jfields

I said: So, I actually agree with you. It might have been good to take just a few seconds to cup air and decelerate. It was just a situation where I was having gear issues and I decided not to take any time messing with it. I don't regret what I did, but I might do it a little differently should it ever happen again. Justin

I see my idiot factor as mostly all happening before the jump. Poor pre-dive planning. During the jump, I did what I needed to do to get a parachute over my head with plenty of altitude to land it, even if it wasn't gracefully done. Justin

Lummy, Yes, Cuba is still on the State Dept. no-travel list, except for certain exemptions for particular travel groups. But the original poster was from Brazil, so clearly not subject to that rule. Justin

60 views of this thread and not one person has chimed in to say, "Yes, Justin, you are an idiot." This is the kindest silence I've seen. I was certain some particular, unnamed folks would make a comment or two. Justin

I couldn't find anything on civilian dropzones in Cuba either. Might not have any there. Now if you want training on rafting.... Blue Skies. Justin

I hear ya. That is so an opening for penicillin jokes. Justin

It is all relative. Maybe compared to the guys, they are bright. Justin

Only if the plane is broken or we are on a wind hold. Justin

I've been doing it for awhile. It came out of a discussion I had with Chuck (Skymonkeyone) awhile ago. Before that, I wore them underneath the helmet. I'd have to hold them off my face for the last couple minutes before I exited or they'd fog up completely. It got really annoying. I bought the kind that have the edge made out of tube stoe material. I can put my helmet on and the goggles can rest just above my eyes, without sliding off. Right before exit, I just pull them down over my eyes. For RW, and bellyflying in general, it works really well. I just hadn't considered the added speed and change of body position relative to the wind that I'd experience in a sitfly, which was my mistake. So far, I've had a contact come off and stick on the inside of the goggles twice now. After landing with greatly reduced depth perception, I've just rehydrated the lenses and stuck them back in. Justin

Wildblue, I hear ya! Here is what happened to me this weekend: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forums/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=forumsafetytraining&Number=167755&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&part= Justin

(This is a little more narrative than necessary for the forum, because I just copied it from my website.) 6/9/2002 Since the DZ was running an advanced skills camp that I wasn't qualified or pre-registered for, there weren't too many fun jumpers around the DZ. I finally found someone that didn't have a jump plan and started talking. Josh usually freeflies, something I hadn't done before. After some discussion, we decided that I'd try sitflying. He explained a lot to me and we agreed on our dive plan. Basically, he was going to exit after me and just watch me do my flailing chicken sitfly imitation. The couple definite parts of the plan were keep the fall rate up and not chicken out and go my belly early. The other part was that I was to stop my attempts and slow down at 6000'. I was dressed like I usually do to do clear n' pulls from altitude: tennis shoes, shorts, t-shirt, altimeter, my goggles over my Pro-Tec. The only difference was that I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt this time. The loading and ride to altitude were completely uneventful. I was going to try to exit into a sit, by having my back to the props and butt kind of down. I took a long time in the door, because as I tried to get into the right position, I kept blowing around more than a RW floater would. Finally, I just said "screw it" and left. Josh was the last person out of the plane, following right behind me. I won't go into all the details of the skydive. Needless to say, I never really got into a stable sitflying position. To my credit, I didn't wuss and flip to my belly early. I did a lot of spinning, flipping and chipping, but started to get a feel for how it worked. It must have been hilarious to watch. The interesting and slightly scary part came at 6000'. During my transition back to my belly for slow-down, I ended up going vertical for a moment. My goggles totally lost their seal and came away from my face, which caused my eyes to tear and my contacts to get all screwed up. Basically, I couldn't see anything. I knew I still had a decent amount of altitude, but I also knew I was burning it up quick. There was probably plenty of time to cup some air and slow down, but without being able to see my altimeter, I didn't feel comfortable delaying. So I pitched out my PC anyway, from what my Pro-Track later said was a speed of about 170. To say the least, the opening was "brisk." I really noticed the difference in opening shock, although it still wasn't as bad as many T-10 openings I had. I went through a careful controllability check and looked at all the line attachment points. Everything looked good and it flew fine. Then I noticed I had a reasonable amount of blood coming from my nose. Damn. The pattern and landing were fine, with a nice flare and stand-up. I just tried to keep the blood off the canopy as I gathered it up for the walk back to the loft. I'm also going to have decent pair of bruises right above both armpits, below my shoulders. Notes to self for freeflying: Goggles under helmet. Tighten goggle straps. Give plenty of altitude to slow down before deployment. Double-knot shoelaces. (Both came undone.) Justin

Is that beer for first rig or beer for first time not bitching? Or both? Congrats, Slappie. You'll love the freedom of not renting. Justin

2 bruises from a hard opening : 7 : 1 Weekend Jump Descriptions Justin

Seeing as I just moved offices today, I thought I'd post pics. Out and to the left Straight out Out and right The important view At least I get to go to the dz this weekend! Justin

The chili should work well. Here is a second free tip: make a lot. When I make chili or soup, I take an ordinary recipe and multiply it by somewhere between 6 and 10. I have a huge pot I "liberated" from a restaurant where I used to work. Now I make that stuff in quantity and freeze most of it. It lasts for a good long time in the freezer. In my freezer right now, I have homemade cuban black bean soup, split pea soup and chili. I also make mean pasta fagioli, but you need to eat that right away or the pasta soaks up all the soup. Justin

Sweet! I should have thought of suggesting that. The ultimate in easy-preparation meat. If you have a can, you have a meal! Justin

Because we don't menstruate. j/k Justin

Not much loss. It is pretty much an unfeasible propoganda piece anyway. Don't sweat it. Justin

Your sweatshop cubicle is about 5'x5'. Justin

Pammi, Congrats on the move to the east coast! Are you singing the Jefferson's "Movin' on Up" theme yet?

Burgers and dogs on the grill, tater tots in the oven. It doesn't get much easier than that, and it is all quick. Justin

This is easy. Buy some ground beef and stick it in the fridge. Leave a note on your front door saying, "Staying at DZ. Steak tartare in fridge. Help yourself." Justin

It's okay, Clay. I know you had to think up something quick while you looked up "ovine". Justin

Which is still different than Clay's "standard blueballs" which he treats with the medically-unsound "ovine release method".

Skreamer. Justin