Kris

And back when Blue-Boxes used to still work, Captain Crunch whistles weren't just for kids and people wondered what the "QUARTER.VOC" file was that they saw on the file area of the BBS... but we knew. Kris Yes, I still have my trusty Red-Box that is made from a Hallmark voice greeting card, a 1/4" mini plug and installed in a red Motorola pager case.

A lot of people think their brake lines are too long but usually aren't. A couple of things to check for: 1. Have someone video some of your landings. Your problems could be a timing / technique issue. 2. While under canopy, look at your brake lines as they run up to the canopy. There should be a bow in the lines and you should be able to pull at least 2" of toggle before the tail of the canopy starts to move. Make sure you are looking at the tail of the canopy & not the bow in the lines. 3. Make sure that you have the toggles all the way up against the stops before your flare. If you are holding in just a little brakes it will make a big difference during your landing. Remember, speed=lift and the more the better. 4. A trick you can use to give yourself a couple of extra inches of flare power is while you have your hands through the toggles to your palms, reach up and grab the top of the toggle. If it is done right, you are still palming the toggles so you can't accidentally drop them but all the toggle is in your hands and the brake line is between your index and middle finger. By grabbing at the top of the toggle you have just given yourself 2-3 more inches of control stroke. Kris IAD-JM

Okay, I've got to agree with Mike about his wife, Bobbie. She is just about the coolest chicky on the planet. While we like having Mike show up at the DZ, it's better when Bobbie tags along.

Hmm, Wagner? I would have figured you more for the "Winger" type.

Well, we bought all of them new w/ 0-jumps from Ralph at Western Parachute Sales this summer but to be honest, I think the 200's had been in his stock for about a year or so. Kris

I guess that since you are an audio engineer, you are more worried about "cumulative damage" over time. 120db is more than enough to cause permanent damage over time but your main concern should be the sound of the aircraft itself. I have been able to hear my ProTrack with ear-plugs in while it is inside of my Bonehead helmet. I will usually wear ear-plugs if I am doing some hard-core JM'ing and have to spend a lot of time in or have to ride the plane down. While in free-fall, I don't think it would be too much of a problem as the wind-noise itself will act as more of a pink-noise mask. While my Pro-Track is ungodly loud on the ground, in the air it is "just right" and is not startling at all, more of a light "intrusion" with or without ear-plugs. Just my $0.02 Kris

I hate the cold but I hope to see some of you at Skydive Dallas this weekend. I'll be down there with some friends of mine. I'll be the guy trying to jump in a parka with the 15,000 extension cord for his heated blanket. Or just ask Freaksis to point me out.

On a student canopy, usually not. On an elliptical canopy with a decent wing-loading you're probably going to have to chop it. That was the cause behind my second reserve-ride. It was packing-induced though as I didn't leave enough line between the last stow & the risers and I knew it wasn't going to be fun when I felt the bag bump something as it came off my back during the deployment. It probably danced around in my burble for a split-second and caused the bag to spin a couple of times. Great for your DZ! I teach the exact same thing at mine as it is part of our first-jump student syllabus. If it doesn't fit the Rule of Fours, the Three S's or your comfort level in its ability to land you safely get rid of it if one set of the Standard Opening Procedures doesn't fix it. Kris

Hehe. You should only worry when I say that in relation to my own rig. It's policy at my DZ that any work (not requiring a certified rigger) on student rigs is checked by no less than two other staff members or a staff rigger. Kris Now packing... that's a completely different story for me. Especially sad since I jump a Stiletto.

Summer: Airwalks or Vans Winter: My trusty 8-eye Doc Marten's

Sorry to burst your bubble, Clay but at my DZ we have Skymaster 200's, 230's and 290's. I think we might even have one 260 but I would have to check... Kris Trust me, I hooked them up.

This was posted on wreck.skydiving a couple of years ago and pretty much summed it up for me. Luckily, my parents have come around, understand that I am safe and are genuinely concerned with how I am progressing in the sport. Hell, they even took me out for dinner when I got my JM rating.

Actually, they make four canopies: Hornet - Semi-elliptical Heatwave - Elliptical Tempo - Reserve (now with spanwise reinforcement) Skymaster - Hybrid (ZP top-skin, F-111 bottom skin) student main Kris

Let's see: Mal #1, 70-ish jumps: I didn't think, I just did it. I can still clearly remember the sound of the velcro peeling and the clanking of the three-rings on my Talon as they separated. Since it was a spinner, I had a hellacious arch going and my feet tucked up against my ass when I pulled the cutaway (Dammit! I just had the reserve repacked two weeks early the weekend before!). It worked as I swung out cleanly onto my belly as I pulled silver. I arched so hard that my stomach hurt for three days. Our emergency procedure here is: Look, Grab (both handles), Arch, Right, Left, Arch. While I was under the reserve I was very calm as I tested the non-existant flare on my Raven Dash-M 249 loaded .9:1, selected my landing area, tracked my main & freebag, stuffed my handles down my jumpsuit and then landed like a SCUD missile as the reserve stalled. Once my feet touched the ground is when everything changed. I couldn't stop giggling for a smooth 30-minutes. (Maybe that's why my stomach hurt...

It looks like Olav just broke / twisted a Zip-Loc bag in half during the jump leaving the ashes pouring from each hand (Beautiful shot, by the way). At the end of the dive when all the ashes are gone it looks like half a plastic bag is left flapping in the wind in one of his hands. Anyone care to verify this? Kris

It's in the Flyboyz Party Mix video. Kris

Don! Hola & Merry Christmas buddy! Glad to see you on here, it's been a while. Hell, I think it's been since Quincy 2000 since I saw you & Robin last. Give her a big hug for me! Kris

The Onion Monty Python Douglas Adams George Carlin Joe Cartoon www.kevinandkell.com www.userfriendly.org The Princess Bride Bert Is Evil Microsoft Getting Sued! And the attached picture.

1. Get my D & my "official" instructor rating 2. Lose about 30 more pounds 3. Finish my CCNP & CCND so I can get my CCIE certification in 2003 along with a 6-figure job

I psycho pack my Stiletto with no problems. My Stiletto opens rediculously slow to begin with (I do nothing to the nose and just quarter the slider without pulling it out). Add rolling the tail along with a psycho-pack and be prepared to pull at 3K to be in the saddle just below 2K. So, here's what I do... I don't roll the tail. At all. If you look at the psycho pack video on the Precision website you will see the person (Billy Webber?) just take the opposite sides of the tail and cross them, making the canopy an almost perfect triangle shape. From there just squeeze out the air, fold in thirds & roll it up. I get nice, soft and consistent 500-600 foot openings with this technique. Easy bagging without the rediculous snivel and it is still a great opening. Not that snivel is a bad thing, but I would rather not have to fly the opening of my Stiletto with my hips or risers any more than I absolutely have to to keep it under control while it "dances". Kris

Sandy Reid at Rigging Innovations is a great guy and the perfect person to help you with your rig. He really took care of me and any concerns I had with my old rig (Talon gen 1). Since he designed your rig, he would be the first and best person to call. His number is 520-466-2655 Kris

Hehe. Keep in mind that Brittany under a 109 is barely a 1:1 wing-loading... Kris

Check: 1. Different software 2. Shut down all background tasks ESPECIALLY anti-virus as it changes how files are accessed if any type of real-time protection is enabled. 3. Try a new IDE cable (could be a bad cable or some type of resistance problem) 4. Re-route the IDE cable if it is near any high-energy RF / power area if you can. 5. Make sure PC is at least 2-feet away from the monitor or any other power supply. 6. Check for a firmware upgrade for the burner 7. Try a new brand of CDR media Kris

If it's a DPT or Mylex hardware RAID properly setup with ECC memory, write-caching disabled and backup battery then I call BS on the drive failure causing the problem. Adaptec RAID, well, they're crap (not true XOR, etc...). I run a DPT Millennium U160 w/ 256MB of ECC across 5 36GB LVD Barracuda's in a RAID-5 on my homne system and I have blown a drive. It immediately swapped over to the hot spare and kept on chugging while it rebuilt. Sounds like coincidence and that the DB just threwup for the hell of it. I would run a deep integrity check on the RAID volume just to be sure. RAID 5 won't help you if there's something schizo with the RAID adapter itself. Just my $0.02 as an ex-Seagate monkey^H^H^H^H^H^Hemployee. Kris

Actually, it's over 12,000 jumps. PD is giving the guy that currently has the canopy free re-line jobs because they want to see how long the fabric will last. Kris