tbrown

She can speak for herself as a mother who's lost her son. Souinds more like you have a problem with her saying something you don't like. We permit that in America, unless Bush & Cheney have decreed otherwise. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Coffee, two large cups in the morning. I can do just fine with no alcohol, but I can't drink just one. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

This ought to prove to the younger generation that we really were stark raving nuts. anybody here remember "direct deploy" ? This was a method whereby no pilot chute was used at all, it was a glorified pullout deployment of an entire square canopy. A POP handle was stitched directly onto the nose of the center cell, so that when the handle was pulled, first the pin would come out of the closing loop, then the nose of the center cell was presented into the wind and - wham ! - deployment. As far as I know, this was only ever attempted with Strato Flyer canopies. I do remember seeing Nick Lucas's Flyer at the 1978 Nationals, there was no trailing pilot chute and you could see the handle dangling down from the ceter cell. This method vanished as quickly as it started, after 2 or 3 jumpers got cocooned in their canopies and went in. But I was wondering if anyone here ever tried this method or had friends who tried it, or saw the rigging work up close. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I haven't read the profile, so won't comment about Chris Salcone at all. But at least nowadays, wing loading aside, a 135 ft canopy is usually considered too small for anyone's first canopy, regardless of wing loading. A 1.15 WL under a 135 is NOT the same as a 1.15 WL under a 190. A 135 is simply a smaller wing with shorter lines and much quicker and more sensitive response to inputs. The stuff I've been reading says that even little guys & girls should never start with anything smaller than a 150. But the guy may have just got started before all the incidents and debate over canopies got started and it would appear he's done just great. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sounds like offsetting may be warranted in your situation, especially if your DZO is recommending it. Popping a Cypres at 550 ft over surrounding hills is a dodgy proposition, especially if you take the +/- 200 ft tolerance into account. If you're 950 ft over the runway, that's still not bad, you shouldn't be that low anyway. The final decision is yours of course. BUT if you do offset, I believe you have to do it before EVERY jump, it's not a blanket all day deal. Get out your Cypres Owner's Manual and read and re-read the section on offsetting VERY carefully. Mark the section up with a hi-liter, so you can share the info with your friends. We had a fatality last year at Perris involving a jumper who did not correctly understand how to use a Cypres - the Cypres worked as programmed, just not in time to save her life. These things don't think - they only do what you tell them. Also, if anyone lands out in them thar hills, they will be coming back down to the dropzone from a 200 ft elevation and that will screw the calibration of the unit. Anyone who lands in the hills should turn their Cypres off and then restart it back at the dropzone. This is a very specific set of issues that your dropzone should post some kind of an info display. It's also a really great topic for Safety Day, which is when, next weekend ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Give it a rest and do something else this year. Everything gets boring if you do it long enough (maybe even sex ? - don't know, I'm not there yet...). There's more to life than skydiving. What do you WANT to do ? Life is short, so whatever it is, get going ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Pioneer also introduced a 5 cell Pheonix reserve back around 1980 that was deployed from a diaper with an attached pilot chute. All the round reserves were deployed that way & still are, far as I know. Check out the "double Malfunction" vid at skydivingmovies.com, if that mess doesn't scare you into choosing a freebag, then nothing will. A freebag has allowed a few desperate skydivers to frantically pull their reserves out of the bag and live to tell the tale. If the p/c's still attached, you're screwed. In the final analysis, the free market chose the freebag. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

A Pilot will open as soft as a Spectre. I have no idea what a Crossfire 2 opens like, as I've never jumped any of the fully ellipticals, though I've heard good things about the Crossfire's opening. It sure would be a hotter performer than the Spectre, if that's what you're looking for. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Nice to see this thread back in circulation. Since the old suplus rig with the PC, I went on to the following: got a 1978 Hanbury rig with one of the Kevlar reserve ripcords that were a popular experiment at the time. Main canopy was a 21' Sparrow, which was a very small packing lightweight PC clone for relative workers. Absolutely the smallest lightest canopy I ever owned, it opened great and landed alright mostly. Reserve was a Navy conical. First square was a Cobra 10, which I thought was a pretty decent canopy until it started to tear up at the load bearing ribs after only sixty some jumps. Sent ot back to the factory for repair and then it tore up again at about 100 jumps, so that was the end of that that ("Cpbra 10, People 0"). Got a Viking Superlite next, really liked that one a lot. Also bought a used Security LoPo reserve. Had the original "tapewell" cutaways replaced with a 3-Ring conversion and replaced the Hanbury pilot chute with one of Hank Asciutto's models, which were vaned like a MA-1. That opened the Viking SO fast I got bruises until I learned to roll the nose back a whole lot more. Stopped jumping in 1980 and in 1982 sold the rig for a great price to a kid who was washing airplanes for jump money, we were both happy with the deal. 22 years passed by... Bought a beautiful used Javelin, with a PD193 reserve & Cypres. The whole rig was 3 years old and had been maintained immaculately by the original owner (who posts at these forums). Was supposed to have had the original 210 Spectre, but came with a 190 instead. Later in the year I negotiated a deal to swap out the 190 for a 210 Pilot and that's what I'm jumping today. I will be jumping this rig for a verrrry long time to come. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

