JerryBaumchen

Hi twardo, Do we or do we not define the term: Dirty Old Men Years ago when I would make some comment on the dz some woman would say, 'You're just a dirty old man' and I would reply, "I'm not old.' Can't say that anymore, JerryBaumchen

Hi twardo, That reminds me of a discussion some of us had around the bonfire back in high school. The question came up about 'what was too young.' One guy said: Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed. Then another guy said: Old enough to pee, old enough for me. JerryBaumchen

Hi np, Perchance do you work for UPT? Inquiring minds want to know, JerryBaumchen

Hi jimmy, THAT is why I stayed beyond just one jump with this crazy thing we call skydiving, JerryBaumchen

Hi Peter, Just to provide some information: Metal-Flex Hosing Inc. 1241 E. Erie Avenue Philadelpia, PA 19124 USA Phone: 215-535-6868 email: mary@metalflexhosing.com is now making ripcord handles and ripcord pins. Anyone looking for ripcord parts would be wise to contact them regarding parts. Always nice to have more than one source of materials. Just for those who might be interested, JerryBaumchen

Hi hyper, Yes, it can be used for patching canopies. The late Al Zilk did all of his canopy patching/mods with one. It will take some experience to get the technique down; have a go at it & learn. Also, I am of the opinion ( yup, I said it ) that if one is not someone who does stitching on a very regular basis then you should gear any machine down as slow as you can. Some times you just inadvertently step on the 'go' pedal and all H*** breaks loose. JerryBaumchen

Hi Terry, Glad to see that happening. It also ( somewhat ) confirms what I posted earlier about having a beer with an FAA-type and ask what they 'really' think. IMO, if it went to a vote of the actual FAA employees, they would drop the certification of parachutes & riggers in a New York Minute, if not sooner. And I would like to ask this question also. Thanks, JerryBaumchen PS) See you in Feb.

Hi likes, I bought one of those a couple of years ago from some retail outfit in Chicago. It would not sew for &%#@. It was a Chinese mfd machine. Ended up sending it back. As long as you do not tackle anything heavy it should be well worth it. Let us know how it works out, JerryBaumchen

Back in '91 or '92 I was in a test lab in southern Brazil doing some testing on some equipment. The testing was not going so good but finally around 3:00 PM or so everything passed the tests. I gave the 5 or 6 test engineers the 'OK' salute which is forming an '0' with your thumb & forefinger with the other three fingers staying straight. Everyone looked at me rather oddly ( the test engineers did not speak English ) and the QA Mgr came over and informed me that meant UP YOURS in Brazil. Ya gots to learn the local customs, JerryBaumchen

Hi pojj, Yup, marriage & kids changed the amount of time that I spent on the dz. Life does get in the way sometimes, JerryBaumchen

Hi John, Actually, the FAA does require a rigger's ticket to work on a main. I don't remember the exact FAA document ( and don't care anymore ). I consider this the most stupidest thing to ever come down the FAA road. Your granny can make the canopy out of SanranWrap if she wants but you must be a rigger to repair it. How many ways can you say DUMB? One of the best things ( IMO ) that the PIA could do would be to petition the FAA to keep their hands off of anything that is not certificated. Some may agree with me and some may not; life has always been that way. JerryBaumchen PS) As a lowly Sr. Rigger I did a 'lot' of mods to my old ParaCommander. Was I wrong in not notifying the FAA of what I had done?

All good responses. Here is my choice for the two best: I have read through this entire thread, some parts twice. It is sad that so many jumpers have such a poor understanding of the gear they wear and how the various components parts work and interact with each other. Most sound like they are repeating what they have heard and have no idea what it means. Skydiving gear is not rocket science. Instead of over thinking it spend time learning just how it works and you will see just how simple it really is. Sparky If everyone was always "in control" of the situation, then almost no one would ever die skydiving. AADs and RSLs are for those times when you are not in control. billbooth JerryBaumchen

Hi BUBLHED, Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqxjHOSKTT0 JerryBaumchen

Hi filioque, It really depends upon your talent. And that is not to put the onus back at you. If you can very minutely inspect the canopy and determine just how it was built then you should be able to determine how to repair it. If you cannot do this, then I would recommend not taking on the job. Now, given that, you just might also find that it is way too much work to make it worth it; and only YOU can decide that. I once had the wild & crazy idea that I wanted to build a canopy; so I did it. It is a lot of work but in reality, it is really not so difficult. It does take the proper sewing machine(s) { if you want to duplicate the original construction } and those may be available to you or not; another bump in the road, so to say. If the canopy is not something that you 'have' to get back in the air, then give it a go. You will learn a lot and then you, hopefully, will remember to turn down anyone who asks you to do something similar in the future. Remember, that canopy does not have much value at this time, JerryBaumchen A firm believer in 'Doing It Yourself'

Hi tdog & riggerpaul, As regards joining PIA being a problem. I would say that the simple solution is to have an additional type of membership for those riggers who only would want to get certificated. And this 'new' type of membership could not be denied. Would that solve that problem for you? Just asking, not ranting. JerryBaumchen PS) All of you out there, have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year; and don't do anything that I wouldn't do.

Hi bf, I voted ( yes ) and I'll say why. For the most part, I agree with your arguement(s). I would like to see this and for it ultimately be that all riggers would be certificated by the PIA on a world-wide basis. This will not happen in my lifetime, though. The PIA ( it seems to me ) is not at this time capable of doing the certification; not because of lack of knowledge but because of lack of resources. Canada ( the CSPA ) certificates their own riggers and it seems to be working just fine. I know of no downside to the Canadian system ( if there is one I would appreciate the thought ). For me, the ultimate goal would be to get the FAA completely out of regulating parachutes used for intended jumping ( I'm OK with them regulating pilot emergency rigs ). It is my opinion ( NOTE: the word opinion ) that if you get an FAA-type aside, hand him a beer and get him to fess up, he'll tell you that they would love to get rid of the whole parachute thingy. But they will never say this officially. The reality is that most of them ( and it is really not their fault ) just don't know the difference between a pilot chute and a ripcord. And my personal experience is that they don't want to learn. Ok, off the soapbox & end of rant. JerryBaumchen PS) You did ask for 'why.'

Hi Tuna, Some didn't, but they cannot tell you about it here. I've been in one that balled-up real bad; do not want to experience that again. I've lost more jumper friends from airplane crashes than due to jumping. JerryBaumchen

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.' And then the fight started... ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.' I bought her a scale. And then the fight started... ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive... so, I took her to a gas station. And then the fight started... ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. "I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"" Nah, she can order for herself." And then the fight started... ------------ --------- --------- --- A woman is standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.' And then the fight started..... ------------ --------- --------- ------ I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95. Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream. And then the fight started.... ------------ --------- --------- --------- ----- My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big . I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday and then the fight started..... ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------ I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary? " It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?" And that's when the fight started.... ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- ---- My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend." And that's when the fight started....

Hi likes, Read Squak's post, that is what I was replying to. That says it all for me, JerryBaumchen PS) Some days a person's attitude can kill a sale.

Hi aphid, Very nice. As a fan of WWII ( I'm currently rereading The Longest Day ) I have always believed that we live a soft & cushy life because of people like him. JerryBaumchen

+1 JerryBaumchen PS) Not someone I would buy anything from.

Hi Thanatos, Interesting question & responses. I thought you meant actually changing a tire as in removing a tire from the rim/wheel and putting a new one on the rim/wheel. Growing up that was what changing a tire meant; we usually did it using two large screwdrivers. But those are days long gone by. Like Kallend, I have rebuilt/modified engines, rebuilt stick gearboxes, rebuilt auto gearboxes, changed out diffs, done lots of suspension change-outs & repair, ball-joints, shocks, struts, etc. It was all part of growing up. Except for my current one, I cannot think of a car that I have owned that was not modified in some manner. But I'm old & the world changes . I taught both of my kids to NEVER change a tire on the oncoming car side, just ruin the tire driving to where it is safe to change it out. I wouldn't want anyone to get hit by an oncoming car; it has happened way too many times. If you can't change a tire ( your definition ) then I strongly recommend something like AAA. JerryBaumchen PS) Just changed out all four on my vehicle yesteday due to the miserable snow that is here. PPS) How many of you actually check the air pressure in your spare tire? Wouldn't want to get stuck with that one being flat would you?

Hi Peter, Back in the '60's - '70's one of the most progressive dz's that I frequented was Abbotsford in British Columbia and ran/later owned by Bill Hardman ( you may have heard of him ). He came to the conclusion ( NOTE: this is only about gut-mounted chest pack reserves ) that students simply could not 'grab & throw' the reserve canopy properly ( have you ever tried it; I knew of some rather experienced jumpers who tried on a test & could not do it ). So he went to an MA-1 pilot chute in the reserve container and taught them to ONLY 'pull & punch' which meant that, in the event of any malfunction, they were to pull the reserve handle & then bring their fist back and punch the reserve canopy so it would get going. Just for those who might want to know some of the thinking 'back in the day,' JerryBaumchen

Hi rob, The 'now rather old' Hobbit also came configured to attach to a harness with a single riser on each side, making it even easier to install into old rigs. Just thought some folks might like to know that very important piece of information . JerryBaumchen

Hi likes, I've been selling some low dollar stuff on here recently. If no profile, then the money comes to me upfront or forget it. I will not deal with people who want to conceal their identity. Just my opinion, JerryBaumchen