kkeenan

NASA has a great video showing the details of the current Space Shuttle mission to the international Space Station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvkGSpB5i08&feature=PlayList&p=02E92AC699661E81&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=83

It's interesting to note that Skydive Long Island's professional ethics and integrity are for sale at a reasonable price. Kevin Keenan Titusville FL _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The Shuttle Atlantis will be docking with the International Space Station around noon today. I see that one of the first activities after the crew opens the hatch to the ISS is a "Safety Meeting". I guess those astronauts aren't so different from skydivers after all. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Here's the response I received from an ad posted on DZ.com. I seem to detect a Nigerian accent in the response... ========================= Hello, Thanks for your swift response, I'm so glad to hear from you and would say that am really interested in buying the canopy, and i will be happy if you can sell it to me because my son has been troubling me because to buy it for him, he use it in Australian so i am getting it for him. i have a Dhl account/UPS Account for shipping pakages and with that i will use to ship it down to my Location. Pls kindly get back with your final asking price and i will be glad to issue out the payment to you which will be in Money order/check for the payment. If you are okay with my arrangement,pls kindly get back to me with the folloowing detail's NAME: ADDRESS: ZIPCODE: COUNTRY: FINAL PRICE: MOBILE NUMBER: ========================= _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Beautiful launch.

It's been a vert clean countdown so far. The countdown has resumed at T-9 minutes. It's a beautiful day at KSC. Go Atlantis ! ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

T-minus 20 minutes and all looks good. There is a planned hold at 9 minutes and the launch is scheduled for 2:28 EST.

I've always wondered, how much does it cost for a license to own a television in the UK ? Do you have to have a license for each one in your home ? Do the authorities really use detectors to seek out un-licensed sets ? I think that half of the U. S. would break down in riots at the mere mention of that concept here. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Lots of things have changed since you made your first jump, Bill. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

True, it's pretty cool. It is attached to Node 3 and will be launched on STS-130, currently scheduled for 2/4/2010. For people not as knowledgable as Bill, Cupola info is here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/stationpayloads/cupola.html _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

For all you Space Fans, here's a link to the STS-129 Press Kit. This contains a lot of info about the upcoming mission, scheduled to launch on 11/16. Enjoy. Kevin K. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/398418main_sts129_presskit.pdf _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm not sure I understand your question/statement. Are you saying that 78 mph is a higher descent rate than you would get in a wrap ? I don't really know. I used that figure because it is the activation speed of a CYPRES. I don't know what speed the other AADs use, but I'm guessing that they are similar. Obviously, a wrap may descend slower and still be fast enough to kill you. I had a problem once wherein my right arm was trapped between the risers of my spinning main. I was jumping a L-113, and the lines were twisted up to the stabilizers, making for a very small canopy. I have no idea what the rate of descent was. I was able to reach the cutaway handle with my left hand and all ended well. However, had both arms been wrapped, I would not have been able to release the main. More importantly, I would also have been unable to pull the reserve ripcord. Deploying a reserve into a spinning main is a pretty bad idea, unless there is no alternative. It may work or it may not. However, I had decided that if I could not release the main, i would have to do just that. If my left hand had been unavailable, the CYPRES would have fired (if my speed were high enough). Therefore, in this circumstance, it would have mirrored my own intentions. I realize that this was an unusual occurrance. It's hard to say what the speed of any wrap may be. They're all different. The idea is to not hit the ground at a high speed. I have, unfortunately, seen people in canopy wraps impact the ground. At 78 mph, you are 6.5 sec. from the ground. I have not seen anyone do anything in the last 6.5 seconds of a high-speed descent that altered the outcome. CRW is a business of chance. We analyze situations and try to take the actions that have the best chances of success. There are no concrete rules that work in all cases. The best tool we have is knowledge, because it is the data in our heads that provide the tools to analyze and act properly in an emergency. Freefall skydivers have one procedure for almost all emergencies. CRWDogs have many - and sometimes we don't even know what they will be until we see the problem. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

In the recent CRW accident at Lodi, the descent rate is not known. So who's to know if the vertical velocity was enough to trigger an AAD. However, no reserves were activated. I realize that AAD use is a controversial topic in the CRW world. It comes down to individual choice. I choose to use an AAD on my CRW rig. My thoughts are that at 750 ft and 78 mph, most of the operational choices in the situation have been made and things are not looking good. More nylon could hardly make things worse. Inadvertant activation of AADs has happened. That cannot be disputed. However, I have been in the air with a lot of jumpers with AADs over the years, and have never seen it happen. That may influence my perception that the liklihood approaches zero. In CRW, we all make decisions and take actions which can affect the safety and survival of our friends. This is probably more true in CRW than in any other discipline. I have no problem discussing my choices with fellow jumpers. I may turn it off, if someone has a problem with it being there. I equally have no problem with anyone who wishes to not jump with me because of my choices. Kevin Keenan _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Yeah, you could really cream into the pea gravel and walk away from it just fine. There's a story of a couple of old-time Florida DZs who had a dispute over ownership of the peas. One night with the help of a lot of beer and earth-moving equipment, some of the jumpers removed the pea gravel (several tons) from one DZ and relocated it to the other. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Probably one of the History buffs (Help me, Howard) can answer this, but the DZ at Orange Mass. had a pit made for the first World Meet held in the US back in the 60s. That thing looked like you could see it from space, it was so big. It is still visible today at the airport, but the peas were removed years ago. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'd sure hate to try to run out a landing in those boots. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

"It was a dark and stormy night. the weather was so bad, only the Tandems were jumping..." _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I'm thinking that whatever they were actually doing must have been pretty bad for them to use the laptop story, knowing it would probably get them canned. Maybe they are gay and were doing each other, and would rather stick to the laptop story. The Cockpit Vioce Recorder (CVR) only records 30 min. in a loop before recording over previous material. It cannot be reset or turned off without showing signs of such. Once they realized that there was something on the tape that they didn't want, they may have flown a bit extra without responding in order to make sure that the tape of that time had run out before landing. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Nothing left at KSC but a smiking launch pad. that was a very cool launch. For the last two days no one has gotten much done, due to running in and out of the buildings all morning as the launch times kept changing. Watching the downlinked video from the rocket right now, and the view toward the ground during ascent is awesome. Interesting testiment to the power of the rocket is that it continued to climb another 20,000 ft. after the engine burned out and the thrust had stopped. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I agree with Dave about the Canopy Course. These are skills that you will use forever, and can really save your ass. For freefall, 1 on 1 coaching, plus tunnel time will really improve your skills. Many folks will do coaching with you without charging a lot of money (unless you're at a big, money-grubbing DZ). Find some old geezer who likes to jump with noobies, and listen to what he tells you. Spend time at the DZ and buy a few beers and listen to what the experienced folks have to say. You'll be amazed at what you can pick up that will prove useful later on. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Launch time moved to 1100 EDT. Wx is estimated to provide 80% chance of favorable conditions. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Currently set for 1030 EDT, however, if the wx suddenly gets better, they may move it up. I don't believe that Ares 1-X has a launch attempt scheduled for tomorrow, 10/29, due to an Atlas V tanking test that is planned. after tomorrow, the launch schedule gets pretty complicated, with launches of Atlas V, Delta IV, and the STS-129 Shuttle all coming up. So, today may be the last chance for Ares 1-X for the next few weeks. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I happen to agree with you about not cutting away before pulling the reserve, but not because I don't think the main will not come out of he container. It very well may come out. You have to be prepared for this. The configuration of the container will change as soon as the reserve bag leaves, so it is very possible that whatever condition is preventing the main from leaving will then allow it to go. By delaying the possible cutaway of the main until after reserve deployment, you avoid the uncontrolled release of the main risers until you can do it in a controlled manner. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091027/COLUMNISTS0603/910270319/1002/sports/Sebastian+skydiver+wins+his+20th+national+title

With that Upper Stage Simulator creaming into the ocean at several hundred knots, I'll bet that monkey would be screaming. Maybe not as good as a monkey, but there is a "Them ToadSuckers" CRW sticker on the inside of the nosecone on the Ares 1-X. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?