On a used Cypres you want to make sure the unit's up to date on its 4 & 8 year services, if it's that old. The Mfg date is marked on the unit, and I believe an identifying marker is put on the unit at each of the 4 & 8 year services. Your rigger will know what to look for, as very few riggers will dare to pack an AAD that's not strictly kosher. There should also be data on when the batteries were last replaced - every 2 years on the Cypres 1 and every 4 years on the Cypres 2 (which is included as part of the 4/8 yr services, so you shouldn't have to mess with them at all). If any of these services are not up to date, you probably shouldn't buy the unit at all. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well, what if you called it a "commune" ? I'm an ex-Catholic and you won't find me living in Ave Maria. But historically, America has had all kinds of religious community experiments. There's a Buddhist university and community somewhere up in Colorado, the Krishnas had a town in New Vrindaban, W. Virginia (not sure if they're still there anymore). The Rajneeshies briefly took over Antelope, OR and even renamed it Rajneeshpuram for a couple years before they fell apart at the seams. And there's been all kinds of Amish, Mennonite, Shaker, Hutterite, and Amana communities, not to mention the entire friggin' state of Utah.... Lots of whackos too, everybody from the Children of God and the Moonies to tim Leary's League for Spiritual Discovery (L.S.D., get it ?). And lest we ever forget David Koresh or Jim Jones, some of these communities come to bad ends. So this guy's a Catholic and wants to found a Catholic community, so what ? Like I said, I won't be living there. Las Vegas is the spiritual capital of the religion of pleasure and nobody gives a shit about them (another place I try to avoid, as it doesn't appeal to me). "Like minded citizens" ? Yeah, well the Bushes have always liked that sort of thing, nothing new there either. I dunno, what's the problem ? They're not going to MAKE anybody become Catholic, you won't have to BE a Catholic to live there. Looks like another chapter in America's interesting, if sometimes whacko history of religious experiments. Chances are it won't last as planeed for more than a few decades. Or it might become powerful like the Mormons. So who knows ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I got a pair of scissors right here & a few minutes left on my lunch. Think I'll go for a little jog. We began training for skydiving at about the age of 6 or 7, jumping off the garage roof, out of trees, and seeing how high and how far we could propel ourselves off a swingset. Of course our moms screamed about it if they saw us, but we'd just go to somebody else's backyard and carry on where we left off. I remember nce trying to cock a BB gun the wrond way in a treehouse. Somehow the thing kicked back and I was flat on my back, dazed & confused, 10 ft. down, but was back on my feet in a minute or two. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Hercules. Make some shorts out of a few pillowcases, add a sheet for a toga. find a bent iron bar to carry around flexing your muscles with. Or with a 5 lb sledge hammer, you could be Vulcan. Or with something else, you could be Neptune. Get the idea ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And it can be ordered online from soooo many places; Para gear and Square 1 come to mind right away, and there are many more. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Gary Coleman or Michael Jackson would both be better than GWB, when I say "Anybody But Bush", I literally mean anybody (Jennifer Aniston ? Sure, why not....). I don't think Condi's interested though, what I hear is she wants to get back to Stanford. To which I might add the sooner the better. But if she wants to run, okay, bring it on. Let's have a Condi v. Hillary election and let the chips lie where they fall. Why not ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Rolling it up is going to beat S-folding a wicked pile of "dragon snot". However, there are other methods for bagging a pro pack as well, where you stuff it in the bacg a bit at a time instead of trying to fold and kneel on the thing at once. Helps too if you drag your canopy through the dirt a couple times.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sure, why not ? It would settle the "will she run ?" question for starters. She's definitely not a knock kneed "closet Republican" type of Democrat, and she's not afraid of flinging a hatchet or two in a good political fight. As for running for VP, she won't do it, it would be a joke. It's all the way or nothing. She would for sure be a "serious" woman candidate, love her or hate her you can't ignore her, she's not some fringe weirdo like Ralph Nader. The voters will decide. She could just win it. Or not. Guess we'll never know until she runs. Not sure if I'd vote for her or not (aw heck, I probably would), but I think she should definitely run. Besides, who are the Reptilians going to run, Jeb ??? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Smart move on Dave's behalf. George and Robyn's dropzone should be opening later this year which means lots of competition. An Otter is the only thing that will keep them afloat. UntamedDOG So glad to hear your 2 cents worth. It's amazing how these places stay in business inspite of your prognostications. I'm sure that when George & Robyn open their DZ you'll find something wrong with them too. Tell us, were you ever kicked as a puppy ? Maybe you should've been. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

What she said. Last fall I "fupped duck" and opened lower than I ever should've. After reaching over my back to be sure I hadn't popped my Cypres (yes, I was that low), I took one look and realized I didn't have a chance of making the DZ and that there was a sizeable pwer transformer station between me and the DZ (and anybody who's ever watched "Dropzone" knows what happens to bad skydivers in those kind of places). My out landing zone WAS behind me. A big flat beautiful field just a little ways behind me, even just a little downwind from me. It even had a dirt road leading out to the paved street and no obstacles. I headed for the field and made a lovely soft landing in it, then walked out on the dirt road and soon got a ride back. This is also something you need to do if you wind up under your reserve, because you will almost certainly be low and very possibly out. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

We spotted a nasty bugaboo on a load in the air yesterday. This guy sitting across from us had his RSL hooked to the large 3 ring on his harness. We pointed this out to him and he explained he'd put it there to stow it, as he didn't want to use the RSL. Fortunately a Master Rigger was also on the load and he explained to the guy that this arrangement would prevent him from being able to cutaway from a malfunctioned canopy, then he asked the guy again if he still didn't want to use his RSL, as his main riser had the appropriate ring for hooking the thing up. The guy THEN trid to hook the clip up to his 3 Ring cable housing, and the Rigger finally told the guy he had to either a.) hook the thing up where it belonged, or b.) stow it away under the reserve riser not hooked up to anything. The rigger then closed the clip up in the locked position and the guy stowed it. The really spooky thing is the guy had already made one jump that morning with his RSL clipped to the large (harness) 3 ring. Keep an eye on each other, it's frightening what you can find on thhe ride up. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

No way to vote "other". Been married to one woman for almost 25 years now and I'm the only guy she's ever had. As Walter Brennan used to say, "No brag, just fact". That sort of gave her the freedom to find her own sexual expression, and sort of helped me show her what I liked, as she was No. 6 in my "hit parade", as I was human but not a whore. As of yesterday we bumped the score up another notch to twenty thousand and seventy eight or some such bullshit number.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

If it's you, and you alone, I'd choose "1" (the poll is number of partners, not number of times). The real question here would be whether or not each hand counts as a seperate partner. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Beatles, "Revolver", for going on forty years now. Always fresh, never dated, best album they ever made. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Really embarrassed that we don't even have our shit together enough to execute the fucker who raped, tortured and murdered a seventeen year old girl. Not even with Arnold as our Governator. Before I go any further, I should say that I'm against the death penalty in principle, not because I feel sorry for the guys on death row (though I DO feel sorry for the innocent ones who shouldn't be there, much less even in prison...), but because I don't trust government or the whole process. This isn't a California State Court that has done this, it's the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals - again. Classic case of a bunch of judges trying to legislate a social agenda. Okay, lethal injection might cause tremendous pain for a few minutes. It's surprisingly difficult to kill a human being, even an asshole. But over the centuries, we have tried to make it humane, which is why we've gone from burning at the stake, to hanging, to dropping a hanging victim enough to break their nec, to the electric chair, and now to lethal injection. Beats breaking on the wheel or drawing & quartering any day..... But what these fuckers on the 9th Circuit have done is to insist that we have doctors overseeing and/or administering the execution, full well knowing that doctors can't and won't do it. Even though I'm opposed to the death penalty, I believe it's something that has to be legislated, or else voted out by a popular referendum. Not dictated to the states by some far left Federal court. I hope the State of California appeals this decision to to the US Supreme Court, because if they don't, it's going to prevent something like 35 states from carrying out their capital punishment laws. And in such a cut & dried and brutal case as this (I have a 17 year old daughter of my own to think of), I cannot understand why Gov. Schwarzenneger doesn't state publicly that California will appeal the decision - or tell his Attny Genl to do so. I'd like to see the death penalty go for a long list of reasons - but not like this. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The brand is not so important as whether or not it's smooth and dark bittersweet. Or white chocolate, but that's not really chocolate at all..... The Aztecs used to make a drink of chocolate and chili peppers as an aphrodisiac. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !