendly gear with tuck tabs instead of velcro, gear with BOC pilot chute pouches. I tell newbies to get used to the fact that gear ain't cheap and never will be and that anything from the last century just isn't good enough for them. Period. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Just don't sell it to a newbie. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I've heard the inside story on this one. the plot is UNBELIEVABLY la-la-la-lame. For that reason alone it's worth watching. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Jump For the Cause has their own website, I believe. Since skydiving is an "extreme sport", I'd look to psychology literature about what motivates risk takers; mountain climbers, scuba divers, the big wave surfers who use jet skis to tow them out to sea. What motivated the Wright brothers or Charles Lindbergh ? There are a few of us who aren't satisfied to sit on our asses watching life go by on a TV screen and there's plenty of literature written about that. Sorry if I can't be more specific, but that's the direction I'd try. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !