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Antonov & others

Perhaps telling them to track towards the white light might be technically more accurate?

Hmmmm... perhaps HH can answer. Sangiro was the pseudonym of an Afrikaans author (Pienaar?) who wrote wildlife novels set in Tanzania. Or was it Kenia..?

In the interior the only real difference between seasons is that it gets very cold in Winter (by our standards of course!). Given that JSC is at about 5200 asl the temps at altitude can really bite, but the skies are mostly clear. Towards late Winter/early Spring (August - September) it can get extremely windy. In Summer we have frequent late afternoon thunderstorms which may interfere with the odd sunset load. But yeah, mostly the weather is fine for jumping all year round. PS. Well done on the 4000, Tonto!

I certainly enjoy reading about other people's experiences and I also enjoy reminiscing about my own, and thinking back about the various aircraft which I have jumped from is just that. I fail to see how listing aircraft can be construed to be 'self-glorification'.

Close to the other end of the Antonov scale was the AN12. The one we jumped from used JATO and had a tailgunner turret sticking out the back. I forget it's run-in speed (that's 'jump run' speed for most of you) but it was very fast (cruising speed was around 550km p/h) and the propwash was enormous. Great for going out early and watching close to a hundred jumpers follow.

C180 - London Parachute school (UK) C182 - Carletonville C206 - " C210 - " Caravan - " Skyvan - Sibson (Peterborough- UK) Casa (b) - Mmabatho & Citrusdal Casa (s) - Mmabatho Antonov (AN2) - Carletonville " (AN12) - Mmabatho " (AN32) - Mmabatho Porter Pilatus - Carletonville, Pta, SunCity Let210 - Zwartkops AFB C130 - " DC3 turbo - " Bosbok - P'maritzburg

Yip, someone (it may have been 'Top Gun' Chris) organized an AN2 for Carletonville (now JSC) several years ago. I did three jumps from it. Not particularly dramatic, except for the novelty and the incredibly smooth take-off those massive bi-plane wings gave it. And then of course it was about a 30-40 minute ride to altitude!

I have been fortunate to have exited from around 16 different kinds of aircraft, ranging from a C180 taildragger to the Porter, the Casa, the big Antanov AN12, to the C130, and I have special memories from most of them. The C130 was during the so-called Swiss boogie at Zwartkops Airbase - it was certainly the most 'dramatic' exit of them all - walking out on the ramp with three sides open - the massive propwash that really whacks you in the back. But my most memorable exit was out of a converted DC3 turbo (coincidentally also at Zwartkops). With that huge propeller right there on exit it was almost as if one could walk up the hill. You could really fly it. I was curious - in terms of the exit (not in terms of being able to launch the best formation or get the most jumpers in the door), just the exit, which has been the nicest aircraft to exit from for you?

Just an observation: It is our season for violent Summer thunderstorms. I watch the clouds build up every afternoon. These storms are often accompanied by very high winds. I have yet to notice the clouds (front,top,bottom,back) get distorted by the wind. The clouds seem to rush by quite fast (relative to me on the ground) but hardly change shape within the airmass with which they are moving.

My first freefall was lucky number 13 (within 10 minutes of my last DRCP) Same here. I then decided to do AFF and never looked back.

Posted on May 14 2002 (Highlights are mine.)

Nothing to do with scary, rather a lesson in physics: I took two beers stuffed into my jumpsuit on my 100th. I opened at 10k, took out a beer and popped the tab to celebrate. Three quarters of it promptly squirted up into my face! I waited until I was at 3k before I popped the second - almost nothing lost. There was a lesson in there somewhere...

In 1994 in South Africa, a lot more people voted than they will in the upcoming elections because the issues have gone from fundamental things like freedom and the right to democracy, to policy level arguments about government spending and foreign policy. On top of that, with the ruling party's enormous majority and the fact that we have proportional representation anyway, the outcome of the upcoming election is pretty much a foregone conclusion, unlike in the US where the votes from a few counties could have made all the difference last time round. I predict a very low voter turnout.

Reading all the political debates on here, I am often amused by the arguments put forward by the participants to discredit one side or the other - important point scoring hits about politicians who "did not have sexual relations with that woman" or who "was a draft dodger" or who "didn't inhale" or who "claims he invented the Internet" or who "can't find the WMD's". If only our politicians has such serious flaws! The excerpts below (from The Sunday Times ) is about a guy that could be the new chief of police : "Of the six candidates short-listed for the job of Ekurhuleni Metro Police chief, Robert McBride is the only one with no policing experience. But the former bar bomber is the one who got the job." and "McBride, was released from death row in 1999 and was given amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for his part in the bombings of Durban's Magoo's and Why Not bars in 1986. In 1999 he was cleared of charges, by Mozambican police, of gun-running. "His alleged gun-running experience is the closest thing that would qualify him for this job," said Waters. "The gravy train has stopped at the Ekurhuleni Metro train station and Robert McBride's on board. The ANC is giving jobs to pals again instead of thinking about the safety of its people. They are still rewarding him for the bombing at Magoo's Bar where three innocent people were killed." " No wonder there is so little debate here - whaht would be the point?

Looking at the America in Iraq thread, it seems to me that both sides are equally adept at lengthy replies...

I don't see that many folk disagree with that. The problem is when the gear check is done without the jumper's permission, without the check having been requested, or without informing the jumper.

I'm with you, Angela. If you spot something amiss, tell me and let me decide whether I want a check or a fix. If you are just being cautious, ask me if I want a check. As an aside: The British don't say "Here, here" (as I see it used often on this site) because that would translate to mean "This place, this place". They say Hear, hear which would roughly translate to "Listen to what this person is saying. I agree with him/her.".

Especially against the background of having "tried it both ways"....... But seriously, given the fact that he has ripcord now (hence the question), debating the pro's & con's of having a ripcord is kinda off-topic. You can see very quickly after deployment whether you should chuck the ripcord or stow it. Collapsed end-cells and line twists on a big student canopy are seldom 'life threatening' and stowing the ripcord first should not present problems. A stuck slider, spinning, approaching canopy etc might suggest that you chuck it and address the problem.

I did both S/L and AFF several years ago. While it never put the fear of God in me, my adrenaline always really started flowing when the JM called to the pilot "Throttle back! Wheel brakes on!"

Alas - no takers. Well done to the English.

That is exactly it! While we do have freedom of expression and press etc etc, with the ruling party in an overwhelming majority and likely to be so for a long time to come, there is almost no political debate amongst ordinary citizens here. Not much point really On the other hand, we were all watching with amusement (and secretely hoping the he would) the Governator winning by a landslide. Mostly we are ignorant of the issues involved, hence my fascination and interest in the debates on this and other forums. The boring gun-control and 'should-I-shoot-first-and then-ask-questions' debates are so tedious though that I try to avoid them at all costs.

Always... Saw some well-qualified candidates in the 'Holy war' thread!

I'm hurt...I've always enjoyed sparring with them. Indeed. My apologies. I have been following your arguments in the 'Holy war' thread with interest. It would help if some of your sparring partners in that thread had some substance to them, eh?

. Nope. But I have jumped there. Courtesy of Jannie de Beer?