Gary73

Another fallacy, IMHO. Certainly, ground preps should be thorough, and certainly there's a correlation between training and performance, but it's not 100%. I've seen a number of students do flawless ground preps, then have complete meltdowns in he air. I've also had students who were marginal on the ground and near-perfect in the air. As I tell all the AFF-I candidates, "AFF is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get!". "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I'd say that a first simulated skydive requires a simulated case of beer, so just write "Case of beer" on a piece of paper and put it in the fridge. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Ditto! I've done about 1,300 AFFs and been an evaluator at five courses, and every time I think I'm within sight of having seen it all, I see something new. Some are scary as hell (like the Level 1 who reached UNDER her main lift webbing and almost got the handle before I stopped her), while some are funny as hell. The other day I had a Level 1 climb out just fine and then go: "Prop! Up! Down! Uh, prop! Up! Down!", then he crouched down, looked at me and asked "Should I go now?".

I've had similar problems with ours, but was always able to clear them. Things to try: Check the bobbin area for thread tangling things up. Turn the machine off and on a few times, with the needle bar in different positions. Press the foot lifter pedal a few times. Tap the GO pedal a few times. Go through all the above a few times. Good luck. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Probably. Plus another $10 to fly in the BIG tunnel, after the regular one turns out to be a leaf blower. But seriously - Atlanta, as long as it's not another goddam Skyride ripoff operation. I know of a nice piece of land near the big airport. The previous development plan failed and the land's been sitting idle for 10+ years. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Yeah, I'd like to see that too. I suspect that it'll look ugly enough that no experienced jumper would jump it. Meanwhile, here's a photo from a vaguely similar PCIT that was caused by a weird collapsible PC with the kill-line window on the bag side of the pin. The pin got into the window somehow and just stayed there. Don't know who made the PC; don't think I've seen another like it. The rig was a Mirage; the photo was taken after the jumper and rig were returned safely to the DZ. The view is from the top right corner of the right flap, looking toward the bottom left corner of the rig. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The Skyride case proved that the USPA Group Member Pledge means absolutely nothing. USPA should eliminate the Group Member Program and replace it with a department that provides safety-related services to any U.S. dropzone. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Maybe, but keep in mind that they wrecked that plane before it even had three minutes of flight time on it! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

If I could get a good GPS for $135, I'd do that!

Dave, That looks like a 6" bubble. Thanks for the info! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

I want to replace the pilot-side window on my 182 and would appreciate hearing from any pilots out there who have experience with bubble windows on 182s, 206s, etc. Are they worth the money? If so, what depth do you recommend? (The company I found, GLAP, makes 2", 4", and 6" bubbles.) Also, are there any problems I should be aware of? Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

When an AAD is sitting at the DZ, it checks altitude about once a second. Once it detects a change, it assumes that it's in a jump plane and starts checking altitude about thirty times a second. That significantly increases battery drain. If a rig is going to stay at the DZ at the end of the day, leave it on. If it's going to leave the DZ, turn it off first, especially if there are any elevation changes between the DZ and home. Hadn't heard that "push the button frequently" approach for a CYPRES that won't turn off. I'll give that a try next time. Thanks! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Unfortunately you're right: Most container manufacturers keep the reserve container sized in proportion to the main container, which forces jumpers who want a small main to have a small reserve. I see a fair number of jumpers using reserves which are loaded well beyond the manufacturer's recommended maximum weight. Not a good idea for many reasons. The only container manufacturer that I know of which sizes the main and reserve containers pretty much independently is UPT (Vector and Micron). Are there others? The other approach is to use a low-bulk reserve like the Optimum or Speed 2000. In some cases both approaches may be necessary to get a combination that makes for an exciting main and a truly safe reserve. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Cheesybake! Cheesybake! Any requests to go with Cheesybake! ?? More Cheesybake! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Cheesybake! Cheesybake! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

It's not widely known, but the farce "Airplane!" was based on a serious movie called "Zero Hour", which TCM has scheduled for August 22 at 2:30 PM. Surely you don't want to miss it! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

The recession isn't over by any means, but the recovery has definitely begun. The stock market is up 25% since it hit bottom, housing starts are up, new-car sales are up, etc., so there's good reason to be optimistic. As for the long-term effects, that's going to be a problem. Ever since the 1930s, Congress has never seen a tax dollar that it didn't want to spend - twice! Government spending is so far out of control that it's bound to cause a major trauma eventually. The only question is when. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Another load of crap propagated by Fox "News": http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/clunkers.asp "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Hoax, intentionally propagated by our friends at Fox News: http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/clunkers.asp "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

No assumption, just fact, that the vast majority of the members of every religion are born into that religion. They are raised from birth in an environment which treats that religion as being so obviously true that it isn't even questionable. When bad guys do that to prisoners it's called brainwashing and considered to be a crime, but when parents and societies do it to defenseless children it's okay. Go figure. Divinely appointed? That's funny! Interesting that you assume that people only "stray" from the Church for selfish, decadent reasons. For me it was an intellectual journey, looking at many different philosophies before the evidence finally required that I reject the existence of the supernatural in all its forms. When I finally accepted that I was genuinely surprised at the way that everything finally made sense. But yes, different people do find comfort in different things, but comfort does not imply correctness. I know (too) many people who take comfort in deeply racist beliefs because it makes them feel better about their own pathetic selves. Personally I'd rather know the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me feel. Interesting the way you phrased that: as if the Earth IS the Universe, instead of being a tiny speck that is only significant to its occupants. At any event, you are demonstrating a truly profound level of ignorance of physics, geology, chemistry, astronomy, biology, and a few other subjects. ALL the hard evidence points toward the Universe being billions of years old, and denying the facts in order to keep believing in a myth invented by illlterate peasants is just sad. But hey, if that's what floats your ark, go for it. You can even raise your children that way and preach your beliefs to others, Just don't try to turn your beliefs into laws that everyone else must follow and we can co-exist just fine. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

And, to what purpose? To open your understanding, or to poke someone with a stick, because you already consider them a fool? Unlike some of the "Christians" who have posted on this thread, I don't consider Literalists to be either stupid or insane, just mistaken. That's quite understandable, since most "educational institutions" and all churches devote themselves to trying to teach us what to think instead of how to think. If I can get a few people to think objectively about the things they were told to believe before they were old enough to realize that they had a choice in the matter, then that would be worth the effort. If not, maybe it'll get me closer to understanding why people hold onto beliefs even when they're shown that they can't possibly be true. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

All very interesting, folks (well, a little bit interesting, anyway), but by way of heading back toward the original question: I spoke with a friend yesterday who happens to be a Fundamentalist preacher. I asked him what is the proper term for a person who believes that the Bible should be taken literally from cover to cover. Without hesitation, he answered "Christian.". So, bad news for all you folks who consider parts of the Bible to be allegory or poetry or something: apparently you're not Christians after all. Sorry. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Royd - My purpose was to ask Literalists to think about the question and get their answers. Still waiting. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Sea Kittens - mmmm, taste great with ketchup! "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

Rstanley0312 - You might want to re-read your last post. You say that you don't think that people who disagree with you are insane, then you come right out and admit that you have done exactly that. (Not very Christian of you, BTW.) WRT my use of the term Fundamentalist, I may have been incorrect there. Apparently there are people who refer to themselves as such who don't believe in an absolutely literal interpretation of the Bible. I offerred the term Literalist, but that seems unacceptable also. By what label should we refer to such people? Oh, I mentioned the 1 + 1 = 2 example for a reason: Most folks would see the "truth" to that statement and not even imagine that there could be any room for discussion, but mathematicians will occasionally admit that "truth" in their field is really just what the preponderance of mathematicians agree it is, and that there is no absolute way of determining it. There may be a lesson there for the rest of us. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan